Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	Or as they have done before they stopped issuing visa' because of a investigation of a large fraud ring. Also I noticed many timelines being prepared here by people that were large enough to read like a novel and maybe they needed time to read them. Some people are slow readers. How can I get away with a one page timeline and others need 15 plus pages? But we can all keep coming up with all kinds of scenarios. I personally would like to know what people are Catholic or Buddhist and if that makes a difference or easier to get a pink or blue.	luckytxn	Male	0	2009-09-13 22:17:00
Vietnam	How do you get married in HCMC: how long does it take and how much does it cost?	Really good info again T.	luckytxn	Male	0	2014-05-31 08:37:00
Vietnam	How do you get married in HCMC: how long does it take and how much does it cost?	Yes that is true but it is illegal to do this and posting it in the open is against TOS. if you don't pay coffee money, then it will take them longer  to do your paperwork when you have a limited time in vn.	luckytxn	Male	0	2014-05-29 11:15:00
Vietnam	How do you get married in HCMC: how long does it take and how much does it cost?	One does not have to pay any coffee money ever. If any choose to go this illegal route then it is on them. it's sad that we still need "coffee money" even if we have all the paperwork	luckytxn	Male	0	2014-05-29 11:07:00
Vietnam	How do you get married in HCMC: how long does it take and how much does it cost?	Excellent posting of a much needed subject. I have asked this to be pinned but the site may require some additional postings to do this.	luckytxn	Male	0	2014-05-29 10:25:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 13 2009, 03:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This could just be an end f fiscal year show of force to look like they are doing more on paper.... they could just be doing it through the end of this month to show a larger number of AP's on paper for the end of fiscal report. Could also be that many of the regular CO's are on holiday, and the temps have been told "When in doubt, put them in AP and wait for the regular CO to come back and make a decision".	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-13 21:48:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (Kevin&Loan @ Sep 12 2009, 06:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Bryonm4, It is indeed a very well-written and informative article. Although my "journey" is almost over but I still get chill down my spine reading that article. The people who are committed to visa-fraud are the ones that spoil the pot for the rest of us. I remember back in my days, there were these two sisters who live in the neighborhood with my wife bluntly told everyone that they paid two Viet Kieus to get them visas and yet, they both passed the first round of interviews and they hopped on the plane heading for the US the very next week. My wife and I, on the other hand, were put on AR for 8 months. That was simply unfair. For those of you who can read Vietnamese or for our American brothers, ask your fiances to translate it for you, below is another article about how CO in Saigon determine your faiths http://www.rmiodp.co...wsid=7957&pid=0 Yeah, we've seen cases like the ones described in the article on Robert Mullins site. It basically says that a lot of visas are denied because the pictures presented don't indicate as many days together as are claimed (i.e., they think the pictures are staged or faked), and because the beneficiary can't answer questions about the hobbies of the petitioner, or the city where he lives. To summarize for those who don't want to bother getting it translated, there are two questions at the end: Q: How can you be successful using pictures to prove a relationship? A: To convince the consular staff that the pictures represent the number of days claimed, you may need to provide additional evidence of temporary residence, hotel receipts, and other evidence to show two people living together for more than several days. Q: How can a woman in Vietnam describe the city where the sponsor lives if she has never been there? A: The only way she can do this: The sponsor must tell her as much as possible about the city where he lives, and teach her the pronunciation of the name of the city.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-12 09:16:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 10 2009, 05:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Dupster?... sell it all on craigslist.. she should have the first part of DS 230 and DS 2001 completed with the exception of the date and HCM# ready for the day she gets the packet 3.. The faster she responds the sooner she will get an appointment... should be approx 2 months from the day she responds... if you got the HCM# from NVC she can have it all completed now.... One could actually send an email asking if the case arrived and if it did fax the info before the pkt 3 arrives... All this if you wanted less time to prepare the house... can you tell I have spent a bunch of time trying to find any possible way to speed up things? It's embarrassing to admit, but most of the stuff in my garage is stuff I didn't have time to go through when I bought the house 5 years ago, so I just packed it into boxes and bought a bunch of shelf racks. I'm now going through 5 rows of shelf racks, each the length of the garage and 6 ft tall, full of boxes. I'm letting my daughter keep anything that might be worth something to somebody, but that I don't want to keep. She's going to have a yard sale this weekend. Whatever she can't sell is either going into the dumpster or going to a charity thrift store. I simply don't have room for it anymore. I hate craigslist - 90% of the people who contact you never show up when they say they will, and the other 10% try to lowball you after they arrive. The HCM# is assigned at NVC. I got it over the phone, and also on the NVC letter. We've already finished DS-156's, DS-156K, and the DS-230 for her. We're still working on the DS-230's for her two kids that ARE coming with her. She's already got my tax transcripts for the last 3 years (brought 'em with me last month), but I'll be bringing the I-134's and employment letter with me when I come for her interview. Where can I get the DS-2001? I know it's the checklist, but I don't see it on either the consulate or DoS website.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-10 20:18:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 10 2009, 12:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree Jim... Are you at NVC still? I think your case is similar to mine in many respects so I look forward to a quick and painless approval for you. I just met with a bunch of officials from VN today here in the states.. I wanted to ask each of them that knows us to write a letter for us, but I really dont think that would help all that much or if the CO would even look at them... it feels like this journey is difficult enough, but they setup a big tiger trap at the end and it seems that so many are falling into it... I'm not even a tiger.. just a lil ##### cat... Some of the officials had a hard time getting visas just to come here for the meeting today... #######? someone in HCMC consulate needs to get a better plan in place.... About a week after I saw the NOA2 update on the USCIS website, I got a PM from someone here asking if NVC had my packet yet. I didn't know, so I called them. The lady who took the call said they got my packet, and it had already been sent to HCM. She gave me the NVC case number. A few days later I got a letter from NVC saying "This letter is to let you know that within a week the petition will be forwarded to the appropriate visa-issuing post where your visa interview will take place." The letter was dated August 31. So, I don't think it's still at NVC, but I don't know when it was actually sent to HCM. The lady at NVC might have meant "Yeah, it's in the next box going to HCM". Other than satisfying my own curiosity, there wouldn't be much point in trying to find out if HCM has it yet. It's not like I could do anything about it if they didn't. Phuong has all the documents she's going to need for the interview, but we're still working on the forms. I figure she'll probably get packet 3 within a week or two. Frankly, this is happening a lot faster than we'd expected or planned for. It's conceivable she could interview in late October, but sometime in November is probably more realistic. We were thinking (and planning) for late January or later. Her daughter is 18 on January 14, so we'd have dodged the "quit claim" bullet. She's not concerned, though. She says her eldest daughter (who isn't coming to the US with her - she's married with her own kid) has already talked to their father, and he's ok with signing the quit claim letter. Anyway, now I'm in a mad scramble trying to get the house ready. My little workshop has to be converted back into a bedroom, like it was when I bought the house. My workshop is going into the garage, which currently looks like a warehouse full of stuff. There's a 14 foot dumpster on the street in front of my house that I rented to clear out the garage. It's minor pandemonium around here, but I'm loving it! I haven't even told my boss that I'm going to need another couple of weeks vacation in a couple of months...	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-10 18:59:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 10 2009, 10:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I read where a member here waited in AP for over 6 months and finally went to the HCMC consulate and met with the chief. The man said they doubted the fact that the relationship was real.. he told them it was real and asked them what more they wanted from him to prove it as he already provided everything they asked. The CO agreed and granted visa... I feel that if it has been 60 days in AP (the time it should take as stated by USCIS) that the petitioner should be granted a sit down with the person in charge to discuss the case and get it finalized... There is NO REASON for it to take several months... no excuse! Since they have office hours posted for USC to come by and ask to speak to someone.. If we get AP I will be there daily asking what now... When will they decide.. They will get tired of seeing me.... a fraud would not go to that length to get the visa in my opinion and they should see that and grant the visa... In most cases, it's not the petitioner they suspect of fraud. It's the beneficiary. If someone wants to get out of Vietnam bad enough, they'd happily go through all of that and a lot more in order to do it. They've spent their whole life in Vietnam. They'd be more than willing to rattle cages at the consulate for 6 months. In some consulates, the rule is "If the petitioner believes it's real, then it's real". I read that in an article by a man who worked as a CO at three different consulates. I don't think HCM has that particular rule. In some cases, it's pretty obvious why a particular case is denied or gets AP. In other cases, I'm just stumped. One thing that would help enormously would be to know exactly what it is that the CO suspects when they say that they think the relationship is a sham for immigration purposes. Do they think the petitioner is in on the suspected sham? If so, do they think he's being paid off, or just helping someone out? If they don't think the petitioner is in on it, then they must think he's being duped by the beneficiary. What are the clues that make them suspect that? I don't think they want to reveal their real suspicions because they probably think a scammer would be able to address those suspicions as easily as a legitimate couple. Instead, they do a paperwork dance in the hope of collecting more clues without tipping their hand. Seriously, this whole mess could be resolved if they'd change the immigration laws to make it tougher to get unconditional permanent residence through marriage. As it is now, all they have to do is get their conditional green card, collect a little evidence, and file for a divorce. If they can't get enough evidence, or don't want to wait long enough to collect the evidence, they call the cops a few times and claim abuse. Once they get the visa, it's just too easy for a scammer to stay in the US. This puts the burden on the consulates to try to stop the scammers from getting a visa in the first place. Those of us with legitimate relationships have to pay the consequences for this.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-10 14:15:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	Updated list: Those in AP at HCMC: FrednDaoHoney_____________1/?/2009 Lindal24 ___________________7/8/2009 JohnCali9 ___________________8/6/2009 Ituan ______________________8/10/2009 Denied Vi&Art _____________________8/?/2009 JeromeBinh_________________ 8/20/2009 Ly Trinh ____________________8/21/2009 Huong and Phung ____________9/8/2009 Sad news to report on the AP front.. Ituan just recieved a letter of denial yesterday... I will leave the explanation of the details of the denial to them... if they are in fact working in a FIFO system at the consulate.. that could be good news for Linda and John since they both got AP before Ituan... We are praying for everyone in AP!!!!!	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-19 16:47:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (lindal24 @ Sep 19 2009, 03:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 19 2009, 11:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Has anyone been emailing the consulate weekly to inquire about the current status of the case? John and I talked about this yesterday and it may be advantagous since all communication for a case ends up in the case. At a minimum they will see that you are actively concerned about the case. If I were a co I would not be impressed if there were no inquiries about a case in AP. I know the uscis website says wait 60 days, but why wait. If they have everyone in AP as a ploy to look good at end of fiscal, then we should see some visas after the end of the month. I have been actively emailing. You get an automated response, but then a follow up, personalized response about 5 days after you send the email. I was told by the CO when I went in that it is adventagous since they see and keep track of the emails you send. When I send emails, I usually try to provide more details or go more in depth about my relationship with my husband, but keeping with a theme. For example, the last email I sent had a theme of the # of vacations and the duration of the vacations that my job has allowed me to take. I did wait a full month after the 2nd blue slip date, but I don't think that is a big issue or anything. When I was there this past trip, I made a trip to visit a CO, but since I'm no longer there, I'll continue to send weekly emails until we hear something... Sorry to hear that nothing positive has happened yet. John was asking me if I had heard anything about you guys lately and I wasnt sure if anything had happened yet... I had not thought about adding info into the emails.... I was just looking at it from the, poking at them regularly, standpoint. Did they call any relatives in your case checking up on details as has been the case with John? He said when he was there that there was a large number of others there in the afternoon to speak to the CO all in the same AP situation... He also noted that there were several others there with blue slip for visitor visa.... I had a group of students come for a ceremony last week... I just found out that of the 50 students .. 21 were denied visas to come to their graduation ceremony in the states... Its not just family visas that are getting slammed... when they say VN is one of the toughest consulates.. its not an exageration...	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-19 14:42:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	Has anyone been emailing the consulate weekly to inquire about the current status of the case? John and I talked about this yesterday and it may be advantagous since all communication for a case ends up in the case. At a minimum they will see that you are actively concerned about the case. If I were a co I would not be impressed if there were no inquiries about a case in AP. I know the uscis website says wait 60 days, but why wait. If they have everyone in AP as a ploy to look good at end of fiscal, then we should see some visas after the end of the month.	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-19 11:57:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (jeromebinh @ Sep 14 2009, 06:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Timeline, list of her relatives, and proof of where my Ex wife currently lives Did anyone in HCMC AP get blue on the first go for anything other than these or evidence of bonafide?	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-14 18:47:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (jeromebinh @ Sep 14 2009, 05:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We were asked for more info on the first blue. Binh said she had everything in order, and we went through it countless times. They just seemed like they were not interested in any of our evidence. We had the chat log history and the actual chat logs printed out and in each month by its self. They did not even look at chat logs which I thought was bull. Why do people call and spend money on calling when they already are paying for Internet and they both have cams and mic? I know I would rather see who I was talking to than to just hear a voice. We even went as far as to record a screen shot photo of her desk top when any call was over a hour long with video this way they could see the physical yahoo messenger box with a call time and then you could see both her and my web cam on the screen plus what we were talking about up to that point. They did not look at 1 single piece of paper from those. Binh said she saw a pink paper on his stack, but they asked about my ex wife and when Binh said she was in prison they asked why and when Binh answered his face went white and then he came back with a blue a short time later. But if this was the case, when we turned in the requested evidence I had a print screen of my Ex wife's prison photo and location not to mention what she was convicted of along with all the offenses she has had while in prison to back up what Binh said. So I just think they were planning on handing out a blue from the start, but Binh swears there was a pink sheet at the beginning of the interview. Jerome What info did they ask for?	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-14 17:04:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (luckytxn @ Sep 13 2009, 11:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Or as they have done before they stopped issuing visa' because of a investigation of a large fraud ring. Also I noticed many timelines being prepared here by people that were large enough to read like a novel and maybe they needed time to read them. Some people are slow readers. How can I get away with a one page timeline and others need 15 plus pages? But we can all keep coming up with all kinds of scenarios. I personally would like to know what people are Catholic or Buddhist and if that makes a difference or easier to get a pink or blue. So far it seems like it was limited to July for the most part... there were several others here since that got pink... we should be seeing a bunch of people going for interviews in the coming weeks.... I dont see them scheduled, but as long as they are not hung up in NVC AP they should be getting appointmnents... There are actually a bunch of people here that are already into the consulate phase or have just started the consulate phase.. we can only wait and see if they start getting pinks or blues again... I feel like an author that is preparing a newly written book to go to the publisher... in recent days I have spent so much time organizing the paperwork to go to the interview.... I want to have it laid out in a manner that makes it very easy for the CO to navigate and provides everything that they need, to avoid a request for additional info. I think i am on track with that. For those that are in AP, do you think the quality or organization of your paperwork had any impact on the process? Was everyone in AP asked for additional info in an initial blue slip?	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-14 15:56:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (Dai_Tx @ Sep 13 2009, 06:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 13 2009, 05:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This could just be an end f fiscal year show of force to look like they are doing more on paper.... they could just be doing it through the end of this month to show a larger number of AP's on paper for the end of fiscal report. You think they have to meet some kind of quota? Man if they do than that really sucks.... I think anything is possible when it comes to the government and end of year reports.... If they have money left over on sept 1 they piss it all away before the end of the month... and say they barely made it through the year on what was budgeted. If they are a high fraud consulate it would make them look better if the end of year report had a large number of people in AP. It would show how hard they were working all year long... it could be a way for them to say hey we need more people and money to get through all of these AP's.. bump the budget and then pass the AP's.... anyone need a raise or overtime? I think this is why VSC has sped up the approvals in recent weeks as well.	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-13 20:21:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	This could just be an end f fiscal year show of force to look like they are doing more on paper.... they could just be doing it through the end of this month to show a larger number of AP's on paper for the end of fiscal report.	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-13 17:10:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	Updated list: Those in AP at HCMC: FrednDaoHoney_____________1/?/2009 Lindal24 ___________________7/8/2009 JohnCali9 ___________________8/6/2009 Ituan ______________________8/10/2009 Vi&Art _____________________8/?/2009 JeromeBinh_________________ 8/20/2009 Ly Trinh ____________________8/21/2009 Huong and Phung ____________9/8/2009 Anyone see the trend here? July seems to have been a bad time to interview for many. Based on the completed timelines Everyone that interviewed after Jerome is approved except Huong and Josephs, but Josephs had the medical issue and were given a blue requesting medical..likely a pink when medical is provided.	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-13 08:15:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	****IMPORTANT NOTE: Processing wait time DOES NOT include the time required for administrative processing. These procedures require additional time. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days of application. When administrative processing is required, the timing will vary based on individual circumstances of each case. Therefore, before making inquiries about status of administrative processing, applicants or their representatives will need to wait at least 90 days from the date of interview or submission of supplemental documents, whichever is later. Processing wait time also does not include the time required to return the passport to applicants, by either courier services or the local mail system. http://travel.state....m...p;x=72&y=13	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-13 00:13:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (bryonm4 @ Sep 12 2009, 12:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If you want to see whats in the mind of the CO the following link is a good article http://www.ilw.com/a...8-seminara.shtm A good article, but I must say that I really disagree with the authors idea on K-1 visas being abolished. I truly think they should do more interviews with both the USC as well as the SO to get a better picture of the relationship and avoid the AP BS.... I am a firm believer in the idea.... "why put off for tomorrow what you can do today?" If they have both parties there, why not do the interview of both parties and get a good idea of what the deal is and get it approved or denied in one day.... it really amazes me that the USC is not welcome into the consulate (A US refuge abroad) when the case is being evaluated... they must wait accross the street. That truly makes no sense.... its like reading a book and one of the important chapters, or a few pages from each chapter, is on a table accross the room and wont be read.... the full story cant be known... if they truly go by the ideology that "if the usc believes it, then it is real" why not bring us into the loop?	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-12 09:06:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	Binh, We'll see if they are delayng the interviews soon.. Jim should have a date mid Nov and if it later than that.. it could be because they have CO's busy doing the AP's...	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-11 15:04:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (JimVaPhuong @ Sep 10 2009, 09:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 10 2009, 05:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Dupster?... sell it all on craigslist.. she should have the first part of DS 230 and DS 2001 completed with the exception of the date and HCM# ready for the day she gets the packet 3.. The faster she responds the sooner she will get an appointment... should be approx 2 months from the day she responds... if you got the HCM# from NVC she can have it all completed now.... One could actually send an email asking if the case arrived and if it did fax the info before the pkt 3 arrives... All this if you wanted less time to prepare the house... can you tell I have spent a bunch of time trying to find any possible way to speed up things? It's embarrassing to admit, but most of the stuff in my garage is stuff I didn't have time to go through when I bought the house 5 years ago, so I just packed it into boxes and bought a bunch of shelf racks. I'm now going through 5 rows of shelf racks, each the length of the garage and 6 ft tall, full of boxes. I'm letting my daughter keep anything that might be worth something to somebody, but that I don't want to keep. She's going to have a yard sale this weekend. Whatever she can't sell is either going into the dumpster or going to a charity thrift store. I simply don't have room for it anymore. I hate craigslist - 90% of the people who contact you never show up when they say they will, and the other 10% try to lowball you after they arrive. The HCM# is assigned at NVC. I got it over the phone, and also on the NVC letter. We've already finished DS-156's, DS-156K, and the DS-230 for her. We're still working on the DS-230's for her two kids that ARE coming with her. She's already got my tax transcripts for the last 3 years (brought 'em with me last month), but I'll be bringing the I-134's and employment letter with me when I come for her interview. Where can I get the DS-2001? I know it's the checklist, but I don't see it on either the consulate or DoS website. PM me and I'll email the pkt 3 with it in there..	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-10 20:26:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (JimVaPhuong @ Sep 10 2009, 07:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> About a week after I saw the NOA2 update on the USCIS website, I got a PM from someone here asking if NVC had my packet yet. I didn't know, so I called them. The lady who took the call said they got my packet, and it had already been sent to HCM. She gave me the NVC case number. A few days later I got a letter from NVC saying "This letter is to let you know that within a week the petition will be forwarded to the appropriate visa-issuing post where your visa interview will take place." The letter was dated August 31. So, I don't think it's still at NVC, but I don't know when it was actually sent to HCM. The lady at NVC might have meant "Yeah, it's in the next box going to HCM". Other than satisfying my own curiosity, there wouldn't be much point in trying to find out if HCM has it yet. It's not like I could do anything about it if they didn't. Phuong has all the documents she's going to need for the interview, but we're still working on the forms. I figure she'll probably get packet 3 within a week or two. Frankly, this is happening a lot faster than we'd expected or planned for. It's conceivable she could interview in late October, but sometime in November is probably more realistic. We were thinking (and planning) for late January or later. Her daughter is 18 on January 14, so we'd have dodged the "quit claim" bullet. She's not concerned, though. She says her eldest daughter (who isn't coming to the US with her - she's married with her own kid) has already talked to their father, and he's ok with signing the quit claim letter. Anyway, now I'm in a mad scramble trying to get the house ready. My little workshop has to be converted back into a bedroom, like it was when I bought the house. My workshop is going into the garage, which currently looks like a warehouse full of stuff. There's a 14 foot dumpster on the street in front of my house that I rented to clear out the garage. It's minor pandemonium around here, but I'm loving it! I haven't even told my boss that I'm going to need another couple of weeks vacation in a couple of months... Dupster?... sell it all on craigslist.. she should have the first part of DS 230 and DS 2001 completed with the exception of the date and HCM# ready for the day she gets the packet 3.. The faster she responds the sooner she will get an appointment... should be approx 2 months from the day she responds... if you got the HCM# from NVC she can have it all completed now.... One could actually send an email asking if the case arrived and if it did fax the info before the pkt 3 arrives... All this if you wanted less time to prepare the house... can you tell I have spent a bunch of time trying to find any possible way to speed up things?	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-10 19:20:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (Kevin&Loan @ Sep 10 2009, 03:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Scott, my cousin is a Managing Director of Wrigley in Vietnam and like you said, he had a super hard time getting a visa to go to a conference in New York. In both of the cases, the one you mentioned and mine, the US entity is profiting from doing business abroad and DHS is hindering that profit.... If I remember correctly, the economy is in sh!t shape at the moment and they are making it worse. Reminds me of the saying.. to cut ones nose of to spite the face.	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-10 15:47:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	I agree Jim... Are you at NVC still? I think your case is similar to mine in many respects so I look forward to a quick and painless approval for you. I just met with a bunch of officials from VN today here in the states.. I wanted to ask each of them that knows us to write a letter for us, but I really dont think that would help all that much or if the CO would even look at them... it feels like this journey is difficult enough, but they setup a big tiger trap at the end and it seems that so many are falling into it... I'm not even a tiger.. just a lil ##### cat... Some of the officials had a hard time getting visas just to come here for the meeting today... #######? someone in HCMC consulate needs to get a better plan in place....	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-10 14:30:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (bryonm4 @ Sep 10 2009, 01:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kevin&Loan @ Sep 9 2009, 12:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Also, I have been wanting to say this for a while but I wanted to see if it is true or just plain rumor My wife and I took the kid over to my parents house one day about 2 months go to have dinner and my father said he just heard that the US Consulate in Saigon just decided to stop issuing K1 visas for a while due to fraud and they would backtrack and scrutinize even more all the cases that are presently at the Consulate. I then asked him if he was sure. He affirmed. I asked for the source of the news and he said he just happen to work around the house with both the TV on in the living room and the radio on in the garage so he did not remember where he got the news. Now, in Houston, there are about 3 Vietnamese radio stations but I know he only listens to Radio Saigon-Houston AM900. As far as Vietnamese channels on TV, I know he watches via DirectTV the following: SBTN, VHN, Hon Viet. Now, like I said, I wanted to tell you guys but not sure if it is true but now we can see that everyone in here that walked in for anterview, walked out with a blue sheet. I also frequent a site called VietDiTru.com and I saw a the same pattern. Now, all we need is to verify if the news is indeed authentic or the people at the stations just make it up to make news. So, if you happen to live in SoCal or HTown, please call around and ask if anyone else heard the same thing. I have asked but none of the people I know listen or watch anything Viet ... Again, please don't be alarmed. I hope it isn't true. Spank me if it turns out to be a hoax. I have heard that it was really difficult to get a K1 or K3 now but I see they still issue them from what I read on here many people have gotten them. I think the people on here are more prepaired then others and have a better chance of getting a K visa. The good news is that CR1 visa are still possible. All are possible.. They have K-1, CR1 and K3 people all in AP... so they are not focusing on one type of visa.... I wish I could say there was a common thread that tied everyone together that is getting AP... AP is nothing new either.. they have been doing it for years at HCMC.... it seems like they are doing it more often now... I read where a member here waited in AP for over 6 months and finally went to the HCMC consulate and met with the chief. The man said they doubted the fact that the relationship was real.. he told them it was real and asked them what more they wanted from him to prove it as he already provided everything they asked. The CO agreed and granted visa... I feel that if it has been 60 days in AP (the time it should take as stated by USCIS) that the petitioner should be granted a sit down with the person in charge to discuss the case and get it finalized... There is NO REASON for it to take several months... no excuse! Since they have office hours posted for USC to come by and ask to speak to someone.. If we get AP I will be there daily asking what now... When will they decide.. They will get tired of seeing me.... a fraud would not go to that length to get the visa in my opinion and they should see that and grant the visa...	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-10 12:37:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	Administrative Processing Information Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the visa applicant’s interview by a Consular Officer. Applicants are advised of this requirement when they apply. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days of the visa interview. When administrative processing is required, the timing will vary based on individual circumstances of each case. Visa applicants are reminded to apply early for their visa, well in advance of the anticipated travel date. Important Notice: Before making inquiries about status of administrative processing, applicants or their representatives will need to wait at least 60 days from the date of interview or submission of supplemental documents, whichever is later. About Visa Processing Wait Times – Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants Information about nonimmigrant visa wait times for interviews and visa processing timeframes are shown on this website, as well as on U.S. Embassy and Consulate websites worldwide. It should be noted that the “Wait Times for a Nonimmigrant Visa to be Processed” information by country does not include time required for administrative processing. Processing wait time also does not include the time required to return the passport to applicants, by either courier services or the local mail system. http://travel.state....index_4353.html	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-09 19:20:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (martindart @ Sep 8 2009, 06:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Back in my day it was called Administrative Review (AR) what is AP ? AR is having the supervisor go over the CO's decision... AP in this case is different.. AP = Additional Processing ...as has been stated by a CO when questions by the petitioner, this could take 2 weeks to 2 months or longer... It could be associated with additional time needed to perform a secondary review of the case to address the high level of fraud through HCMC.	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-08 18:27:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (Kevin&Loan @ Sep 8 2009, 05:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Scott, good job !!! Back in my AP days, one member did exactly what you do now and I felt like I had everyone's support back then. However, I must admit that being stuck in AP was horrible but seeing one succesfully "graduate" from it while I was not, was worse than anything you can imagine. Part of me was glad to see someone made it, part of me was jealous of it and could not help but wonder "why not me" ... Being stuck at AP can drain anyone emotionally. If one is not strong enought, it can drive one insane. Been there, done that, I know the feeling. No matter how much everyone tries to comfort you, you still feel like .... well, you know what I mean ... Be tough, people ... be tough ... Only you can do it ... How long were you in AP at HCMC?	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-08 17:21:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	VJ Members currently in AP/AR at HCMC: . ArtfulAlex________________08/31/2010 CR1- P's residence info, B's relatives in US, Timeline......... . US VN___________________09-09-2010 K-1 P's Ex's address, timeline, P's Residence info last 10 years-Resubmit, details of previous petition, list of relatives in US ......... . weatheremperor___________________06-20-2011 K-1 Timeline, 10 year residency (petitioner), 10 year residency (beneficiary), loe (letter of explanation: for matchmaking agency we used to meet) - VJ Members who made it out of AP & results: · Lindal24 ________________7/8/2009 - 10/7/2009 - 91 days in AP - APPROVED CR1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & List of Relatives · FrednDaoHoney__________1/17/2009 - 10/15/2009 - 271 days in AP - APPROVED · JohnCali9 _______________8/6/2009 - 10/21/2009 - 76 days in AP - APPROVED K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Ex-wife's situation & Timeline · MichaelAndKha___________8/15/2009 - 10/21/2009 - 67 days in AP - Denied K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Timeline Reasons for Denial: 1.Inconsistent photos, 2.No engagement ceremony, 3.Lack of marriage ceremony details · Andy (not a VJ member)____8/17/2009 - 10/23/2009 - 67 days in AP - Denied K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline · Minh&Nhan (not a VJ member)__09/07/2009 - 10/23/2009 - 46 days in AP - APPROVED · Huong and Phung_________9/8/2009 - 10/27/2009 - 49 days in AP - Denied CR1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline Rebuttal APPROVED over 1 year later. · JeromeBinh______________8/20/2009 - 10/28/2009 - 69 days in AP - Denied K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Ex-wife's situation, Timeline & List of Relatives Reasons for Denial: 1.Inconsistent Photos, 2.Communiciation not credible, 3.One visit, 4.Small engagement, 5.Engagement shortly after meeting, 6.B has 3 relatives in US, but only listed 2; P lived close to B's relatives, 7.Lack of marriage ceremony details · Ly Trinh _________________8/21/2009 - 10/28/2009 - 68 days in AP - Denied CR1 Visa - First blue RFE: Timeline · Ituan__________________8/10/2009 - 09/15/2009 - 36 days in AP - Denied Additional interview granted for 11/11 2nd denial K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline · ToanTien________________8/20/2009 - 12/18/2009 120 days in AP APPROVED CR1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline-- co-sponsor... · Vi&Art____________________8/5/2009 K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline No results reported. · Robert & Mai_______________03/04/10 - 3/30/2010 no docs required--26 days in AP APPROVED · ScottThuy__________________03/01/2010 - 9/23/2010 207 days in AP K1- timeline, ex-spouse address,police cert.......... 7/20/10 Phone calls from Consulate to P, P's Ex, B, B's family-- 8/8/10 Investigators visit Thuys Residence. APPROVED · AnhBob___________________12/07/2009 - 10/08/2010 306 days in AP CR1- proof of bonafide, timeline, info about ex, info about child... Denied · ViQuoc___________________ 05/26/2010 - 10/22/2010 150 days in AP CR-1- Cosponsor...... APPROVED · 2X2Y2Z__________________07/12/2010 - 11/12/2010 APPROVED CR1- timeline, medical results......... 123 Days 9/15/10 Investigators visit B's Residence · Ronnie&Hang______________12/29/2009 - APPROVED K1- timeline, medical results from Cho Ray (sputum test required)....308 Days · Frank And Duyen___________10/20/2009 - APPROVED CR1 Timeline ..... 18 months in AP · Terry1____________________11/00/2009 CR1 - proof of paternity ....approx 487 Days · RaymondV_________________12/00/2009 K1- timeline.....approx 457 Days · James & Nicole_____________01/04/2010 K1- timeline, ex-wifes address, medical results from Cho Ray:awaiting TB treatment ....423 Days · Josh_A___________________03/05/2010 CR1- timeline, Parent info, police cert......... 363 Days . Jimen & Kenly___________________02-25-2011 K-1 timeline, P's && B's Residence info last 10 years-Resubmit, list of relatives in US ......... approved PM me to get this edited to add or update info.. Edited by ScottThuy, 20 July 2011 - 09:50 PM.	ScottThuy	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-08 15:29:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (lindal24 @ Sep 19 2009, 03:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 19 2009, 11:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Has anyone been emailing the consulate weekly to inquire about the current status of the case? John and I talked about this yesterday and it may be advantagous since all communication for a case ends up in the case. At a minimum they will see that you are actively concerned about the case. If I were a co I would not be impressed if there were no inquiries about a case in AP. I know the uscis website says wait 60 days, but why wait. If they have everyone in AP as a ploy to look good at end of fiscal, then we should see some visas after the end of the month. I have been actively emailing. You get an automated response, but then a follow up, personalized response about 5 days after you send the email. I was told by the CO when I went in that it is adventagous since they see and keep track of the emails you send. When I send emails, I usually try to provide more details or go more in depth about my relationship with my husband, but keeping with a theme. For example, the last email I sent had a theme of the # of vacations and the duration of the vacations that my job has allowed me to take. I did wait a full month after the 2nd blue slip date, but I don't think that is a big issue or anything. When I was there this past trip, I made a trip to visit a CO, but since I'm no longer there, I'll continue to send weekly emails until we hear something... I have emailed 2 seperate times. Each time I use the email that they replied to this way it gets longer and longer. I also add a bit about what we have done to each email. I am planning on writing another email tomorrow and then I will wait 1 week from their formal reply to email again. It might bug them, but I feel as you do that they will at least see that I am not going to sit by without a fight or argument. Jerome	jeromebinh	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-19 14:37:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	I think this is a important topic and feel it should still be easily read so I am just making a post to get it closer to the top	jeromebinh	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-18 10:36:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 14 2009, 06:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (jeromebinh @ Sep 14 2009, 05:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We were asked for more info on the first blue. Binh said she had everything in order, and we went through it countless times. They just seemed like they were not interested in any of our evidence. We had the chat log history and the actual chat logs printed out and in each month by its self. They did not even look at chat logs which I thought was bull. Why do people call and spend money on calling when they already are paying for Internet and they both have cams and mic? I know I would rather see who I was talking to than to just hear a voice. We even went as far as to record a screen shot photo of her desk top when any call was over a hour long with video this way they could see the physical yahoo messenger box with a call time and then you could see both her and my web cam on the screen plus what we were talking about up to that point. They did not look at 1 single piece of paper from those. Binh said she saw a pink paper on his stack, but they asked about my ex wife and when Binh said she was in prison they asked why and when Binh answered his face went white and then he came back with a blue a short time later. But if this was the case, when we turned in the requested evidence I had a print screen of my Ex wife's prison photo and location not to mention what she was convicted of along with all the offenses she has had while in prison to back up what Binh said. So I just think they were planning on handing out a blue from the start, but Binh swears there was a pink sheet at the beginning of the interview. Jerome What info did they ask for? Timeline, list of her relatives, and proof of where my Ex wife currently lives	jeromebinh	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-14 17:48:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 14 2009, 04:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (luckytxn @ Sep 13 2009, 11:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Or as they have done before they stopped issuing visa' because of a investigation of a large fraud ring. Also I noticed many timelines being prepared here by people that were large enough to read like a novel and maybe they needed time to read them. Some people are slow readers. How can I get away with a one page timeline and others need 15 plus pages? But we can all keep coming up with all kinds of scenarios. I personally would like to know what people are Catholic or Buddhist and if that makes a difference or easier to get a pink or blue. So far it seems like it was limited to July for the most part... there were several others here since that got pink... we should be seeing a bunch of people going for interviews in the coming weeks.... I don't see them scheduled, but as long as they are not hung up in NVC AP they should be getting appointmnents... There are actually a bunch of people here that are already into the consulate phase or have just started the consulate phase.. we can only wait and see if they start getting pinks or blues again... I feel like an author that is preparing a newly written book to go to the publisher... in recent days I have spent so much time organizing the paperwork to go to the interview.... I want to have it laid out in a manner that makes it very easy for the CO to navigate and provides everything that they need, to avoid a request for additional info. I think i am on track with that. For those that are in AP, do you think the quality or organization of your paperwork had any impact on the process? Was everyone in AP asked for additional info in an initial blue slip? We were asked for more info on the first blue. Binh said she had everything in order, and we went through it countless times. They just seemed like they were not interested in any of our evidence. We had the chat log history and the actual chat logs printed out and in each month by its self. They did not even look at chat logs which I thought was bull. Why do people call and spend money on calling when they already are paying for Internet and they both have cams and mic? I know I would rather see who I was talking to than to just hear a voice. We even went as far as to record a screen shot photo of her desk top when any call was over a hour long with video this way they could see the physical yahoo messenger box with a call time and then you could see both her and my web cam on the screen plus what we were talking about up to that point. They did not look at 1 single piece of paper from those. Binh said she saw a pink paper on his stack, but they asked about my ex wife and when Binh said she was in prison they asked why and when Binh answered his face went white and then he came back with a blue a short time later. But if this was the case, when we turned in the requested evidence I had a print screen of my Ex wife's prison photo and location not to mention what she was convicted of along with all the offenses she has had while in prison to back up what Binh said. So I just think they were planning on handing out a blue from the start, but Binh swears there was a pink sheet at the beginning of the interview. Jerome	jeromebinh	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-14 16:51:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 13 2009, 09:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Updated list: Those in AP at HCMC: FrednDaoHoney_____________1/?/2009 Lindal24 ___________________7/8/2009 JohnCali9 ___________________8/6/2009 Ituan ______________________8/10/2009 Vi&Art _____________________8/?/2009 JeromeBinh_________________ 8/20/2009 Ly Trinh ____________________8/21/2009 Huong and Phung ____________9/8/2009 Anyone see the trend here? July seems to have been a bad time to interview for many. Based on the completed timelines Everyone that interviewed after Jerome is approved except Huong and Josephs, but Josephs had the medical issue and were given a blue requesting medical..likely a pink when medical is provided. Yeah I know that is why i wish there was something we could do, or say or even explain our thoughts about this to. I know it looks strange and I am sure that in the same month of July there were many pinks. Binh even said as much, but it still does not make any of us that got the blue feel better. I just wish we could at least complain to someone if not to get anything changed to at least vent to someone that we would feel could do something. You know what I mean? Jerome	jeromebinh	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-13 17:02:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 12 2009, 10:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (bryonm4 @ Sep 12 2009, 12:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If you want to see whats in the mind of the CO the following link is a good article http://www.ilw.com/a...8-seminara.shtm A good article, but I must say that I really disagree with the authors idea on K-1 visas being abolished. I truly think they should do more interviews with both the USC as well as the SO to get a better picture of the relationship and avoid the AP BS.... I am a firm believer in the idea.... "why put off for tomorrow what you can do today?" If they have both parties there, why not do the interview of both parties and get a good idea of what the deal is and get it approved or denied in one day.... it really amazes me that the USC is not welcome into the consulate (A US refuge abroad) when the case is being evaluated... they must wait accross the street. That truly makes no sense.... its like reading a book and one of the important chapters, or a few pages from each chapter, is on a table accross the room and wont be read.... the full story cant be known... if they truly go by the ideology that "if the usc believes it, then it is real" why not bring us into the loop? I agree with you Scott, I also feel that if the sponser is not there that they should have some sort of interview in the states before the fiancee's view and then let the person over here doing the interview send his/her opnions or transcripts over there for the Co in HCMC. This way they would at least get to hear both sides.	jeromebinh	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-13 16:58:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 8 2009, 04:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Since there are so many stuck in HCMC AP it may be helpful to have a discussion to let everyone know were they are in relation to others in the same situation…. Those in AP at HCMC: Lindal24 7/8/2009 JohnCali 8/6/2009 Ituan 8/10/2009 JeromeBinh 8/20/2009 Ly Trinh 8/21/2009 Huong and Phung 9/8/2009 Michaelandluyen ? Han & James ? no word since 7/6 interview….. Let the others there know what you have heard since the blue slip and this way it may not be such a painful wait.... there are at least 6 couples in the same boat at the moment.... We know there are hundreds od people in HCMC got blue too and they are waiting for AP. Most of them are K1 and CR1. I wonder what future interviews will be if they had loads of cases like these? Binh.	jeromebinh	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-11 09:22:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	I have sent 2 separate emails to the Consulate, and I have gotten one response. Each time I send in a message I reply with the last one I sent this way they can see each letter if they choose. It is a hard road to hold, and we all need to remain strong. Good luck to all! Jerome	jeromebinh	Male	Vietnam	2009-09-08 17:18:00
Vietnam	HCMC Interview roll call	QUOTE (ScottThuy @ Sep 19 2009, 11:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Has anyone been emailing the consulate weekly to inquire about the current status of the case? John and I talked about this yesterday and it may be advantagous since all communication for a case ends up in the case. At a minimum they will see that you are actively concerned about the case. If I were a co I would not be impressed if there were no inquiries about a case in AP. I know the uscis website says wait 60 days, but why wait. If they have everyone in AP as a ploy to look good at end of fiscal, then we should see some visas after the end of the month. I have been actively emailing. You get an automated response, but then a follow up, personalized response about 5 days after you send the email. I was told by the CO when I went in that it is adventagous since they see and keep track of the emails you send. When I send emails, I usually try to provide more details or go more in depth about my relationship with my husband, but keeping with a theme. For example, the last email I sent had a theme of the # of vacations and the duration of the vacations that my job has allowed me to take. I did wait a full month after the 2nd blue slip date, but I don't think that is a big issue or anything. When I was there this past trip, I made a trip to visit a CO, but since I'm no longer there, I'll continue to send weekly emails until we hear something...	lindal24	Female	Vietnam	2009-09-19 14:15:00