daniel_and_lily

1 hour ago, trucphong said:

@daniel_and_lilyYou now can fly to Saigon without quarantine at facility or hotel. You need to stay at home for three days and if you have negative test then you can go around. You dont need to be on business visa to travel in this time. As far as I know there is only Vietnam Airline that are allowing to fly to Vietnam. Unfortunately, the ticket is expensive. One way from SFO or LAX is near two thousand dollars to Vietnam and it will cost you another one thousand dollars to fly back to US. Note that these flights are non stop flight. 

no you can't. i'm in cambodia for the last month to see her. We've been keeping a close eye on this. they're only letting family fly.

1 hour ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

@daniel_and_lily The blue form asks for information on your former spouse, including immigration history. Is your ex wife an immigrant and were you the sponsor? 

If that's the case, that would bring even more scrutiny over your relationship. 

No, and like I've mentioned, the blue form is a generic form they hand out to just about anyone. So don't read much into that.

10 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

I understand your frustration, but bear in mind that we know nothing about your case other than what you have told us, and what the refusal paper is asking you to submit. 
Best thing to do is to re- read the blue paper again, and provide absolutely everything you can from what they are asking!

based on the feedback my fiance and I collected, it's because I failed to front-load the I129-F application. I mistakenly relied on rapidvisa to correct any mistakes I made.

I typed up the OF-194 form to make it easier to read for anyone who is curious

OF-194_ R2-A blue refusal.pdf

1 hour ago, aaron2020 said:

The unknown reason is that you need clearance from the Vietnam consulate/embassy to be able to fly into Vietnam while borders are closed.  While you have a visa, you didn't get the clearance from the Vietnam consulate/embassy to fly in.  That's the problem there.

they're the ones who issued the visa tho

48 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

You did not front-load your I-129f and that was a mistake.  The US Consulate must consider documents submitted with the I-129f.  They are under no obligation to look at evidence your fiancee brought to her interview.  An interview takes 10 minutes at a window.  There isn't enough time to go through it all.  This is why it is wise to understand the inner workings of the US Consulate HCMC.  FRONT-LOAD.  EVERYONE GOING THROUGH THE K-1 or CR-1 PROCESS SHOULD FRONT-LOAD THEIR PETITIONS.

I think this accurate. I relied on rapidvisa to help me here, because I was not sure how it was done.

24 minutes ago, nathan92845 said:

I really feel for your situation.  I remember the time and effort we spent putting our evidence package together so for them not to believe it would be totally frustrating.  I heard that Cambodia just opened up to foreign tourist with no quarantine and just a vaccine proof as requirement of entry.  Maybe you guys could meet up there.

thank you, this is exactly what we're looking at doing now. I actually got the business visa to go to Vietnam too, but the airline isn't letting me book with yet another paper I didn't get (for some unknown reason). so I'm going to see if I can enter Vietnam using my visa.

4 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Your attitude seems to be that the contents of the blue form are generic and don’t apply to you.   IMHO, it is risky to look at it this way.

 

If you want the visa, my best advice is to comply with absolutely requested in the letter.   Even if is duplicating things.   Even if you think it’s stupid.

 

Failing that, get married and do a CR-1.  
 

You’re dealing with a very difficult consulate for K-1s, with no recent time spent together in person.   

I intend to comply with the form. Just finding it frustrating given that we've provided a lot of documentation. We literally have spoken with each other every single day for 3 years, and I'm insulted that someone would even think that our relationship is fake. The frustration with covid is never-ending too. I've been trying to get over to Vietnam ever since they shut down. I've paid thousands of dollars to get a business visa, which is now suspect and I can't get in via that  route either and it looks like I will have to reapply as a foreign expert once again delaying the process by another 2-3 months. I just want to see my fiance. I didn't see her since February 2020 because of covid.

1 hour ago, dwheels76 said:

Let me ask, when you filed your I-129F what did you submit as evidence to prov your bonafide relationship?

The interview is really not  the time to introduce new evidence there's just not enough tie. Also reading through these forums now 10+ years I know Vietnam is very very hard on K1's they rarely approve. That might be it also. and the 1.5 gap probably hurts your case too. But hopefully submitting the evidence as instructed by the 221g will get you approved.

Enclosed please find my Form I-129F, Petition for K-1 Fiancée Visa for Lily and the following supporting documents (in order):



Payment of $535.00 made to U.S. Department of Homeland Security
G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance
1 Divorce Decree(s) for Sponsor
I-129F Supplement: Page 8, Part 2, Question 54, explanation of meeting
A 2"x2" color passport-style photograph of the petitioner
A 2"x2" color passport-style photograph of the beneficiary
Sponsor's Proof of U.S. Citizenship
Letter from Sponsor certifying intent to marry Alien
Letter from Alien certifying intent to marry Sponsor
Proof of Having Met in the Past Two Years

I used rapidvisa to submit my paperwork, and they looked over all the paperwork and made sure it was OK. I had to re-submit because they found some things and made suggestions too. But I did not submit a whole lot of evidence at that time as I recall, I just followed the instructions for the form and rapidvisa. It's all well and good to submit the stuff from the 221g, but it's unclear to me what in there we weren't providing to their satisfaction since they didn't even look at the paperwork she brought. And it could be they didn't look because she didn't provide the divorce papers and already thought it was missing, but reading that blue paper (and it is difficult to read from a photo) 

43 minutes ago, Scandi said:

-She missed bringing vital documents, the letter mentions a divorce decree from the petitioner AND the beneficiary, so I assume the beneficiary has been married before too.
 

You're making a lot of assumptions here. This blue paper is not individually customized but it's a generic document. So no, the beneficiary has not been married before.

43 minutes ago, Scandi said:

Apparently they also didn't provide any evidence of actually meeting in person, the letter is asking for proof of purchase of plane ticktes (credit card statements that show the amount, date etc). 

We absolutely provided this. Screenshots from chats, printed copies of boarding passes, pictures of us, pictures of me and her family (uncles, aunts, cousins, and siblings), bank statements showing other expenses,  all dated with comments and in chronological order.
I'm not sure why you're painting a picture that we're somehow sloppy here. My fiancé was up until 4am many many nights getting this ready.

 

43 minutes ago, Scandi said:

-They want a list of all relatives the beneficiary has in the US (this shouldd've been listed on the DS-160 already, so did they miss that or does the CO just want extra clarification?)

she doesn't have any and she provided this information during the interview

What I'm trying to tell you, and everyone else here, is that we tried to give absolutely everything in packet3k. I am pretty sure my fiancé had my divorce papers with her, because I had sent it to her, but she found this to be a very stressful situation, and may simply have forgotten. She was primed by other people that the interview process was difficult.

You're just reading what the blue form. Fine, but don't assume we got this form because we were completely lacking. It's not fair at all for you to assume this.
As I've said, this is a very generic refusal form, and it doesn't say what we've missed. That's why we're confused since we brought a lot of paperwork they didn't even look at. I do believe even the divorce papers.

57 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

So what evidence did they ask for?  If their issue is that you haven't seen each other in a year and a half, that will be difficult to overcome.

I think she said something like more pictures of us together or something. But I don't think that can have been all.

Turns out they also asked her for my divorce papers from my previous marriage (this came up after I posted this in discussion). This was listed as one of the items in Packet3k that she was supposed to bring, but did not. 

When I contacted their office via their form, they also linked me to https://www.ustraveldocs.com/vn/vn-iv-221ginfo.asp

It should be noted that one of the most frustrating aspect is their first come, first serve system for booking an appointment. It's near impossible to actually book an appointment. There's literally a bunch of women who sit refreshing their screen every few minutes ALL DAY in order to book an appointment. However, there's never a set schedule for when new appointment slots are available, it can be any time around the clock. We had been trying since April to be able to book this appointment.

 

28 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

Hi there! I don't have first hand experience with K1s, but I have been in this forum long enough to tell you that a RFE is not as bad as it looks. They are giving you another chance to prove that your relationship is a bona fide one. I understand that you're frustrated because they haven't looked at the evidence you prepared -that sucks! However, focus on what the RFE says and what you CAN produce. Take a deep breath, try to calm down, read the RFE over and over again and start brainstorming. Maybe you can even post the letter here (blur personal identifying info) and maybe we can give you suggestions!

Thank you. Attaching blue as you suggest.

3 hours ago, Scandi said:

They're asking for more evidence so you basically need to scramble and collect every little thing you can possibly think of and send it to them.

To me the really frustrating thing is them saying she didn't bring enough evidence when they didn't even look through what she brought.

34 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

From the OP, it sounds much more like a hard denial than an AP type of refusal....

The blue paper is a request for more evidence. It's not as dire as a hard denial but I saw the stacks and stacks of paper she put together for the interview. She was up until 4am every night for days putting this together. She is gutted. 

After waiting since April due to covid, my fiance finally had her interview today and was rejected. We have met 5 times prior to covid and haven't been able to be together for over 1.5 years due to covid. The interviewer said they did not have time to look over the paperwork, and in the same breath told my fiance that she didn't bring enough evidence to support our case that we have a "bona fide relationship". It's very very unclear to me how we can provide more evidence supporting our relationship when the time wasn't taken to review the material that we brought in the first place. How can we have any chance to win on this?  They asked her if I was present (which clearly I was not) and it's not possible to go to Vietnam currently because they're still closed from covid. That seems like a really stupid question to even ask her since they've been closed since March 2020. 

16 minutes ago, Bill Hamze said:

Any word on the consulate reopening now that Ho Chi Minh City has ended the lockdown?

https://vn.usembassy.gov/gradual-opening-of-ho-chi-minh-city/

"The U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City will gradually resume normal appointment scheduling for American Citizen Services...Other consular services including Nonimmigrant and Immigrant visa interviews will also gradually resume as staffing, safety guidelines, and local regulations permit"

On 9/30/2021 at 11:41 PM, DeleteAccount said:

So just a quick update and thank you so much for some tough love and kindness. Some times you need that after something like this. The scary thing is that I did marry her, she insisted when she got to the US. I loved her so I agreed to it. Besides I was told the daughter had no father and I wanted to do the right thing and adopt her so she could feel secure and have a good dad. I have since communicated with her biological father and he is wonderful. I found a true friend with him. So the truth is she has a wonderful Ukrainian father who does care for her! We are in good communication, I want to make sure that the daughter is safe. I have broke all ties with the wife and she signed for the documents (she has been served) for voided annulment. This means that we were never married because she was already married. I did some digging and found everything needed to prove she is still married. So every thing is now looking up for me. I would be curious on how to report something like this so this doesn't happen to someone else. She did commit fraud for lying on the application by saying she was free to marry. Any feed back on how to get this to the right authorities would be helpful, maybe even to others. One last thing, please say a prayer for the wife and the daughter. People don't just act this way, something bad must have happened to make her this way and even the worst of people have some glimmer of light in them. That is maybe what I saw in her, a little glimmer of light.

What were the warning signs you mentioned?

On 6/18/2021 at 11:13 PM, Daymellow said:

What happens when he decides to break up with you right before the whole interview? 😰 Oh lord

What you do is you cancel the appointment and leave it open incase you patch things up. 

yeah, looks dead. I heard they were open for a few days in april, and haven't opened since for new appointments. Someone has an appointment June 18, and I heard someone who git for June25th, but this is from booking back in April.

On 4/27/2021 at 10:23 AM, Jim and Lan said:

We just got an interview. You have to check the appointment calendar several times a day. The appointments go quickly, and as soon as you see one open, you have to book it right away or it will be gone. It took me a month before I was finally able to get an appointment. 

what calendar were you checking?  The ustraveldocs.com only lets us check 3 times per day before we get frozen and can't check for days.

19 hours ago, sarac4479 said:

Hey, okay I guess we just have to wait until appointments open up on the website? We have been checking everyday for a month and there hasn't been any (including this past week which was the last week of the month). We've also emailed them multiple times and said our medical is scheduled, but no response.  I guess we are just unlucky not sure. 

I believe they did say to schedule medical after the interview has been confirmed. That's what we are doing anyway 

5 minutes ago, Sorasykes said:

My wifes interview was in November. We got a 221g and have been waiting  since just to turn in documents. I hope that appointments start before August. I don't know where you read that at. But I would like to know more. Another 3 months of waiting is horrible. Good luck! My wife and I started immigration in jan 2019. Due to a bunch of delays shes still not here. 

Someone on the facebook groups for vn had said they had seen an appointment slot show up in their navigation window that indicated that there was a slot available for August. She didn't manage to get the booking before the slot was gone however. I don't know how reliable that is, but ... still sucks. Someone from here I've kept in contact with said it took his fiance's three weeks of constant checking to get one, but that was before the new covid mess happened.

That sucks that it's taken so long for you

some people are saying there are not appointments until August or after now. Is this for real? We've waited 411 days since we started the process, and interviews are months out. And we can't even meet. This is torture. 

3 hours ago, boris64 said:

People have a difficult time thinking logically when so much emotion is involved.  No judgement. I really never thought of getting a prenup. People should do what they are comfortable with.

yes, I believe you are right. It sounded like some people just couldn't understand how someone could do a prenup. This was my attempt at explaining it. 

16 minutes ago, JoBri said:

Agreed

 

You mean like why buy insurance when you don't plan to drive recklessly? 

1 hour ago, ThomasNC1988 said:

I think you are missing the point a little here. If you want to have a prenup with someone on a K-1 visa you should want it to be as legally strong as possible. One party signing a contract under duress is a quick way to get that contract invalidated by the court. Now what constitutes duress? Let's take a look at this blog that is a top Google result just to get an idea https://www.rocketlawyer.com/blog/signing-under-duress-can-you-be-forced-to-sign-a-contract-928036#:~:text=Being pressured to sign a,may also be considered duress Now we see one of the things the mention as being a cause of duress is "Extraordinary economic pressure." Now is having left your home country and your entire life behind to be with someone in America who has already signed an I-134 saying they will support you but now says you have to sign this contract for them to follow through "Extraordinary economic pressure"? Well that's for a court to decide but I think every strip mall lawyer in America might think they could try to latch on to that an have the prenup thrown out. Of course this doesn't mean it will or it won't work out, you should talk to a lawyer, but you should talk to that lawyer before you make any moves including even the I-129f so you have the strongest defense possible in case of divorce. 

 

 

Edit to add: This obviously hinges on how significant your assets are as well and state law governing marital property. I.E. if you are trying to protect 50k dollars it may not be worth it for your spouse to fight a prenup after a divorce but if you are trying to protect a million dollars that gives your future ex-spouse and their attorney a lot more reason to fight.

and this is exactly what makes you a "learned non lawyer" my friend. 

Like I said before, you can define  "duress" to be any situation where you feel any pressure at all. IOW, I can say that signing the affidavit of support was under duress because if I don't do it, I can't see my love. Is there bigger pressure than love? You could say it about ANY legal document, since if you don't sign it, you won't have what you want. But DESIRE is different from DURESS. 

Duress is legally defined as 

Quote

wrongful and usually unlawful compulsion

-- https://dictionary.findlaw.com/definition/duress.html

and

Quote

When a person makes unlawful threats or otherwise engages in coercive behavior that cause another person to commit acts that the other person would otherwise not commit.

-- https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/duress


It's not emotion  from fearing failure of attainment