Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	Long, Like you, I married my wife 2 months after I met her for the frist time. I was introduced to her by her aunt and I over come that red flags. She and I are 13 years apart...she being 23 when we got married. She has just finished college too. What you will need is good evidence. The marriage certificate is a big first step, IMOP. I went through hell with the Vietnam government to get it. If you can and should, take at least one more trip over there before the interview. I took 4 trips total. The last one was to pick her up. The wedding pictures are very important in my case, after they saw the pictures, with 5 of my family members from America attending, they gave her the pink slip. At least that was what my wife told me. Lastly, just tell them how you arrived at where you are in a letter. Send that to NVC when you application gets there (kinda like front load late in the game). NVC will include it when they send you paperwork to Vietnam. Nothing beats the truth...IMOP, the CO can smell a lie, they just can't always figure out when someone is telling the truth. so would the letter be different from the timeline?? or just a summary of that the timeline is suppose to provide?? thanks for the help!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-20 12:47:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	AP-addition processing. Usually after an interview the CO wants to look at the case again/closer. The actual interview is only about 15-30 minutes, its not enough time for a CO to review/investigate any new evidence brought to the interview. They will hand out a blue sheet explaining what you will need to do. Its normal procedure for them to ask for a detailed timeline of the relationship, list of beneficiary's relative in the US, and proof of residency for the past 10 years. There's a debate on whether they actually need it for the investigation or for a stalling tactic. Regardless of what their reason is for asking for them, they want them. Right now just focus on getting all your paperwork ready for the NVC and gathering evidences. Have you read the process guides at the top of the webpage yet? I have read quite a bit of the guides...but still have more to go... Did you get a marriage certificate from the government? You would have had to fill out a ton of paperwork before you even went to VN to get married. yup, got that taken care of in my trip out there...without that marriage certificate, I'm not sure I could've sent in the I-130??	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-18 07:23:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	That's where affidavits would come in. IMO, you should get three (you, your wife, and your uncle)explaining how your relationship started. I don't see any other way to get around it without any other evidence for explaining the nature of your case. Its too late to frontload, you already submitted your I-130. The best you can do is continue building a strong relationship and keep all your evidence. Don't be shocked when/if your case is put into AP. The CO will only have the bonafides you submitted with your I-130. Any new evidence brought to the interview most likely will not be reviewed at that time. What is th AP your referring to?? Also, does that mean that the affidavits I will eventually provide will not be reviewed at that time either??	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-17 21:54:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	her having us relatives and first time meeting marriage is a red flag...very common for us relatives to proposition VK and pay for his/her trip back to vietnam and get married right away for money. you being "financially great" will ease some of that suspicion...and if you need joint financial support that could be another possible excuse the CO can use to delay your case. since you have the money i'd say take a couple weeks off in the near future and visit her one more time (either before or during the filing process). lots of talk and argument about front-loading the potential red flags...i think your case is a perfect example to do so. the case will look highly suspicious, so you really have nothing to lose in laying it all out on the table (timeline, 10 yr res, her us relatives' address etc, both set of parents' birth cert...and alot more) thanks for the advice, I will try to frontload all of the red flags and try to visit her again before the interview...but at the same time, since the paperwork is in, all of this evidence being gathered now will not help the before marriage stuff they want to see...	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-17 19:57:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	doesn't matter if they are near to you or not. It isn't uncommon for the "wife" to come to the US and then leave her "husband" to go be with her relatives. Marriage on the first trip/meeting is a big red flag most places. Add to that you were introduced by a relative and that she has relatives in the US. IMO, these can be overcome, but you just have to be aware of them and any others (i.e. not financially established recent college grad) and prepare your case to address them. There is nothing that says you have to submit your case right now so I would try to make at least one more trip to be with her and make every possible effort to be there for the interview. Would my Uncle be considered a relative of hers?? And when you say prepare, do you mean to have statements and papers to address the "red flags" that may exist??	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-17 16:55:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	The submission date is for next month. Right now is gathering evidence and creating the timeline and 10 year residency. The household registration book is to keep record of household members. I am not sure what the school grade books would be used for but it maybe for background information. As suggested by VJ members, you should definitely make more trips. The excuse that you are busy with work or school will not fly. The CO does not care for that. Personally our case was rush too, but I was able to make 1 more trip while waiting for the interview. Do not compare with Americans. American couples are already together. They don't go through immigration. While you are not together with your wife. The goal here is to get her to USA. I understand that excuse won't fly, but it's just another obstacle in front of me. So you made another trip to be at the interview, or did you make another trip prior to the interview??	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-17 16:53:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	one thing that i don't see get brought up alot but the CO must surely look at is the age factor? if VK is a 65 year old man and he's petitioning a 22 year old girl, that's gotta be a red flag (nghe`o ma ham) compared to someone in their 40s petitioning a late 30s woman. it also works the other way, like a 24 yr old us-born struggling (financially) college grad being setup with some girl in vietnam. hmmm...yeah I'm 26, financially great in my opinion, and shes 20...	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-17 13:33:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	this about sums it up. 2 red flags for a fake marriage: a relative of hers in the US propositioned you to marry the girl over, or you and her are related somehow. it would give your case more credibility if she has no US relatives...and be prepared with both of your household registration booklets, parents' birth certificates to show you guys are not related. would also be nice if you have about 100 emails between summer '10 when you were introduced to when you got married. even so be ready for some potential processing and delays as they want to drag your marriage out and test its validity. seems like the whole process is rushed. i'd wait 1-2 years before filing, to give the marriage more time, visit her one more time for a few weeks to get to know your her. I believe she does have relatives in the US, but no where near me...I don't even know them, lol... but yeah, I got a few hundred pages of emails from that time...I did somewhat rush it, but at the same time, Americans tend to rush marriages anyway, lol...I wouldn't have been able to visit for another year or so due to work and prolonging visits and such to gather evidence makes it longer before she will ever be able to come	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-17 13:32:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	Not to scare you or anything but I want to provide a similar case that could be like yours. One of my relatives did CR1 and only had 1 visit. After the interview they provided a white sheet asking 5 things: timeline, 10 year residency(petitioner/beneficiary), beneficiary relatives in USA, and any evidence to submit on the submission date. I'm just giving you a heads up so you don't end up getting this result. * Consular officers are not convinced that there is a petitionable relationship between the petitioner and beneficary. Please submit photos and other documentary evidence such as old household registration books, school grade books.etc... which supports the claim of a petitionable relationship. Please label and itemize all materials submitted. So what ended up happening with your relative?? What are household registration books?? Also what would schhol grade books have to do with a marriage?? Just curious...	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-17 13:28:00
Vietnam	any Input on my situation...	Hey you guys, I need some advice, and here's my background story. Let me know if you need more detail. It's not your typical marriage, for Americans at least. I go to Vietnam every several years and one year [2008] I met a neighbor of the family but never thought anything of it. My uncle always told me when I was ready to marry, he would find me a wife. And since I wanted to go with tradition, I told him to find me one like he did for his son and my grandpa did for him. Fast foward two years, he found me someone, the neighbor I met before, Kieu. So in the summer of 2010, we started exchanging emails. I jokingly told her that I couldn't speak Vietnamese, so I couldn't make phone calls. [I can speak but not write.] So each email, she would write in Viet and I responded in English and we would roughly translate each other's messages through Google translate. Since talking to her, I hadn't had time, nor the money to visit her. I've been busy with work and school, that I finally found an opening in the summer of 2011. So I decided to visit and marry her at the same time. It was a traditional marriage where my mom would take care of the jewelery and her family took care of the ceremony and reception since I had no official home there. Now that I've returned, I started learning more about the forms and paperwork to bring her here. [Something I should have done ahead of time.] My concern is more or less the evidence to show that this is a truthful marriage. I have pictures of the wedding and hanging out, but only of this recent trip, nothing before. I also have emails from when we were getting to know each other, but never chatted or made phone calls. We are on Skype now, but after I left her a laptop to use, so I don't believe that counts as evidence since its after the wedding. I haven't added her to my insurance because it wouldn't help her, and I don't really know when she will come over to start having that deducted from my paycheck. I have no reciepts since most gifts I bought were at Vietnam and most jewelery and such for the wedding was provided by my mom. Sorry for the long read, but I'm not sure what else to provide to prove this wedding is real. Sometimes I feel that if people are super prepared, its like they are preparing to get away with their fake marriages or what not. Kevin on the forums have suggested Affadavits which I will consider, but when will that be needed?? Before the paperwork goes to the NVC or is it too late?? Thanks for any suggestions and sorry about the long read. Thanks, Long.	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-06-16 21:17:00
Vietnam	what happen when you don't get a foreign police certificate?	Update. So on the 4th, I did a little research on how to get a hold of an consulate officer the quickest way possible. I was clicking around on the embassy site to find a contact number I can call. They listed a number that I called, but no one picked up. So I found another number, called that and a Vietnamese lady picked up. She had an accent, but spoke perfectly fine that I could understand. But she was just only an receptionist. Told me to sent in a email if I have any questions/inquiry and wait for about 10 business days for a reply. Well that didn't do me any good. Time is money for me. While still clicking around the embassy site, I found a fax cover letter sheet. I'm thinking to myself, faxing is probably the fastest and probably the most noticeable way of getting an officer attention than an email. They're probably so busy, that they don't have the time to check inquiry emails till near the end of the day and by then the day is over. They don't have time to shuffle through paperwork. A fax would be the ideal, since they probably expect other things coming through and is easy to spot. So I filled out the fax sheet, scan it, and emailed to my friend in VN(still on his work shift at a bank) whom then fax it to the Consulate. In about an hour in, I got a reply back to my email. They have received the police certificate 29th of Dec. and told me to have my wife come in the following day (5th) between the hr of 1-2pm to summit the other papers. I informed my wife it is safe to go and summit the other requested items. She goes, and hand them all necessary paper work. Few mins later, they told her to summit 140,000 vn dong for EMS tracking for her VISA. WOOT WOOT. They gave her a white paper explaining about the VISA and not to open the brown packet. That is for the Custom and Boarder to open. Gave her the EMS tracking sheet, about 2 weeks for arrival. So, should I take a gamble and purchase a ticket for her now? Even though she does not have the VISA in hand yet. I would like her to fly back with me on my return flight. Feb 19th. Right now, the ticket is about 1100, but 2 or 3 weeks in, it'll be more expensive, around 2k. Hmm.. what to do.. what to do.. Oh btw, besides the VISA packet, any other special requirement she has to do to make sure that she gets to go pass customs in VN? Thanks for reading!! lol did you end up getting a ticket for her??	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-01-10 08:48:00
Vietnam	what happen when you don't get a foreign police certificate?	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-01-07 15:45:00
Vietnam	Interview date set	I got the confirmation letter in the email, my wife was able to print that out and get her medicals done...	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-01-07 15:41:00
Vietnam	Missed the interview cause never receive appointment letter!	gotcha, thanks for the clarification...	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-01-23 21:05:00
Vietnam	Missed the interview cause never receive appointment letter!	I don't understand, aren't youg guys suppose to get emails of the letters!! I did when throughout the whole process...	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-01-23 11:53:00
Vietnam	AP Case Update!	Great to hear!! Hang in there!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-02-03 11:19:00
Vietnam	Got PINK, well, a letter saying that the visa's been approved :)	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-02-10 19:15:00
Vietnam	Going to houston with baby and fiance	how long does this process typically take??	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-02-13 09:44:00
Vietnam	PLEASE I NEED HELP QUICK	bring everything you have...better safe then sorry	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-02-20 07:46:00
Vietnam	Wife had interview today	congats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-02-16 06:17:00
Vietnam	just got word from the interview!	it took us a week and half or so, but that was because tet was around the corner	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-03-13 06:18:00
Vietnam	Interview Date Confirmed!!	good luck!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-03-20 07:30:00
Vietnam	Visa on its way	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-03-20 07:29:00
Vietnam	Pink!	CONGRATS!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-03-27 13:26:00
Vietnam	Marriage application in Vietnam invalid?	This is the first I have heard of this. All my years here and anytime I heard of anyone having the Mental done here in the states they were made to take it again in VN. I have learned something. I had the mental done in with my personal doctor...we did a physical and he went ahead and signed it...we had no problems in vietnam	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-04-09 06:40:00
Vietnam	Return from HCM	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-04-18 06:35:00
Vietnam	Urgent Help - Does this email mean Pink is coming?	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-04-23 06:32:00
Vietnam	sponsoring relatives	but regardless...my wife can't do it with the 2 year green card, correct?? we have to wait until the 2 years are up and apply for the 10 year?? Thanks, Long.	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-05-14 06:01:00
Vietnam	sponsoring relatives	Thanks for the info Anh Map...	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-05-07 12:56:00
Vietnam	sponsoring relatives	I've been trying to search, but couldn't find much, Is there a write-up for sponsering for a relative or is it pretty much the same as doing one for my spouse?? How long does my wife have to be here before starting for her parents and siblings?? Thanks, Long.	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-05-07 10:44:00
Vietnam	which type of visa is easier to process and apply for	same difference from what I have seen...but for the CR-1 visa, you would have to get a marriage license in Vietnam which can be a headache...	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-04-11 12:02:00
Vietnam	Green Card says "North Vietnam", but...	I think mine took less than 3 weeks. Maybe about 10 days, but it really depends. 3 weeks seems reasonable. hmm, I haven't seen anything in the mail, and its been almost a month...who should I contact??	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-04-05 06:43:00
Vietnam	Green Card says "North Vietnam", but...	My SO finally got her 2 year "conditionally permanent" residence (2 yr green) card today. It was a net total of about 15months from the initial K-1 filing. Its a pretty good day, to say the least, even tho its all been relatively easy since the POE. I thank again those who helped us along the way. One thing was goofy on her GC... somehow the card says she is from North Vietnam, when in fact, she is squarely from South Vietnam. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Not sure it really matters, and she doesn't seem to care, but still... Come to think of it.. there really is no North & South anymore.. shouldn't it just say "VietNam"? How long did it take you to recieve this since she arrived in the states?? I heard it was suppose to take 3 weeks?? Thanks, Long.	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-04-04 11:07:00
Vietnam	Finally a Pink	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2012-11-06 08:11:00
Vietnam	We got PINK!!!!	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2013-01-02 12:04:00
Vietnam	Few Questions....	actually, now that I think about it, it wasn't to submit some papers, it was to just sign a paper after the interview was approved, lol	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-11-28 14:07:00
Vietnam	Few Questions....	they scheduled the a few days after i got there since all the paperwork was in before i arrived...but then you have to come sign papers after the interview which they set a date a month later, when I was suppose to be there for 3 weeks!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-11-28 06:27:00
Vietnam	Few Questions....	I know you have to submit some forms when your there and they will schedule for an interview...becareful, they will try to hassle you...when I went to turn in some paperwork, they told me to go back and put on some pants (I had shorts on) to turn in the papers, lol	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2011-11-27 20:38:00
Vietnam	Woo Hoo We passed the Interview - here are some questions asked	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2014-04-03 11:40:00
Vietnam	Approved! :D	congrats!!	long&kieu	Male	Vietnam (no flag)	2014-05-09 07:12:00