BinhJerome

Jerome, feel free to speak on my behalf! I'll just sit back and relax.

p.s. I assume you've earned that BA by now. You went after that thing like a bulldog and for that you should be commended.

last july and us teaching liscense in hand

I can go today to the plaza at UC Berkeley and make a speech decrying the hundreds of civilians who were killed by American troops at My Lai in 1968.

You can do the same thing in any public plaza in Saigon.

I can go today to the plaza at UC Berkeley and make a speech decrying the thousands of civilians who were killed by Viet Cong and NVA troops in Hue City in 1968.

Can you do the same thing in any public plaza in Saigon?

I can go today to the plaza at UC Berkeley, take out my acoustic guitar, and play "Viet Nam Toi Dau".

Can you do the same thing in any public plaza in Saigon?

There are millions of Viet Kieu living in America. The only ones who will publicly speak out against the Vietnamese government are the ones who will never return to Vietnam. I watched a man cry while waving a yellow RVN flag in front of the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco because he knew his small act of protest meant he would never see his family in Vietnam again.

Ho Chi Minh may have had noble intentions, but there are very few Viet Kieu living in the US who like what has become of their country thanks to him. There are many in Vietnam who feel the same way, but they'll never tell you the truth as long as they're living under the red flag. It would be healthy for you and Mark to spend some time among the Vietnamese community in the US.

Jim, we can argue about this all night and next week if we want to. The fact is that we say the VC and NVA did what they did in Hue but do we truly know for sure it was them? Seriously can you trust that it wasn't the Americans that were pissed off at the offensive and retaliated because of fallen brothers? Then to help the moral in the US we said it was the VC and NVA? Our country is clearly known for covering up things we did and lieing about what happened in Vietnam. I am not truly saying it was not the NVA or VC that did it but how do we know for sure. Facts are simple we fire bombed entire villages because we did not know if they were aiding the VC and it was easier to just fire bomb than to clear them out, we also know the facts that many people were killed by US troops for retaliation of fallen comrades. The sad truth about history is simple, history is written by the victors, and the only difference between a war hero and a war criminal is who won the war, case in point WWII with what we did to the civilians in Japan, we won so NO one was charged for those killings.

I can go today to the plaza at UC Berkeley and make a speech decrying the hundreds of civilians who were killed by American troops at My Lai in 1968.

You can do the same thing in any public plaza in Saigon.

I can go today to the plaza at UC Berkeley and make a speech decrying the thousands of civilians who were killed by Viet Cong and NVA troops in Hue City in 1968.

Can you do the same thing in any public plaza in Saigon?

I can go today to the plaza at UC Berkeley, take out my acoustic guitar, and play "Viet Nam Toi Dau".

Can you do the same thing in any public plaza in Saigon?

There are millions of Viet Kieu living in America. The only ones who will publicly speak out against the Vietnamese government are the ones who will never return to Vietnam. I watched a man cry while waving a yellow RVN flag in front of the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco because he knew his small act of protest meant he would never see his family in Vietnam again.

Ho Chi Minh may have had noble intentions, but there are very few Viet Kieu living in the US who like what has become of their country thanks to him. There are many in Vietnam who feel the same way, but they'll never tell you the truth as long as they're living under the red flag. It would be healthy for you and Mark to spend some time among the Vietnamese community in the US.

Jim, we can argue about this all night and next week if we want to. The fact is that we say the VC and NVA did what they did in Hue but do we truly know for sure it was them? Seriously can you trust that it wasn't the Americans that were pissed off at the offensive and retaliated because of fallen brothers? Then to help the moral in the US we said it was the VC and NVA? Our country is clearly known for covering up things we did and lieing about what happened in Vietnam. I am not truly saying it was not the NVA or VC that did it but how do we know for sure. Facts are simple we fire bombed entire villages because we did not know if they were aiding the VC and it was easier to just fire bomb than to clear them out, we also know the facts that many people were killed by US troops for retaliation of fallen comrades. The sad truth about history is simple, history is written by the victors, and the only difference between a war hero and a war criminal is who won the war, case in point WWII with what we did to the civilians in Japan, we won so NO one was charged for those killings.

You however are correct in many things you wrote about being able to gather and protest, but there are still more things in the US that are not so true anymore, look at Snoweden and a few other whistle blowers who have been targeted by the US government for standing up

Me and Mark do not get along but I have to agree with him on this one. The US lied to get us involved in Vietnam, we promised many Vietnamese people we would help, some of the war crimes we committed riveled that of the VC. Then when we left we left many holding the bag and we did not care. We knew what would happen, hell HCM even came to us BEFORE he went to Communism and asked for us to help him get rid of the French and we REFUSED. Thus he went to China and Russia and found support. Also the South Vietnamese government we propped up was far worse than HCM was. Hell we kept Pol Pot in Cambodia in power and if you have not heard about the killing fields then do some research. After we left Vietnam the North went through both Cambodia and Laos getting rid of those corrupt murderous rulers. War is hell no matter who you are there are always good sides and bad sides but HCM was a far better leader than those in the south. If you think Mark or I am a liar on the real start of the Vietnam war, look for the classified documents in the freedom of information act or look online for many of the true stories of the Vietnam war. I have tons of "American propaganda" films where it shows how much good we were doing, but when they talk about the entire village that OUR men slaughtered (men, women and children) they only talk for a minute on the subject and to give more insight there was only 1 person charged and convicted for that crime, he served 5 years in prison ohh wait I mean house arrest at his barracks (private residence at a military base.) I know the North did many bad things but we were no angels so don't try to sugar coat it

It isn't easy if you are not living and working here. When I moved here I wanted to open an account (didn't like sleeping with $30k under the bed) the gut at HSBC looked at me like I was a fool. To make a long story short every bank will want something different but what you are SUPPOSED to have is a passport and a letter from YOUR employer in Vietnam so the bank knows where you are getting your income. You might be able to find a bank to open one without the employer letter but it is unlikely. As Anh Map said a joint bank account doesn't mean ####### in HCMC just your visits, and in our case 3 visits prior to a denial didn't mean #######...

check with your state, honestly though do you want her to just go driving right away? Not saying she would do anything wrong, but driving int he US is NOTHING like in Vietnam, in the US they are at a much faster speed and actually have to look both ways and not run red lights because no one seems to be coming. Before I would ever let my wife drive in the US I would at least practice with her first, and then check with the DMV to see if it is valid, last thing you would want is her to get caught driving illegally if you know what I mean.

Before you jump ship and run the other way, why don't you talk to her, better yet why don't you fly out here and "surprise" her, find out for yourself. Not to say your cousin would lie to you but..... Hell you are already married, went through all the hoops and you are asking how to throw it all away without any real proof. Maybe just call her out on it and see where it goes. Your life, your decision but to actually answer your question there is really nothing you can do, you can contact the embassy but if she has the passport with a visa in it they won't stop her when she leaves Vietnam to go to the US but at POE they might.

Congrats!! Glad everything worked out for the both of you. I bet now you wished you had not waited so long as all the nay sayers told you to wait wait wait. At least your journey is nearing its end. Jerome and Binh

Hi guys,

I am so happy, excited, and...nervous at the same time that my wife is pregnant. I am going to be a father at 25! But the thing that concern me is that her health insurance is going to be cut off because I am going to quit my job tomorrow. I am going to start a new job in 2-3 weeks but am not sure what to do get her cover for 3 months until I am eligible to buy health insurance at my new job. I can buy health insurance myself for 3 months then cancel it, right? It is even necessary to buy health insurance for the next three months? She is one month pregnant, so she is not going to need a lot medical attention, right?

Many insurances will NOT cover pregnancy for the first 8 to 12 months of a new policy, in this case you need to look into extending your existing coverage throughout the pregnancy. Having babies are not cheap! So as Anh Map said make sure you have good answers before you let your current policy expire. BTW congrats!

Sometimes it's necessary to get behind the drama in order to determine what kind of advice is needed. You'll find on any website where relationships are involved, including VJ, that there will always be some people looking for advice on doing something that is morally or legally wrong, and they'll mask their intentions behind a cover story that's party or entirely false. For example, I stopped posting advice in most VAWA related threads after I discovered that a percentage of them weren't really abused, and were setting up their US citizen spouses for false charges just so they could get or keep a green card.

I think what Jerome is getting at is that there's apparently another side of this story, and that sympathy might end up being misplaced.

Jim you are correct, before someone gives advice they need to know the entire story so that their advice is accurate, it is like helping someone solve a problem with only half the variables your answer is almost never correct, and the OP let everyone on this site know his dirty laundry ages ago, I really don't care what he does, but if he did have a new fiancee like I had heard then it would be probably much easier to just do the divorce here in Vietnam since if what I heard was true then he will most undoubtedly be making another trip to Vietnam, and in his case depending on states a person can do an uncontested divorce but the legal wrangling usually means an attorney is needed or a legal secretary that charges tons less simply because there are motions to file and paperwork that needs to be correct with every t crossed and every i dotted.

I heard you were in Vietnam and in the countryside with another woman and were already engaged I think her name was mimi? I also noticed you were using a different nic and were planning on moving here and teaching? In any case, good luck in what you do decide to do, we each have to live our own life.

OK. I think I will be getting married in Vietnam next year and need to start planning. I would like to know if this plan will work.

I plan to take one month off. I will submit all the paperwork through my girlfriend through power of attorney two weeks before I arrive (We plan to use a local lawyer). She would get the paperwork (with single status) at least two weeks before I arrive in Vietnam.

I will get the physical / mental exam in Vietnam as I've read here that it's useless to get in done in the USA. We will have the dam hoi and wedding at the end of week 3 regardless of whether the marriage certificate is issued. I've read you pay a penalty for that, but is it that big a deal?

If the marriage certificate doesn't get issued in that time, then I can come back to sign it. But I would rather not do it if I don't have to.

Is this plan feasible?

It is good you are planning ahead, she can get most of your things notarized ahead of time and this will save time. There is no penalty for having the Dam Hoi prior to the certificate, actually many Vietnamese people wait for months after their party before they even try to do the paperwork simply because they are planning the party first the paperwork second. I would also still recommend that you use a service, I hate saying that but they do know people that can help get your paperwork up towards the front of the line helping with your paperwork issues. I would strongly suggest getting the mental test done as soon as you arrive and then also filing the paperwork pretty much the day that you arrive, because it can take a month or longer to get everything done. When we got married we did use a service and it took almost exactly one month from the date we filed the paperwork, and every paper we had was correct and we were never turned away. A friend of ours was actually turned away 3 separate times for paperwork errors and not having the right paperwork, this is why I suggest the service they make sure everything is correct and as I said earlier they can get things done a bit faster. Good luck and good plan! Jerome and Binh

Mr. Wreath, I presume?

If you two start another fight I am going to request you both be banned or at least a good time out. You two can fight in private by PM's.

I was wondering if anyone here knows anything about the T E F L course in HCMC ? What would I need to bring to cover my expenses and what exactly does the course consist of? Give me alot of details please. Thanks

Shouldn't you already be aware that your relationship with someone overseas gonna be costly, even AFTER she comes to the US? You'll need to periodically to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to travel back to VN with her. And once a while, you'll need to send money to her family in order to keep "good" relationship with them.

Expect those things BEFORE tying the knot with her.

How many accounts do you have now Dan Que?

Hi Visa Community,

What's the best way to ship gifts to Vietnam. We want to send a box full of gifts like chocolate etc.. for the holidays. Something affordable, will get there in a reasonable amount of time, and most of all dependable.

Thanks!!!

US postal service flat rate international box, usually takes about 14 days to arrive, cheapest by far but not the quickest, if you want fast use UPS or DHL or find someone going to Vietnam and have them take it for you

First off congrats!!! Second off, when I was managing a company in the US a few years back insurance companies would NOT cover a woman if she was pregnant, and most companies would not cover any birthing expenses if the woman became pregnant within one year of obtaining insurance. I would look into doing as Anh Map suggested and trying to pay for the insurance out of pocket until after the baby is born, or until another insurance company would cover any costs. Good luck and congrats once more! Jerome and Binh

The good courses are either the TESOL or the CELTA, both are about the same. I took the TESOL from TEFL International, it cost $1400 and it was one month long. They have in class teaching where there is an instructor who watches your lesson and gives you feedback. The course is pretty brutal, you will have to pass with a 60% or higher on a written test for both grammar and Phonetics. The test isn't that bad, but you are there 5 days a week and they teach you how to do lesson plans their way and everything is done by hand, no clip art allowed or internet resources, you use colors, paper and books they have to do your lesson plans. They do this for the worst case situation where you might not have internet, power or any other resource. Over all it was a good course, it helped me ease into teaching, and it also looks good on your resume.

The class lasts 1 month, you will be there from Monday through Friday from roughly 8 am until 4 or 5 pm

Jerome

I just heard from Clay, their visa was not there waiting, it was pushed back to the 20th, I guess if they keep giving them the run around he will just move here. Hopefully it wont come to that

Hullo - any news/update from you and the IV unit? Hope things went well, a different , positive outcome for ya !

The last I heard they were not going to issue a visa, but then I talked to him this weekend and he said once they turned in a new medical exam they were going to issue the visa and he was scheduled to turn that in on Monday or Tuesday. So at least they can move on with their life together, it is just so sad that they lost their child. Good luck Clay!

Yes, she would be perfectly fine to rent for a year or more. The thing is her mom was planning to sell the house anyway, but we just want to make sure it won't count against us in some way if she does.

Another issue she was considering is this. In order to get the visa, she has to get a paper from the authorities that she is single. Also, to sell the house she has to get a paper from the authorities saying she's single... however, when she goes back to get the paper for the house, they will see they already issued her one for the purpose of getting married, which will make it difficult for her to get them to certify again that she's single, which will make it difficult to sell the house.

If she needs it done it can be done. As others have said coffee money works wonders, another route would be to get a copy made then have it certified, so that it is a certified copy, this might not work at the consulate but it should work anywhere else in Vietnam. hope this helps Jerome

My fiancee needs to sell a house before moving. It was actually her mom's house, but since her mom is now in the US and she's the last one over there in the immediate family, it's in her name. So, the problem is the letter from the consulate says no guarantees... so don't quit jobs or buy airline tickets or sell property before being approved. Is this just for our info or will they somehow hold it against us if she sells the house too quickly? Because honestly, I want her to come ASAP after the approval. Sure it wasn't the original plan, but I'm too excited to see her now.

Do you want her to possibly stay in a hotel or rent a house for a year or more? This is the real question, we all want our loved ones to move asap. Don't jump the gun on this one, not saying you will be denied or put into AP, but it is a possibility. I would wait until you got your result before you even start to think to sell, even if this takes another month or two, in the long run it would be well worth it. Just my thoughts, but it is your life do as you want, and if she sells then gets put into AP she will just have to rent a house or an apartment until the approval, not that bad of a scenario, but if the worse case one pops up then what?

Jerome and Binh

Sorry for your loss, I know for sure that I would be in the citizen services and blaming the hell out of them for this tragedy, and I would also be in contact with your senator, now that you have the proof that the child was yours and with what happened you can honestly blame the consulate for your loss, I know that getting your wife back to the US will not bring back your loss, but it will help ease the pains you are both going through, go in and give them hell, all of their BS and their delays from your first denial to the delays recently, tell them enough is enough. Good luck Clay, hope that this is the last sorrow you will face on your journey. Jerome and Binh

Dau Que,

Yes, Vietnam government is corrupted. I have known that and have come to accept it...you deal with it and make it work for you.

I know as a non Viet Citizen, you can buy land but have to return it in 50 years...I also know most of the laws in Vietnam...both written and unspoken.

Like any other country, you take the good with the bad. It's a hell hole because most people have no oppertunity to grow...that's what communist do to a country.

But have you seen the younger generation of Vietnam lately? They want to change the country. Most have evolve to embrace the western culture and idealism.

For me, walking around a country where people does not look at me DIFFERENTLY makes me feel at home. I grew up with racism and like it or not, it's still around.

The feeling of being free, with no burden, when you set foot in Vietnam is enough for me to bare it's ugly sides.

If you plan well, life is good...plan ill, life is hell...that's everywhere.

When was the last time you were in a rolling black out or your ac broke down in Houston?

When was the last time you were in a Hurricane that took out electricity for weeks and you had to go to work?

Sorry buddy, but you really don't know much. A NON Vietnamese citizen can ONLY buy an apartment, they CANNOT buy land, also you buy a 50 year lease, you do NOT have to give the land back in 50 years, you only have to pay tax and the tax is small, it is nothing like re buying the land. My wife's uncle just had to pay tax on property his grandfather had bought prior to the the war (50 years ago was when it was bought) He has over 1000 square meters, the house right next to him with far less land sold for about 12 billion (close to 600,000 USD) and he only had to pay 10 million to get a fresh 50 year lease of sorts. So please before you start spouting off about knowing the laws both written and unspoken you really must start to try to learn them, if not you are in for a rude awakening. I know personally since I wanted to buy a house and have it in my name, I found 3 different ones I wanted all for about 1.5 billion, I had cash in hand yet it had to be put into my wife's name, so instead of buying a house (because there was NO way it would be in my name) we ended up buying an apartment, so now with our apartment bought and paid for we are looking to buy land to put in my wifes name so we can build our retirement home. And for all of you that might wonder why it was in my name and not my wifes, simple math I DO trust her, and I DO trust her mother and brother, but what if something happens to her and I did decide to get married again, what would they think then? Read up on the laws, and truly know them dont just say you know them because what you have written is totally wrong. Good luck if you are truly wanting to move here, even as Scott said the economy might be rough, but I am still putting away tons of money working over here, living the life I want to live and still saving well over $1400 a month USD, and that is not counting the money we are saving for land, there is no way in America in 2 years I would have a house bought ($73000 paid in full) and the other money that is still in the bank. Life is truly great at least for me and my wife. Maybe you can be as lucky or luckier. Jerome and Binh

Jim is right. You HAVE to get the mental check-up in Vietnam. I got mine done at the HCM mental health hospital (not sure of its exact name, but located on the East-West highway). You'll need some li xi/coffee money to expedite your file.

Also, originally I was under the impression that you have to get Affidavit of Single Status from your county/state office of records. However, you can go to US Consulate in HCM and pay $50 to get it done there. Much quicker, took us maybe total of 1 hour to do so.

I stated you have to get it done in HCMC, the hospital name is Chao Ray hospital, you also still must have the state record search as well as the affadavit from the US consulate. Jim, I can't seem to find the link, it was in a post that I replied to so it does not show up in my history, but if they really want the info they can do a little searching, something like "marriage requirements in Vietnam Jeromebinh" and I am sure it will come up or at least get the OP to a closer starting point.

Jerome

Listen to me once again you MUST do the mental test here. You MUST get BOTH proof of no recorded marriages from your state of residence for the past couple of years, AND an affidavit of single status. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PERIOD....... One is from someone on the state level clearly stating that there is no record of any marriages in THAT state, this person is not you, remember that point. The affidavit of single status is a SWORN statement from YOU that says you are single. Have you ever heard of people going to Vegas from Maine or California, Kansas, Montana, or Indiana and getting married???? The affidavit of single status is a sworn statement stating that you are not married, the marriage documents only states in your state of residence that there is no record. As I said earlier, look in previous posts and there are more details, also you did not answer my question on how long you are going to be in Vietnam to get all this done. You really need to do research, Vietnam is not like the US. I live here, I know that, I have done the wedding here, and I know that it was NOT easy. We did all of our own things then we hired a service to look and make sure if what we had was correct, when he found some of the documents were not correct we hired him at a discount since we had many things already done, and it still took just over 30 days, and there are parts that the foreigner must be present for, one the mental test, two the marriage interview, three the signing date, if you do it on your own you can expect at least a 30 day wait, but from many of the friends I have it is closer to 45 days if you do it on your own. I understand people don't like paying for a service, but these people give coffee money to move your name towards the top of the list, they have tons of experience getting things done so there is less likely of any chance that something is wrong. It is not only hard for the foreigner, but depending on your soon to be wife they might have to locate or go to specific places for her documents, and the service helps this out as well. Read the previous posts the other threads and you will soon learn that it CAN be done on your own, but it IS harder.

Jerome and Binh