confusedasheck

Order on the police certificate.

First Last Middle

Which matches none of the associated orders.

Wife got her police clearance but where it lists me as spouse, for some reason my name is not listed in the correct order. My first, middle, and last name are all out of order. Should she get a new one correcting this?

When filling out the DS-260, it asks for the Beneficiary's name in the order that it appear on the passport. On the I-130,  I filled out her name in the American order. My guess is to follow the instructions and fill out the DS-260 with her name as it appears on her passport even though I used the American order on the I-130. Any problems with this?

My wife's was written in the Vietnamese order (on her ID). Mine was written Last Name, Given Name (matches my passport)

Wondering if anyone can help with this. I assume most everyone knows the name order on a Vietnamese ID is <Last Name> <Middle Name 1> <Middle Name 2>  <First Name>.

How does this translate to filling out the I-130?

I have searched the forums and found the recommendation based on this http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/650688-question-about-the-name-filling-in-new-i-130ds160-form/

is to use

Last Name = <Last Name>

First Name = <First Name>

Middle Name = <Middle Name 1> <Middle Name 2>

However, I looked at a passport of a Vietnamese friend who got an American passport and the name appears in the same order as on a Vietnamese ID. The parents also visited the US before and their visa was issued with the name order <Last Name> <First Name> <Middle Name 1> <Middle Name 2>. So it seems that you can do it either way.

How did you fill out the I-130 for your spouse?

Wondering if anybody has experience with this (not just what the web sites say), either from Taiwan or another country with similiar requirements.

My wife needs a police clearance from Taiwan. It's easy to get, but I don't know the exact requirements for using it in Vietnam.

The embassy web site says you need an original and any translation must be authenticated by a notary. Taiwan issues it in both Chinese and English on the same page. There is no option for one language only. 

If she orders it from Taiwan and receives it in Vietnam, is that acceptable as is? Does it need any further translation or notarization?

Then why do they change the name order on the visa to read <First Name> <Middle Name>?

When filling out the DS 160, how do you write the given name? In a Vietnamese passport, the given name is <middle name> <first name>. The instructions say to write it as appears in the passport.

So should I write it as <middle name> <first name> or <first name> <middle name>?

The easiest way is contact your local Vietnamese travel agent, if there is one in your area. I got mine done for less than $100, cannot remembered the actual amount. You have to hand over your passport to the agent because they have to send the passport to Vietnamese consulate to have the visa glued to the passport.

You have the option of a loose leaf visa-exemption certificate or one glued in your passport. I was offered that choice. I've also seen both kinds.

I think the actual cost of the 5-year visa is around $25, but I used an agency because I couldn't figure it out since the application form is in Vietnamese with no English.

The processing time for the 5-year visa varies. I applied for it based on marriage. They (the Vietnamese Embassy) wanted to check in Vietnam that I had actually gotten married there and not forged the marriage certificate that I presented as evidence. It took about 2 months for me to get it.

Will Vietnam still be cheap in the future is probably a better question.

As for the traffic and pollution, the government is trying to construct an MRT (subway) system in HCMC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_City_Metro

If that is successful, it would make getting around HCMC a lot easier. Could be finished by the time some of you retire.

So does this advice change if you are applying for CR-1 visa instead of K-1?

. And you got me wondering about giving up my US citizenship, don't see any reason to pay taxes somewhere we can't go to and living here seems kinda nice really, but hate to do that because in a few years we might want to move to america. Think I might have to get some legal help to answer some questions.

If you're going to give up your US citizenship, do so for a better passport than Vietnam. It's hard for Vietnamese passport holders to get visas to most countries. You need lots of evidence. Plus the US government will try to tax you when you give it up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriation_tax#United_States

Keep in mind that you should get an exemption on foreign earned income up to $92,000 per year right now provided you stay outside the US for 11 / 12 months per year.

Unless you are filthy rich or can obtain an EU country passport (or maybe Singapore), you're still better off with the US passport.

The mental health exam is also complete and good to go, apostilled, signed by the Lt. Governor.

The Vietnamese embassy in the USA will accept this for processing your marriage application packet. However the chances of it being accepted by the Justice Department in Vietnam are very slim.

You should realistically expect them to reject your marriage application in Vietnam until you and your fiancee get the mental health exam done in Vietnam at one of their approved hospitals.

You said you would do this by power of attorney, so you will probably find out when she submits the packet to the Justice Department whether they require a new mental health exam.

I took care of all the forms that need to be authenticated and/or notarized. I even got a letter authenticated saying I was never married in my current state.

If it's from an official government office in your state that handles marriage registrations (such as vital statistics), then that is fine.

The question is, did you get every document apostilled by the secretary of state for your state? That is the signature of every notarized document and government issued document verified to be genuine? The procedure may vary from state to state. You sound like you haven't done that.

After getting them apostilled, you need to mail all the documents to the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington DC to get them authenticated as one packet by the Vietnamese government. Make sure you have the mental exam in there or it may be rejected.

You sound like you are going to have a hard time when, in Vietnam, they reject your application for the mental health exam being invalid. You will need to get one done on the first day you get to Vietnam on one of their approved hospitals, then they will accept it.

You need to request the certificate of non-marriage from either the county you live in or the state you live in.

Can anybody else here vouch for Marc Ellis?

I read some of his articles and I want to get in touch with his law firm. However, I would like to see if there any more testimonials to him. You can pm me if there is some issue with not posting commercials on the forum.

Do any of you recommend a Vietnamese company to expedite the Vietnamese marriage process. I am not from the US so I have an idea of how the "game" works in places like Vietnam. Again, please pm me if you know some companies that "expedite" the process.

Thanks

I wouldn't try to "expedite" the process. The COs know how long it takes to get a marriage license in Vietnam. "Expedition" is likely to raise eyebrows at the consulate. I suggest you do it the legit way (as much as you can in VN).

Some of the more experienced posters recommend his associate Mr. Nam in VN. You should be prepared to spend 4-6 weeks in VN to get the license regardless of any method that you choose.

Everyone has made it seem like getting married in Vietnam is really difficult. However, just going by the face value of the documents I need to provide, including a power of attorney for my fiance to turn it all in, it does not seem so bad.

Ummm.... I got married this year in Vietnam. It is doable if you are prepared and have plenty of aspirin, but it is more difficult than you think.

Let me ask you this question since you plan to submit your application by power of attorney. What is your plan when the mental health exam that you get in the USA and submit with your package to the Justice department is rejected?

OP,

If you plan on making multiple trips within three months, you might consider getting a 3 month multiple entry visa. I hate paying the visa fees to Vietnam.

I asked my wife and she said none of his family in the US will come to the wedding. Seems like an uphill battle for him.

I don't think some of the posters seem to understand that this is a region specific question. In Vietnam, getting engaged on the first in-person meeting is usually taken as a sign of immigration fraud by the US consulate.

Yes, her friend is a US citizen. I guess he is just so excited about the girl that he can't wait.

My wife was telling me about her friend. He lives in the US now and was introduced to a girl by his friend in Vietnam. They met for the first time after a year of talking and had a dam hoi (he spent a month with her during the first visit). Now he plans to gets married by the end of this year.

He's young and has no job. I'm wondering if this is a disaster in the making.

But what do I need to do here to get married over there?

A whole lot of patience, and the urge to hold back strangling the officials there for starters (seriously)

I got married this year in Vietnam in HCMC, so I'm speaking from experience. Your experience may be different in the rural provinces or Hanoi, but this how it went for us in HCMC

- Your first step is to book a wedding ceremony and announcement party and invite everybody she knows.

- You will need this paperwork packet filled out and authenticated by the Vietnamese Embassy in USA.

You can find all the forms here.

http://vietnamembassy-usa.org/basic-page/legalization-document-marriage-registration

I recommend you get a service to do the documents for you if you live in an area where there are a lot of Vietnamese and have access to one. The bureaucrats in Vietnam are picky about everything and having a service do it minimizes your risk.

I hired King Solomon Multi-Services agency to do it for me. However, when my fiancee went to the Justice department to ask if the forms were OK, she was told they used the wrong application form (even though the Vietnamese embassy approved it!) and I have to Fedex her a different signed form, which she filled out and then our application was accepted.

The tricky part is this mental health certificate. Even though I got one performed at KS, it was rejected. You basically have to get it at their hospital in Vietnam. It's good for three months. It's basically a scam to get money from you, but you must do it.

You will have to give the people at the Justice Department some coffee money. There is no way around this. They will not take your application without it. You either hire a Dich Vu or do it yourself. My wife tells me that she saw people yelling at their Dich Vu, because they failed to get the marriage certificate. So a Dich Vu is no guarantee of success. If you hire one, make sure he has a good track record.

After your application is accepted by the Justice Department, they automatically set a date for an interview. You must come to the interview in person.

At the interview, if you do not speak Vietnamese, you are required to have a translator. You do not have to hire someone who is in league with the justice department. Our translator was a friend. The interviewing officer understood English, but wanted it done in Vietnamese. I could tell the interviewer was comparing the English to the Vietnamese as I interviewed and our translator translated. The interviewer wrote everything down that we answered.

We were interviewed separately and then together.

Questions they asked:

- How we met

- What is my/her job

- How many times I visited her

- Why I want to marry her instead of an American and spend the money to come to Vietnam.

- Why I want to marry her instead of a Vietnamese in America

- What I like about her (what she likes about me)

- How we communicated (in what language)

- What percentage of the time can you understand each other

- If any of my family was coming to the wedding

They also called us in together and wanted a small demonstration of us speaking together in English

Evidence we were asked to submit:

- Authenticated copy of my passport (signature and picture page and the pages that contain entry and exit stamps

for Vietnam) from the People’s Committee (basically a copy with their stamp on it). We got this done before

the interview, as I was expecting it.

- Some photos from each calendar year of our relationship.

- E-mails from each calendar year of our relationship

- Phone call logs from each calendar year of our relationship

- The receipt /contract for our Le Thanh Hon showing the down payment or full payment depending on if your

wedding was before or after the interview (we showed the original and they kept a copy)

- A wedding invitation

Our interview was successful and they approved the application. We were told to come back within 7 days of a certain date to sign it (about 3 weeks after the interview). We came back, signed two certificates (they gave us two originals), and left happy that the ordeal was over. You must sign the marriage certificate in person.

You need between 20-25 days to have them process it. You must go to the interview and sign the certificate in person. You really need to plan this, if you don't you are going to fail miserably.

If you're married to a Vietnamese citizen, you can stay there as long as you want....

I don't think this part is true. You can get a 5-year visa that allows a 90-day stay each entry. I've read that you can renew it twice while in the country (never tried that), after which you must leave and re-enter (probably do a border run to Cambodia)

Don't know if it's true or not but I hear Vietnam has already given up or sold land to the Chinese in the North....

Well, didn't the U.S. and France also have a massive, well trained, well armed ground forces?

Honestly speaking, the US and France have more morals than China. While the USA and France committed some war crimes in the Vietnam war, if China invaded in a full-scale war they would slaughter everyone and replace them with Chinese, making US and French war crimes look like a schoolyard fight.

The US didn't go into every village and slaughter everyone on sight. China would not hesitate to do this in a full scale war.

Vietnam did give up some of the land that now borders China to pay for their war debt to China after the communists won the civil war in Vietnam.