biggish data

interview proof of relationship

My wife Co was more intrested in why there wern't more pics of me and her kids. She answered when we were on our little excursions together the kids were in school. It must of been a good answer. The cermony we had was the same as if the khmer people use when they marry,once again CO couldnt tell the difference between a Dam Hoi and the marriage.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-02-28 08:29:00

interview proof of relationship

I also had a very lax Dam Hoi and was good to go. Sayha, you have been here a long time such as I have, and we have heard where the Dam Hoi was very important. Also have heard where visas were denied for the lack of customs being one of the reasons. I have for a long time try to figure out what it is that they look for. Sometimes they are wanting to see a Dam Hoi sometimes they don't seem to care.

I totally agree with you. Sometimes I think it depends on the mood of the CO if the you get the Pink or blue. I'm not at all saying pictures of the Dam Hoi are not important,like we seen in people's post over the years it might make or break you. There are 54 ethnic groups through out Vietnam and their customs differ from one another. How can can a CO judge your clothes or if they don't see the words Dam Hoi in the pictures with so many diff cultures? I wore a blazer in mine, I was too big to wear the traditional clothes. If your clothes look like a wedding so be it, your filing the K1 not the Cr1. Jac's post was spot on, update those items and give them all you got, they will pick through the pics and might only look at a few. I can honestly say my experience was pretty painless dealing with the process, granted I had an attorney and a fiancee who would study English and prep 16 hours a day several weeks living in a hotel in Saigon. Do I think that helped? Maybe a little but once again I go back to the CO and had to say he probably was in a good mood,maybe amused a bit by my her English and her determination to talk with him. She said he laughed a few times, smiled a lot and then conducted the rest of the interview in Vietnamese though an interpreter.

Listen to most of the people in VJ's there some on here that know what there talking about. PS. I'm not one of them, what I wrote above is merely my opinion. Best of Luck! She will be with you soon!

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-02-27 23:33:00

interview proof of relationship

I did the K1, never heard the word Dam Hoi,granted my wife is Khmer, she was never questioned about the type of garb(different of what I see the Vietnamese wear) we wore at our engagement.I'm not totally aware if the Co cared or even knew she was of a different ethnic group of Vietnam.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-02-27 06:29:00

Do not open envelope

Thanks for the correction.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-02 18:28:00

Do not open envelope

Should be issued a week later and you hand over the do not open envelope to Consulate. do not buy plane tickets till Visa in hand.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-01 22:13:00

K-1 or K-3

Hello Everyone,
Been a while since my last post. Hoa and I have been talking alot and I have my flight to Vietnam coming up on March 23rd. We are very excited to finally be able to get together and after all the time talking I have proposed to her and asked her to marry me. I am overjoyed that she has accepted and once I am in VN we plan on having the engagement party . It is important for me that she and her family are happy and I want to include her family and friends as much as we can. So given the timing and my availability from work, we are wondering if it is best to pursue the k-1 visa or marry once I am in Vietnam and pursue the k-3 visa at that point. Would it go bad if we have the engagement party and we marry in 1 week during my trip to VN?
Thanks alot for your input.
Scott

Your first trip to Vietnam? Don't necessarily have to have the Engagement party 1st trip. I did k1, fiancee here in 10 months, 2 trips made to Vietnam. file the K1 when you get back and mention in the Timeline that you will make a 2nd trip to do the engagement, it could possibly help your case if you wait on the Engagement, either way make sure your paperwork is in check and lots of evidence. I hired Marc Ellis the best Immigration attorney in Asia!

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-02 19:38:00

K-1 interview. Do you required to have engagement party prior to interview?

Look, I understand where you are coming from, but trying to rationalize why the Dam Hoi is not important is a moot point.

When I became engaged I only had a limited Dam Hoi ( if such a thing exists). After speaking with her parents on the need for a full blown Dam Hoi they suggested that we just hit the highlights and skip most of the bling and ceremonials. We ended up going through some of the formalities, including meeting with the elders/parents in asking permission formally for marriage. We had a small celebratory dinner with the family (maybe 25 folks) at a local restaurant. I have plenty of pics of all that, but there were no Ao Dai's worn, and no engagement trappings (or a sign) at the dinner. I didn't consider this to be an issue UNTIL after joining VJ, and reading on the importance of the full Dam Hoi.

Where does that leave us?? Well I wasn't going to return to Viet Nam, and drag the whole family through ANOTHER Dam Hoi complete with Ao Dai, signs, and a 200 person dinner. That would just be a sham and only serve the purpose of taking some photos. I spoke with an attorney, soaked up every bit of info off the VJ Viet Nam forum, and decided the best course of action was to MITIGATE the damage. You can do the same!!

How did I mitigate?? First off i front-loaded the ####### out of the petition, which from looking at your timeline might be too late. The attorney I consulted suggested that I include sworn statements from both her parents, her corporate employer, and several other credible sources attesting to the relationship, knowledge of the engagement, the engagement party, and their concurrence with the engagement. These types of sworn statements are not gold standard evidence, but the attorney advised that they would present a strong counterweight to any perception that we are "hiding" the relationship from the family and community. Also, include as MANY pics as possible interacting with her family on different occasions. DON'T skimp on the relationship timeline and include as much FACTUAL detail as possible as the timeline may be scrutinized more closely ,. Include as much evidence as possible that can be attributed to a Western style engagement, including correspondence of "popping" the question, Engagement ring receipts. and any pictures of her WEARING the ring with the parents in view. Most important, be PREPARED to explain the situation to the CO. Sit down and discuss the situation with your fiancée, and even her parents if possible. I initially thought about putting a good "spin" on my Dam Hoi story, but after much thought I decide we should simply and sincerely tell the CO exactly what what was (and was not) included in our Dam Hoi. THose CO's have heard EVERY story and lie in the book, so simply telling the TRUTH may come off as much more credible, sincere, and heartfelt. I am not ashamed of how we accomplished our Dam Hoi, and am prepared to fully explain to the CO why we accomplished things in the manner that we did. The CO's understand we live in a real world that isn't always cookie cutter, and would more accepting of unorthodox circumstances if only people would not try to lie their way through the interview. I believe that most of the cases listing a lack of Dam Hoi as reason for denial were already near the fail point and were pushed off the edge by the couple trying to lie about something they couldn't prove (the Dam Hoi).

Brian, the sworn statements I think, don't hold much weight, just about anything can be bought for a price in Vietnam, I too had a lawyer(Ellis) my fiancee had the local police sign a sworn document why I was there and when my party was, the attorney threw it in the garbage and told my fiancee that she wasted my money. I think the fact people front load their petitions with adequate evidence and proof of their travels helps the approval rates. I've heard too many stories also about their fiancees going to interview and not being able to answer personal questions about the Petitioner and getting a blue or even possibly a denial. Your fiancee should know everything about you so she can answer the CO without hesitation or I dunno.

Edited by Sayha or bust., 04 March 2012 - 06:29 PM.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-04 18:26:00

Tet 2012

I was offered dog several times last time I was there. Third country I ate dog. Always tasty.

They would have to trick me to eat it. I've tried everything my wife put in front of me but I would eat a cat before a dog.You could buy that too.

James..you are bringing back lots of memories from Hanoi for me..I felt like I was "ve que an Tet" again on Hang's Dad side of the family in HaTay. I have to give it to you..you are having the experiences the not even many VKs have ever seen..

Ronnie, you guys have a baby? Congrats to you and Hang.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-05 22:30:00

Tet 2012

Thank god for S. Vietnam didn't see any dog on the menu or public BBQ's of my dog friends. Granted I could buy it at the market my wife's family don't take much of a fancy to it.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-05 20:34:00

visa in hand

Congrats!!!!! Posted Image

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-10 20:18:00

How money do you need to sponsor for your wife?

My wife is cooking now. Mines cooking to me alone is a big reason I will be as good to her as possible. I struck the gold mine with her on her cooking. I am a lucky guy.

My wife barely cooks any more, our 14 year old daughter does most of the cooking because of her 7 day a week work schedule. I get some good cooking on Sunday because it's a short day for her. Once in a while if I whine she will cook in the mornings before she goes to work. I envy you LuckyTxn!!!

She likes to to call me "fat man" when I tell her I'm hungry but yet she piles on the food. It must be love...... Posted Image

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-11 22:34:00

How money do you need to sponsor for your wife?

Just put her to work when she gets here. Mine works usually 7 days a week and has more in the bank that I. Don't expect her to share.

Good answer. My wife's the same way. I figure she still owes me about $20,000. I'm only kidding Posted Image

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-11 18:48:00

Engagement party

Very well said.

I did the entire thing on my own and never looked back!

I had no clue what I doing at my engagement party, my now wife's family planned everything, I was just the bank. I took my coworkers mom with me to help translate and help me through out my trip but she had her own agenda when she got there most of her time was with her 2 sons. The engagement party was based on Theravada Buddhism tradition looking at my video the other night, I was winging it the whole way. Even caught myself falling a sleep during it( 90 degrees and I had a heavy blazer on,probably had some heat exhaustion). If I had to do it over again I would of done more homework about the Dam Hoi instead of worry more about the immigration process.

I'm sure i mentioned this before my party looked like a marriage ceremony more than a Dam Hoi my fiancee would refer to me as her husband to people and in our letters after it. I filed a K1 and was never scrutinized by the CO as he looked at our pictures. I'm not condoning my fiancee's behavior or mine during our experience because I've read on VJ and the internet about people getting denied because of the way we headed our letters and Dam Hoi pictures we presented to the CO.

Edited by Sayha or bust., 10 March 2012 - 08:12 PM.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-10 20:02:00

Engagement party

So I am going to be in Vn with my Fiancee and were going to have the Engagement party. My question is about the traditional gifts. I have read many websites about it and they all mentioin the normal gifts, the Batel nuts, leaves, tea, wine, a rost pig and my fiancee tells me a part of the traditional gifts are money in an envelope to the family. I have read that the envelope gifts are normaly in the wedding ceromony. Am i reading the tradition wrong? what ceromoney is the envelopes given and about what would a reasonable amount be?

I never gave any money to anyone in our Engagement party, the guest would come to us and give us money and tie a thread on each of our wrist and took a ceremonial shot of soda. The guest that didn't actually participate in the ceremony put the money envelopes in the drop box. The money was counted and given to her mom and dad. We walked around to each table afterwards and handed out cigarettes and tooth picks. While I was there we went to few weddings and would give 200,000 to 500,000 dong to the couples.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-08 19:31:00

Possible Red Flag

i've always wondered how a vn girl meet an american guy also. that could be a whole new thread how you met your vn beneficiary (most viet petitioner would say pre-arranged and about 35k usd. i kid )

I was introduced to my wife because of her neighbor , who now lives in the states. I saw my future wife on the neighbors marriage video. I didn't get paid either, would of helped on the cost of this darn process...lol

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-02-14 21:09:00

Possible Red Flag

Since the interview for my fiancee will be coming up within 2 months time, I am starting to wonder if she will pass the interview with very little verbal English communication. She doesn't have anyone in her hometown (except a 15 year old) down the street she can communicate with + when I try to talk to her on the phone, she gets very frustrated and talks so low I can barely understand what she is trying to say. I know English is a difficult language to learn for a foreigner, and with all the bills I've had recently, it has been hard sending her to a better school to improve her verbal skills.

We do communicate via email, texts, and online chat (she has very good writing skills) but will her not knowing much English at all signal a Red Flag and cause her to be rejected at the interview process? I have all the evidence she needs (money orders, photos, texts, online chats, etc) and she has a list of interview questions to study before she goes in, but all of that means nothing if the CO feels she isn't prepared to move to the USA. I like to know what everyone's take is on this and what are the possible outcomes for our situation when it does come time for the interview process.

Don't worry my fiancee's English was terrible, her Vietnamese wasn't that strong either, they conducted the interview in English and Vietnamese. I hired a tutor for over a year and even had hel[p from a fellow VJer living in Saigon. Pm if you want to talk, I fill you in on the interview.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-02-13 17:08:00

Pink!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-27 18:38:00

Receipts of Sending Money

I agree with lucky, I sent a dozen or more with mine.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-04-10 18:42:00

Cost of Living like a local in HCMC

[quote name='Dai Gia' timestamp='1335280730' post='5326703']
Let me add one more thing so you can expect things in the future (I don't know when they will happen)

One day in the future, she will call you and let you know one of her family members get really sick and needs $$$ for medical expense. The beauty of this part of the game is she lets you "decide" the amount of $$$ you think "reasonable". If you have to ask us about the "minor" expense right now, I personally think you're NOT ready to play this game yet.

One day in the future, she will call you and let you know her motorbike got stolen and she no longer has a mean of transportation..........................................

Will you fly over there every single time to verify whether or not her story is tr

I'll ask you one more time, Have you thoroughly calculated whether or not you can AFFORD playing this overseas dating game?
[/quote
I can't relate to your post. I found proper khmer girl that was hard working and honest. I would send her her a monthly stipend since she quit working her pond so she could learn English. Now thats she here the finacial support continues as long as our bills are paid first

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-04-24 12:22:00

which type of visa is easier to process and apply for

If I were you I will file for CR1 visa.

Welcome to VN forum. and good luck.

I'd say that if he had to use a co sponsor. K1 was a piece of cake. 2 trips and 10 months from the day of filing, my fiancee was home with me.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-04-12 16:35:00

Come To The Interview With Fiancee

Today is the 88th day since I sent my I-129F application.

This is my plan, please provide any advices that you think might help us prepare for a successful interview. I am hoping and having high expectation that I can bring my fiancee over by December of this year, get married and at that time, I have more than a week off from work to show her around and to be with her for celebration.

so here is my plan.

When I receive my NOA2, which is around the end of July or early August. I will take a copy of all the documents I-129F that i sent 88 days ago to Vietnam and give it to my fiancee. I will aslo sit down with her to help her fill out what ever paper work or any steps that we need to do after NOA2. In addition to bringing the paper work to her, we will also have our engagement ceremony. The time for this trip is 2 weeks.

I will go back to the U.S. after the engagement ceremony and continue to discuss about the preparation for the interview with her. I am assuming by November, she'll get appointment for the interview then I'll make another trip to Vietnam to be with her before and during the interview if having me there helps.

If she gets the pink, we'll be so so happy. I will spend 1 week with her there in Vietnam to be with her family and my relatives. I'll buy some stuff that she wants to bring to the U.S., we'll travel to a few places to celebrate and for her to say good bye to her hometown. I will then book a ticket for her so that we'll fly together to the U.S. The time for this trip will be 2 weeks.

I took a gamble and only made 2 trips. If I had more time I would of went a 3rd time for her interview. On the contrary my fiancee did prepare for interview , put her in a hotel 5 weeks prior where she got prepped by our lawyer and his office girls. She had an hour long interview with tough questions that the Co made her explain in depth. Because of our language barrier she would of never passed without the prep or her determination to study and know everything about me and where she was going to live. Maybe your fiancee's English is good.

Take all these VJ's advice and go back for her interview it might help your odds. Best of Luck.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-06-07 21:22:00

NO Smoking in Public in Vietnam!

Doubt if that will stick in the smaller villages down South.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-06-19 16:21:00

VO DEP LA VO NGUOI TA!!!!
[/quote]

God I hope not, there goes my wife to someone else.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-04-15 12:05:00

Yeah, we've got a regular dysfunctional family reunion going on here...

Miss you all too. How long has Thuy been back? When are you coming back?

I've actually considered returning to Hanoi, or somewhere up north, mainly because of the higher wages for English teachers. I'd have to come back down south for the winter, though!

I just got back from Cambodia, where I got another 1 year visa. Phnom Phen is a nice little town and I may stay there next time. It's hard to imagine living anywhere else, though...

I've been here long enough that a book seems feasible. Now if I could just find a wife who can:

1.) type my dictations, without understanding what I'm talking about.

and

2.) remain "boyfriend free", while we're married.

Get yourself a khmer wife, there #1.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-04-14 23:40:00

I'm sure she'll have a logical explanation. She''ll explain everything to you and make you see that it's really not her, it's you.

I dumped my cheating ####### 3 years ago, merely a month after we moved into our first (and last) apartment. I threw her, her sister, her brother-in-law and her 3 year old niece out of my apartment (the sister and kid were welcome to stay, but they opted not to). She thought I was stupid and would never find out about her b/f, but I did. I confronted her via the internet and told her we were getting a divorce. Then, after thinking long and hard about it, I decided to play along with her and act like I believed her story, because she had one that was designed to make me see that it was me, not her. I moved here, got a job teaching English and gathered more evidence. When I felt like the time was right I confronted her again and threw her out.

My advice is to get on a plane and surprise her with chocolates and flowers. Then show her the pic and dump her on the spot.

Your in Nam or was this in the states?

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-04-14 19:12:00

Vietnam is not the USA. Vietnamese are as affectionate as anyone else, but definitely not in public. East Asian people are very conservative about public displays of affection. In terms of how much it would embarrass other people, kissing in a restaurant in Saigon is comparable to screwing on the sidewalk in San Francisco. I've been to Vietnam five times and only saw someone kissing in public two times. The first time it was a man and a prostitute going into a cheap hotel in Saigon. The second time it was a couple of tourists in a beautiful park in Da Lat. Both times the other local Vietnamese people in the immediate area reacted like it was porn, and looked the other way in embarrassment.

It doesn't really matter how serious this would be for an American man who saw his American wife kiss another man in public in America. It matters how serious it would be for a Vietnamese man to see his Vietnamese wife kiss another man in public in Vietnam. Most Vietnamese people would consider it to be pretty serious.

So true, its hard enough to get my wife to hold my hand in public, definitively no kissing, maybe my wife's old fashioned but any kind of tank top or low cut shirt too is out of the question.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-04-13 18:10:00

Green Card says "North Vietnam", but...

Hmm. Just looked at my wife and kids gc's just all say Vietnam. What city is she from? No worries now, tuck the Gc in a drawer and replace it with a state id and social security card.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-01-24 05:33:00

Nailing The American Dream, With Polish

Forget the health hazards these salons present, the hours the girls work are terrible. My wife works 11 hour shifts 6 days a week and sundays she works just 7 hours. No days off, no paid vacations, no paid sick days, no health insurance, no paid holidays...but she does get big tips. I work way less than she does but get paid more. I dont know how much these girls make in other parts of the country but to me it seems like girls are overworked and underpaid. Im sorry if this offends anybody but to me this is not worth it in terms of a job or career

Our wife's must work for same people,lol. Same damn hours! The sad thing the only one that complains about it is me. I can tell you in the big state of Iowa the girls base pay range from $500 to $700 a week. My wife brings home good money but if you do the math it sucks.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-06-17 04:15:00

Nailing The American Dream, With Polish

My wife's a Nail tech, she had no training in Vietnam, learned by watching and practicing at her nieces shop. Money great but her hours suck! Vietnamese run most of shops in our area.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-06-16 20:04:00

W4 Information

You can put single on your w4 if you want more taxes taken out of your check or checked married if you want less. It matters when you file your 1040 for the correct filing status.

I personally file my w4 as single so they take the most out of my check so I can take a little bit of tax burden from my wife's income(1099),she also is nail tech.

Edited by Sayha or bust., 06 July 2012 - 05:42 PM.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-07-06 17:35:00

Getting MARRIED Friday at her house in Thuan An!

I am here with my daughters, relaxing as I meet more and more family. She keeps telling me it's a small wedding--but the # of guests keeps growing and growing. So it's me, two kids, and a couple hundred or so of her family & friends Friday.

Congrats man! Call me when you get stateside.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-07-18 17:39:00

What should the Asian women do for their lives and their families if they married to American citizen men?

OP i don't understand what your thesis is and what kind of answers you're looking for. will the essay be in english or vietnamese? imo you don't have enough grasp of the english language to communicate your thoughts clearly or transcribe the experiences of other viet wives you come across if it's done in english. also do we differentiate the "american citizen men" between caucasians and viet kieu? the experience for the wives will be markedly different. what about being buddhist or catholic/christian? if you belong to a church group the support there will be quite stronger? etc etc.

this is a fallacy imo, maybe for the petitioner but not beneficiary. i'm confident most beneficiaries don't "fall in love" in the traditional sense. i mean how could you? you talk to this person once a day, at most 2-3 hours? you see them in person 20-25 days in a good year? sometimes you talk to them for a few months, see them once...and get married. it's not a normal courtship, so kinda hard to fall in love. i see it more as an arranged marriage, and at best the couple will learn to love each other through the years.

there are exceptions, but most viet beneficiaries agree to this deal because they want a better opportunity elsewhere than the one they're currently in. you don't voluntarily agree to leave your home, your family, your friends, your life, the familiar surroundings to go to a strange land with a man you barely know. and i'm not even talking about the good ole USA. hundreds of women are being picked for marriage everyday to china, korea, japan in HCM.

I totally agree. I know my wife loves me but she also said she wantred a better life for her children and her and I'm ok with it.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-06-08 20:15:00

Banking in HCMC

Best one to answer that is JeromeBinh look up his profile he lives in HCM . Send him a Pm. Also your wife could get a Wells Fargo saving account in HCM and you can put money in it over here in the states for he to have.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-08-16 20:06:00

Moi nop ho so

My visa journey was 10 months from start to finish. Best wishes!

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-08-27 18:46:00

Heading To Vietnam

If I were the C/O, I would ask myself if it would be believable for someone who had the Engagement AFTER filing the 129F petition. It's not a requirement according to the law, but it surely looks like the petitioner and beneficiary just trying to hurry and rush doing the Engagement ceremony for the sake of fulfilling the I-129F petition typical expectation.

You might get lucky. But keep in mind, your game plan is not wise. It's too late to change anything now. But there's something you should do to improve your odd against failure: being there with her on the interview date. That'll prove to the C/O that you're not just there whenever required (like just for the Engagement).

Sometimes, you worry about the little things and forget to look at the "bigger" picture (which will matter MOST)!

Whys that? He obviously has been to Vietnam at least once to meet her or else the I-129F would not of been approved unless there were special circumstances that allowed them not to meet. I think it's a great idea if he mentioned in his time line his plans of an engagement before the interview.

My only words of advice is your future fiancee knows everything about you and your family. Birthdays, your favorite food, your place of employment etc. Best of Luck!

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-08-27 18:42:00

Haha, it's funny that Nam told my fiancee that he was scared of little old me Maybe because I was always pushing him to get the next set of forms and steps filled out and ready. Marc and Nam were both at my engagement and had a good time. And I see you you Diem's facebook all the time She's a great girl.

You must be a tough one. I made Mr. Nam look like dwarf compared to me, but I doubt he was scared. lol. Congrats on your Visa!

Edited by Sayha or bust., 15 March 2012 - 08:02 PM.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-15 20:02:00

There is nothing that Marc could do legally to appeal your case should it be denied because technically a K1 is in an immigration grey area. But he is able to inquire about the case on your behalf.

The real value of retaining Marc and Nam's (they go together as a package for the $1500) is that Marc will tell you how to reduce the red flags according to your unique situation. He has seen a lot more cases in detail than we have reading here on VJ. I would take most members' experiences with a small grain of salt because a lot of times people will leave out a lot of details when telling their stories.

His office will assemble a kick-a$ K1 petition package and the mock interviews are extremely valuable. Many don't like the way Nam conducts the interviews but almost every single uncomfortable question covered were asked by the investigator during the AP phone interviews, and 80% of regular questions were asked by the CO at the interview. I believe their involvement was a bit part of why we were in AP for such a short time given all the red flags we faced.

This is a long an expensive process and I don't think your case is that straight forward, so Marc would definitely be a good investment.

I see your biggest problem to be the getting engaged on the first meeting. If I were you I would either delay the engagement until next visit, then file. or file after the next visit. The CO is not only concerned about you bringing in somebody fraudulently, he is concerned that the beneficiary is using you to get into the country fraudulently.

Mr.Nam don't fool around and is all business. Nam and the office girls are one of the biggest reasons my wife passed her interview. Like he said above, extensive interview prep and fiancee that was bound and determined to get here. Best money I ever spent and have recommended several people his way with no complaints.

Edited by Sayha or bust., 15 March 2012 - 06:36 PM.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-15 18:35:00

Yes, this will be my first visit. for me its extreamly difficult to get away from work, and the financial cost of the traval and pay loss from time off of work makes repeated and prolonged visits impossable. I wish I could stay longer but I am pressing things with 8 days as it is. At this point after this visit me next one I could plan would be next year after I get some paid time off acrued at work and taxes come in.

Ask for a leave of absence for your second trip. I doubt if you would get denied from employer for these reasons. Get a 2nd job if money is tight, this process is not cheap even if you decide to do it yourself.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-15 04:33:00

He's very good and straight forward.I used him. Hiring a lawyer doesn't get you approved faster, most will get your paperwork filled out correctly and presented nicely. I encourage you to hire him if your not good at this type of work or don't have the time.

Sayha or bust.

Male

Vietnam (no flag)

2012-03-14 19:11:00