Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Vietnam	another interview passed!!	The interview notification was a very short notice (~14 days). The medical examination appointment was scheduled with 3 weeks lead time. (Certain area) Police certification processing had 2-3 weeks lead time. This time delay should be noted by upcoming interview candidates. There were many interview candidates in this situation. Congratz on getting closer there F&P!!! I am waiting for another interview too..requested to have it soon..very soon in fact, since the Medical is coming up for expiration in a couple months. We don't want to go through another prolonged Medical again..I hope we will get a short notice for an interview just like you..	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2010-11-02 15:18:00
Vietnam	Holy Coprolite, Batman! ---APPROVED!	That's awesome..long time coming..big congrats to you!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2010-11-07 00:02:00
Vietnam	Belated congratulations and thanks	Congratulations to you too...	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2010-12-02 09:57:00
Vietnam	Our Rebuttal	Same here I don't have the answer for NVC..just want to welcome you back and wish you guys all the best, H&P !!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2010-10-01 00:11:00
Vietnam	K1 Interview: 12/20/2010	Best of luck to you both, Carl!!! It's lunch time over here now..ngu ngon, hopefully she should be back with good news for you..	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2010-12-20 00:00:00
Vietnam	Letters need to be translate in English????	At the Consulate stage, no need for translations, can be either in VNese or English.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-01-02 11:08:00
Vietnam	Emailing the HCMC consulate	I've been emailing the consulate monthly for 15 months, always got the auto-reply. After being in AP so long I get a little paranoid when the routine is changed. Ronnie, I did create a new message and change up the subject a little but still no auto-reply. Thanks for you input everyone. Instead of reply or forward the old chain of emails, I composed a new email with another subject line and I did get the auto reply again and a reply after a week or so.. You're right, after being in AP for awhile with no progress, the reply do stop until any new development/review on the case file. Another route is walk-in the Consulate if you're able to..I did a few walk-ins last May and when they last interviewed Hang, the only question they asked her was "When was his last visit?" Good luck Frank..	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-01-08 12:32:00
Vietnam	Emailing the HCMC consulate	This has happened to me many times before. After awhile, the auto reply stopped and no reply at all. Try compose a new email with a new subject (but remember to include your HCM#).	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-01-08 00:06:00
Vietnam	some advice	This is almost exactly what happened to me. After 6 months to a year in AP, some of the stuffs like Medical, Police Certificate, and Interview expired. One thing expired after the others which make you feel like you are going around and around. If your Medical needs the TB test then that cut down only 3 months, since there is approx. 3 months wait for the TB results to come back. In my case, I brought back all the interview files for her 2nd interview. I thought we were done with it so I took it all back to the States. It was 25lbs less of clothes and gifts that I needed to bring back on my last trip We went over lots of questions, old and new...they only had 1 question for Hang at the interview. The pink sheet was already filled out. The links they gave you in the 1-page interview appt letter are just generic. They will send you an email or another letter telling you won't need all of these docs. Please the attachment, the red items on my doc list are only the docs we need for the 2nd interview. No additional visa fee. Hope this much help for you... Edited by Ronnie&Hang, 13 January 2011 - 01:33 PM.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-01-13 13:29:00
Vietnam	approved	That's awesome..Congratz Rich & Sayha !!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-01-18 20:55:00
Vietnam	Wow, how long was it?	That's such a great news for you, H&P!! Finally, you guys come through..that's a awesome Li Xi for Tet..Happy New Year both!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-01-28 12:49:00
Vietnam	off topic Favorite Vietnamese Food	Oh my, you guys are becoming a pro on Vnese foods..and Rau Muong Xao Toi does bring back good times..my lady is Bac Ky too Scott, and that is all she has on almost every meals..and Ca Phao too Darn, I miss her, 3 more weeks..hehe	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2009-08-19 22:09:00
Vietnam	Tet.	Happy New Year to you all... Chuc mung nam moi!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-02-02 17:41:00
Vietnam	Name Change and Work	We had our civil wedding yesterday, my wife kept her last name. It's not only customary, but I think it will work out best since it will be the same name on her VN passport, which still valid until 2019. She can use it to travel back and doesn't have to bring our marriage certificate to show the name change. We don't have to go back to SNN office to adjust for the name change later.. We also received her SSN with "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION". I am going to apply for her EAD anyway with the AOS package since there is no additional fee, knowing it may only good for awhile and she may not even need it. So, if your wife doesn't have the urgent need to work right away..do it with AOS or wait for the GC..good lucks!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-01-25 15:24:00
Vietnam	Medical Exam	The Police Cert can be completed in Hanoi, but I have not heard of Medical being done up north. I don't know they have a Medical Visa Unit. Hang had to go to ChoRay both times but lucky for us..she worked in Saigon during that time. Good luck with the logistics and hope it works out for you...	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-02-18 17:34:00
Vietnam	vietnam visa exemption	Just got my visa... they got the app on 12/18 and it got here on 1/7... the visa is only good until Nov of 2013 as my passport expires in may 14.. the visas expire 6 months before the passport and are good for 90 days at a time... so my 5 year visa is actually a 34 month visa.. will have to renew it when i get my passport renewed... Nice..visa exemption is the way to go if you can qualified to get one..one less thing to worrry about especially for last min flights..save money too when you decide to travel when in VN. Even better then multiple visas.. FYI..They also started to lessen the restrictions (ie..no longet need to fill out the white immigration form when you get to VN). I used to loose it or Hai Quan intentionally "hold on" to it, then give me hell (cafe money scheme) when I departed VN.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-01-07 13:10:00
Vietnam	Airlines whose boarding passes have the year	Indochina - Yes (but they were out of business) Cathay Pacific - Yes Continental - No (merged with United) Just included a copy of your itinerary with your boarding passes. Most of the boarding passes won't have the year, but the the itinerary will supplement it. If you like me, keep the luggage tags..most of thoses have the full date too..	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-02-21 14:16:00
Vietnam	Wrong P4 Link Sent by HCMC Consulate	The letter the Consulate sent out is generic for both immigrant visa and K-1. Use the second link for K-1. The immigrant visa link will ask you for the I-864. You will need the I-134 for K-1 at the Consulate stage.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-02-22 12:37:00
Vietnam	Hotel in HCMC	There are few 4-5 stars hotels across from the Consulate (ie..Sofitel, Continental..) and it won't be reasonably priced. Don't know your price range but you may want to check out hotels in District 1, something around BenThanh Market. There are lots of reasonable priced hotels, around $500,000-$800,00 vnd/night on the average. A 10 min. taxi drive to the Consulate is around $30-40,000vnd.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-02-25 00:09:00
Vietnam	Vaccinations requirements for AOS	Can get titer tested for MMR and Chicken pox, if shows sufficient immunity then probably will not be required for vaccinations to what is already immune to. That's right, my wife was told to get the Varicella shot before the CS signed the I-693. So we were shopping around for the shot and it was quoted at up to $150. We waited for a couple weeks until I added my wife to my health insurance and got a blood test to confirm that she is immune and submit the result back to the CS and she signed the I-693 with no problem. Call around for the CS too, mine only charged $25. Most insisted on the full medical and charged up to $200.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-03 00:43:00
Vietnam	Naturalization Day	The new Naturalization Cert. with the frontal photo format looks so much better than the one I got years ago with side view photo. She is ready to vote, time for a brand new passport..chuc mung to both!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-03 23:03:00
Vietnam	How long does it take to get a visa after the interview?	Usually it takes about a week to pick up the visa after the approval, but sometimes it can drag out for several weeks (read the thread "PINK in HCMC"...it took them 3 weeks since Valentine's Day) DON'T buy any plane tix for her until you have the visa in hand..if you have/want to, reserved the seat but don't pay for it until you know for sure. There are lots of ticketing places in Saigon that can look up one-way tix for you fast..just ask around.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-07 11:10:00
Vietnam	Nooooooo......!	Your "Noooo.." heading is misleading by the way A big congratz on you PINK !!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-17 17:23:00
Vietnam	Do you believe in Karma?	I am just bored from work, and I haven't to do.. hihih.. j/k The first person help me are Kevin and Tuyen. I just feel like want to other as need it. Same here..this site is bookmarked besides my FB page It feel good to see that you can help out someone like others have helped me out before..and hope that I did not mess up on the advises too much..hehe, it happens sometimes but just keeping giving back y'all.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-16 09:38:00
Vietnam	Pink !!	The Consulate allows petitioner to accompany the beneficiary now?? That's awesome..only if they put a cafe vendor in there too, that would be perfect Congratulations on your approval!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-21 12:54:00
Vietnam	Expedited Interview	I would like to know under what circumstances you can request an expedited interview (assuming that's possible). If a fiance is approved, but not yet her children, is it ok to request an expedited interview? If so, how is that done? It's possible if you have a valid reasoning. In my case, the first interview was expired after one year and we were informed that she needed to be interviewed again. At the same time, the medical is also come up for expiration soon. We did not want to go thru the loop (Police Certficate-Medical-Interview) for the 3rd time. I emailed the Consulate and requested to expedite the interview based on that and was approved approx. 3 weeks later. You can send an email or drop in to make the request in person if you are still over there. Edited by Ronnie&Hang, 24 March 2011 - 08:29 PM.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-24 20:27:00
Vietnam	Pink Too	That's a great after-action review. It's nice to walk around inside watching the interview huh. Both times I had to sit on the little plastic stool across the street. The rescheduled interview is up to the Consulate, can't really tell approx. how long it will take. I also emailed and requested one to be expedited and it took about 3 weeks. For the 2nd question, I think the Consulate will extend it when they reschedule your interview.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-21 19:06:00
Vietnam	DS 156 : Question #40	As Scott mentioned above, you fill out this form online. Here is the link below or you can google "DS 156" up https://evisaforms.state.gov/ds156.asp Fill it out, follow the instructions in red at the top&bottom of the form. Print out 2 copies, sign and date. The barcode is on the the last page when you print out the form. Pls see attachement for example of barcode. Edited by Ronnie&Hang, 30 March 2011 - 02:38 PM.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-30 14:37:00
Vietnam	DS 156 : Question #40	Hello Everyone! I noticed that DS 156 is required to be filled online, so are we suppose to send it to the consulate via email before the scheduled interview? Also, how can I get my signature on number 40, where it asks for the signature of the person helping to prepare the document? Or is simply having my fiance write my name in that space okay? Thanks for all of your input! Print it out and sign on #40 if you prepared the form and the fiance signed on #41 (Page 2). Make sure you printout the 3rd page with his name and the bar code number. All the info you input is embedded in the barcode, they will just scan it at the Consulate.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-03-30 12:03:00
Vietnam	You CAN have your Medical Interview outside of HCMC	Hello, after emailing the HCMC Consulate only the end of last week, they emailed my fiance' (who lives in Hanoi) that we CAN get the medical examination in Hanoi (at the SOS clinic). You do not have to have it done in HCMC Cool..that is refreshing. Scott would love they had this option before Let us know how it goes..	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-02-22 12:46:00
Vietnam	Tomorrow is Friday	Yeah. PMS I guess. Haha.you guys are funny Been there many times while Hang was still in Saigon and now she's here..and I still blame on the PMS That's marriage life for ya..hehe Happy Friday all!!! Nice sunny day in NorCal...	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-15 17:26:00
Vietnam	affidavit of support expired?	The problem is that I cannot find an updated version of the I-134 anywhere, I tried the USCIS site, it won't let me download the form, it said something like...file cannot be open So, that's my reason for wanting my fiance just to white it out, since I cannot find an updated I-134 anywhere on the web. I only saw the version that has the expired date of 5/31/2010 on it...if I can use this version, then let me know as well. Unless anyone in this forum know a way to get the latest I-134...please let me know...I need to get this to my fiance ASAP. This is the I-134 from USCIS site, I open it with no problem... http://www.uscis.gov...00045f3d6a1RCRD The current form dated 05/31/2011 but the previous form (05/21/2010) is still accepted. No worry.	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-05 14:47:00
Vietnam	THANK EVERYONE!	Congratz on your approval!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-21 00:16:00
Vietnam	Think Pink=Got Pink in HCMC on April 20th!	But how legit are these travel agents over there any way? I was thinking of telling him to go directly to the airline and check for the price himself...he wants to fly back with me in July on EVA, I really don't like any other airline. If you plan to fly back with him then I recommend you buy both tix here..for the peace of mind. Or..get a quote for the date you plan to fly back and ask him to go both EVA office in SG @ 2A-4A, Tôn ??c Th?ng, P.B?n Nghé, Q.1 (08) 3822 4488 and any agents he knows to check on the fare..then decide. You guys still have lots of time until July, but make sure you check the date of his visa expiration next week when you get it. Good luck!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-21 00:11:00
Vietnam	Think Pink=Got Pink in HCMC on April 20th!	can't you also buy in the usa and send your fiance and e-ticket? that gives you more options and you're not at the mercy of the vn travel agents. paying with your cc also give you benefits and flexibility etc. Quan, that's true..if you're not time constraint and able to find the fare that you're happy with..do it! Most time you can get cheaper fare in SG and especially on last minuate..	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-20 14:15:00
Vietnam	Think Pink=Got Pink in HCMC on April 20th!	Thanks Ronnie! I just called one of the travel agency and they said one way from VN to U.S. is $898.00 cash! Yikes! That's a lot for a one way trip...does anyone know any cheaper rates out there? That's about what I paid for Hang's one way tix from SGN to SFO. Tell him to look around in VN, there are lot of ticket agents..you may find one cheaper from there, you will need to pay with USD cash	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-20 13:52:00
Vietnam	Think Pink=Got Pink in HCMC on April 20th!	Congratz Leelee & Tuan!!! Pickup your visa next week before buying the plane tix for him.. Welcome to the Club	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-20 11:48:00
Vietnam	I Sure Do Love	Good job!! Good to hear things are working out for you. Good luck with the new gig!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-23 23:17:00
Vietnam	I Sure Do Love	You meant 1-year VNese visa??	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-23 22:11:00
Vietnam	got pink	The Consulate probably needs to order more magenta ink cartridges to print out all the PINK sheets this week Very nice for you both...chuc mung nhe!!!	Ronnie&Hang	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-04-28 21:07:00