RalphandHanh

Thanks guys. Yeah I plan to print another when I get home and fix it all up in the morning... send it in the afternoon. Thanks for the encouragement

Hanh had a meeting with someone from the migration office. My I-134 was not notarized. I didn't know it had to be. I saw something at the bottom of the paper but I thought it had to do with if someone else was filling out the sheet. I only had 3 days to get everything to her. She didn't get the letter from the embassy with the interview date. When I got back to the U.S. I told her to call the embassy and they told her the interview was in one week. I wouldn't have waited till the last minute to get her the I-134 but property I was selling was pushed back and then I went to see her.

Has anyone had experience with this? If she passes everything else, can I just send them another copy with it notarized? The woman from migration said everything was great expect that... and that I would have to send it express so she can get the visa. We are both really stressing over this.

Thanks all

Congratulations

Great News! I hope my girl gets that interviewer on Wednesday

I have been thinking about moving to Vietnam since I came back last Friday. Hanh will have her interview next Wednesday. Her one brother owns a coffee shop and has asked me to cook American/Italian food for him. He would set up a kitchen on the second floor for me. And her other brother owned an internet shop. We thought about opening up an internet cafe. We will see how the interview goes. Since I really hate my job now its something I'm strongly considering. Not to move there forever though... I don't think I could take it and I like the change of seasons here in NJ

Wow I'm SO sorry to hear this. What kind of proof did you give them? Did you print out email and chats, phone records? This is So ridiculous. I really don't know why they do this or what they are looking for. Good luck. I know M.E. will help you out.

Well Hanh didn't get her letter. It's been over a month so I told her to call. When she called today, they told her that her interview is October 15! I still have paperwork to get to her. And I'm freaking out. So I have a couple questions.

Congrats!! That's great news! Best of luck with the interview!

Bank Information - it says that they want date the account opened, total amount of deposits for the past year and present balance. How long does this take for them to do this for you? I have to take time off of work and go to my bank. I hope the can give it to me in a couple days.

My bank (credit union), took 1 business day to gather the appropriate information and have a letter prepared.

Also, I'm working through a staffing agent (recruiter), she is going to write up the letter. Does it have to be notarized? I see that if there is a potential employer letter, it has to be notarized, but not the letter from employer?

The letter from my employer verifying my full-time employment, salary, start date, etc, was not notarized. It was an original signed on company letterhead.

Thanks for that info. I should have everything out FedEx by Wednesday evening. I'm Really freaking out cause I didn't expect it to be so soon. I usually don't wait till the last minute but I had to wait for a deposit from some property that I sold to help my case a bit. Thanks again!

Well Hanh didn't get her letter. It's been over a month so I told her to call. When she called today, they told her that her interview is October 15! I still have paperwork to get to her. And I'm freaking out. So I have a couple questions.

Bank Information - it says that they want date the account opened, total amount of deposits for the past year and present balance. How long does this take for them to do this for you? I have to take time off of work and go to my bank. I hope the can give it to me in a couple days.

Also, I'm working through a staffing agent (recruiter), she is going to write up the letter. Does it have to be notarized? I see that if there is a potential employer letter, it has to be notarized, but not the letter from employer?

I'm Freaking out now. I didn't sleep at all last night after she called me.

thanks all!

you are applying for what visa category?

This is a K-1 visa

Awesome and good luck. I will say a prayer. I asked Trang to call the embassy to get a date. The letter she got said to wait 2-3 months to hear from them for a date. That didn't sound right so I asked her to call.

I will say a special prayer for y'all.

Thank you... We need the prayers!

Well Hanh didn't get her letter. It's been over a month so I told her to call. When she called today, they told her that her interview is October 15! I still have paperwork to get to her. And I'm freaking out. So I have a couple questions.

Bank Information - it says that they want date the account opened, total amount of deposits for the past year and present balance. How long does this take for them to do this for you? I have to take time off of work and go to my bank. I hope the can give it to me in a couple days.

Also, I'm working through a staffing agent (recruiter), she is going to write up the letter. Does it have to be notarized? I see that if there is a potential employer letter, it has to be notarized, but not the letter from employer?

I'm Freaking out now. I didn't sleep at all last night after she called me.

thanks all!

Ok. I know this is a last minute post considering my flight leaves in 9 hours and I'm still not packed.... but does anyone know if there is a limit to the bags that can be checked in when flying to SGN airport. I have two boxes, one with gift the other with paperwork. Both under 50 pounds. Plus one carry one... and Possible another with more gifts of clothes that I have to bring for a friend. I think I was told the last time that there was a limit but when I got to baggage claim in HCMC - there seemed to be a Lot of people with Way more than me. So if anyone can shed some light it would help. Thanks

We got our interview date. I was a supprise and now it is Oct. 7. I hope we can get the police report done in time but all esle is on track.

WOW! That's awesome. I will be praying for you guys. I'm leaving Thursday to go back and see my girl - We hope to get our interview at the end of October. Best of luck to you both

It has been a while since I have been here I am haveing some problems at home and am wonderibg what the correct translation of this is. If you are willing to tell me I have a page or two to translate am willing to pay. Also would like some advice on VN culture as I am having some problems and do not knoe the way out.

Thanks

with out the accent punctuations in the right places over the vowels - its really difficult to translate... for me anyway. Something about drinking in a temple ) as it is written now... I think I'm still learning. I'm probably Way off and my fiance would be laughing her you know what off right now.

As fare as the cultural differences, you both have to sit down and talk about it. Without getting into detail its hard to give out advice. But remember, this is a new experience for both of you. In any relationship, communication is key and there has to be some give and take between you both. My fiance and I have been talking a lot about what she can expect here, and how she can still keep some of the things she enjoys about her culture. It helps that she has her best friend here also. maybe look in your area for some other Vietnamese so she can make friends and can get involved with some activities with them. Like I said, communication is key in any relationship. You have to sit down, take some time and listen to each other. Sometimes this is very hard when things get heated. But there has to be compromise on both ends.

Has anyone here ever hired a *good* company in VN to help your fiancee fill out the paperwork? Phuong doesn't read English very fluently and is worried she will make mistake. But she also doesn't know which company she can trust, she says many Vietnamese are very jealous and she worries they won't do the paperwork right. We are both frustrated now. Can anyone guide us a little? We both seem to be big bozos when it comes to this paperwork. Thanks

Jonas

My fiance went to migration agency. It was an $85 fee and they will help with all the paperwork as well as help prepare her for the interview. I don't know the exact address... I can find. But I do have the phone number cause I had to call and ask a few question of my own. 822-7511 or 822- 2057. They are very nice and seem to know a lot about the process. Have an American flag in the office

Okay, here's the dirt: (I've had no sleep, so forgive me if I become incoherent.)

1) She was the first one to be interviewed. Didn't want to, but the people in front of her were interviewing for other types of visas, so she ended up being first. She got a young guy, probably 22-25 years old. He's probably right out of training school and wants to go strictly by the book or whatever. He asked her all sorts of questions (stuff that we all know about on VJ) and that lasted for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, other interviewers had finished lots of people... She said he wasn't mean or anything like that, just strict. On the other hand, the interpreter was very nice.

2) The questions all went very well (he gave points to each question on a pad). Then he wanted to see evidence of correspondence. By pure bad luck, he grabbed a letter from the bundle that happened not to have much writing and that set him off. He didn't want to look at the other letters. He then asked about recent communications (the letters were from early on in our relationship). Well, we speak on messenger twice a day and we had all the records but he didn't want to look at that. My wife started to hand stuff to the interpreter but he kept saying "No! No!" and pushed everything back.

3) Our white form basically states:

a) Please submit any evidence of communication you have from 2006 to 2008.

b ) Please provide proof of purchase of air plane tickets.

c) Please provide a sworn timeline.

d) Do not submit evidence submitted at the time of the interview. [He didn't look at anything!]

My wife said if he didn't open that short letter, she would have been good to go.

Well, now it's just the matter of submitting all of that stuff and hoping for the best. All the points she scored on his notes will hopefully help when they review the case.

Did we pass? Nope. Did we fail? Nope ...we're in limbo. I guess that's something. My wife's holing up much better than me, which is good. I can't console halfway around the world.

Good grief, there's got to be a better way to not suffer so much. I feel for all of you; we're all on this torturous journey.

Time to go to work on no sleep!

WOW that sucks. When are you going to send in time etc. I think its total B.S. that he wouldn't look at any other letter or information. I mean... who writes letters now-a-days anyway. That's why they invented a telephone. Umm oh yeah... there is this new thing out also... its called the internet. Where you can send a message instantly. Even better, there is this brand new thing called a chat client. I know... very advanced and so new they my not accept this technology break through.

Good luck with the next round.

You are correct. Timelines are not asked the first time through; they are post-interview evidence/documents.

To be submitted at "window B" after 1:00 pm.

So exactly what do you have to provide in the timeline? I think I have well over 120 emails and more chat then I can possibly print. Guess I will pump out more emails and letters. Sorry to hear about this mess.

It's taken forever to get to this stage!

Strangely enough, both of us are pretty calm, especially my wife. She's been preparing rigorously and seems to have a lot of confidence. We've got tons of evidence and so forth. There's not much more that we could have done to prepare for this interview.

I've been pretty relaxed all the way up to this point, but I have to admit that I didn't sleep much last night and probably won't get much done at work today.

Do we feel lucky? I think so... I think so...

I will keep you in my prayers. Good luck

I'm lovin this thread...with less than 3 weeks before I fly to VN... I think I'm taking an aisle seat!

Amen! Now I'm not sure I will ever look out the window of a plane again. Yeah if I saw duct tape on the wing... I would be drinking a Lot of alcohol for sure

LOL - wow! I didn't know I was going to get a lesson in flying The last time I went, I boarded late on the way back, so I could look for a nice empty spot. On the way over it was packed because I went in January. Everyone was going back for Tet. I hope this time it will be less crowded so I can find me a nice open spot I liked the left center of the plane where the air staff sit next to the emergency door. More leg room still 18+ hours on a plane is just painful. And I can't sleep on a plane either. Might have to get my doc to give me ambian.

Heh, sorry, I figured the original question was well-answered already, so I thought I'd chime in since I enjoy aeronautics so much.

I think its amazing how the wings on a plane flex so much during a flight and not break. Its almost scary to watch.

I remember I was flying from new Orleans to montreal and changed over to a different plane in Ohio and after settling into my window seat over the wing I noticed Duct tape around it. As we took off I let the passenger next to me onto the tape and he said, "That tatpe is pretty strong stuff." I definitely agreed.

LOL WOW! I think I would have freaked out for sure. Makes your wonder what else is holding things together. Maybe some chewing gum

LOL - wow! I didn't know I was going to get a lesson in flying The last time I went, I boarded late on the way back, so I could look for a nice empty spot. On the way over it was packed because I went in January. Everyone was going back for Tet. I hope this time it will be less crowded so I can find me a nice open spot I liked the left center of the plane where the air staff sit next to the emergency door. More leg room still 18+ hours on a plane is just painful. And I can't sleep on a plane either. Might have to get my doc to give me ambian.

Heh, sorry, I figured the original question was well-answered already, so I thought I'd chime in since I enjoy aeronautics so much.

I think its amazing how the wings on a plane flex so much during a flight and not break. Its almost scary to watch.

Yeah I watch the wings once.... Once!

A friend of mine from church told me to take benadryl and a shot of something. Its worth a try I guess

18 hours in a plane is even worse when you are a fat guy such as myself. I have found that if you have to ride in the cheap seats like I do then the window seat in row 59 or 60 is good for lots of leg room. Plus the ride in the "back of the bus" is much more eventful. Going into and out of Hong Kong is quite fun. It is like riding a roller coster. I was very impressed that the plane held together after the beating we seem to take. But that could have been because I was in the very tail of the plane. Either way it was good fun.

The front and the back of the plane experieces more "movement" whenever the plane pitches or yaws because the plane rotates about it's center of gravity, which is somewhere around the 1/4 of the chord back from the leading edge of the wing. (Essentially, the plane's center of gravity is 25% back from the front of the wing.) The farther you are sitting from this point, the more you'll feel of the plane's movement (except in turns). The smoothest seat would be to sit at the plane's center of gravity. Turbulence, however, affects the plane everywhere, so there's no way to escape that.

There are also bending moments in the plane, but I don't know too much about that. The plane does "flex" while in flight ... a professor once told me that if you stand at the back of a 747 (or other long plane), look forward down the aisle when the curtains are open, you can see the distant "exit" signs move up and down as the plane bends.

One reason why we don't have flying-wing commercial airplanes yet is because seats on the outer edge of the wing will experience a lot of movement when the aircraft banks. (Watch the wings go up or down when the plane is in a turn, and imagine sitting at the edge of the wing!)

Typically, however, the rear of the plane is also the safest since most planes will hit the ground nose-first.

Sorry, this had nothing to do with the original topic.

LOL - wow! I didn't know I was going to get a lesson in flying The last time I went, I boarded late on the way back, so I could look for a nice empty spot. On the way over it was packed because I went in January. Everyone was going back for Tet. I hope this time it will be less crowded so I can find me a nice open spot I liked the left center of the plane where the air staff sit next to the emergency door. More leg room still 18+ hours on a plane is just painful. And I can't sleep on a plane either. Might have to get my doc to give me ambian.

I would call San Francisco for the fees for your type of visa. Maybe call them twice. I got 2 different numbers when I called, and I didn't have a lot of time for errors, so I paid the higher one ($150 for a 3 month multi-entry).

San Francisco is faster than Washington, so I'd send it there, irrespective of where you live.

Thanks I will call them first. I just booked my flight. Philly to San Francisco and San Francisco to HCMC! And the same coming back. I'm a little freaked out about spending 18 hours in a plane but I hate to stop and get off a plane 2 or 3 times.

Hi Ralph!

I'm heading that way too in mid sept and just did my Visa myself. I downloaded the pdf from the embassy website and sent a money order to the San Fran office for $45 along with the application, my itinerary, 2 photos (they only ask for 1), my passport, and a return envelope. Had it back a week later with the Visa pasted into my passport. Very, very easy!

Heres the link: http://www.vietnamembassy.us/consular_services/visa_info/

See ya in VN!

Awesome! Thanks. I can't wait to see my honey again

When I went in January, I had a Vietnamese travel agent book my flight. I want to do it myself this time but I'm having a problem finding out what the fees are. I went to the Vietnam embassy page and click the link for the fee but there is nothing there. Or should I use a travel agent again? Any thoughts? I want to visit mid to late Sept.

The fee was $65 when I got one in April of this year. There is a number you can call on the form you will fill out to get your Visa. They can tell you for sure.

Good thanks

When I went in January, I had a Vietnamese travel agent book my flight. I want to do it myself this time but I'm having a problem finding out what the fees are. I went to the Vietnam embassy page and click the link for the fee but there is nothing there. Or should I use a travel agent again? Any thoughts? I want to visit mid to late Sept.

if that is true, then why do they want to see last years return. There is SO much conflicting information. How do you know what you are saying to be true? Just asking Monday I will be contacting Migration as well as M.E. later in the week. I want to know for sure what I'm up against. I hate not knowing for sure.

Thi's interview was this year (2007) which she passed on the first try, my income for 2007 was a little higher than yours. Since I'm self employed and have lots of ways to lower my taxes because the business, I was worried about that too. The USCIS website has the poverty guidelines used by the HCMC Consulate on their website. For a family of two, 125% of the poverty guideline for 2007 is $17,112 which was in effect until April of 2008. The current poverty guidelines that are in effect until April 2009 says you have to make $17,500 or more. The Consulate prefers to have transcripts instead of tax returns unless you're self employed, then they want both. The reason is anyone can make up a tax return but the transcipts are from what you filed with the IRS. You only need to submit the current year for the interview. All this information is available from USCIS and HCMC websites if you want to verfiy what I said.

Good Luck

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

Wedding 2008-4-26

Thanks I will look at the site again. Good info. Thanks again

You might want to call the Dept. of State's visa information line here in the states and get their input. They told my son to write a notarized letter to accompany his I-134. He didn't file taxes in 2207 at all, so explained that, as well as his current situation, and made his case as to why his wife wouldn't become a public charge. He included an overkill of evidence to prove what he said. Then, even though technically co-sponsors aren't accepted for K visas, he had a sealed envelope from Dad. His Dad wrote on the I-134 that he fully expected that our son, a recent college graduate, would be able to support his wife, but in the case of unforseen circumstances he would be willing and able to serve as a safety net. We don't know if the CO even opened it or read it. Even if they didn't accept a co-sponsor, it validated what our son said.

You're dealing with HCMC, so your experience could be different. I like to think that if I were a consular officer I'd appreciate a succinct explanation in clear English so there would be no confusion as to what the situation is.

Good luck!

Thai Mom

Very good advice. I was thinking of having my father write something as well. We will be living with him as I also take care of him. Since I have no rent or mortgage and stay with him here I think it should be ok. I'm praying anyway

if that is true, then why do they want to see last years return. There is SO much conflicting information. How do you know what you are saying to be true? Just asking Monday I will be contacting Migration as well as M.E. later in the week. I want to know for sure what I'm up against. I hate not knowing for sure.