confusedasheck

I like this girl a lot (we have met in person). She has a lot of great and unique characteristics that I love. I think I'm going to continue the course and fight it if needed. Though I need to have a serious talk with her about what will happen in this case.

I do understand the concern for visa fraud. I have been looking out for that, but considering my friend has also tried to introduce me to relatives of his who are already US citizens, I think he's just one of those old-fashioned Viet dudes that wants to see every guy married off.

Thanks for your comments guys and gals.

Well to answer some of the questions. I have known the family member 10 years.

Her mom was actually approved for a green card to come to the US some years ago after being sponsored by her relative in the US. Her mom refused to move to the US. Her mom doesn't want to leave Vietnam. In fact, her mom actually hates Americans. The only reason I was able to meet her was because of my friend's introduction. He actually had to argue with her because I am an American. So I'm pretty certain it's not because they want to move to the US. She had a chance and didn't want to. Contrary to what the US consulate in HCMC thinks, not everybody wants to live in the USA.

I will admit that I tend to be on the paranoid side, it's just my peronsality. I've gotten a lot of good advice from this forum which I have followed. I would have never saved my boarding passes, phone records, taken a change of clothing for each day, etc. without it. But it seems like HCMC is always changing the rules.

I actually have thought this though. My plan was never to file a K1. I was planning to eventually do the CR-1 route. If failed, I might fight it. But considering I already have a strong desire to leave the USA, I might just use it as an excuse to leave and be done with this country. I would not mind moving to Vietnam once I have saved up enough money. Maybe I subconsciously want her to fail the interview so I can use it as an excuse to leave the USA!

I need to think this through some more. Thanks for your advice guys and gals.

Everything that I've read about the US consulate in HCMC indicates they will reject applications for trivial reasons or if the CO is having a bad day. As long as I have some hope, I am willing to go with it. If there is no hope, there is no point in continuing.

I'm just trying to get a straightforward answer to my question. Is my fear justified or not?

I'm trying to get some photos of my gf and her family. Her parents in any photos do not look like they want to be in them. They are actually good to me outside of the camera. But they really hate photos for superstitious reasons. In the photos her parents are in with us they really look like they do not want to be in them.

Among other red flags, I was introduced by a family member of hers in the US who I work with. Age difference is 12 years. She failed a student visa once. Mom failed a tourist visa once because she didn't get evidence for her house and bank account.

In light of the red flags combined with her parent's unwillingness to smile in photos or even look at the camera, I am serious considering ending this relationship because I fear even if I go the CR-1 route, it will be denied for lack of family photos and the way her parents look like they don't want to be in the photos.

Am I justified in this fear?

I've read that US COs in China have an unofficial rule that if she doesn't speak English, there will probably be no visa. This is actually illegal, but they do it anyway. That is probably why the immigration attorneys said that.

The advice I've read is that you would be better off enrolling her in English classes (for which you can prove) than you learning Mandarin.

There should be some kind of exception to cases like childbirth or getting married. However if she has been here 6 months, then you may have missed the exception period.

However, it's still worth checking into.

FWIW, the government can choose to disregard any or all assets you declare. The INA gives them the discretion to consider assets in lieu of income, but it doesn't require them to consider assets.

This is probably the key point which I was unaware of. They are not required to. Thanks.

Thanks guys.

So I assume that it is safe to assume cash is the only acceptable "assest" to the HCMC consulate in lieu of a job? I still have a job, but the way things are with the US economy, I would like to plan for the worst case scenario.

The money has been in my bank account for several years. Any history of withdrawals or deposits with the bank will show nothing unusual. I don't have any large sum of money being deposited in a short time frame like that (and doubt I will).

I've read US $50,000 in cash is an acceptable amount. Any proof for this number?

Does HCMC accept asset based sponsorship? By assets, I mean money in a US bank account or 401(k) in the event you don't have a job.

So to summarize...

XXXX - Previous marriages?

2004 - Married ex-wife

2009 - Sponsored ex-wives' parents

2010 Jan - ex-wives' parents arrive in US

2010 Feb - Met current wife on internet (while still legally married to ex-wife)

2010 May - Ex-wife divorces after nail shop set up for parents

2010 August to November - Met current wife in person for the first time person and married her on the first meeting (though after 3 months of being with her)

WOW... That definately seems like something suspicious is going on. I can't blame the CO for wanting to take some more time with this case to verify that it's not fraud.

yes, I found the contact info.

Regarding my case,

1) My most recent divorce was last May, then I went to VN and married last October

2) 12 yrs age difference (my wife and ex-wife are the same age)

3) I also sponsored my ex-wife via I-129F in 2004 and she came to the States at the end of 2004

Any good suggestion for my case? thanks.

When you say "most recent divorce", does that mean that you've been divorced more than once?

How many trips did you make to Vietnam before you married your current wife?

its not a big deal really.. even if it goes in backwards on the ticket, it can be easily resolved at the gate.. you are talking about domestic travel right?... I have dealt with the same issue in the past and it was resolved when needed, but usually they just look at the ID card and understand what happened and say pass.. When it says last name.. that is the surname.. the first middle order does not really matter as they understand the difference when it comes to data entry...

Yes, it is domestic travel within Vietnam.

I'm not asking about me. The agent at the counter had a problem with her name order on the ticket because she was using a Vietnamese government issued ID. I had no problem.

When filling out the form online, there is only one field for middle and first name. There is not a seperate field for first and middle name. Only one field for both. VN airlines wants them in the order <Middle Name> <First name>.

The Vietnamese for the name field says "Đệm và Tên". In English it says "Middle name & First/Given name".

Well, that's were the problem comes in. I am traveling in Vietnam on an American Passport, and she is traveling using a Vietnamese government issued ID.

The Vietnamese ID displays the name in the order <Last Name> <Middle Name> <First Name>. Last time I was in Vietnam I bought a plane ticket for her in which I filled out the form online <First Name> <Middle Name>.

When we went to check in, because she was using a Vietnamese ID, the people working the counter almost did not let her check in. We had to argue for 5 minutes and they eventually agreed.

So now I am paranoid because the Vietnam Airlines web site does not make this clear. When filling out the booking information in English they specifically ask for the order <Middle name> <First Name>, which makes no sense for a person using an American passport, but might make sense to a person using a Vietnamese ID.

I have also tried calling Vietnam airlines in CA, but they seem to never answer the phone, no matter what time I call.

I'm a bit confused on how to buy a plane ticket from Vietnam Airlines for a person using a Vietnamese ID card versus American passport.

The Vietnam airlines Web site asks you to fill in the name using the order (Middle Name) (First Name). So if they are traveling on a Vietnamese ID, I should fill in (Middle Names) (First Name). However, if I am traveling with a US passport, I assume I should ignore this and use the order on which it appear on my passport, which is (First Name) (Middle Name).

Your US passport was not stamped when you entered Vietnam? That sounds unlikely. You need to supply boarding passes to confirm your travel dates. Itineraries will not be enough.

I've heard from Viet Kieu that the Vietnamese immigration tends not to stamp Viet Kieu's passports, whether it is US or not. It is also possible to get a loose leaf visa which they will stamp on the visa and take the visa from you when you leave Vietnam.

No 3rd marriage for her.

Female convicts get a surprisely high amount of marriage proposals.

6) Beneficiary in unaware of the basic facts regarding Petitioner’s locality and-or hometown (features, characteristics,…). For example, Beneficiary was unable to provide any credible details about Petitioner’s hometown, not even the name.

How do you explain that she doesn't even know where you live? Is this an error by the consulate or is this actually true?

Maybe the CO is thinking her relatives funded the whole thing and wants to check your finances.

I've read on VJ that the US Consulate will notorize documents, but it's expensive.

I second the sleeping pills. Bring them and try to sleep. You could also call the airline and ask if your seat is near a power outlet. Some airlines have power outlets for laptops in certain seats.

What do you do for single status affidavit if you are a USC but live in a foreign country?

I model my answer after what is printed on my passport. If you look at your passport, you will see the US government lists "USA" for nationality and not American. So whenever filling out a government form, I always put "USA".

they have issued pink before and called the beneficiary telling them dont bother coming to pick it up.. they changed their mind case returned to USCIS

Oh, so they can't revoke the visa once it's been picked up, just the issuing of visa?

Unless your circumstances are exactly the same as someone elses, and you get the same consular officer, it's difficult to compare where they draw the discretionary line.

If I were in your shoes (and I'm not) then I would postpone asking until they handed me the passport containing the visa.

Can't they still revoke the visa, even after it's been handed to you if they find additional information that justifies revoking it?