Pohtaytoh

Thanks everyone!

I'm pretty happy with the price and date we got for our plane ticket, though I do wish it could be a little sooner. My Vietnam Visa expires on the 18th

that actually sounds cheap to me for this time of year (maybe i'm crazy). just went on the eva website and tried to do a few one-way reservations but they're sold out.

Just got back from picking up the Visa, and booking the plane tickets. The earliest we could schedule today was for August 17th from SGN to TPE to LAX (nonpremium through EVA which is cheapest and most comfortable). It ended up costing a total of $1720usd ($860x2 including taxes and fees).

well done! let us know if you guys got the visa on first try (no delay). i'm getting really tempted to gamble and buy the plane tix w/o visa in hand.

i'm looking up tix online and the cheapest is around 1k+...going to a travel agency tomorrow.

We're probably gonna buy our tickets through EVA airlines. If you buy two weeks ahead it's only 600-700 per person. I think the only real delays are if any of the paperwork expires before you pick up the visa.

Continuation from these threads:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/307306-stunned

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/306873-please-help-cho-ray

We were called by Cho Ray on July 12th stating that the Sputum Culture test was complete, and the results were good. They informed us we should come in to pick up the results the following three days (Wed, Thurs, Fri). We ended up flying out to HCMC on July 20th due to delays in receiving all the necessary funds for the trip. After arriving (1:00pm), we immediately took a taxi to Cho Ray. We stat in the waiting area downstairs similar to when we came in for the medical exam. They didn't give out the x-rays until a little after 2:00pm. They also had a sheet telling us they mailed the results in on the 18th since we didn't come in the previous week. We hurried to the street to take a taxi to the embassy to see if we could make it in time since others have claimed to.

By the time we got to the embassy, it was about 2:45pm. They wouldn't let us in since it was too late. You can only submit the paperwork from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. But, they wanted to help and asked if we had and USC with us. Since I was present, they said to come back at 3:45pm. We waited at the regular waiting area across the street (which was recently renovated). 3:45pm comes around, and only I'm allowed in since it's the time allotted for USC issues. I walked to the Immigrant Visa area, took a number, and waited about 45mins before talking to a consular. He informed me that they received the medical results which were in process for approval. He told me we should receive a call within a day with the results.

The following day we went around HCMC to buy presents and enjoy ourselves while I kept checking my phone for the call. No call came in, so the next day (July 22nd) we head out to the embassy again for the 1:00pm - 2:00pm timeslot. There were a ton of people with their medical results, and we didn't bring along our xray (it's huge >_>). Our number was called the first time, and the first thing she (vietnamese lady this time) asks for is our medical results. We try to explain to her what's going on, but it only served to confuse her. She stopped us once she had the date the medical results we sent (18th of July) and sent us back to the seats. We ended up waiting nearly 2 hours, and during this time people with pink sheets were coming in to pick up their visas. While they were getting theirs, people from our group were starting to get pink and blues handed out.

We were called at the same time as 4 other people, and my wife saw a pink sheet sitting there with her name on it ! We've been waiting patiently until today the scheduled date (29th). We'll be heading out in a couple hours to go pick up the visa, then buying a plane ticket to the states immediately after :>

Check out my thread here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/307306-stunned/

I wrote up a rundown of what it was like for us going in.

there's the xray and the physical papers in a sealed envelope. you'll give both at the interview and they'll break the seal out of the med papers.

We've actually already passed the interview, they've just been waiting for the results from the medical exam. We haven't received any contact from the consulate yet, but we'll be heading out to HCMC anyway to pick up the paperwork from Cho Ray. We'll likely try to submit the papers just to show the medical is done.

Update: I just got a call from Cho Ray hospital with the results of the sputum culture. She passed!

But they also mentioned something about going in to pick up the x-ray/papers. Are these documents we would need to submit to the Embassy? I was under the assumption that Cho Ray was supposed to send the results directly over.

bumping this thread to ask does this "sputum culture" thing happen more at cho ray than IOM? when we had our vaccinations we talked to another lady that was going through the same k-1/cr-1 process. she called me after the interview to say she also got blue because she said cho ray requested "SC" from her also and the process would take 2-3 months.

i know it's a very small sample size but it seems more of these pop up at cho ray? am i totally wrong in my thinking or IOM is easier? i know "ho lao" is more prevalent in vietnam so it could just be totally random whether you're getting your medical at IOM or CR.

For Sputum Cultures, I've noticed that it's fairly equal for Cho Ray and IOM. It really all comes down to whether or not they see anything suspicious/irregular in the X-Ray (sucks for smokers, people who've had TB will normally have scars too). All those who need to do a Sputum Culture will end up at Cho Ray (even IOM people) since it has the leading microbiology center in HCMC.

She could also refer to you as "Anh" like the word for photo.

Thanks everyone! We really appreciate it!

I thought it only fair to give back since we got so much help while preparing

Congrats! It's likely we saw her while waiting for our interview

Yes, they changed it recently I believe. The USC is now allowed to go into the embassy together with their spouse. Interviewing together isn't normal though. I think we were the only couple they interviewed together the entire day from our observation. Usually, we saw that USC's were allowed to assist in carrying paperwork and babies/children while the SO proceeded with the interview. In some cases, the USC wasn't even allowed within viewing distance of the CO's window while the interview was taking place (this was only a problem with the white blonde lady and korean looking vietnamese lady). Usually, the USC would sit behind the SO in the chairs on the other side of the room. Occasionally, a USC was called back up to the window just to clarify something or more commonly to inquire about missing paperwork.

Couldn't edit this in in time :/

Congrats for both interview, and good luck for your future.

I have 1 question for you, do you allow to go in and interview with your wife for CR1 visa?

Yes, they changed it recently I believe. The USC is now allowed to go into the embassy together with their spouse. Interviewing together isn't normal though. I think we were the only couple they interviewed together the entire day from our observation. Usually, we saw that USC's were allowed to assist in carrying paperwork and babies/children while the SO proceeded with the interview. In some cases, the USC wasn't even allowed within viewing distance of the CO's window while the interview was taking place (this was only a problem with the white blonde lady and korean looking vietnamese lady).

Basically, when standing in line, when they call the next person to enter the building you can enter together. They'll hold up two fingers to ask if you're together. We just nodded as we entered the embassy and went through security. They'd ask us a few questions like who was being interviewed and such. You have to leave your phones and cameras with them here. They give you a small plaque with a number on it to pick up when you finish your interview. Just exit the building normally and walk back over to the entrance after you are done.

Once past security through the door, the interview area for immigrant visas is on the right (there's a sign above you when you go down the hall). At the end of this short hall the path splits, you'll see the exit on your right and the only path is to go around the corner on the left. When you go around the corner, you'll immediately see the waiting around with a long hall of seats and two windows. We approached the window and gave our appointment form with our scheduled interview date. They gave is a ticket with a 4 digit number. I notice is was usually either 50XX, 60XX, 70XX, where XX is your number. Ours was 6041. When you walk down the hall to take a seat you'll see the seats on the right side and numbers on the wall on the left side. The numbers go from 1-15, one for each window. In the center hanging from the ceiling are a bunch of black boxes that show which number was called.

They looked like this:

XXXX - YY

XXXX - YY

XXXX - YY

XXXX is the ticket number called, and YY is the window you need to go to. The number and what window to approach is announced by an automated vietnamese voice followed by an english voice. There are water coolers on each end of the long room, and a bathroom back the way you came in. Linh needed the bathroom since she wasn't able to brush before the sputum sample. She also took the time to reapply her make-up .

I think that's everything I can remember from the whole process.

"Phan" here, wife is half chinese (great grand parents on father's side immigrated into vietnam) so she's a "Dang". Wikipedia says "Nguyen" is 40% (I thought it would be more like 70% lol) and "Tran" is 11%

Both our mothers are "Huynh Thi Lan"'s though

I'm not even sure where to begin...

Maybe a little intro is in order. Since Linh's medical exam (April 20th), things have been a nightmare. Linh had TB four years ago when she was 20, but finished taking medication after 6 months. Because there are still scars, they are forcing her to go through a sputum culture. Results would normally take a little over two months which we've found acceptable. But as I mentioned in the previous thread, she has, for the past week, been unable to produce sputum/phlegm for the doctors to even begin testing. If she is unable to produce sputum during tomorrow's attempt, we'll visit the doctor again and beg to have the bronchoscopy (a procedure where they stick a tube down the nose into the lungs to suck out the sputum directly).

Our interview date was today April 28th, but we were still required to go into Cho Ray to attempt to produce a sputum sample. We woke up early this morning to prepare at 5:00am. We were out the door by 5:30am headed to Cho Ray. At Cho Ray, they called out those with interviews scheduled to give samples first. Thanks to that, we were able to finish at 7:00am. We immediately took a taxi to the U.S. Embassy and waited in line.

We ended up getting our number at 7:54am. The waiting area inside was packed! They eventually called everyone up once to submit some of our paperwork. When Linh and I went up the vietnamese lady asked us a couple questions for clarification. My younger brother co-sponsored, so she asked us who that was. She asked if I have a job in the u.s. and if I filed taxes this year. I currently don't have a job in the u.s. anymore and currently do web design work and didn't make enough to file taxes this year. After this, we ended up waiting about 3 hours watching other people's interviews. While watching, we noticed the interviews were quite varied. Some people were up for about 15-20 mins at the least. While others were up for nearly 45mins. It was really putting pressure on us since we could hear the types of questions being asked from where we sat. I did my best to console Linh since she was getting worried.

It was a little past 11:00 by the time our number was called up. By then we were the last couple waiting in the waiting room. There was another couple but they'd already begun their interview. I walked up with Linh to the window carrying our backpack with all the assorted paperwork and evidence. I took out all the paperwork and set it all on the counter, and as I was headed back to the seats they called me back. I was surprised, apparently we were going to be interviewed together since we were both sworn in. They told my wife to walk back to the seats and proceeded to ask me a couple questions in vietnamese I guess because they noticed I was able to speak it fairly well (though not fluently).

They asked where we were currently staying in HCMC. I responded at Linh's Aunt's place.

They asked what the address was. I responded.

Finally they asked how/where I met Linh. I explained that I saw her helping her mom sell noodles nearby while entering my uncle's house when I came to vietnam to visit relatives.

They called Linh up, breezed through a few pictures quickly, and asked her a few questions next:

They asked how many times I came to Vietnam to visit, and what dates.

How did we meet.

When was our engagement ceremony, who from my family attended from the U.S.

If she has any relatives in the U.S.

What address do we currently live together at.

They called me up one last time and asked if I had a U.S. Driver's License which I happened to have on me at the time.

This literally took all of 5 minutes since they asked the questions very quickly and we responded quickly. We ended up getting a white sheet. It said our interview couldn't be complete without the medical results. Linh and I were somewhat confused, so I went back to the window to hail the CO and asked for clarification.

I explained the situation with Linh and the requirement for the sputum culture. I asked that once the culture results were in around 2 months (which I'm fairly certain Linh isn't active since I've been with her for over two years now) if we'd need to come in to continue the interview. She responded "Nope the interview is done, once we get the medical results just come pick up the visa."

We were stunned. We were afraid to believe it was that easy since we'd spent so long preparing for the interview. We'd ask questions and go over any little fact we could remember. They didn't even ask for any of our paperwork we'd prepared (timeline, residency, receipts, records, etc).

Now we only need to worry about getting the sputum culture started and finished...I'm still in shock because this just doesn't feel real

Edit: Our CO was the black lady and tall lanky vietnamese lady.

Congrats!

I had read that having her consume alot of dairy (drink milk) the night before has helped in the past...

Unfortunately, I've read the opposite. It actually only calcifies the mucus in your throat making it thicker and seemingly like you're producing more.

maybe smoke a cigarette?

As funny as it sounds, it's actually a reason why most of the men going in are able to produce sputum/phlegm immediately.

After weighing our options, it seem the only real thing we can do is continue attempting to go in and try to cough it out however long it takes. Unless we produce results, they'll eventually deem it necessary to proceed with a bronchoscopy. We're going to try drinking even more water right before going to bed since each day Linh has managed to produce slightly more sputum than the last day.

Tomorrow is our interview date, but we still also need to go in to try and produce sputum. Luckily, they are allowing people with interviews to go in first at 6:30am. We'll likely be done around 7:00am, and we'll head directly to the embassy. We'll likely get there around 7:30am. For now, we can only worry about one thing at a time. Wish us Luck! We haven't really had much

The request for a bronchoscopy was a bust. They refuse to use that method until after several weeks where the normal method produces no results. It doesn't matter that we're unable to stay in HCMC for an extended period due to how expensive it is here.

We weren't the only ones to make this request either apparently. It seems we're going to be forced to continue attempting to do this for weeks wasting a lot of time with no results before they'll finally allow us an alternative. I really wish there was another way...

I honestly don't believe eating chao or "Keo Me Xung" will have enough of an effect, though she has been continuing to drink the medicine. Otherwise, all these other people that have tried all sorts of medicine and foods but have been here 2-3 weeks wouldn't be here.

After a bit more extensive research, it looks like our only real alternative, as it seems they don't offer anything else, is the same path Ronnie&Hang went. So, we're going to directly request a bronchoscopy after finishing up our third attempt this morning.

I'm just hoping they can get a sufficient sample of sputum to begin the culture.

The tube through the nostril method is a bronchoscopy where the tube goes directly into the lungs to get the sputum directly. I didn't really want to mention it as a method since it requires some mild anesthesia (or lots of pain without) and a bunch of sanitary concerns as vn hospitals are notorious about not sanitizing their equipment properly :[

We're trying to hang in there as best we can. Thanks for the support though guys!

As I've mentioned in previous posts, we're gearing up for our interview coming up on the 28th. We've now been staying in HCMC about a week, and Linh's medical exam was scheduled on the 20th (Vaccinations on 19th). The medical exam was scheduled at Cho Ray. I had reservations about it since it was notorious for bribery, unprofessional staff, and uncleanliness. But, Linh was more comfortable going there, and since she's the one going through the exam and not me, I went along with it.

I was actually surprised because it seemed, at the very least, the visa department seems very professional, the staff polite, and from my wife's accounts were quite clean and didn't seem to accept/allow "coffee money" anymore. I was ready to give full approval of Cho Ray on here since afterwards I also read that the staff in the visa department are actually trained by iom. This all changed when they told us Linh needed a Sputum Culture since she'd had TB four years ago, and they wanted to be certain it wasn't active (as far as I can tell it wasn't since I've been living with her over 2 years now, I didn't catch it and no one in her family has it).

The reason I say it all changed is because the procedure and area for the Sputum Culture (directly outside the visa department) is a complete nightmare. Not only is the staff unprofessional and rude, but the method for extracting sputum is absolutely unclean. They have the "potentially" infected people sit together, UNMASK, inhale/exhale deeply, and cough into a small container to produce sputum. Cough right beside each other in a small general area where the uninfected can be infected.

The problem we have isn't so much this, though it scares us, but Linh hasn't been able to produce a sufficient sample of Sputum to satisfy the nurses/doctors. She's followed the suggestions accordingly. We get up at 5:30am to get to the hospital around 6:00am (they start calling people at 6:30 though she usually isn't called until 7:10). She drinks a ton of water the night before, doesn't brush/rinse/eat/drink in the morning before the sample is taken as instructed. We've even had to resort to buying acetylcysteine a mucolytic agent to make it easier for her to cough up sputum. The medicine doesn't help and no matter what she tries she's unable to produce very much sputum. What really scares us is that she's spoken to people in there who've been at this for 2-3 weeks and more because they are unable to produce enough sputum for them to begin testing.

We're resolved to the extra two+ months it takes to get the results for this sputum culture, but we can't even get to the part where they even begin testing. I've read about other methods of getting the sputum including having a tube go into your stomach to get at the sputum over the course of three days, there's also a salt-water mist using a nebulizer to inhale for about 20 minutes that produces enough sputum to only require 1 day. I really prefer this second nebulizer method, but I don't even know if Cho Ray offers it as an option.

Tomorrow will be our third trip to Cho Ray (two days with no results so far), after this third attempt at producing sputum we'll likely walk back into the medical exam area and try to request an alternative method to produce sputum. Continuing like this with no results just isn't an option.

Does anyone have any suggestions/advice? Anything would be greatly appreciated!

Congrats! We're actually in HCMC right now waiting until our interview on 4/28

I'm sorry, I meant medical exam :|

So we're flying out to HCMC from Da Nang this Sunday (April 17th). We have a biometrics scheduled on April 19th, and our interview date is about a week later on April 28th. I estimate that we'll probably be there a minimum of two weeks including a week to wait and pick up the visa. Linh's Aunt has a place she can let us stay at for the duration. Is anyone else going to be there around this time?

We've been busy putting everything together, sorting all our pictures, receipts, and paperwork we've been gathering and saving for the past 2 years. It's been a lot of work and a long road, but I think we're as ready as we can be.

Wish us luck!

Ours (Long&Linh) is April 28th in Vietnam!