K1 Approved - Pink Pink Pink

[Nong dan 0]

Hi so sorry this is so long overdue but Huong passed her K1 Visa last week on June 4th! We are so happy and grateful for the shared experiences on VJ, the info helped us both a lot. Let me give a brief description of how it went:

Huongs interview appointment was for 9:30 AM but we both knew we had to be there early regardless of that so i kissed her good luck at 7:10 AM and she entered the holding pen \ waiting queue area and took up residence across the street with about 75-100 other people all waiting for someone. The holding area was already quite full, hundreds of people, I could see thru the door as Huong entered. After watching for a few minutes I quickly got down the guards routine - they let out 40 people at a time to stand outside in single file and be checked by security and allowed to enter the main door of the consulate.

I had watched about 5 groups of 40 go inside with no sign of Huong yet when i noticed very black clouds in the sky behind the consulate. To my chagrine the clouds were headed our way. Within a few minutes, at around 7:50, the skies opened up and huge raindrops started to fall. All the Viets were well prepped for this with ponchos and raingear ready, i had nothing. A woman tried to sell me a plastic poncho for 100,000 dong but I just looked at her and shook my head it couldnt be worth more than 20,000. I hopped into a taxi and somehow guided the driver back to my hotel with my bad tieng viet, grabbed our umbrella from the room and got another taxi back to the consulate, and resumed standing and waiting across the street. Even with the umbrella I got completely soaked, it was one of those Forrest Gump rainstorms that was unrelenting. It rained steadily for 3 hours until about 11. In the meantime Huong had gotten inside the consulate while I was getting the umbrella.

After it stopped raining the sun came out and it became sticky hot and humid. After 11 I started becoming concerned; many of the girls coming out were shaking their heads "no" and\or crying, holding blue papers in their hands. it did not seem like a good day at HCMC. But of more concern was that the original group of 75-100 "waiters" was now down to less than 10... I was very worried something bad happened or they were giving her problems. I was also worried that they might have given her a blue slip and she climbed the window to bite someone and they had to arrest her, but fortunately that didnt happen either, lol.

By 12 there was NO ONE waiting across the street except me, and I was the sole foreigner, so I felt very insecure and ill at ease. All day long I had to fend off beggars and people selling little trinkets and stuff, the longer I stayed the more comfortable it seemed they got with bothering me. Then at 12 I saw what was obviously the US Consulate staff leave the front gate in groups of 2 - 6 and I assumed go to lunch. Now I was really worried. How could they go to lunch with someone still there for a 930 appointment? Very concerned I crossed the street and approached a guard and told him my situation and he said yes there were still people inside waiting to be interviewed since the morning. So I said OK and went back and waited.

Finally at 2 I saw thru the side door behind tree # 122 (I knew thanks to a previous VJ post) Huong was walking towards the front door. I crossed back and she was just getting re-checked by security but saw me and smiled and raised her fist in victory - PINK!!! Seven hours of waiting, finally worth it, lol. I dont know why they made her wait so long (and thus me too), but at the end we were very appreciative the way the consulate handled everything, Huong says she was treated very well and respectfully by her interviewer. This all happened the day after I had flown for 22 hrs from Newark, so standing in the rain and heat for 7 hrs straight (I refused to get anything to eat or drink and run the risk of missing her coming out and finding me not there, i know how scared and nervouse she was and was depending on me being there to help) did not help - I was totally exhausted. But we got the pink and thats the only thing that mattered to us. So now we will fly back to NJ together on June 17, so happy and excited to start our new family life!

I will post later the details that Huong gave me on the inside and the things that really helped her pass, have a busy day ahead of us right now. thanks to all at VisaJourney, good luck!!!

H&M

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

WOOOHOOO!!!!

Huge congrats! And thanks for the detailed description of your experience. Now, waiting for HER story...

[Mr. Leggs 0]

Congrats Matt and Hương :dance: :dance:

[lindal24 1]

Wow...congratulations. One of those people coming out must've been my husband w/ a blue slip in his hand. He had his interview at 9:00am on June 4, 2009.

I'll be heading to VN in August to surprise him though!

[Frank and Duyen 0]

Hi so sorry this is so long overdue but Huong passed her K1 Visa last week on June 4th! We are so happy and grateful for the shared experiences on VJ, the info helped us both a lot. Let me give a brief description of how it went:

Huongs interview appointment was for 9:30 AM but we both knew we had to be there early regardless of that so i kissed her good luck at 7:10 AM and she entered the holding pen \ waiting queue area and took up residence across the street with about 75-100 other people all waiting for someone. The holding area was already quite full, hundreds of people, I could see thru the door as Huong entered. After watching for a few minutes I quickly got down the guards routine - they let out 40 people at a time to stand outside in single file and be checked by security and allowed to enter the main door of the consulate.

I had watched about 5 groups of 40 go inside with no sign of Huong yet when i noticed very black clouds in the sky behind the consulate. To my chagrine the clouds were headed our way. Within a few minutes, at around 7:50, the skies opened up and huge raindrops started to fall. All the Viets were well prepped for this with ponchos and raingear ready, i had nothing. A woman tried to sell me a plastic poncho for 100,000 dong but I just looked at her and shook my head it couldnt be worth more than 20,000. I hopped into a taxi and somehow guided the driver back to my hotel with my bad tieng viet, grabbed our umbrella from the room and got another taxi back to the consulate, and resumed standing and waiting across the street. Even with the umbrella I got completely soaked, it was one of those Forrest Gump rainstorms that was unrelenting. It rained steadily for 3 hours until about 11. In the meantime Huong had gotten inside the consulate while I was getting the umbrella.

After it stopped raining the sun came out and it became sticky hot and humid. After 11 I started becoming concerned; many of the girls coming out were shaking their heads "no" and\or crying, holding blue papers in their hands. it did not seem like a good day at HCMC. But of more concern was that the original group of 75-100 "waiters" was now down to less than 10... I was very worried something bad happened or they were giving her problems. I was also worried that they might have given her a blue slip and she climbed the window to bite someone and they had to arrest her, but fortunately that didnt happen either, lol.

By 12 there was NO ONE waiting across the street except me, and I was the sole foreigner, so I felt very insecure and ill at ease. All day long I had to fend off beggars and people selling little trinkets and stuff, the longer I stayed the more comfortable it seemed they got with bothering me. Then at 12 I saw what was obviously the US Consulate staff leave the front gate in groups of 2 - 6 and I assumed go to lunch. Now I was really worried. How could they go to lunch with someone still there for a 930 appointment? Very concerned I crossed the street and approached a guard and told him my situation and he said yes there were still people inside waiting to be interviewed since the morning. So I said OK and went back and waited.

Finally at 2 I saw thru the side door behind tree # 122 (I knew thanks to a previous VJ post) Huong was walking towards the front door. I crossed back and she was just getting re-checked by security but saw me and smiled and raised her fist in victory - PINK!!! Seven hours of waiting, finally worth it, lol. I dont know why they made her wait so long (and thus me too), but at the end we were very appreciative the way the consulate handled everything, Huong says she was treated very well and respectfully by her interviewer. This all happened the day after I had flown for 22 hrs from Newark, so standing in the rain and heat for 7 hrs straight (I refused to get anything to eat or drink and run the risk of missing her coming out and finding me not there, i know how scared and nervouse she was and was depending on me being there to help) did not help - I was totally exhausted. But we got the pink and thats the only thing that mattered to us. So now we will fly back to NJ together on June 17, so happy and excited to start our new family life!

I will post later the details that Huong gave me on the inside and the things that really helped her pass, have a busy day ahead of us right now. thanks to all at VisaJourney, good luck!!!

H&M

Great reading !! Congratulations .

[Anh map 2,098]

Wonderful. Congrats to the both of you!!

[Dai. 7]

Congratulations!! the feeling is awesome after she gets the pink isn't it... I wish you good luck in the future.

[PrinceandPrincess 0]

Congratulations!

[Ronnie&Hang 12]

Good Job...Congrats M&H

[maritoni 3]

Congratulations!!

[hniHnitsuJ 8]

CONGRAT.. GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FUTURE.

[PeterFB 0]

Matt

Reading your post reminded me of waiting for Thi, tho there wasn't any rain!! It did seem like forever!! Thi didn't take as long and was out as the Consulate was going to lunch. Like Houng, Thi had the Pink!!!

Congrats to both of you and Good Luck in your new life together!!

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

Wedding 2008-4-26

Filed AOS 2009-1-2

NOA 1 2009-1-8

Peter Nguyen Brunner born 2009-1-12

Advance Parole recieved 2009-3-27

EAD recieved 2009-3-11

AOS Interview 2009-5-20----Approved!!!!

[Nong dan 0]

OK thanks all for their kindness, now here's the story from Huong's perspective ---

Huong went into the interview with ALOT of evidence, more than anyone else either of us saw, she filled a Samsonite luggage bag with paper. she organized it by category and everything was in chronological order within the category as well. she printed out all of our emails and chats, thousands of pages, and was extremely ready to show anything they asked for. One very important point - thanks to some research she did on VJ and other sites, I had sent via Fedex a notarized TIMELINE including the interview date and updated personal statement regarding our relationship two week before the interview. Huong recognized immediately the interviewer had attached that entire pkg including the Fedex Bill to her paperwork, and many of his questions were connected to what I wrote in those pages. Also something that helped very much was that several times I had played the part of the interviewer in the days leading up to my flight and she got comfortable talking about these details in English - its a very good idea if possible for the fiance to request the interview be conducted in English, fortunately for us Huong speaks great English so that was no problem.

When Huong was let into the main gate at 7:55 they scanned her evidence bag for metal etc. then they gave her an order # that would tell her when to go to the interview window. her # was A55 but by no means was the calling in sequence, it seemed they picked the numbers at random. The order # also indicated what window she would be interviewed at so she could sit nearby and start going thru the evidence. At some point the fiances are called for the "general" interview and they go thru the minimum documentation checklist to ensure the fiance has everything the consulate requires. Huong noticed quite a few girls sitting with just a plastic folder containing a few photos and a few pages of documents, they were not prepared and could only speak Vietnamese, for the most part they all received blue. Huong sat and sat and watched her potential interviewer, a tall white guy with grey hair at #12, be very rough and meticulous and give almost all his interviews the blue slip. She got very worried. Then at 12 the staff left and everyone was given a slip saying they could go and come back at 1 so they could eat too but almost everyone stayed, fearing they would lose their spot on line. Huong stayed behind as well, and was worried for me as she knew I was outside for so long but figured it would be better to stay to get it done.

she was finally called for her interview at about 1:45. she walked up to the window carrying all the documents. after greeting, she realized he must already know she could speak english because his vietnamese translator was not even present. his first question was "Tell me about your fiance" and Huong, quite the talker, hehe, went on and on telling him about my job, house, family, friends, and life. She felt something good because he smiled the whole time she spoke and this was the first time she had seen him smile all day. Then he asked "How\when did you meet?" "How long did you chat\email before he came to see you in person?" As Huong was answering she noticed him shuffle some papers around and right there on his desk was the pink slip with her name on it, it seemed he had already made up his mind we were OK after reviewing my 134 and her paperwork, and the interview was just to confirm his findings. This made her very excited and happy. He asked to see our engagement party photos in Ao Dai and liked them alot, Huong said he really enjoyed them and said the pictures were "really great". Then he asked where and how we would get married and she told him our plans, and at that point his translator appeared and he said to her "I have just been talking to this young lady, she performed very well for her interview." Then he took the pink slip out and signed it and said to Huong "Have a nice trip and wedding. Welcome to America". So quick, her interview was less than 15 minutes when that same guy had taken 45-60 mins for everyone else he talked to that day.

Then at the end he asked if her fiance liked American football and what team did he like, Huong knew I was a Miami Dolphin fan so she told him, he laughed and told her he liked the Philadelphia Eagles and they would beat Miami this year if they play.

Somehow we got lucky, I guess because of all our prayers and pagoda visits, for some reason things went so smooth when they finally interviewed her.

The main points Huong felt were very important is that the fiance has to try to manage the interview, dont be shy and let the interviewer control the conversation, answer everything with confidence, even if you dont know the answer, just say "I dont know, we never talked about that, please ask me something new", and keep the discussion rolling, if they ask a question you know alot about, answer it completely, go into detail, if gives them a good idea that you have a great deal of knowledge about the petitioner.

here is the complete interview, to the best of Huongs recollection, in order:

1. Tell me about your fiance

2. How and when did you guys meet

3. How long after chatting and email did he come visit you

4. When and how did he propose marriage to you

5. Do you have any pictures from your engagement

6. Do you know any of your fiances work colleagues

7. Did you guys travel together when he came to visit you the 1st time?

8. What hotel did he stay at during his first trip? When did he leave to go back to the USA?

8a. how many people attended your pre-wedding party (the more the better!), he was happy to hear 350

9. What is your job in Vietnam?

10. Do you often travel abroad? Which countries have you been to?

11. Your fiance is a fan of american football, what team does he like?

12. what are your wedding plans for the US if you get the visa?

when reviewing her pictures he took careful note of all my trips, and to see that Huongs parents were included in some of them, particularly those of the engagement\pre-wedding parties.

Hope this info helps anyone who's got an interview date coming up, so many people helped us here, we hope we can return the favor in some small way!

best regards to everyone, good luck!

H&M

Edited June 10, 2009 by Matthew&Huong

[Haonie 0]

OK thanks all for their kindness, now here's the story from Huong's perspective ---

Huong went into the interview with ALOT of evidence, more than anyone else either of us saw, she filled a Samsonite luggage bag with paper. she organized it by category and everything was in chronological order within the category as well. she printed out all of our emails and chats, thousands of pages, and was extremely ready to show anything they asked for. One very important point - thanks to some research she did on VJ and other sites, I had sent via Fedex a notarized TIMELINE including the interview date and updated personal statement regarding our relationship two week before the interview. Huong recognized immediately the interviewer had attached that entire pkg including the Fedex Bill to her paperwork, and many of his questions were connected to what I wrote in those pages. Also something that helped very much was that several times I had played the part of the interviewer in the days leading up to my flight and she got comfortable talking about these details in English - its a very good idea if possible for the fiance to request the interview be conducted in English, fortunately for us Huong speaks great English so that was no problem.

When Huong was let into the main gate at 7:55 they scanned her evidence bag for metal etc. then they gave her an order # that would tell her when to go to the interview window. her # was A55 but by no means was the calling in sequence, it seemed they picked the numbers at random. The order # also indicated what window she would be interviewed at so she could sit nearby and start going thru the evidence. At some point the fiances are called for the "general" interview and they go thru the minimum documentation checklist to ensure the fiance has everything the consulate requires. Huong noticed quite a few girls sitting with just a plastic folder containing a few photos and a few pages of documents, they were not prepared and could only speak Vietnamese, for the most part they all received blue. Huong sat and sat and watched her potential interviewer, a tall white guy with grey hair at #12, be very rough and meticulous and give almost all his interviews the blue slip. She got very worried. Then at 12 the staff left and everyone was given a slip saying they could go and come back at 1 so they could eat too but almost everyone stayed, fearing they would lose their spot on line. Huong stayed behind as well, and was worried for me as she knew I was outside for so long but figured it would be better to stay to get it done.

she was finally called for her interview at about 1:45. she walked up to the window carrying all the documents. after greeting, she realized he must already know she could speak english because his vietnamese translator was not even present. his first question was "Tell me about your fiance" and Huong, quite the talker, hehe, went on and on telling him about my job, house, family, friends, and life. She felt something good because he smiled the whole time she spoke and this was the first time she had seen him smile all day. Then he asked "How\when did you meet?" "How long did you chat\email before he came to see you in person?" As Huong was answering she noticed him shuffle some papers around and right there on his desk was the pink slip with her name on it, it seemed he had already made up his mind we were OK after reviewing my 134 and her paperwork, and the interview was just to confirm his findings. This made her very excited and happy. He asked to see our engagement party photos in Ao Dai and liked them alot, Huong said he really enjoyed them and said the pictures were "really great". Then he asked where and how we would get married and she told him our plans, and at that point his translator appeared and he said to her "I have just been talking to this young lady, she performed very well for her interview." Then he took the pink slip out and signed it and said to Huong "Have a nice trip and wedding. Welcome to America". So quick, her interview was less than 15 minutes when that same guy had taken 45-60 mins for everyone else he talked to that day.

Then at the end he asked if her fiance liked American football and what team did he like, Huong knew I was a Miami Dolphin fan so she told him, he laughed and told her he liked the Philadelphia Eagles and they would beat Miami this year if they play.

Somehow we got lucky, I guess because of all our prayers and pagoda visits, for some reason things went so smooth when they finally interviewed her.

The main points Huong felt were very important is that the fiance has to try to manage the interview, dont be shy and let the interviewer control the conversation, answer everything with confidence, even if you dont know the answer, just say "I dont know, we never talked about that, please ask me something new", and keep the discussion rolling, if they ask a question you know alot about, answer it completely, go into detail, if gives them a good idea that you have a great deal of knowledge about the petitioner.

here is the complete interview, to the best of Huongs recollection, in order:

1. Tell me about your fiance

2. How and when did you guys meet

3. How long after chatting and email did he come visit you

4. When and how did he propose marriage to you

5. Do you have any pictures from your engagement

6. Do you know any of your fiances work colleagues

7. Did you guys travel together when he came to visit you the 1st time?

8. What hotel did he stay at during his first trip? When did he leave to go back to the USA?

8a. how many people attended your pre-wedding party (the more the better!), he was happy to hear 350

9. What is your job in Vietnam?

10. Do you often travel abroad? Which countries have you been to?

11. Your fiance is a fan of american football, what team does he like?

12. what are your wedding plans for the US if you get the visa?

when reviewing her pictures he took careful note of all my trips, and to see that Huongs parents were included in some of them, particularly those of the engagement\pre-wedding parties.

Hope this info helps anyone who's got an interview date coming up, so many people helped us here, we hope we can return the favor in some small way!

best regards to everyone, good luck!

H&M

Again, congrats to both of you.

[Twisted K 2]

Congrats