AmericanGentleman

I have been emailing the embassy trying to talk to the Visa Chief and found out he will be on vacation from the 7th til the 11th of July. Some good news for those who are worried about M.E. not gettign back to VN until the 10th. This means the denied cases he has not reviewed will have some extra time in HCMC.

You would think the embassy would be thrilled that a beneficiary has relatives in the States. What a lot of people do not realize is the beneficiary goes thru some SERIOUS culture shock when they come here. In some cases, it is so overwelming it can be hard to adapt. Having friends and family can only serve to ease the tension of relocating to a new and foreign place.

Congratz. It is nice to see some sucesses this month =)

Doctor said I can not have children. Seems it is a function reserved for women only.

Yeah, we are both hiring M.E. with the slim hope our cases might get reconsidered. But we are both realist and are preparing for our cases to be sent back. Should we get sent back to square one, we want M.E. in our corner for round two. I am trying to stay positive. Telling myself if we have to wait another year, Ha's English will be even better. Telling myself, I will get to go back to VN and see friends I made when I was there last year. I am not a real religious man, but sometimes things do happen for a reason. In other words, I am grasping at straws to maintain my sanity.

J,

Hang in there brother. The first 48 hours after hearing this news is the worst. Me and Ha, Pasaitoh and Ngoc, are right there with you.

So what are we to do from here? I already left a message with my Congressman who contacted the CO last week. It sounded like per his email that all we had to do was submit the documents as requested by the blue slip and we would have our pink slip. It did not however turn out that way though. I don't know what the next step will be. ME is in the US and won't be back in HCM until 7/10. She is going to try and meet with one of his co-workers tomorrow morning to see what they can do.

I am not putting much stock in our senators and congressmen. First off, they do not weild the power to supercede the CO's decision. At best, they might convince a CO to hold the case for further review as some sort of political favor. Secondly, I have never heard of a senator getting involved. So far, all mine have done is sent me political spam on my voicemail about unrelated political endeavors. And third, this chief CO seems like the kind of guy who does not like to be second guessed. I am worried that IF my senator DID call him, it might hurt more than help.

Also, we all (those of us being currently denied) got that first blue slip where we thought we would just need to give some more proof. To me, that 1st one seems to just buy them some time to write up the refusal.

What to do now? Its pretty nebulous. I want to hire ME but my fiance is not so sure that he can help at this point. The bottom line is we have provided the embassy with all the proof we have. What more a lawyer can do is unknown. Hard to swallow the idea of spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer, when we may simply have no ther option than to re-apply in the end.

J,

There are a couple of us currently in the same boat as you. To answer you question, it usually takes a month or two before they send the case back. However, I spoke with ME last week and he told me this is the time the embassy workers take vacation. So either one or two things might happen. Either the chief CO, who has to review the case before its sent back, will either try to clear off his desk and rubber stamp everything, giving us less time, or he will let our cases sit until he gets back from vacation, in which we would gain some time. This is just speculation, but sound logical.

Yes Jack, I have thought about moving to Vietnam. At least temporarily. I just cleared it with my employer that should I need to, I could work remotely, so at least I can keep my job. But the logisitics of such a move would take almost as long as a new petition unless I just drop everything.

I'm so low I'm not expecting any help at this point, but the fact that I am trying to do something about it is keeping my head above water.

The worst part of this is having to explain to everyone you know why you didn't get the visa. And then them agreeing with you that someone must be on drugs not to approve it.

Sigh...

I am right there with you buddy. This is truely a miserable feeling. On the outside I am putting on a strong front. I am joking with people and trying to be a pillar of strength for my fiance. But on the inside I am falling apart. The shock and surprise that this is happening is turning into a cold reality and I am searching for a place in my soul to shelf it so I am not constantly tripping over it.

Although I am doing everything I can to keep the current petition alive, I am beginning to plan for round 2. Rather than filing another K1 petition and having my dream wedding/honeymoon at Niagra Falls in the US, I am thinking our best course would be to marry in Vietnam and got for the K3/CR1 visa. Maybe an effin marriage certificate will convince the CO next time that our relationship is real. I figure we should have some resolution either way on the K-1 by the end of the summer so I am looking to plan a trip to Vietnam in late October. I just have to find out what the process is for marriage over there. So if any of you guys will be in Vietnam at that time, I will buy you a bowl of Pho.

That said, I am also going to research immigration requirements to other countries. I will not stand for round 2 being denied. I love America but I refuse to let America run my life. If it take leaving the states, then that is what we will do.

Well, then I would like to organize a group trip to go pee on the building

Yeah, my anger is derived from the fact that they are not even giving us a course of action to follow. It is as if they made up their mind weeks ago and are not willign to let us prove our case.

Oh and after hearing how they treated Pasa, I am afraid to even rock the boat. I think if my senator DID call them, they would take offense and see to it my peition got sent back.

Well, if it is bribe money they want, tell me where to send the damn check.

The one common denominator I am seeing is this female translator person. I wonder if it is the same person. On a positive note, my employer told me he would allow me to work remotely should it come to me having to immigrate to another country that will accept me and my fiance. Would I renounce my US Citizenship if it was the only way to be with my love? Yes. In a heartbeat.

Pasaitoh,

This may be of little consolation, but you just saved me 2000 dollars and possibly a long prison sentence in a vietnamese jail and/or a bullet from a marine.

As you may have read I have been torn between trying to go to Vietnam right now and go to the embassy in person and demand to speak to the Chief CO. Had I gone and went thru what you just did, I would have throttled the man! I am not a violent person and have not stuck a person out of anger since the 5th grade, but everyone has a breaking point and THAT would have been it for me, for sure.

I am getting no response from my congresswoman or my senators. In addition to hiring ME I am going to try to contact someone in the State Department and tell them that something is SERIOUSLY wrong at this embassy. This is so effed up.

I would print every single page from every conversation and hire a team of porters and donkeys to help you carry it to the embassy. Of course, they are probably going to ask you for proof that you used your own money to rent the donkeys, so keep your receipt. =)

AHAHAHAHAHAHA .... Hey American Gent - know any good donkey rental places locally? This about sums it up in a nutshell, don't it?

Not in Vietnam. However, should my patience wear much thinner, I shall do what my great great grandfather did when he was mad at his wife. He rode a mule thru the house.

Now I know US Marines protect the Embassy, but I think the shock and awe of me bearing down on them on the back of a mule will garner enough surprise that I can slip past their defenses and into the chief consulars office!!! Raaaaaa

~disclaimer: The above post is an attempt at humor and in no way indicates an actual plan of action from the poster~

Thanks all. I just got off the phone with ME and he think we still have a chance to save it despite what they told Ha at the embassy yesterday. I know...up and down...up and down.....

Well, just got an update that Ha turned in the paper. They told her the petition was going to be sent back to the states regardless. So on to round 2. I am going to plan on another trip in October and continue to build our relationship. My only question now is how soon can I file another petition?

I would print every single page from every conversation and hire a team of porters and donkeys to help you carry it to the embassy. Of course, they are probably going to ask you for proof that you used your own money to rent the donkeys, so keep your receipt. =)

I see. Well, when I called the embassy, they said DONT come, just submit a letter, which I have. I simply dont know what to do now. I can only make one trip a year to VN. Do I go now and rail at the embassy? Or do I save the trip for something that will further the proof of our relationship, such as going to VN for her birthday or Christmas? Sure, ANY trip to VN will be a positive thing. But if I was a CO, I would put more stock in a trip with a purpose of celebrating Xmas over a trip with the purpose of coming to the embassy.

My case is almost a carbon copy of Dave's, one trip with the engaement ceremony on that trip, proof of a relationship but no proof to support that proof.

For example, I used a friends frequent flyer miles for my ticket. They were gonna expire if someone didnt use them and I did not even stop to think I would need to show proof that I paid for the ticket out of my own bank account.

As Mel said, some pass with minimal evidence, while others are required to show proof of their proof.

I think in my case, I am going to have to accept that this petition has failed and begin planning a second petition. The idea of going back to square one nauseates me profoundly, but I am getting the feeling that we simply need a stronger case.

Greg,

I was under the impression that I would not have time to get to VN before they sent back the petition.

The slip is blue but it does not say how much time we have and does not instruct us to do or provide anything else. I already sent the letter in 24 hours after getting the news. MC has not returned my email or phone calls. However, my fiance called his office in HCMC and spoke with an assistant. My fiance said she is going to go to his office today. Not sure if ME is there but at least it is goign somewhere.

The primary question I posed to ME in the email was if it is too late for him to get involved. I am thinking there is not a known answer for that though.

Thanks all for your input. As upset as I am, I am going to remain positive. If it does go back, as it is likely to, I guess I have about 2 years from today before she will be sitting down for round 2's interview right?