toddandhien

Oh, and about the hotel thing. If you want to stay in a big western hotel in HCM (Sheraton, Caravelle, etc), bring your marriage license. They will not let you and your wife in the same room after 9 PM without it. However, if you stay in a small hotel or away from the city, you won't have a problem either way.

The rules are there because they are trying to prevent prostitution. This is a socialist country, remember? They don't care if you and your wife are inconvenienced.

Matt, Anh Map was trying to help you out here. You want a visa? and you want to spend a lot of money? If you are married to a VN citizen you can apply for visa exemption for $20. You can't get a multiple entry visa for that money. If you want to know the costs, go to this site:

http://www.travelvisapro.com/visa/vietnam A multiple entry, 3 month validity, normal processing time will cost you $150 from the embassy.

I am married to a VN as well and will be going to VN in December. I have had 6 visas to VN over the last 2 years but I can assure you that I am going for the exemption now that we are married.

what is the the number one question asked during an interview....?

how/where did you meet your spouse or fiance(e)?

Ho khau is prononounced "How-cow" if you need to say it to her on the phone.

If at all possible, I would hand carry it to the consulate and give it to the lady at the window. That's the only SURE way that you can know that they got it. I also e-mailed them the day that Hien dropped it off, knowing that it would be 4-5 days before they responded. My e-mail simply asked them to confirm that they had receipt of the DS-230 Part I. This was their response:

"Dear Mr. Todd:

Thank you for your inquiry. We have already received the beneficiary's completed DS-230 Part I. Our office will schedule an appointment at the earliest opportunity. Once a visa interview appointment has been set, we will notify the applicant by mail. Please contact us at the end of each month for further information about the appointment date.

If you have further inquiries, please do not delete your original email and please include the complete case number (HCM XXXX-XXX-XXX) in all correspondence.

Sincerely,

Information Team

Consular Section

U.S. Consulate General HCMC"

Part II is not required. It is not in any of the instructions or on the list to bring on interview day. I did not include it in our package and it was not asked for. Only Part I is referred to in both Packets 3 and 4 and Part I is all that is required.

Bryon, the C2 is just the category of visa that you were issued (two of my previous visas were C2). If you actually have a visa that is either loose or affixed to your passport with a validity date that spans your planned entry to and exit from Vietnam, you are fine.

You will never get a visa approval letter unless you pre-apply for a visa upon arrival. If you sent your passport to the embassy for the visa and you got the visa, you are good to go! You will get the purple stamps going in and out. If the visa is in your passport, you will get stamped in your passport. If the visa is loose, they will stamp the visa. And if it is single entry visa, they will keep the visa when you go and you will have no record of having entered and exited Vietnam.

they are used to getting paper in both sizes at the consulate. Don't kill yourself getting 8.5x11 paper. They expect that some of these forms will be printed in Vietnam where the standard office paper size is A4. Any forms that she has from the government like birth certificate or police record will surely be on A4.

e-mail the consulate immediately so you can get an accurate assessment of the status of your case. They can tell you if they have sent information to your wife and how to pick up a replacement package if she has not received it.

Any document that is currently in VEITNAMESE. Including Birth Certificate, Household Registration, Police Certificate, etc. Even letters, chat logs, etc.

Please enter a timeline so people can provide more accurate answers when you post questions....

If this is for the HCM Consulate, none of these documents need to be translated if they are in either English or Vietnamese. Here is an excerpt from Packet 3 instructions:

"Step 2: While waiting for interview to be scheduled, applicants should prepare the following documents

(copy and original). All documents not in English or Vietnamese must be accompanied by certified

translation, which include a statement by the translator stating “Translation is accurate” and “Translator is

competent to translate”. We will return the original documents after the interview."

You will ultimately need her birth certificate in English for AOS so get that done in her home country inexpensively.

Take us off the list. Today in HCMC we got pink!!!

After several visits to the Consulate. The Supervisor promised something in a week. We recieved a request for new medical (blue paper). Dao took the new information in today 1pm VN time. She turned in the material and took a number to wait. Number was called and pink issued.

Dao was really worried that they would interview again and has been pumping me for answers about the house, city and extended family.

Good luck to all.

My advise, If you have an attorney that says be patient after 2 months of waiting. Get ride of the attorney. If you are in AP. Flood them with evidence of your relationship they have to except it. You have to proove a bonified relationship and eligability. They have to qualify a denial. Fill their file box with all your junk!!! The more times you go inside the Consulate the more you learn and become familiar with it.

Fred

Congrats, Fred and Dao!

Everybody gets the same directions for P4 so I have everything assembled already. The thickest is less than 1 inch.

Scott, the lady that reviews the docs will take the package apart and review the items for completeness. Anything that does not belong will be returned immediately. Remember that you will have originals and copies in this package. I assembled them in order and held the stack together with a big metal binder clip. My wife handed the stack to the lady and she was able to pop the clip off and go through them very quickly. If you Acco them, she may not be happy.

What you can Acco is your evidence. I did with mine since there was a lot (although they never looked at it).

Would a call to them be better?(faster?) I heard it is ok to call about 4pm (HCMC time)

I tried calling them several times before and it got me no where. I think the best way is email so that CO who answers the email has more time to look at the case before replying back to you. Another way people have been getting success in is actually showing up at the consulate on Tuesday and Wednesday from 4:00pm to 5:00pm. You or your wife/fiancee can actually talk to a CO face to face about your case.

I have asked my fiancee to go to the consulate but she told me her lawyer said to wait until the 20th to ask. But i worry that they never got her 2nd medical. because my fiancee did not submit, the doctor said he would send it to them on the 12th. so i want to make sure we are not waiting for nothing.

The open call hours to see the CO are for US citizens only:

"From 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, a Consular Section staff member is available to answer questions concerning the status of immigrant visa cases. Petitioners may submit documents for cases not closed administratively by the Consulate but reviews will take place later. Applicants will not be re-interviewed and cases closed administratively by the Consulate will not be re-opened or reviewed during this time.

PLEASE NOTE: this service is only available to U.S. citizen petitioners during the times mentioned above. U.S. citizens who wish to take advantage of this opportunity must bring their U.S. passport and the case information form to the Consulate and arrive between 3:45 pm and 4:15 pm on the days mentioned above and proceed to Window B in Immigrant Visa waiting area. The U.S. Consulate General is closed on Vietnamese and American holidays."

You cannot call them. That feature went away about 8 months ago. I e-mailed them several times looking for status information as our case bobbed along at the consulate. I always received a professional response in 4-5 business days from a staffer with whatever information was available on our case at that time. Patience is difficult at a time like this, but it is all you can do now.

Part II is not in the list of docs and is not required. I did not even fill it out since it was not a requested item. We had no issues at the consulate. They are looking for EXACTLY what is on the list in the order they specify.

There is no such thing as a proof of being single. I'm sure someone will sell you a certficate though.

There is in some countries. In the Philippines, for example, it's called a "Certificate of No Marriage", or CENOMAR. Odds are that if such a certificate is available in the beneficiary's country, then the US consulate in that country will require it.

Jim, the document is also available in VN upon request. Hien got one just in case from the cong an in her village but it was not requested by the consulate so we did not provide it. It certified that she was single and her status was "never married."

My wife went to Cho Ray and had a very good experience. Remember that the conditions are in the eye of the beholder. You cannot measure facilities in VN to US standards. I think the most important thing is for the person going to the physical to be comfortable and confident. The sound of the IOM was a little intimidating to my wife so she chose Cho Ray. Physical one day and results I think 2 days later.

You can go anywhere for a pre-screen if you pay for it. As stated before the results don't count, but for many, the peace of mind is worth it.

Sorry this is still lingering for you two.

Can you clarify a little for us what is happening? It sounds like they told her that on 12 October the doctor will send the medical results to the consulate. Sometime between 12 and 25 October, the consulate will call her with an answer. If they don't call her, she should call the consulate. Is that correct? Did the doctor give her anything when she went there?

Correct, and they gave her xrays. but he said he would send the paperwork on the 12th. Another thing that bothers me, she said he only sends paperwork out 2 times a month... yup thats what she was told... 2 times a month. thats soooo total BS. no wonder they might call in such a long time, on the 12th they must get flooded with paper work... What kind of system is that? 2 times a month? for god knows how many medical results? wow. anyways i will update after i know more or hear anything but atm im so pissed. there will be some letters and phone calls. but im going to wait until AFTER we find out their decision.

Where did she go for medical exam?

I can find that out for you in 2 days, tomorrow I will go to work in the moring so she and i will not talk but saturday I can ask.

If Cho Ray, this makes no sense at all. My wife had hers done there and when she went back for the results, they sent her with the packet.

Can't assess what they do at the other facility but perhaps others can chime in.

Sending results twice a month? That sounds bizarre. Maybe because they have a special form to retract an earlier finding of TB???

Sorry this is still lingering for you two.

Can you clarify a little for us what is happening? It sounds like they told her that on 12 October the doctor will send the medical results to the consulate. Sometime between 12 and 25 October, the consulate will call her with an answer. If they don't call her, she should call the consulate. Is that correct? Did the doctor give her anything when she went there?

Correct, and they gave her xrays. but he said he would send the paperwork on the 12th. Another thing that bothers me, she said he only sends paperwork out 2 times a month... yup thats what she was told... 2 times a month. thats soooo total BS. no wonder they might call in such a long time, on the 12th they must get flooded with paper work... What kind of system is that? 2 times a month? for god knows how many medical results? wow. anyways i will update after i know more or hear anything but atm im so pissed. there will be some letters and phone calls. but im going to wait until AFTER we find out their decision.

Where did she go for medical exam?

Sorry this is still lingering for you two.

Can you clarify a little for us what is happening? It sounds like they told her that on 12 October the doctor will send the medical results to the consulate. Sometime between 12 and 25 October, the consulate will call her with an answer. If they don't call her, she should call the consulate. Is that correct? Did the doctor give her anything when she went there?

Scott,

That sounds excellent. The more I reading I do at VJ, the more I realize that Thu and I need more time. I am starting to think that right now is not the time to begin filing for the K-1. Thu and I just need to be patient. We need more research and more time. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I am abandoning the K-1 Visa. I just think that we need more time. Scott, I met Thu in Singapore while we were both on vacation. So while we put the K-1 Visa on hold, would you recommend that I go visit her in Vietnam or if she visits me in Florida? Would that be ok for now is that bad?

<CARRICK>

Do not file for a Visitors Visa if you are intending to to file for a K-1 Visa. When you apply for K-1 Visa the denied Visitor Visa will be a "RED FLAG". It seems the consulate looks apon any attempt to come to the USA as an attempt to commit fraud. The K-1 filing immediatly after a denied Visitor Visa attempt will not look good. They have the thought of, (you tried to trick us once with visitor visa and failed now you try to tick us again with k-1 visa)

Don't make the same naive mistake I did in thinking these people in the consulate have any idea how a "Normal" couple act. I thought, I came to your house and met your mom now you should come to my house and meet my mom. It doesn't work that way.

8 Months in AP, Fred

Applying for a tourist visa is not necessarily an immediate red flag. My wife applied for one early in our relationship in hopes of coming here to spend time with me and see the US. It was, of course, denied. We acknowledged when she applied again (its on the DS-156 form) that she had applied for a tourist visa and was denied. She was prepared to discuss it at the interview but it was never mentioned and she was approved without a blue slip or AP.

It has been stated here by others many times that each case is very different. What may cause concern in one case may not be an issue in another. It is the totality of the case that matters. Your case and relationship development needs to make sense to an average person. I believe that is the litmus test that the COs use...would this be believable to the average person. If you scrutinize your own case and have to squint or describe it to a friend and they say that it doesn't smell right, you may need to address those areas that raise concerns.

Regarding the tourist visa, it is essentially impossible for a young lady from VN to get a tourist visa at any stage of the game unless they have significant assets, which, honestly, most folks in VN do not have. Only costs $130 to try but expectations should be set very low.

Joseph, any status update? Hoping to hear great news from you on this!

Joseph, that is great news!!!

Just want to be sure that you and Phi don't get too far ahead of yourselves (unless you have received specific instaructions from the consulate).

Has she actually spoken to anyone at the consulate? I'm not sure how she can pick up the medical papers and take them to the consulate and "pick up her visa." I would expect that the papers would need to be reviewed by the CO along with your case and then a pink slip issued. Then another wait of 1-10 days (depending on workload) before her visa/passport would be ready to be picked up.

Best of luck to you both.

Well your right. But the blue paper only requested the medical papers. Ngay mai she will oops, tomorrow she will go there and submit the papers. But I think that if that was all they requests then the rest of our case should be fine. Sure we will wait a few days. But we have the paper they requested. They already interviewed her and she passed that with flying colors. So I think a little wait is ok but I didn't plan on her coming here until november.

Agree and do not want to rain on your parade. Only trying to temper the enthusiasm a touch. You only have pink when she has a pink piece of paper in her hand walking out the door of the consulate and they have her passport into which they will insert a visa. Bear in mind that others have had a blue slip asking for a timeline. Timeline delivered and they were told to wait.

Not saying that I think you are bound for that but only the CO knows what he or she saw in your case and only he or she can approve her application for a visa. Think PINK and she will be here in the US in a matter of weeks!

Joseph, that is great news!!!

Just want to be sure that you and Phi don't get too far ahead of yourselves (unless you have received specific instaructions from the consulate).

Has she actually spoken to anyone at the consulate? I'm not sure how she can pick up the medical papers and take them to the consulate and "pick up her visa." I would expect that the papers would need to be reviewed by the CO along with your case and then a pink slip issued. Then another wait of 1-10 days (depending on workload) before her visa/passport would be ready to be picked up.

Best of luck to you both.

The multiple entry visa is only good over a number of months--1,3, 6months, and 1 year (I don't know if they got rid of the 1 year visa yet or not...). The multiple entry visa expires at the same time your visa expires.

Also, something to think about is the cost...if you're certain you'll be entering multiple times, I'd say go for it, but if not, just go with the single entry and apply for another entry visa --it's only 25 bucks.

I paid 130 for a multiple entry 3 month visa and ended up not using it.

I have had 5 visas to VN but I have never been able to get a multiple entry for more than 6 months for either business or tourist. If you plan to go more than once in a relatively short timeframe, the multiple entry is handy to avoid re-applying.

Totally consulate/embassy dependent. And you cannot call her because phones are not allowed inside.

Scott, we opted to not include any of the studio pics because they were wedding shots not dam hoi shots. Not sure what you folks did. I did not want to in any way get the CO thinking that we had married while applying for a K-1. Hien wanted to do it because it is popular in VN, it was relatively inexpensive and they produced a very nice book full of the shots with lots of different computer-generated backgrounds. But they were just for us to enjoy, not the CO.

Regarding you being the camera operator, we carried a small tripod with adjustable legs with us everywhere and used the self-timer on the camera to take all of our shots. If we didn't do that, we would never have had any of the 2 of us.

We got the same pics you did at the studio, but we didnt get computer gen backgrounds... just the props they had.. I have been torn by that same issue.. include the wedding pics when a wedding has not taken place.. not this go.. I am including all of the ones in dresses other than Wedding dress... Will have Dam Hoi end of November... Will for sure have those pics.. I will get a tripod so We have more pics of the next visit.. it may be just before the interview...

The tripod I have been using has three spider legs with articulating joints so you can clamp it onto anything nearby. Has worked great and allowed us to get some great shots in places that otherwise would not have been possible. We still use it here in the US when we are boating or biking...never know when you want to snap a shot and nobody is around to ask.

Those books ARE really nice...I wished we would have done that just for the book, but I REALLY don't like taking pictures!

I dont like the photo sessions either.. over 3 hours and I was really sick that day... You can still get one done.. It is a great dealover there compared to the same thing here and the quality of the pictures was excellent.

I hate picture taking as well...but I did a 7-hour session for her. we were exhausted at the end of the day!!