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| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |  Review on January 19, 2011: |
Jimen & Kenly
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I went to Vietnam to accompany my fiancee (Kenly) to the interview. I did not have my original birth certificate, so she was afraid and wanted me to be present in case the CO wanted to ask me for an explanation.
Kenly's interview was at 9:30 AM, we arrive pretty close to this time. We had to run some errands right before, so that prevented us from arriving early. I accompanied her into the consulate without problems. She told the guard I was her fiance and I showed the guard my passport. He looked at it and directed us into the consulate building. We didn't have any problems getting in together. To enter the building, we had to place all our belongings on an x-ray scanner. Our cell phones were also taken and we were given a pass to retrieve the phones.
Once in, we walked to the immigrant visa part of the building and waited at the window to get a number. The receptionist wasn't present, so we had to wait. Once the receptionist returned, my fiancee submitted her letter and got a number. We were one of the last ones in line so we waited.
The interview area and waiting area are the same. It is air-conditioned and has ceiling fans. The interview area is basically 11 counters in a line (like counters at a bank). The CO's and translators are all in a room separate from the waiting area. The counters had a glass shield with a slit at the bottom to pass documents between the CO and the interviewee. There were chairs 2 meters from the counters, so everyone could see your interview and sometimes hear as well.
After about 2 hours, Kenly was called up to a window. She was asked for her documents including the medical package. After the person organized all of the forms and financial support documents, she was asked to wait again. He returned the evidence of the relationship, and the medical package with the x-ray sheet still inside. Though Kenly said he took something from the inside of this package. Everything else was returned.
We then waited another 1.5 hour or so before Kenly was called up to see the CO. I could not understand what was being said since only the voice of the translator was heard. Kenly had a female CO with a female translator. We saw a few interviews at this counter and Kenly didn't like how the translator treated the interviewees. She was hoping she wouldn't get this CO and translator.
The interview began with Kenly submitting our evidence for the relationship, phone records, emails, letters, pictures, etc. I could see the CO flipping through the entire stack of pictures we had. We must have taken over 300 photos. The CO did not even look at the letters and phone records. We had a whole stack. After the interview, Kenly told me she was asked the usual questions, such as when do we plan to get marry, what is our plan for a honeymoon, does she have family in the US, when was the last time we met face to face? Basically, a selection of questions from the list that's been generated. Kenly also said that she was told not to submit anything unless they asked for it and she should not answer questions that wasn't asked. We had a timeline, but Kenly wasn't given an opportunity to submit it.
The interview lasted about 20 to 30 minutes. The result is a blue slip asking for the timeline, petitioner's address/phone, beneficiary's address/phone, list of beneficiary' relatives in the US. I saw the blue slip so I walked up to the counter to ask what was requested and get clarification on how to submit the documents. The CO was pretty nice and answered my questions. But since we were the last ones to be interviewed, I didn't have time to look through the blue slip to get clarification on everything. Kenly wanted to ask a few questions, but the translator was rude and said the interview was over and her work period has ended and left before Kenly could ask anything.
After everything, we walked out of the building and gave the guard our pass to retrieve our phones and walked across the street.
Notes:
While waiting, we observed others being interviewed. There were family members in the waiting area while the interviewee went to the counter. I don't know if these family members had US passports, but they were Vietnamese. So the comments about only the interviewee is allowed in the consulate is false. It seems anyone could accompany the interviewee into the consulate and wait. Though, only the interviewee is present at the counter. Others had to wait 2 meters away.
During the interview, the CO mainly looked at a computer screen. Kenly did not notice the CO looking through the application forms or the financial support documents. So, I think those documents were processed and analyzed before the interview began. Since the CO was interviewing others during the whole time, I think someone else processed the financial support documents.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7071