SteveLA

I'm travelling back to Saigon in spring/summer of this year. Anybody have a reccomendation on a website where I can book the hotel. hotels.com, orbitz and most american websites don't have much in the way of room selection. Asiarooms.com seems a bit overpriced. Are there any other good ones out there?

Thanks in advance

She arrive on Sunday (happy day!) on her K3 Visa. But I wasn't aware that you can't get a DMV State issued ID without a green card or Social Security. I thought all you needed was the passport and VIsa?

Also, her 129F (K3 Visa) got approved, but the I130 was never approved (still being processed since November of 2006), would this be a problem in Xuan getting a green card? I'm kind of confused what my next step should be. Should I do the I485 adjustment of status without the I130 being approved yet?

yep FTA is the way to go. Lots of middle eastern, Indian, Thai and even has one Vietnamese channel on the system I use. I got my stuff from www.fusionsat.com They were local to me (Los Angeles) and they do installs so it was convenient for a satellite newbie like me. I highly reccomend the Sonicview brand receiver. Both their HD and Standard definition boxes are reliable and easy to use.

well I miss our movies and songs so I was wondering how can I get Tv with our satalitte channels ..

Like ART and MBC and so on?

Salwa: Best bet is to go to Dearborn...there are many dish and TV shoppes there on Warren...best one I know is Hadi Sat...when I get back I will give you the number... they go throught DIsh Network...so you have to have DIsh Network to get any Nilestat channels....in Michigan...but like I said when I get back I will give you a call..inchallah!

Check your phone book under television or satellite television. Many areas will have a limited choice for different companies. Once you figure out which satellite providers are in your area, you can go to their website and see what they have to offer. Dish Network and DirectTV are the two big ones. Unfortunately, it can get a bit pricey.

Dish Network's arabic package

Direct TV's arabic package

I think you have to get a basic package and add on one of these.

My husband gets some channels (al jazeera, and an egyptian channel) streamed free online, but I don't have the addresses on hand. inshaAllah I'll check with him.

Comcast does not offer arab channels in Nilestat and other arab networks...they only show local arabe channels like ArabeNet...but these really suck!

Rahma I have comcast cable do you think if i call them and ask if they have arabic channels or not?

I think the same too the satelite ..But have thier intervet service too so I think I can't do that now!!

Better option to go through Dish network to get your TV channels and get a IOP telephone like Vonage for your home phone and Internet service. Vonage actually can be used to call Europe for free...and if you get a Vonage phone for your family in Egypte call them for free too.... which is nice if you want to call mobile phones not just always use the Net messengers to call....

yep Free to air (FTA) has good stuff, especially if you're interested in watching TV from Arab nations and even have a vietnamese channel on 97 degrees West satellite. I bought my stuff from www.fusionsat.com. Quick delivery. Setup is a cinch just look up FTA on google and you'll see plenty of stuff on the topic.

Congratulations! I would like to know what Lawyer you used also??

It was a reccomendation from one of my wife's friends. She has an office next to a Petro station near Phu Nhuan district I believe. I'll pass on the info next time I chat with her. Xuan's english isn't the greatest so I felt more comfortable having a lawyer help prepare her for everything while I am in the US..

Great News for you I understand are they still saying two weeks for visas whats the reason Congrates best of luck too you two

I'm not sure. Perhaps something to do with the holidays? If I hear something, I'll let you know..

yeah, my wife passed yesterday. and they told her January 9th. Probably the holidays push it back even more..

yeah my wife hates it. She says it's too hot under there. But there is a danger too. She says sometimes the sweat from her face due to the helmet gets into her eyes.

Xuan got her pink slip yesterday! We're both so happy. Thanks to everybody for all their kind words and advice after she didn't pass her first interview. What the lawyer did was take a statement from a few of my ex-classmates in Vietnam when I went there to study abroad, about the circumstances of how we met and everything and it worked out. I also did have to write the letter explaining why i didn't have all the receipts. Now everything is good and she's picking up her Visa on January 9th. But in all honesty, i probably won't be totally relieved until she actually leaves there.

Thanks guys for all the support!

Interview failed, got the blue

Apparently, after looking through wedding pictures, family photos, and about 70 pages of records like emails, IMs, phone records showing we called eachother at least 6 times a week, every week for 2 and a half years, they determined that they "do not believe we have a bonefide spousal relationship." What the hell do these guys want, sex videos?

The one snag is I do not have the credit card statement for the purchase of the first 2 of my 4 tickets to Vietnam. I never figured I would get married to her 2 years ago, so I guess I carelessly just threw it out. I mean, that's normal IMO, you don't leave used receipts and stuff around to collect dust. And unfortunately, I am no longer a customer of the credit card that I used. So what can I do, on the paper it says that a reciept from the travel agency is no good, they want banking statements/credit card statements for the purchases which i do not have.

I did keep the statements for the last 2 trips to Vietnam that I made last year, but is there any way I can easily explain my situation with the proof of the first 2 trips? I mean I got the ticket stub, I got the hotel bill over there even. just don't have the "right proof" when it comes to purchasing the ticket.

sorry haven't been keeping in tough with you guys, but have been busy with a new job and just leased a new apartment after my old landlord decided to build a shopping center out of my old one..

but anyway, my wife's interview is Today 5PM PST (8:00AM Saigon time). I'm praying everything goes well. I did all I could, we must have saved 500 pages of evidence (certificates, paperwork, phone bills, plane tickets, hotel bills, call logs, yahoo IMs).

oh please please, let the interview go smoothly. Pray for me guys..

it's been 4 months and my wife still hasn't received her packet #4 yet. What should I do? She has a lawyer and the lawyer said I'm supposed to get a letter first asking for a Visa payment to process the application before she gets her packet #4 mailed to her. I've gotten nothing from immigration. Am I really supposed to get a letter for a payment first? I never heard about that.

What do you guys think I should do? I'm really worried now. She turned in her packet #3 in June and now it's almost November.

oh yeah, and she mailed it there instead of taking it in. That's probably another thing I have to worry about..

You need to ask them about the petition expiring. If they feel it is your problem the petition can expire in the four month timeframe. How did you get the packet back to the embassy? You might want to see if you can do another one and think about a courier service to get it there. Good luck

yeah, that's another problem, my petition did expire. I think I better call USCIS about that..

As you can see on my timeline, my packet #3 was sent out more than 4 months ago. I just called the consulate in Le Duan a couple of days ago and they said it still doesn't show in their computer that they received it. Is this an excessively long time? I heard that papers were backed up there, but is it really this slow? Need some advice on what to do next. Thanks guys and/or gals...

Thank you for sharing your lovely story and a good time in Saigon Peter! It brings back memories!

I like your idea of going back when she has her Visa, you would do yourself and her entire family a HUGE favor and respect for coming back picking her up. That's the proper way to handle it!

Not sure why you didn't carry cash with you? Credit Cards are being promoted by the local banks and national ones, but it's NOT favored by the merchants for the 3% fee by Visa/MC/AMEX plus the issued banks, plus your bank in the US. Crazy! I used to bring a few grands in cash while travelling oversea, it's a habit after going oversea for business for awhile. Credit Cards work in big cities, cash works EVERYWHERE!

Flight Ticket: Contact your local and friendly Asian Travel Agent They can beat any online deals at least $200-$600USD per ticket. Especially if you're in California, the price could be even cheaper!

Restaurant: is this your first trip? Recommend to let her family to call the shot in dinner and all other food related matters They live in Saigon, should know good cheap place to eat, plus, was someone in her family there to foot the bill in CASH and You would reimburst them later in USD? That should be normal and better way to handle it, instead of running around try to find a place that takes CD. NGON is a good tourist restaurant but they "CHEM" hard (chop your head off) for the foods and services, IMO!

Mooncakes: I LOVE THEM. Too bad they tossed all your chicken mooncake....

Anyway, Welcome back

Sometimes you have to be careful with credit as well. Some companies also charge you 2 or 3% foreign currency fee. I always either use currency or my HSBC credit card.. If you guys ever go to Hong Kong or Macau, many places actually give you a discount for using an HSBC card.

I'll be going to see Tram later this month for a couple of weeks. I found last time our days went a little something like this:

8-9am wake up

9-10am breakfast

10-11am ca phe

12-1 lunch

2-5 sleep

5-6 ca phe

8-9 dinner

10-? ca phe

?-1am bed.

Sometimes we ate at home, sometimes we stopped off at a market, sometimes we ate at a resturant... There were a couple things we did like going to an arcade, shopping, just hanging out downtown, nothing too terribly exciting.

What can we do for fun there? She never really got out before as she was always working or going to school and she wasn't ever as financially well off as she is now. We did a few fun things from time to time but not too much. Most of our time was taken up by the party planning and other stressful events. This time we have the whole time to our selves with no worries or cares. I'm not a HUGE fan of tourst events and traps and i perfer to hang out in the local scenes.

I'm not too concerned about spending money so don't let that be a limiting force in any recommendations. Let me know of any places or spots to hang out at and have a good time at any time during the day.

She lives about 5 minutes from the river that you need to take the boat to cross on your moto in Q2. I don't mind traveling anywhere in the city and i went all over it multiple times during my last visit.

LOL, that schedule is like a mirror image of me and my wife's days when we're together in Saigon. Hehe. I like MTV and Windows coffee houses, 2 very nice places to relax after that afternoon nap. I like going to the Discotheques once a week or so, just to see the nightlife and all the people getting together and mingling with eachother. Phuong Dong and Rain Forest were a couple of my favorites. Safe and enjoyable places. Walking the street markets and small shops is also fun to do at night when the weather cooperates. you can go to the nice sauna and salon to get a foot or neck massage together. Alot of the times for us, it's just nice to walk around Dong Khoi Street and Le Thanh Ton st and pick out a restaurant around those areas and just eat while viewing all of the nightlife going on outside in the big streets.

Hope you have a wonderful time with your loved one. Best wishes!

I had a question relating to packet3 as well. My wife (stupidly) mailed the packet instead of actually turning it into the consulate. She did this on June 10 and yesterday I called to inquire about why packet 4 hasn't been sent yet, and they told me that they didn't receive the packet3 yet.

I know there's a backlog problem with tons of paperwork, but June 10 was quite a while ago and they have not gotten around to it yet. Should I be concerned about the mail? I'm not sure whether I should tell her to do the paper again or just wait longer.

Any advice I can get would be great. Thanks in advance..

I liked the Thien Xuan. Right accross the street from Ben Thanh market on Le Thanh Ton St. around a 5 minute motobike taxi ride away. about 25-30 a night. Very quiet, street noise is at a minimal compared to other places.

Here is my dilemma. Last year I quit my job and went to Vietnam at the beginning of the year (left January 10, 2006) to get married. I came back in February, but then I went with my mother to China to take a look at some property that we owned that was red tagged to be taken over by the governent to be rebuilt. Then I came back in April and in June I had to go back to Vietnam because there was a mixup in paperwork and I had to go back and sign our marriage license at the Justice Department. When I came back in late June, I struggled to find a decent job and in September, I finally found a good full time job, but needless to say I didn't meet the poverty income requirement for last year.

This year however, I will be easily over the income requirement with no problem. I even got a signed letter from my boss stating my title and full time/permanent status along with my paycheck stubs for this entire year. My question is, would it be possible that she will a problem because of last year's below required income? Is there anything else I can do to show them that I am qualified to support her based on my income for this year?

Thanks in advance for any assistance

how do you find out NVC information? Like when they recieved the package and when it left the NVC?

thanks alot guys.

now I realize what touched means. hehe, didn't know before so the timelines were hard for me to understand. I really appreciate the assistance. Good luck to everybody!

Oh, one more thing. How do you check on when the case reaches and consulate and stuff like that? USCIS only gives me info on when the application for I129F was approved and doesn't go beyond that. Is there another site to go to?

My wife is applying for a K-3 Visa. My I-129 application was approved on April 15th. a few days later I recieved a letter saying my case had been forwarded and they were gonna mail her a Visa package. Now it is almost June and she hasn't recieved it yet. How long is it supposed to take to mail her the Visa package so she can prepare for an interview and get an interview date?

Thanks for any help I can get. I'm starting to get worried.

thanks, just one more question, for some reason, i could not find this answer anywhere. But, I do not have to be present for the interview do I? I work for a private company and I don't know how much time I can get to go overseas for a trip if the interview/VIsa process drags on over there.

Is it easy to get approved for a K-3 Visa for a Vietnamese Spouse? or is it more likely I will have to wait for the I-130 approval?