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|  Review on January 24, 2010: |
michael7oanh
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Date of interview: Dec. 18, 2009
Location: HCMC US Consulate
We got to the consulate at about 8:15am and she left the building at about 11:40am. I waited across the street with her relatives and the street vendors.
We got the 1st blue letter asking for a notarized timeline (even though I had already included a notarized timeline with the other Proof of Relationship docs). They also requested a notarized list of my recent addresses for the last 5 years (even though this info was already in the G-325A) including a statement of who has lived with me in those locations.
Her 2nd "interview" took place a few weeks later and after giving them the requested docs they promptly gave her a denial letter stating that the case will be sent back to USCIS.
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So here are the questions the CO asked in the first interview:
- CO asked how we met. Then he asked follow-up questions about who introduced us and their connection to my family.
- CO asked her general questions about my family and my background (Where my parents work, where they live, where I live now and before I moved there).
- CO asked about our plan for wedding/marriage. Then he asked follow-up questions about location, number of guests, and cost.
- CO asked about our plan for honeymoon. Then he asked follow-up questions about location, hotel, and cost.
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My fiancée was doing really well until the wedding and honeymoon questions because we hadn’t really prepared a detailed plan for those yet. Yeah, I know, big mistake! We were so busy making arrangements for the ceremony in Vietnam that we hadn’t really planned much about the future events to take place in the US yet. Well, so the CO grilled her with questions on those topics and she cracked, giving unclear answers that led them to suspect us of a sham relationship. Also, since she was ordered to only give short answers to each question, she didn’t have much chance to elaborate on our overall situation.
Anyway, my advice to others is as follows:
1) Prepare clear, simple answers to the questions about wedding and honeymoon plans. Even if you don’t have any concrete plans yet, still make sure your fiancée memorizes something that can be explained in brief statements. If it’s like my fiancée’s interview situation, then they won’t give you a chance to explain any rather complex situation, assuming you have one. If you’ve got supporting proof of these plans (emails, travel brochures, wedding cost quotes, etc.), then use it all to illustrate the genuine nature of your relationship!
2) If they ask for a timeline after you’ve already given them one in initial proof, then use it as an important last chance to supply more evidence of your genuine relationship. Instead of simply supplying the info that they asked for in the 1st blue letter, in retrospect, I should have embedded every extra photo available into the document along with the descriptions of each event that I listed in the timeline.
3) BEFORE going in for the interview, make sure you’ve already taken at least 3-4 trips to Vietnam to visit your fiancée and keep documents/photos to prove EACH day of your time together. They may use the excuse that your photos only show a limited amount of time together if they suspect that relationship is fake. Make sure your photos are in different locations and have you both wearing different clothes too!!! Having a good variety of clothing was a bit of an oversight for me on my 2 trips to VN since my luggage was packed with gifts for her family.
Ok, Hope this helps someone out there. Good luck, Everyone.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #5594