Vietnam VisaJourney Members

[yellow123 0]

Landy,

I see nothinig but a pink slip for you tommorrow.

[Robert & Van 0]

I bet It will be hard to sleep Now, Im so excited myself. Thanks for letting us know how it comes out after her interview.

[STL_HCMC 0]

Well folks.... tomorrow (March 29) is our K1 interview at the consulate in HCMC.

Lan and I are all set to go. Wish us luck. We're very well prepared (thanks to VJ) and I can't imagine doing this without the help of this group of people.

I'll post an update as soon as Lan calls me after the interview. I will also have her post her experiences with the consulate first-hand for the benefit of you all.

Landy,

I'm sitting here in the office in HCMC and thought of you and your fiancee. I imagine she is downtown right now immersed in the process.

Just wanted to drop a quick note! Best of luck.

STL_HCMC

[Landy 0]

Thanks for the kind thoughts!!!

I am sitting at home right now. Lan called me just before she entered the consulate.... apppointment is for 10 am. I will be waiting for her call!!!!

Well folks.... tomorrow (March 29) is our K1 interview at the consulate in HCMC.

Lan and I are all set to go. Wish us luck. We're very well prepared (thanks to VJ) and I can't imagine doing this without the help of this group of people.

I'll post an update as soon as Lan calls me after the interview. I will also have her post her experiences with the consulate first-hand for the benefit of you all.

Landy,

I'm sitting here in the office in HCMC and thought of you and your fiancee. I imagine she is downtown right now immersed in the process.

Just wanted to drop a quick note! Best of luck.

STL_HCMC

[Mike n Huong 1]

Thanks for the kind thoughts!!!

I am sitting at home right now. Lan called me just before she entered the consulate.... apppointment is for 10 am. I will be waiting for her call!!!!

Landy,

I know you must be nervous and excited at the same time. I only wish the best for you and your fiancee. I hope she calls you and you can tell from her voice that she passed. Good Luck!!!!!!

[Landy 0]

SHE GOT THE VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just talked with Lan (my fiance). She just got the K1 visa!!!!!!!! YAH YAH YAH!!!!

The interview was 5 minutes long. Very shortl.... just a few questions. Details to follow tomorrow, ok???

[STL_HCMC 0]

SHE GOT THE VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just talked with Lan (my fiance). She just got the K1 visa!!!!!!!! YAH YAH YAH!!!!

The interview was 5 minutes long. Very shortl.... just a few questions. Details to follow tomorrow, ok???

THE BEST OF CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH LANDY!!!

I'm sure there are a lot of us that are looking forward to your detail of the interview!

What an exciting moment and day for you! Best of luck to you both in the future.

STL_HCMC

[Vietnam 0]

I didn't doubt it for a minute.

Congratulations!

[Mike n Huong 1]

SHE GOT THE VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just talked with Lan (my fiance). She just got the K1 visa!!!!!!!! YAH YAH YAH!!!!

The interview was 5 minutes long. Very shortl.... just a few questions. Details to follow tomorrow, ok???

I am so happy for both of you!!!!

I know you probably couldn't sleep after her call.

I wish the best for you both on your future together. You gave us all hope!!!

[chuckandkim 0]

Lan and Andy,

I think we all expected the Visa all along Come on, remember how i said I jeolous of you both for you having her visiting you while waiting for K-1 Visa? :)

I know EXACTLY how you feel when that phone call arrived... Heart pounding like an african drum, then the news broke, then a million plans start forming in your head... GREAT!!!!

Congrats to you both...

[menyoo 0]

Congrats and continue success with your journey. I'm almost there to where you're today. Hopefully I'd get the same news in a few more months.

[Landy 0]

OK.... this is my recollection of what Lan (my fiancee) told me about her experience in dealing with the HCMC consulate. I will have her post her experience so you can all get a first-hand account when she wakes up in the morning (it is sleeping time right now in Vietnam).

Lan's interview was at 10 am. She arrived there before 9 AM in typical business attire (long skirt, blouse -- you know what I mean). She gave her documents to the person at the consulate and they told her to wait. At noon the consulate closed for lunch so they told her to come back at 1:30 PM.

After lunch she returns to the consulate. The CO who would adjuciate her case was a woman, about 35-40 years old. The interview lasted all of 5 minutes. This is what I can recall as far as the questions that were asked:

1) How many times has Lan visited USA? How many times have I (the petitioner) visited Vietnam?

2) Are her parents concerned that she will leave Vietnam and live in America?

3) How long have you known your fiance?

4) When did you get engaged?

5) Has Lan met my parents?

6) Did my parents come to the engagement ceremony? She asked to see pics of the engagement.

7) The CO kept the I-134 form (notorized), the letter from my employer that states my position/salary, and a copy of my 2004 tax return and W2s. That's it... they did not even look at my bank statements or any of the other financial documentation I provided (and Lan was carrying a boat-load of information!)

So after you few basic questions, the CO approved the K1. It will be ready to be picked up at 4 PM the next day (March 30).

Off the top of my head that is all I can remember right now! I am sure Lan will be able to provide a more detailed recollection. A few more items of interest:

Lan said that 9 out of every 10 visa applicants were getting turned away with a blue slip! She attributed this to two things. First most of them cannot speak english so they had to use the services of the consulate-provided interpreter. Very arrogant, not helpful at all, and downright hostile to several of the applicants. She probably is a hindrance to the overall process. Second reason people get blue slips is they are just not properly prepared- they did not seem to be aware of the process and the procedures. In general, it pays to dot all your I's and cross all your T's when working with this particular consulate!

I hope that helps; as I said Lan will follow-up with some more details. If anybody has any questions about the process feel free to ask either in the public forums or you can email me privately if you like.

[dalegg 143]

Lan said that 9 out of every 10 visa applicants were getting turned away with a blue slip!

Everyone should take particular interest in this statement. It has always been the case at HCMC. Almost every applicant who has posted their interview experience has made this statement (including my own wife). This is the most telling testament to the effectivness of this website, because those statistics are not the same for VisaJourney members. It pays to know what you are doing ahead of time, and obviously people who use this site do.

I think once your fiance showed she had been to the US to visit you, that clinched it. You are pretty fortunate to have that in your case.

[chuckandkim 0]

Andy and Lan,

What is your thought about the Journey so far? Is it too hard? I thought it was pretty straight forward myself...

[Landy 0]

I think it's pretty straight-forward. It's definitely a lot of work, but it's definitely not rocket-science.

The government muddles the process up by making it somewhat murky as to what they want from the applicants, but thanks to VJ it's much much clearer.

In this process I have relied upon VJ and one book that I bought from Nolo Press about this subject. The book is sometimes nice to have because I know exactly where to go to get information quickly as opposed to wading through the site. The site is nice to have because there's a wealth of current up-to-date information and a whole community to ask questions and collaborate with.

Andy and Lan,

What is your thought about the Journey so far? Is it too hard? I thought it was pretty straight forward myself...