J & Q

Hi guys, I will be going to Vietnam on Tuesday, August 11th. I will be going for a month. I think I need the month away because I know when we come back, we will be very busy. We will have to get married, which in itself is a headache with all the stuff that is needed to be done, then of course we will have to start on the AOS and all that good stuff. I'm sure there are other things we have to do as well. I just hope and pray that we will both be safe and healthy(H1N1 safe)the whole time there and on the way back.

How soon should I start on the AOS after we get back? We should be married first right? So get a marriage certificate first and/or wedding ceremony, etc first? Then do AOS? Sorry I know this be asked before, but just want you guys input.

Lastly, I would like to say for those who got blue. Keep your heads up, you will get pink sooner rather than later. You all will have my prays and well wishes.

File for your marrige license when you return. The last thing that you want to do is to wait until the last minute. Safe travels and enjoy your time together.

What is the best way to send money to relatives in Vietnam? I usually use Western Union and I am generally satisfied with their service up until recently. My wife and I sent $100 US to her mother who needed money due to being ill. We have sent her mother money numerous times in the past this way. Today when her mother went to pick up the money, she was told that the money was not available. I immediately logged into my account and noticed the message "transfer canceled." I contacted Western Union to inquire about this and was asked if I knew the person I was sending money to. I responded that I did and was asked my reason for sending the money. I told the Western Union representative that it was none of their business and that I do not need a reason to send my money to my extended family. I was later told that I could try and sent the money again in 48 hours and that that the funds from the previous transaction would be transferred back into my account within 5 days!

Ok gang..

This is for those that have gone through this already... I saw a discussion regarding food and folks from the philipines.. I would like to ask the same thing but in regards to VN spouses... When we were in Singapore I noticed that she did not want to eat anything other than VN food... Yes I found the 1 VN place downtown in Singapore so that provided her food there it took 2 days to find it.. I also have a friend with a VN restaurant here and the menu is very limited.. mostly just pho. so thats a good thing.. I know she loves to eat rice every day.. I can do that... but I want to know if there are foods here that someone from VN is more likely to eat over other foods.... I dont want to take her somewhere to eat that will be a thumbs down menu on her first night out in US...

My wife didn't have too much of a problem adjusting to American foods. This may be because we spent a lot of time in Ho Chi Minh City and ate at KFC, Pizza Hut, etc. She loves McDonald's and Wendy's go figure. She also like TGIFridays, Applbee's and Chinese food. My suggestion is to let her try different things and let her decide what she likes and doesn't like. She will have to be open to trying new foods though. My wife's aunt on the other hand has lived in the US for about 30 years and refuses to eat anything other than Vietnamese food so it depends on the person.

This isn't the typical question about whether I should get my fiancee an one way or round trip ticket. I will definitely get my fiancee an one way ticket. How about me? I know I should get a round trip ticket, but do you think I can get a ticket for my fiancee to leave on the same day, same flight, and seated next to me? Usually in the past, I just buy a round trip ticket and didn't have to change anything. So I'm not sure about the process. If they can't find my fiancee to fly with me on the same day, same flight, and seat, what do I do, change the date of departure? Can that be done? Anyone that have done this please let me know. I searched and all I could find were people asking if they should get an one way or round trip ticket for the K1 visa receiver. I didn't find anything on the petitioner and their flight plans.

This can certainly be done. I purchased a ticket for my wife in Ho Chi Minh with as little as 1 week notice and got her a ticket for the same flight and seat. Just remember that most airline tickets are non-refundable.

Best of luck

My wifes friend in Veitnam wants to send her money for her to purchase a cell phone here and send it to Vietnam because apparenlty it is much cheaper. I am not sure however if the cell phones here in the U.S. will work in Vietnam since they are specific to the providers network (CDMA and GSM).

I just sent one last week with a friend and it will reach the destination tomorrow. The best bet is to send a phone that uses a SIM... I sent 3G Iphones that I Unlocked so it could be used on another network other than ATT. An IPhone in VN can run 900 usd + because of the duty they charge when technology enters the country. All electronics and technology as a whole is more expensive there. If you want to send the phone, the best way is with someone traveling because VN customs dept is really strict on the importation of technology and it may just disappear along the way... I first tried to send via fedex.. it would cost approx 100 usd to ship and required customs docs and original recpt. an expensive pain in the azzz...

Your wife must know folks traveling to VN as many are traveling for the summer...

Sending anything to Vietnam seems to be a hassle. Thanks for the information.

My wifes friend in Veitnam wants to send her money for her to purchase a cell phone here and send it to Vietnam because apparenlty it is much cheaper. I am not sure however if the cell phones here in the U.S. will work in Vietnam since they are specific to the providers network (CDMA and GSM).

Hieu and I got married yesterday. Who do we contact to to notify that we have fulfilled the requirements of the K1 visa? Also, we were told that the certified copy of the marriage certificate would take 2 months to arrive by mail. Is our copy of the license and marriage certificate that we received yesterday after the ceremony sufficient proof?

Congratulations

Now that we have arrangements made to get to the US and all is in order, I am again needing some quick advice. What is the next thing to do? She will need a SSN to get the Marriage Licence. So I can find that info in the guides, not too tough I'm sure, but some state doc's require a Birth Certificate

Naturally hers is in Viet, so Do I need to do something about that? Can I apply for her SSN now or do I have to wait until we get back there? Can we get married without the SSN? I feel lost again. I spent all of my time and energy focused on the interview. Now we new mountains to climb. Someone direct me please.

thanks,

Erik and Chinh

A SS# is not required to get your marriage license. We both needed our Birth Certificates, hers needed to be translated by an official registered translator, she also needed her passport and I-90.

Best of luck

I will follow this post with more info later. Right now is celebration time! I will have some good tips, tips I wish i had. WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!

God is GREAT!!!!!!!

PINK, PINK, PINK

Erik and Chinh

Congratulations

On a side note, any Vietnam VJ members have experience with obtaining US visitor visas for the family of their spouse (i.e. mother and father)?

Just wondering if anyone can offer some advice, suggestions, etc., in regards to the evidence and application.

Thanks in advance!

STL_HCMC

In many cases you can, as long as they have collateral in Vietnam such as a house or bank account with substantial funds. They may also have to obtain insurance for there stay in the U.S. in the event they become ill or what not.

Hope this helps.

In 1992, I was charge with misdemeanor assault on my ex-gf. I slapped her because she was cheated on me. The court gave me defer adjudication and I completed and the case was dismissed. I intend to disclose this information to USCIS. I will submit the official court defer adjudication document and complaint report. Since then I have been living a model citizen. Do you guy think I'll have problem with getting my petition approve. Or it take longer than no criminal history petition.

Your best bet would be to consult with an immigration attorney regarding this matter. Even though you were not convicted of a violent crime, you were still charged with one.

Hi All,

First, I would like to thank you this wonderful website VJVisa, and thank you all for your help. My wife had her interview today at HCM city, VN. She past and got her pink slip today.

Once again, thank you all for your help and support.

Loi and suong

Congratulations! Best of luck to the both of you on your future endeavors together.

Well, it has been almost 3 months now since we have been in the U.S. together and everything has been great. I am happy that next month we will be able to spend out 2 year anniversary together. We also received great news that she is almost 9 weeks pregnant. Anyone currently going through the process, never give up hope and you shall prevail.

Best of luck to everyone

Xuan and I have had an ongoing discussion about her not having a "birth certificate" She was born in 1979 and for some reason she does not have a birth certificate. She was assigned a birthday which is something I just do not understand. Of course we have hired Mr. Nam and Ellis and we have gotten past this issue for the interview I guess. My question is, have any of you had anything like this with the birth certificate? I am concerned that if she does not have a real birth certificate when she gets here and we move on to the next steps we will have a great deal of trouble. I have talked about this before and I am still unsure. Xuan says it is not a problem and it may not be while she is there. Once she is here and we have to move forward I am concerned.

Any thoughts?

Jack,

Depending on where you live, she may need her origianl birth certificate translated into English in order to get you marriage certificate.

Congrats on your Visa and your trip home.

It is couples like you that have stuck this out and succeeded that make me think one day our visa will arrive..... and we will get our own happily ever after.

Thank you

Chris & Mara and everyone else,

I wish all of you the best of luck in being reacquainted with your loved ones. Never lose hope or give up trying and never take no for an answer.

We finally got our visa in hand today . This has been a long and stressful ordeal but we managed to get through with a lot of determination. It took me 4 visits to Vietnam with 2 attempts to meet with a Consular Officer on 2 separate occasions to finally get a pink slip. I feel that we would have never achieved this if we hadn't been so persistent. I took an additional 2 weeks off from work so that we can come back to the US together. Unfortunately, I will not be paid for those 2 weeks but it is for the greater good. Our next step in the process is to obtain our marriage license and begin the paperwork for her residency. That should be a piece of cake compared to what we have been through in obtaining our visa though.

Thanks to Marc and Nam for all of their assistance throughout this process.

To anyone who has a true bona-fide relationship, never loose focus of what is important and you shall prevail. To anyone who is doing this for any other reason than for love shame on you, you are the reason why it is so difficult for those of us who have a true meaningful relationship.

J&Q

Congrats, have a safe trip back!

We are back, we came back on February 20. We are now currently working on the I-485. She likes the U.S., except for it being cold. It is like a dream come true being together every day without worrying about leaving her behind to come back home.

Congratulations on your reward for persistance and hard work!! It must be an awesome feeling-best wishes !!

Thank you for all of your kind words. We are finally together in the U.S. working on completing the I-485 but at least we can work on it together.

Best of luck to everyone in being reacquainted with their loved ones.

We finally got our visa in hand today . This has been a long and stressful ordeal but we managed to get through with a lot of determination. It took me 4 visits to Vietnam with 2 attempts to meet with a Consular Officer on 2 separate occasions to finally get a pink slip. I feel that we would have never achieved this if we hadn't been so persistent. I took an additional 2 weeks off from work so that we can come back to the US together. Unfortunately, I will not be paid for those 2 weeks but it is for the greater good. Our next step in the process is to obtain our marriage license and begin the paperwork for her residency. That should be a piece of cake compared to what we have been through in obtaining our visa though.

Thanks to Marc and Nam for all of their assistance throughout this process.

To anyone who has a true bona-fide relationship, never loose focus of what is important and you shall prevail. To anyone who is doing this for any other reason than for love shame on you, you are the reason why it is so difficult for those of us who have a true meaningful relationship.

J&Q

I need to send some documents to vietnam in a hurry. I need them there in 2 days MAX. What is the best company to use? UPS, FedEx, US Post office??? Please any advise is greatly appreciated.

Brian

Well, it depends where. You will be paying dearly. It isn't so much getting it to Vietnam, it is getting it from Ho chi Minh City to your destination. Most companies use a Vietnamese carrier service, which is not very reliable. It may also get caught up in customs so be aware of that issue as well.

Good luck

I have been reading posts lately from people getting denied after multiple trips to see their fiancee, traveling all over with them, with plane tickets, thousands of emails, phone bills...if that isn't enough - WHAT IS GOOD ENOUGH PROOF OF ONGOING RELATIONSHIP?? Is there some "secret" proof we are all missing that carries more weight with the uscis/consulate??????? I, for one, am extremely confused!

Further, if you are living in the country of your fiancee, how do you have proof of ongoing relationship? You won't have emails and phone bills - other than photos, which obviously, the consulate doesn't give much weight to, what other forms of proof are there? What am I missing?

Confused

Bug

Honesty is your best chance. Be honest and yourself and with a lot of patience you both will prevail.

Xuan and I have been waiting for 2 months now since she turned all of the extra documents they requested at her interveiw. I have e-mailed the embassy 2 time, once when she turned the documents in and once about 1 month ago. Each time I got polite responces, each different but both pretty much just say, we will let her know when we decide to make a decision. My questions is does anyone think it would help, hurt or make no difference if I continue to email the embassy expressing our plans for marriage and how we have continued to change them as a result of the delay? And our commitment to see the process through to the end. Any thoughts?

Jack,

I am in the same boat. I was told about 2 months and it has now been 5 months. I would say that you should be persistent but not overly persistent. I usually check in about 2 times a month but usually get the same response. The last response I received was not very encouraging. I think that the hardest thing is just waiting and not knowing what or when a decision will be reached.

Happy Holidays!!

If you do go back to vietnam I think alot of the American CO's eat lunch at that Texas BBQ joint in Saigon. You may be able to have a chat with one if you can point them out.

Good luck.

Bruce,

The Consular Officers do eat at the Texas BarBQ and Steaks but do not like to be bothered. I can't say that I blame them as I would not want to be bothered on my off time either.

Once the VO at the consulate denies a visa and issues NOID, you need to wait for it to return to USCIS to address the case.

From what it says on the white paper, the immigration visa chief reviews the case and then sends it back with the recommendation of it being refused.

It will not help. Even your Congressman and Senator will be little to no help. In fact it is said that interference from your Congressman and Consulate actually hurts your case. The Chief will likely go by whatever the Consular Officer says. There is not enough time in a day for the Cheif to review each and every petition that is requested for denial.