ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Asia: East and PacificSending money to the U.S.
I know I've posted this on here before, but maybe some new eyes and new minds will have some ideas.

Does anybody have any idea what's the best way to send money from Vietnam to the U.S.? There seem to be so many ways to do the reverse, but my mother-in-law was told by her bank that she needs, in addition to my bank account number, my social security number and our marriage certificate. Uh, no. Not going to fall for that one. Surely there has to be a way. Anyone? Anyone?

We have people in Vietnam checking into it now. Surely we are not the only ones.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-12-15 23:15:00
Asia: East and PacificE-mailing the embassy
QUOTE (JonasMichaels @ Dec 19 2008, 11:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
THANKS CHUCKANDKIM! You are a great resource to VJ, I hope you will stick around eventhough now your wife is an official American! good.gif

Last question (for this moment, LOL) Can packet 3/4 be picked up at the consulate vs. waiting for it in the mail? Since I am here in VN with Phuong, it might be nice to go there together (for 1) and (for 2) her house has had problems receiving mail in the past (all my letters to her were never received! mad.gif )
Thanks again
Jonas

Yes, you can pick up those things in person, and it is in fact preferable to do so, as the mails are, as you say, not as nice as in the U.S.A.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-12-20 17:52:00
Asia: East and PacificFinger prints
QUOTE (Dave_Thao @ Dec 26 2008, 11:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
We had to go to Biometrics a second time because Thao's finger prints didn't take the first time. You would think they would know at the time they take the prints whether they are good or not.

Yes, I agree that is very funny because when Mai went for her biometrics, the lady running the machine looked at all the fingerprint images very carefully, explaining to us that oftentimes Asian women's fingerprints don't "take" the first time. She seemed satisfied with Mai's prints, and we haven't had any problems with that issue.

You would think that since the Twin Cities has way more Asians than Des Moines, that the biometrics people up there would be more up to speed. Your tax dollars at work.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-12-27 17:59:00
Asia: East and PacificFinger prints
I've heard before that some Asians' fingerprints don't show up on the electronic thing-a-ma-jig. Yet another ethnocentric machine, I guess.

On the other hand, when I had to go get my fingerprints taken for professional reasons, the cop taking them happened to comment that cement masons often had barely any fingerprints left, from their work.

Good luck to you, anyway. Suggest to them that they need to put your fingerprints on a card with ink, the old-fashioned way. They'll show up then for sure.

And congratulations, too!
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-12-25 09:29:00
Asia: East and PacificJust called HCM and got an interview date
QUOTE (violet18ac3 @ Apr 14 2008, 07:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Can someone point me to a link for current visa fee, medical checkup? Thanks

There are no visa fees listed on the internet. I would call the Vietnam Consulate in SFO. They are cheaper and faster than the embassy in Washington. I believe, but don't quote me on this, that it's $45 for a 1 month, single entry tourist visa, plus your mailing costs. I myself am getting a 3 month, multi-entry for $120.

Their phone number is (415) 922-1707 or 922-1577. Email is info@vietnamconsulate-ca.org.

I don't know about the medical fees, but the nice lady at HCM (I got her twice before, and she's the only nice one) did remind me to remind Mai that she must get her medical done in Saigon. She must have seen that Mai is from Hanoi.

Good luck with all the preparations! Time to panic now! I leave in 15 days!
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-14 08:53:00
Asia: East and PacificJust called HCM and got an interview date
OK, she's gonna kill me for posting this before I call her, but this phone conversation will take a while. We got May 9th. Woohoo!
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-13 22:30:00
Asia: East and PacificJust called HCM and got an interview date
Hey congratulations! I'm about to call within minutes. Got to put some more money on my calling card first, though! Good luck with the interview!
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-13 22:05:00
Asia: East and PacificInternet Service In Southern Viet Nam
Yup, that describes our experience to a "t", right even down to the no-voice-YM-with-a-Mac. We use Skype. Oh yeah, we have 1 extra ace in the hole. Mai's nephew, Quang, is a sophomore at University. He is studying computer science. So there is always someone there to patch together all the old, slow, piece-of-junk computers they all have. Thank goodness for that!

QUOTE (PeterFB @ Apr 12 2008, 01:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The internet and power in Vietnam is a problem even in HCMC. On every trip (March 2007, September, Feburary 2008) I went on, the power went off at Khanh's house where I was staying at least once. It usually was for 3-4 hours. Sometimes they knew it would go off but mostly it just when out. He lives in District 4.

Thi's mother/brother live in Tan Binh district. The power and internet there is less stable. Since she's been here, she's been chatting with her family everynight possible. However there has been 1-2 times where the internet (Yahoo really) has been unstable but still able to chat (Yahoo messenger freezes or quits unexpectedly. Restarting Yahoo usually reconnects them) and 1 or 2 times that the power was off or went off while chatting. She chats at 10pm US time usually.

Since I use Macs, we use iVisit to voice chat because Yahoo doesn't support the Mac with voice yet. When I set her up to voice chat, iVisit was the only program I found that supported both Mac and PCs for voice chat. Now Skype, Gizmo and others do but the iVisit/Yahoo combination works (except Yahoo is a little flaky and my expensive audio hardware I use for music doesn't always like being used for chatting and making sounds in Yahoo. We have to flip the sync on it somtimes to reconnect the audio. I don't have that problem with my music software). Changing it now would be a problem as her family don't know English, computers nor have a "computer" friend to help them configure Skype, Gizmo, etc. They know how to start and log on in Yahoo and iVisit. .....

Even when we chatting over the last year and half, there were many times when the internets was unstable, sometimes unusable and of course the power would be off either long enough so we couldn't chat or would cut our chats short. But never has it been more than a day between chats because of power or internet problems.


Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26
I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11
I-129F RFE(s) :
RFE Reply(s) :
I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26
Touched: 2007-11-02
NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16
Consulate recieved ??????
Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11
Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28
Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14
Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23
Interview Date 2008-2-27
Passed Interview 2008-02-27
Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05
Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)
POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles
Wedding planned 2008-04-26

Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-12 10:59:00
Asia: East and PacificInternet Service In Southern Viet Nam
It may be that there are some cases where people are making excuses, but the fact is that internet service in Vietnam generally sucks. I know this from long daily experience. I do have one friend in Saigon, and I have never had a problem talking with him on the internet (though his cell phone really sucks as far as sound quality). But in Hanoi, and I imagine in outlying areas, that dang internet is always on the blink. Between that and power failures, it makes life less than pleasant sometimes.

It is getting to be summertime, and that means more power failures. When I was there last summer, the power would fail 2 or 3 times a day. It even happened during our engagement ceremony, with a house crammed full of people. Luckily, my future brother-in-law came to the rescue and brought a radiator fan out of a Toyota. He hooked it up to a car battery, and we at least had some air moving again! Good old Vietnamese ingenuity.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-11 21:36:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
QUOTE (Melrose Plant @ Apr 15 2008, 05:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
All I know is that the interviewer was a white man. I'm getting this information second hand, I haven't actually talked with em Thuy since the night before her interview.


Guess what? I was wrong. I actually talked with em Thuy today at length. The interviewer, it turns out was Asian, she thought he looked Chinese or Korean. She said he spoke English with no foreign accent though.

Em Thuy picked up her visa today (yesterday over there), and has a plane ticket in hand for May 6. Unfortunately, that means we will miss meeting her in person by one day.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-16 21:25:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
All I know is that the interviewer was a white man. I'm getting this information second hand, I haven't actually talked with em Thuy since the night before her interview.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-15 17:40:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
QUOTE (Melrose Plant @ Apr 7 2008, 06:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Can we be April interview wannabees? Thought we would be there right behind you Haonie, but that apparently ain't gonna happen. I know a woman (not a VJ member) who has her interview on the 9th. My fiancee is in almost daily contact with her and I talk regularly with her fiance, a man from upstate NY. I will post all I find out in a couple of days. Good luck.

Finally, I have the interview questions from em Thùy:

What is your name?
What is your fiance's name?
How old is he?
Who lives with him?
Who introduced the two of you?
What is your F's job?
How many time did he visit Vietnam?
How long were the visits?
How many houses does he own in the U.S.? He is a farmer/landlord. She got that question wrong, by the way. She answered 3 houses. The correct number is 5.

Here is your pink slip.
Come back on Wednesday for the visa.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-15 11:27:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
See? I'm glad I posted now! Good luck to you and your fiancee Haonie, and have a safe trip! I wish I were there. I will follow you soon!
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-11 14:03:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
I am still waiting to hear from em Thuy about the questions from her successful interview. She hasn't been online for 2 days. I will post the questions (I understand they were very normal, simple questions) when I hear from her.

Instead, I will now post interview questions from a recent interview, resulting in the pink slip. This woman's fiancee is Vietnamese-American, and I would gather that they communicate by Vietnamese rather than English. The interview was conducted in Vietnamese through a translator. I apologize for posting in Vietnamese, but although I have a basic understanding of the questions and comments contained herein, I feel incompetent to do true and accurate translation. But I figure, what the heck? It might help somebody, and if not, nothing lost right? Maybe somebody can do a quick translation for us.

By the way, I learned something new today: OX means husband (ông xã), and BX means wife (bà xã). I only knew the words ch?ng and v? before. In fact, my dictionary doesn't even have OX or BX in it. Plus I learned three more words for "you" today. Sometimes I despair of EVER learning this language well.........

Khi ph?ng v?n thì h? ch? h?i minh kho?ng 10 câu thôi. H? h?i mình là:
- Ba m? mình và Ba M? ng??i b?o lãnh có h? v?i nhau ko?
- Mình và ng??i b?o lãnh quen nhau khi nào?
- Vì sao quen? Và m?t câu h?i liên quan ??n ngh? nghi?p c?a OX
- Làm l? ?ính hôn ngày nào?
- Ông xã ?i M? theo di?n gì? Ai b?o lãnh? ?i vào th?i gian nào?
( Còn vòng s? v?n thi c?ng h?i Mình và ng??i b?o lãnh có h? ko? Quen nhau bao gi?? Làm l? ?ính hôn ngày nao? Mình có h? hàng gì bên M? ko? Có b?n bè hay ng??i quen gì ko?)
Sau khi h?i mình xong, anh Ng??i M? ph?g v?n mình h?i có b?ng ch?ng gì ko? Tuy nhiên, khi mình b?t ??t ??u s? b?ng ch?ng ra, ch?a k?p chuy?n vào thì anh ta khoát tay, b?o kh?i c?n. hông xem gì c? và ký gi?y h?ng ??a mình, h?n 4 gi? chi?u ngày hôm sau ??n l?y visa.
Cu?c ph?ng v?n mình v?n v?n 5 phút, nhanh b?t ng?.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-11 13:08:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
QUOTE (2007K1 @ Apr 10 2008, 09:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Haonie,

Good Luck to your coming interview.
May I have your collected interview questions? It would help me to prepare my fiancee a lot.

Thanks a lot in advance! best wishes!
2007k1


Yes, I second that request. I know you and Peter had a list of possible/probable questions that might be asked. Did you amalgamate them yourselves from many posts, or is there a master list somewhere?
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-10 13:06:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
I got word early this morning that our friend, em Thùy, received her pink slip. I will post her interview questions as soon as I know them. Em Thùy said that the actual interview was much easier than my practice interview for her! That is the way it is supposed to work!

Edited by Melrose Plant, 09 April 2008 - 12:23 PM.

Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-09 12:22:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
QUOTE (Melrose Plant @ Apr 7 2008, 06:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I know a woman (not a VJ member) who has her interview on the 9th. My fiancee is in almost daily contact with her and I talk regularly with her fiance, a man from upstate NY. I will post all I find out in a couple of days. Good luck.


I just had a conference call with my fiancee & the woman who has her interview tomorrow. I drilled her with questions as I thought the consulate might ask so she could practice. She is very nervous. Her English is not too bad, and I hope she can understand the interviewer in English. She could understand me very well when I spoke deliberately, but had a little trouble when I spoke more rapidly & casually on purpose. Hopefully, she will have no problems understanding in person.

I will post news about her and her questions as soon as I know them. I, along with all of you I am sure, wish her good luck.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-08 11:42:00
Asia: East and PacificCall all April’s Interview “Vietnam”
Can we be April interview wannabees? Thought we would be there right behind you Haonie, but that apparently ain't gonna happen. I know a woman (not a VJ member) who has her interview on the 9th. My fiancee is in almost daily contact with her and I talk regularly with her fiance, a man from upstate NY. I will post all I find out in a couple of days. Good luck.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-07 18:48:00
Asia: East and PacificAirline fares
QUOTE (Cuong @ Apr 17 2008, 12:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Melrose Plant @ Apr 15 2008, 11:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I got my plane ticket yesterday. I paid $1,324.29 for a round-trip from Des Moines International Airport. Hahahahaha, that's funny. Des Moines International Airport. They must have a UPS plane that flies up to Winnepeg or something. I feel very lucky to get that price on 2 weeks notice. That is only $125 more than I paid last January (2007). Not bad, considering the hefty increase in the price of fuel. Have to leave on Monday or Tuesday, though. Any other day is $300 to a whopping $2,100 more expensive.

So I got to playing around with the fare search on Orbitz. It turns out that if I could somehow get a ticket within the next few hours, and leave at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, I would still pay $1,324.29. But if I left on Wednesday, April 30th, one day after my actual departure date, I would have paid more than double. How do they come up with these pricing schedules? It boggles the mind.



Melrose Plant, are you from Des Moines also? When's your wife's interview?

Indianola. May 9th. Another Iowan (gasp!)?
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-17 15:10:00
Asia: East and PacificAirline fares
I got my plane ticket yesterday. I paid $1,324.29 for a round-trip from Des Moines International Airport. Hahahahaha, that's funny. Des Moines International Airport. They must have a UPS plane that flies up to Winnepeg or something. I feel very lucky to get that price on 2 weeks notice. That is only $125 more than I paid last January (2007). Not bad, considering the hefty increase in the price of fuel. Have to leave on Monday or Tuesday, though. Any other day is $300 to a whopping $2,100 more expensive.

So I got to playing around with the fare search on Orbitz. It turns out that if I could somehow get a ticket within the next few hours, and leave at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, I would still pay $1,324.29. But if I left on Wednesday, April 30th, one day after my actual departure date, I would have paid more than double. How do they come up with these pricing schedules? It boggles the mind.

Edited by Melrose Plant, 15 April 2008 - 11:15 PM.

Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-15 23:12:00
Asia: East and PacificWife's finally coming over
Wow, that was a really long time to wait, but you guys made it! Congratulations! And good luck! Now the hard part begins.........
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-16 12:08:00
Asia: East and PacificWhat is MRV?
Hey, you know if you keep adding to the posts really fast, it "morphs" them all into one automatically?

Whoops! No it doesn't. That was really weird.

No, it does! It happened again!

Haha, that was 5 posts for the price of 2!
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-17 22:02:00
Asia: East and PacificWhat is MRV?
QUOTE (TQN @ Apr 17 2008, 04:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Melrose Plant @ Apr 17 2008, 02:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I'm sitting here on the floor, with documents spread out all over the place, going through Peter/Haonie's checklist, trying to get all my things together, trying to decipher all these numbered forms, what is part of Packet 3 that I don't have, and gathering all the rest that I do.

Then I run across this item, "MRV payment receipt." I did a search and can't find a definition. I see it mentioned several times, but nobody ever said what it is. What is it? I'm guessing it's something we do in Saigon, not me right here, right now, but I just wanted to check and make sure. Thanks in advance for your help.


MRV stands for Machine Readable Visa. It's the $131 visa fee need to be pay at a CITI bank in HCM before your fiancee go into interview. Your fiancee will receve a MRV payment receipt after she has paid the fee.

Citibank? Thieeeeeeeeves! Thieeeeeeeeeves! They stole the precious, and we has to get it back! MRV is another word for blood money then. We don't need a machine readable visa. I'm sure some very nice man or woman in Chicago is perfectly capable of reading it themselves.

Sorry, I got so caught up in railing against all this nickel-and-dime stuff that I forgot to say thanks for explaining that. I can go back to sorting documents then without a care in the world.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-17 21:59:00
Asia: East and PacificWhat is MRV?
I'm sitting here on the floor, with documents spread out all over the place, going through Peter/Haonie's checklist, trying to get all my things together, trying to decipher all these numbered forms, what is part of Packet 3 that I don't have, and gathering all the rest that I do.

Then I run across this item, "MRV payment receipt." I did a search and can't find a definition. I see it mentioned several times, but nobody ever said what it is. What is it? I'm guessing it's something we do in Saigon, not me right here, right now, but I just wanted to check and make sure. Thanks in advance for your help.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-17 16:47:00
Asia: East and PacificName change
I find it very interesting that most Asian wives want to change their names when marrying Westerners, since that is just not an Asian custom. Why do suppose that is? In our case, it does have a practical element to it: Most Americans just simply cannot pronounce the name Nguy?n.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-17 15:30:00
Asia: East and PacificHCMC visa lag seems reasonable now...
Wasn't it true at one time that one could pick up the visa later in the day after receiving the pink slip? Or did I just imagineer that? This waiting a week or two is just not so gosh-awful convenient for those of us from Hanoi or Hue or other places very far away from Saigon.

If we indeed get the pink slip when the time comes, maybe we'll just have to go to Bangkok or Singapore for a few days while we are waiting. At least we have a place to stay for free whilst we are in Saigon. A friend of ours, from England no less, has an apartment there, and he has extended his hospitality.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-09 18:28:00
Asia: East and PacificApproved !! :)
QUOTE (Eric and An Thuy @ Apr 18 2008, 12:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Congrates on the approval 2 to 3 months look at our time line

I would never want to take anything away from Eric and em An, but for you newbies out there, may I suggest that you don't look at their timeline. You will only be disappointed in your own luck. Look at our timeline instead. Then you will feel much better. laughing.gif
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-18 08:43:00
Asia: East and PacificApproved !! :)
Don't forget to get tax transcripts, mentioned elsewhere on this forum, in addition to your returns. Very easy. Call (800) 829-1040, and follow the menu. They will send them out quickly free of charge.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-15 22:43:00
Asia: East and PacificApproved !! :)
QUOTE (Rodney n. @ Apr 15 2008, 08:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Melrose Plant @ Apr 15 2008, 08:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Rodney n. @ Apr 15 2008, 06:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (HappyOne @ Apr 15 2008, 06:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
congratulations and hopefully the last step will be as fast!!!

anyone have a good estimate of how long it usually takes to get to the interview? i am hoping 3-4 months at the most, but i know with the government things are not always that easy sometimes.

Well, being as you got approved in 63 days, I'm guessing both of you will be snug as a bug in the U.S. within about 45 days. At the interview, they will ask your fiancee about 3 questions, one of which is "What is your name?", before handing her the pink slip. Then they will say come back later this afternoon to pick up the visa.

Now, if your approval had taken 163 days, then it would be an additional 4-6 months of waiting. When you finally got an interview date, they would keep your fiancee in there for an hour and ask her the exact dimensions of the mole on your lower left back. Of course, she would give the reply in millimeters when they wanted inches, resulting in the blue slip and an additional 3 months of administrative review. After all that, and with pink slip in her hand, they would tell her to come back after 3 weeks and maybe they might have the visa for her, even though they knew she had a plane ticket for departure in 2 weeks.

And that's how it works, as far as I can tell, so don't worry, you've got it made. Congratulations on the approval.

P.S. You can look at all our timelines under "Immigration Timelines" at the top of the screen. You also have the ability to show only Vietnamese K-1 timelines (maybe K-3s are in there too, I don't remember).

i hope it is that quick. i have talked to a lot of people who have gone through vn and they say it seems to take forever sometimes. maybe my luck will be different. smile.gif

You of course realize, though it is often difficult to tell such things in print, that I wrote all of the above with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Don't listen to me. Listen to Peter.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-15 22:23:00
Asia: East and PacificApproved !! :)
QUOTE (Rodney n. @ Apr 15 2008, 06:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (HappyOne @ Apr 15 2008, 06:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
congratulations and hopefully the last step will be as fast!!!

anyone have a good estimate of how long it usually takes to get to the interview? i am hoping 3-4 months at the most, but i know with the government things are not always that easy sometimes.

Well, being as you got approved in 63 days, I'm guessing both of you will be snug as a bug in the U.S. within about 45 days. At the interview, they will ask your fiancee about 3 questions, one of which is "What is your name?", before handing her the pink slip. Then they will say come back later this afternoon to pick up the visa.

Now, if your approval had taken 163 days, then it would be an additional 4-6 months of waiting. When you finally got an interview date, they would keep your fiancee in there for an hour and ask her the exact dimensions of the mole on your lower left back. Of course, she would give the reply in millimeters when they wanted inches, resulting in the blue slip and an additional 3 months of administrative review. After all that, and with pink slip in her hand, they would tell her to come back after 3 weeks and maybe they might have the visa for her, even though they knew she had a plane ticket for departure in 2 weeks.

And that's how it works, as far as I can tell, so don't worry, you've got it made. Congratulations on the approval.

P.S. You can look at all our timelines under "Immigration Timelines" at the top of the screen. You also have the ability to show only Vietnamese K-1 timelines (maybe K-3s are in there too, I don't remember).
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-15 20:17:00
Asia: East and PacificI-134
Thanks Peter. A very simple and elegant solution, as always.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-21 08:20:00
Asia: East and PacificI-134
OK, I got another I-134 filled out. Simple enough. OK, why can nothing be simple? 1st: Since I filed one before, I put that I filed one before, right? Even though it was for the same pending application, and hasn't really had a chance to take effect? 2nd: The first one, filled out by a lawyer, I believe was filled out incorrectly. It put BOTH my fiancee and my son as full dependents. The question is worded in the present, not the future. So I am thinking my fiancee shouldn't have been on there? She is not dependent on me financially, and certainly not fully dependent. She WILL be, of course, but I can't go crossing out words on the form now, can I? Even my son is not FULLY dependent on me, it is spelled out fairly clearly in the divorce decree who is responsible for what, and what costs will be split.

What to do, what to do.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-20 22:30:00
Asia: East and PacificI-134
I filed an I-134 with my original I-129(f) application, even though it might not have been necessary to do so. But that was last August. Do you think I should fill out a new one? The only thing that would be different is the date, my income was a little bit less in 2007 (but still well above the red zone), and I have a LOT more money in the bank now. What do you think?
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-18 12:50:00
Asia: East and PacificHCM interview date
I'd call them after the first of May. I am not sure, but I think they set up these appointments twice a month. I'm not sure anybody knows how they work. Yes, it's probably too soon to call, it's only been 2 weeks.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-21 13:18:00
Asia: East and PacificHCM interview date
Upon further reflection Dave, the same thing happened to me with USCIS. Our case took FOREVER in California. I enlisted the help of the Senator's office, and they got a canned response (I am guessing) saying it was going to be another 3 or 4 weeks before we got approved. But, shut my mouth, it wasn't a week and we were suddenly approved. Coincidence? Maybe. I won't ever know for sure.

Let's just hope for a repeat performance for the both of us at HCM, eh?
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-08 22:17:00
Asia: East and PacificHCM interview date
Eh, what the hell, it was worth a try anyway......it really didn't take up too much of my time.

On a brighter note, maybe with any luck we'll see you in Saigon?

Edited by Melrose Plant, 08 April 2008 - 10:11 PM.

Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-08 22:08:00
Asia: East and PacificHCM interview date
I just got off the phone with my U.S. Senator's office. They are willing to help me any way they can. We will see if this speeds things up at all. Marc Ellis advised me that a call/letter/email from Congress really won't affect the merits of a case, but it may help speed things up. Or it may not. Who knows? I can but watch and pray.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-08 17:14:00
Asia: East and PacificHCM interview date
I called again tonight. I got the same answer. "Wet until ze ent of zis mont fo intaview det."

This time, I got a lady whose English was so thick, I decided I wasn't even going to press her. What does it take to talk with an American at an American consulate? I feel like I'm talking through a fog with these people, much the same as I felt 1 1/2 years ago when I talked with my fiancee for the first time. I swear, Mai speaks much better English that a lot of these Consulate receptionists, and she's entirely self-taught. I toyed with the idea of choosing "emergency situation" on the menu and then playing dumb, just so I could talk normally with an American, but decided against it, figuring it might be a black mark against our case.

I know of so many couples (sorry, ahem, BENEFICIARIES) who got interview dates two weeks ago who turned in their Packet 3s within days of ours. Heck, one of them has an interview date on the 9th, two days from now. This is so frustrating, especially since I am very recently unemployed, and I really hate to take a job now, knowing I will have to quit in a few weeks. Don't want to pi$$ off the local contractors, you know?

I got a call from my U.S. Senator's office last week, asking how the case was going. They had even done some research before they called, and they knew more than I expected before they called (I had requested their assistance last winter when CSC was taking freaking FOREVER to process cases). Although I told them it was going OK, I have decided to call them tomorrow (I plan to do a conference call with my fiancee) and hopefully get things moving again. They seem very happy to help me. I'm just thrilled that my elected representative even notices me, frankly. But then, it IS an election year!

Thanks for letting me vent, and the best of luck to all of you.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-04-06 23:55:00
Asia: East and PacificHCM interview date
Well sh$%! I called again tonight, they still won't tell me anything. Why some cases move so fast and others don't, I can't understand. I'm ready to go!
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-03-28 01:49:00
Asia: East and PacificHCM interview date
Thanks for the replies and support. One thing puzzles me, however. I cannot help but notice that both Eric and Peter suggest that I will have to wait another month to get a date set, and yet both of you got interviews in about 2 months after turning in Packet 3. I see others in the same situation, more or less. Are you trying to keep my expectations low, so I am not disappointed?

OK, part of my problem is that I just finished a job out-of-town, I've been away from my home for a long time, I've saved up all the money that I need now (which is why I took that job in the first place), I'm ready to GO! I just can't seem to get relaxed and satisfied adjusting to my new schedule, which is pretty much no schedule. What I need to do is just quit coming to VJ! Haha.

Thanks again, guys.
Melrose PlantMaleVietnam2008-03-21 07:30:00