HCMC interview

[CraigCam 0]

First, I want to thank everyone here at VJ for their help and support. Fortunately, our case was simple, so, we decided to handle everything ourselves. There is simply no way that we could have done this without all your help.

When I sent in my I-129F I didn't include anything in the way of evidence other than what was necessary to prove that we met in person at least once; no chat logs, phone bills, etc. Knowing what I now know, I would have included all the evidence of our relationship, including a timeline, because I now see that the decision is made, to some degree, before the interview ever takes place. I only submitted a dozen photos from my first visit and I truly believe that those were the main factor in our approval. I'm convinced that it is not a matter of how much evidence you submit, but rather how compelling that evidence is. It is a matter of quality over quantity. Luckily for us, what little evidence I did include must have been very convincing.

My petition was approved in just over four months with no touches whatsoever. It went straight from 'pending' to 'approved'. Soon Hieu received Packet 3 and the 'fun' began. We spent hours and hours compiling all our evidence. Hieu took nearly ten pounds of evidence to her interview; chat logs, receipts, photos, etc. The CO did not look at a single piece of evidence during the interview, except for our photos from my two visits. In fact, he never asked to see my Evidence of Support or the notarized timeline that I had sent.

I have to give all the credit for our success to my beautiful fiancee. I can't express how proud I am of her and how well she handled everything. Of course I helped her complete the forms and double checked them for her, as well as gave her guidance on how to organize everything and how to handle herself in the interview. But in the end, she is the one who had to carry it out. She was very deligent in collecting and organizing our evidence and we spent many hours practicing fourteen pages of interview questions over and over. I asked her to write a summary of her interview for those of you here at VJ and this is her recount in her own words.(She has a profile here on VJ but has been a little shy posting. If anyone would like to ask her some questions, maybe in Vietnamese, I'm sure she would be more than happy to help. Send her a pm, Sao Bien is her username.)

I went to US Consulate on 7:45am, queued on the right gate with passport and appointment letter and receipt of fee $131 and entered to the gate of US Consulate.

I got the automatic number in the reception counter, my number was A0058, then came inside and waited for calling my number, it showed on the electronic board on the top.

Some minutes went by, one US lady and her translator came in and asked for all ppl stand up and raise our right hand for swearing, this only means about US law but also express the sacred thing for what we will talk, declare and all evidence are true.

They called me for making profile first, like Fee of interview, ID card, Passport, DS230-I, …. And came back to the seat for waiting again …

Roundabout 45’, I was called to the No.10 counter for interview, the interviewer was Asian guy, like Philippino and translater, Vietnamese lady.

Interviewer : what language do you talk with your fiancé?

Me : English

Interviewer : do you speak English now? (for the interview)

Me : Yes

Interviewer : do you have any relatives in US?

Me : I have uncle’s family

Interviewer : what’s your uncle’s name?

Me : Nguyen Van Chin

Interviewer : where does he live?

Me : San Diego

Interviewer : what does he do?

Me : he is retired now

Interviewer : what did he do before retired?

Me : many things, like delivery newspaper, cleaner, …

Interviewer : how do you know your fiancé?

Me : I met him in the internet

Interviewer : what is date site?

Me : it’s Cherry Blossom

Interviewer : what does he do?

Me : Camera assistant for film

Interviewer : does he do photos and videos?

Me : no, he is Camera assistant for films and TV shows

Interviewer : what TV shows?

Me : I don’t know, sometimes American Idol, entertainment shows, …

Interviewer : does he work now?

Me : yes

Interviewer : how long does he work for film?

Me : 5 years

Interviewer : how many times does he visit you?

Me : 2 times, one was on Feb and second was on Aug, it was 31st July to 10th Aug

Interviewer : do you have engagement ceremony?

Me : no, we don’t

Interviewer : why?

Me : because when he proposed me on Valentine’s Day, he didn’t buy an engagement ring

Interviewer : when did you have engagement?

Me : he gave me engagement ring on my birthday

Interviewer : do you have photos?

Me : yes, here you are. This was first visit, here was second visit

Interviewer : who is he? (inquiring about a photo of one of Hieu's friends and myself)

Me : he is a friend of mine, it was on the first visit, we took my friends to go …

Interviewer : is it your engegament ring? (asking about the ring on her finger)

Me : yes

Interviewer : where did your fiancé buy?

Me : I don’t know, just remember SD name, Stein Diamond or ….

(I was trying to look for Receipt of Ring to let him know the name of shop…)

Interviewer : how much?

Me : 2500$ excluded tax

Interviewer : ok

Me : ah, it’s Stein Diamond

(I tried to show them receipt…)

Translator : what for? No need you Pass …

Me : oh … thank you

Translator : you will get your Visa in here on 1st Dec

Me : Thank you, sir

I received PINK paper after answering how much the ring costs !!!!!

Hieu told me that she is convinced that her approval was based on two things: our photos(the only evidence the CO looked at) and the fact that she conducted the interview in English. I had coached her extensively on how to handle herself during the interview. I told her to be very confident, look the interviewer in the eyes and to keep smiling. She said that the interviewer seemed to be impressed by the fact that she could conduct the interview in English. She says that allowed her and the interviewer to interact one on one instead of relaying questions and answers through the translator. She noticed that other interviews were conducted in Vietnamese and in these cases the interviewer kept eye contact with the translator rather than the fiancee, and vice versa. All of those cases received blue slips.

I think it is important to point out that the interviewer already had the pink slip with him when the interview started. All he had to do was sign it. As I already stated, there wasn't much evidence for them to base their decision on before the interview, only the photos I submitted with my petition. Our photos were not just the standard couple posing in front of some landmark. We had many candid photos of me with her family and friends toasting drinks, laughing and having fun. I think they painted a more complete and genuine picture of our relationship for the CO. For the interview we also included photos that I had sent to Hieu that had nothing to do with the two of us. Photos of me as a child, my apartment, my family and friends, my cats. Hieu said that the interviewer smiled when he looked at some of these. She knew then that she might have a good chance.

Everyone is welcome to view our photos online at the link below in my signature. Just makeup a username and password to gain access to the photo albums.

I often read about couples that have received blue slips and can't understand why because they had mountains of evidence. I think it proves that it doesn't matter how many pages of chat logs or emails you may have. Those are easy things to fake and therefore, don't carry a lot of weight with COs. Pictures are worth a thousand words. It is hard to fake true happiness in someones face. I'm not trying to imply anything about those who receive blue slips, but if there is anything about your case that raises eyebrows(divorces, relatives in the US. etc.), then your evidence will need to be that much more convincing.

The important thing to remember is that you are trying to appeal to someones human side, not just supply info to some robot. I think that is why it is so important to prepare your fiance for the interview. Make sure that he/she engages the interviewer in a relaxed, confident and friendly manner. However, when you consider that Hieu's interviewer already had the pink slip filled out, it raises questions about how important the interview really is. In many cases it may only serve to affirm a decision already made. Give them the right evidence to make a decision and the interview may only be a formality.

[LilLoveBug 0]

Great post!!

How old is Hieu and how old are you? And was the CO male or female? What nationality? THANKS FOR YOUR POST!

Bug

[CraigCam 0]

I'm 42 and Hieu is 32. CO was an Asian male. She thinks he was Philippino.

[Teacher Mark 53]

1.) Interviewer : do you have engagement ceremony?

Me : no, we don’t

I'm shocked this wasn't an issue.

2.) Interviewer : how many times does he visit you?

Me : 2 times, one was on Feb and second was on Aug, it was 31st July to 10th Aug

I'm surprised that the length of the visits wasn't brought up.

3.) Interviewer : how much?

Me : 2500$ excluded tax

Is it too late for me to learn how to be a Camera assistant for films and TV shows?

Congrads again. Maybe they are starting to loosen up a bit there.

[CoolHand2x2y2z 0]

Craig, again, congratulations to you guys. And thank you for taking the time to post your story. You will help to inspire folks on here.

All of us need to hear stories like yours. This is how the process should work.

[Melrose Plant 1]

Thanks for the informative post. And once again, we can puzzle over, in vain, just exactly what leads up to a pink slip on the first try. Congratulations and good luck!

Now the hard part begins.

[chaddna 0]

Congrats to your guy!!!Hope i can get pink slip as you did soon

[RalphandHanh 1]

I'm really happy for you both. God bless!

[Anh map 2,098]

Craig, Great synopsis of the interview. A real plus for all VJ'ers.

[Dave_Thao 0]

Nice post and congrats again! Just in time for Christmas!

[Bob-KhaHan 1]

gratz!

[hniHnitsuJ 8]

Good News, Congrats to both of you. Thanks for posting.

[Kevin and 10]

Congratulations!

[Zee Bee 61]

Congratulations!!!

[luckytxn 2,265]

Congrats and God bless on the Visa..