biggish data

Nooooooo......!

Awesome news Vince. So happy for you both.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-17 12:30:00

Pink !!

Awesome news.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-22 14:43:00

Pink !!

Very happy for you. So happy to hear about people getting pinks. Can someone direct me to the list of upcoming member interviews? Thanks.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-21 11:31:00

call the 202 DoS number in this thread and ask for update.

i filed the i-129f petition myself w/o an attorney's help back last september. i googled and did the best i could (didn't find this forum until a few days ago). i met my fiancee back in 2006 and have seen her a total of 5 times. didn't save alot of receipts or much proof as i never thought about this. we do have alot of pictures and hopefully that's enough? so far so good we're just waiting for packet 4 from HCM with an interview date. this forum has been invaluable and i plan to be as prepared as possible from now on.

Cool. Keep us updated on your P4/Interview date status when you find out. I'm about a week behind you. Hand delivered our P3 on the 16th March, just a few days ago.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-18 02:15:00

It seemed like Jerry & Fiona time line is after me, but my fiance (live in Saigon) still haven't receive package 3 yet! Something must be wrong. So hard to contact them! I emailed twice!

Have you confirmed with NVC that the consulate received your paperwork and mailed the P3? Even if they cannot confirm dates, it would be good to know that the process has begun.

If you have confirmed this already, why not have your fiancee go to the information booth at the consulate to inquire.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-18 00:02:00

You don't need to include the DS-156 and DS-156K in the P3. Just email DS-230 Part I and DS-2001 and email and mail to HCMC. We recently did this and we had P4 in less than a month from the receipt of P3.

Excellent news. My fiancee turned in the P3 today in person at the consulate. I'm so thrilled now.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-16 09:35:00

You don't need to include the DS-156 and DS-156K in the P3. Just email DS-230 Part I and DS-2001 and email and mail to HCMC. We recently did this and we had P4 in less than a month from the receipt of P3.

Ok. That makes sense to me. I think my attorney may not have understood clearly. Curious when do we do these DS-156 and DS-156K forms?

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-15 18:55:00

P3 arrived at my SO address today while she was at work. They did not leave it because the neighbor could not verify my SO's name. Consulate is telling her she cannot hand deliver to the consulate and she cannot enter the consulate. Attorney advised us to complete DS-156 and DS-156K along with the DS-230 (Part I) and DS-2001 and mail it to the consulate via Certified mail.

I have passed on all of the information to my SO that you all have advised here but in the end the consulate is being difficult about going down there in person. Emailing them is pretty useless. So, hope certified mail will do the job.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-15 13:18:00

You can email them scans of the DS230 and 2001 now.... Call back in a week to be sure they entered getting it in the system..

Thanks, I'll pass this on to my SO.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-10 15:02:00

I called DoS and finally got confirmation that the consulate has received our paperwork and that they have already sent the P3 out. However they were unable to give me dates on these two actions.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-10 09:57:00

You can try the US phone number for DOS 202-663-1225 when the message starts.. press 1, when the next message starts, press 0.. you may wait 5 to 15 minutes for a CSR.. You would need your HCM case# beneficiary name and birth date.

Cool. Will try that now before it get's too late. Wonder if they are still answering the phone or may call tomorrow during the day. Thanks so much.
(Edit - call during number business hours, it says)

Edited by Jerry & Fiona, 03 March 2011 - 11:20 PM.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-03 23:17:00

Nothing new here I don't think. But I called the NVC and gave them our case number to do a general follow up. The man gave me a phone number that I could follow up on our case at the HCMC consulate. 84-8822-9433 He told me it is not automated.

I called it and listened to the instructions. It asks you to input the extension you wish to reach ????????? Then it says if you need additional help 'just press 0'. This leads nowhere. It says to enter # after your entry. So, I did it again but this time 0 #. This time it says invalid entry. Stupid thing. If you just sit there it will say press * for additional help. This magic * takes you to the beginning of the call again. Useless. I figured out if you just sit there for a minute and do nothing it will forward you to a live operator. This operator is capable of giving you the email address for the HCMC consulate that is already readily available. The operator is also capable of telling you that they do not give out case updates by phone but rather by email. The operator was also able to tell me that the general turn around time for an email response (not the automated response) is 2-3 weeks conveniently.

So, it may be easier to just do nothing. I'm kidding of course. But that is how I felt after the calls. Bored!

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-03 22:14:00

All you need to do is call DoS and find out the status of the case and as soon as they say the pkt 3 has been sent.. bam fire off that email with the scans attached...

Ok, I just called the DoS for HCMC but it was automated. (84-8) 3520-4200 is the number. It only gave generic information and stated if you want to inquire about specifics to email hcmcinfo@state.gov

Miss my lady so much. :crying:

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-03 21:52:00

Exactly what happened Jerry.. They acted like they never got it and waited for me to submit it again after they sent out the pkt 3... We sent them via email and they had the case and hadh had it for some time when I sent them... They said we dont have the case yet and dont want anything from you until we request it. it took another few weeks before DoS said it was sent and then I fired off the exact same email...

I understand. However, it does seem silly for them to put you through all of that. I guess they think everyone is aware of this short cut.

All you need to do is call DoS and find out the status of the case and as soon as they say the pkt 3 has been sent.. bam fire off that email with the scans attached...

I know I've probably come across it, but do you have the DoS number handy? And as far as I've read, we need to send for P3 the DS-230 (Part 1) and DS-2001. What are these additional scans that you are saying to attach?

Jerry & Fiona

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-03 20:43:00

They will not accept them until they have sent the pkt 3 to the beneficiary. I tried doing it early...

We are doing this also. Our paperwork was sent from NVC to HCMC Consulate on Feb 18, 2011. I was advised to do as Jim recommends above.

Scott, when you sent it early did they reject it? By not accepting it, did you have to resubmit it again?

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-02 17:52:00

Pink,Pink,Pink!

First off before I go into details, I would like to thank everyone here for all their advices, support, encouragements, jokes, and help with the morale of this crazy experience.
And I have to tell ya I used to hate the color pink, but now I'm going to buy me a pink boxer brief.

On my wife's blue slip it stated we have to turn in the documents on March 30. But yesterday she decided the heck with it she's gonna go 7 days early. She arrived and was in line around 12:50 pm. When she handed the documents in window B she sat back down and waited. She observed about 20 something people got PINK, and 2 got blue. She was next to the last person, so she thought they were gonna run out of pink slip and give her a blue. But fortunately she was called back up to the window and they handed her the pink slip. she said everything became blur. She also noticed that they prepare the pink slip ahead of time. They didn't ask her any more questions but she noticed they question 1 lady, they gave her a pink slip afterward. there a lady that was accompanied by her husband. they didn't allow him in. however, after they interviewed her, her husband was called in for questioning. they got a pink slip as well. I just want to share this information because others after us might be curious.
btw, on the pink slip they had her name in the wrong order. they wrote her first name as her middle name. next week, March 30 when she pick up her visa (hopefully they will have it ready by then) , she will see if they can correct her name.
good luck and happy journey to others before us and after!

oh LUCKYTXN, i bought a ####### load of hangers!

Again, congratulations AJ. I know it has been an emotional passed 2 weeks for you both. Such good news. I told you it would work out.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-23 17:04:00

3/15/2011 Interview

First, I want to congratulate you. That is so awesome. I'm sure you are totally excited.

I find the following questions interesting.

9. Which brother or sister that you think love you the most?
17. Do you have religious? If so what church will you have your ceremony and where?
18. From your fiance's home to the church is how far?
27. Did you file for a marriage license yet?

Comments, anyone?

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-03-28 20:32:00

Which way is correct for the name?

In order to avoid confusion on legal documents, the best way to write your name is in the following format:

Last name, first name.......then middle name

Nguyen, Nuoc Nam

If her name has 4 words, which is quite common, then it's IMPORTANT to immediately put whatever she wants as her first name right after the "comma"

Nguyen, Lu Thi Cai......>>in Vnese, her name would be Nguyen Thi Cai Lu. Thi and Cai are considered noth middle names.

I find this quite interesting. My SO's name adapts both her father's last name and her mother's last name, giving her 4 names excluding her adapted English name. To protect her name I'll use made up names. Father's last name Nguyen, Mother's last name Pham, middle name Van, first name Quyen.

So she writes it Nguyen Pham, Van Quyen. On the paperwork it has appeared like this but it has also been written as Nguyen, Van Quyen Pham and also Nguyen, Van Quyen P.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-02 02:19:00

VJ-er's Timelines

<- handy smiley, just run these together : time :

haha.

(off topic) Hey Charles, is that Norm McDonald in your avatar? [edit] A quick google search tells me no.

Edited by Jerry & Fiona, 05 April 2011 - 08:34 AM.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-05 08:32:00

VJ-er's Timelines

What stats are you lookin for J?

From day to day and post to post, I like to look at the relationships of timelines dependent on people's various situations. I then take that information and it gives me a general idea when comparing to my own situation.

I want to be sensitive because I know everyone has their own thing going and it may not always be easy to maintain their timeline. But sometimes I'll see that someone has passed the interview process. I'm excited for them and want to look at their timeline for comparison and the information may have only been updated to their NOA2 or Consulate Received.

I enjoy looking at the amount of time that has passed between each phase. Without the holes filled, it is difficult to gain an understanding of the times between ('Consulate Received'-'P3 Received'; 'P3'-'P4'; 'P4'-'Interview'). My way around this has been to look at the members recent posts to maybe see if they have mentioned it but just haven't got around to updating their timeline. Which works sometimes, but is kind of the long way of doing it.

I am respectful and understanding about it all though. I just wanted to make a plea and I hope I'm not coming across as being pushy. I find the timeline feature very helpful as well as your thread with relevant VJ-er interview dates. That's a really cool thread.

Speaking of that thread. I was thinking the other day: I wonder if there is a way to use a calendar here on the forum that is data driven. If so, it may be more efficient for you in regards to maintenance. Just an idea.

Thanks,
Jerry & Fiona

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-05 06:44:00

VJ-er's Timelines

I am so pleased to hear about the positive news from so many recent member interviews. I hope the trend continues.

I have searched through 50+ pages in the VN threads and couldn't find an appropriate place to make a member's timeline update request. So, I thought I would politely do so here. It's easy to overlook when things are moving along. I know at least for me, the updates give me something to measure by when things are not moving so fast.

I am very interested in the stats, as I'm sure many on here are. It is much appreciated. A big salute to those who contribute to this wonderful feature here on VJ.

Respectfully,
Jerry & Fiona

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-04 13:58:00

Finally.

Awesome, Vince. Are you excited? I know you must be.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-04 13:27:00

affidavit of support expired?

Hi Everyone!
My affidavit of support form dates back to September 2, 2010, however, our interview will be on April 20, 2011, it's passed the 6 month mark already, so do you know if I would have to fill out a new affidavit of support? or can I just white out the old date, and just write the new date on it?

I'm not sure how strict is HCMC in enforcing all paperwork must be perfect, because I'm afraid they might see a white out mark on our form and tell us, we have to submit a new one with no mistakes being corrected?

Also, on the form that the immigration service had filled out for us it said expired 5/31/2010....

Good luck on the interview tomorrow (HCM time, I mean).

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-18 22:56:00

My wife is applying for US Citizenship

A Viet Kieu is not any more free to voice their opinions in the US than they are in Vietnam. All of those people you see on TV protesting in front of the VN consulates in the US will never be able to return to Vietnam. They've cut off their ties with their family and friends just to make a political statement in the US. What's more, the VN government doesn't care what those Viet Kieu say in the US because nobody in VN will ever see those protests, and those Viet Kieu will never see their families again. Vietnam won't change until the people who live in Vietnam decide to change it.

There's a helluva lot more to life than worrying about what the government is doing. For the vast majority of people in Vietnam, the government has very little effect on their daily lives. They work, go home, and spend time with their family and friends. They also get a lot more pleasure from simple things than most Americans do, and generally are pretty happy people. When they do have to interact with the government then they play the game in order to make it as fast and painless as possible, and then they get on with their lives.

Most of the Viet Kieu I know are not happy with the VN government, but most of the Americans I know are not happy with the American government either. The difference is that in America you can complain loudly about it to your heart's content, but the net result is the same - nothing really changes. You can let it eat you up, or you can focus on what's the most important. One of the Viet Kieu I know spent two years in a re-education camp after the war. He still goes back to VN every year to spend time with his family, and he's one of the happiest people I know. I've asked him how he can go back and face the same government that beat him daily in that camp. He says the government didn't beat him - individual people did that. The guy checking his passport at the airport might work for that same government, but that guy didn't do anything to him personally, and there's no reason he should hold a grudge against him for what someone else did.

Do you know the serenity prayer? It goes like this...

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I've never seen a better roadmap for a happy life.

Amen!

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-03 07:51:00

Think Pink=Got Pink in HCMC on April 20th!

My internet has been down. I read about your Pink last night. I am so happy for you both. :thumbs:

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-21 18:02:00

I Sure Do Love

My brand new one year visa!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo

Aside from everything relevant to this post, I loved MC Hammer. Great dancing.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-24 02:22:00

got pink

The most good news I've seen on here in one day since I joined. I like, I like!

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-28 19:37:00

PINK

...co then called me up to window and said your wife needs help with all the evidence have nice day...

Outstanding. By this, you mean the mountain of evidence that need to be physically removed from the interviewing booth area?

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-28 19:35:00

Approved

Awesome news.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-27 22:42:00

Let play a game

I enjoy Vietnam vacation videos with aquatic

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-23 04:23:00

Stunned...

COngrats and amazing story. It will work out. WIsh I could be there for my SO's interview.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-28 19:30:00

medical appointment

so my uncle got the hardcopy appointment letter, he confirmed the appointment date is may 24th...but the medical date is left blank. do we just bring the appointment letter to cho ray/iom and do the medical? or do we need to call the hospital first and set up an appointment.

my thinking was there would be a medical appointment date also, which is obviously wrong!

Ours is blank under the medical date also.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-28 00:04:00

My wife passed the interview!!

Wow, so much pink to read about today. Nice job!

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-04-28 19:36:00

Let hope these PCs will be there in time for your interview. If not...and there's a blue..they will give you approx. 1 month to submit the missing doc. You can come back to submit early when the PCs are available.

Fingers crossed that they get processed quicker. Hopefully I will learn more tonight about what kind of coffee money we may be talking about. This is crazy but I know it is the way of things.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-05-05 16:38:00

VN PC sounds like some coffee money is needed.

How were you able to apply for the police cert from Taiwan? By Mail?

I'm not exactly sure how she is pursuing the Taiwan PC. Someone she knows is helping her with that part.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-05-05 11:53:00

To be fair, the document requirements are listed in packet 3, so they do give you more than just the time between packet 4 and the interview date. The packet 3 instructions even advise you to begin collecting the required documents while you're waiting for the interview to be scheduled. If something is going to take especially long to get then you can postpone sending in the DS-2001 until you've got it. You just need to occasionally let the consulate know that you're still pursuing the visa application so that they won't let the petition expire. But, that's all water under the bridge...

A legit reason for not having them is because she hasn't received them yet. No fancy answers are required.

The blue slip will usually have a date on it when they want the requested documents submitted. For something like a police certificate I would imagine they would accept it anytime up until the date on the blue slip, and they should accept it after that date as long as you contact them and let them know you're still trying to get the certificate and haven't abandoned the visa application.

Yes, my mistake. It was instructed in the P3. The dates on the blue slip: are they usually a week or two later or are we talking about months? As long as she can submit it and we stay proactive, we should be ok.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-05-05 11:52:00

I second that..keep the interview date on the 18th, then submit the PC later..reschedule the interview will take another several months. If it's the Taiwain's PC then cafe money would not feasible. Good luck on your interview!!!

Thanks so much. I'll pass this on to her. I think we'll give it one more week. The crazy thing is, The P4 only allowed her 3 weeks to gather all of these documents. Not a fair amount of time for one to get everything required for a proper interview. I mean, yes we have this forum and insights. But what if someone didn't have the resources before the P4.

So that is all we are waiting on:
PC from VN: She requested 3 weeks ago. Was told to inquire after 15 days. 20 days later they said, inquire after 2 more months. :angry:

PC from Taiwan: I'm told this is in process but don't know exactly when.

So if she interviews on the 18th and they give her blue slip for missing PCs, with legit answers to why she doesn't have them yet, how long are these blue slips good for since we don't have a clear idea time frame on when to expect both certificates? (Longest sentence ever).

Jerry & Fiona

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-05-05 09:06:00

it's me again - My rationale is that you don't want to give the CO any reason to deny visa.

She is talking with a police friend she knows on the inside who can find out more info about the payoff way that you are talking about. Also, if we get into the final days and still do not have, she will go to the consulate to inquire what to do or/and reschedule.

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-05-04 23:21:00

Our interview is coming up on May 18th. We are concerned that the police report may not arrive before the interview date?

What should we do to be proactive? We are taking extra measures to expedite it but if we get down to the final days and it hasn't arrived do we consult the consulate before the interview date to inform them of the situation? Or do we proceed with the interview and explain it then?

My only concern with proceeding with the interview without the police record in hand is that it could cause a problem. On the other hand if we request to push the interview date out because of said issue, it shows that we are being proactive.

What is the best thing to do?

Jerry & Fiona

Jerry & Fiona

Male

Vietnam

2011-05-04 22:35:00