K1 Approved - Pink Pink Pink

[W H C 0]

congrats

[Viking_in_Seattle 0]

WHERE TO GET THE TIMELINE NOTARIZED? TIMELINE IS WHAT YOU WROTE LINES OF TIME ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP? CONGRATS!

Where are you? If you're in the US, there's a notary in just about every bank, tax accountant office, and UPS store.

If you're in Vietnam, go to US Citizens Services at the US consulate. They will notarize any document, provided that the document is ultimately going to be submitted to the US government. They aren't cheap, though. $30 per document. DON'T SIGN THE DOCUMENT UNTIL YOU'RE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE NOTARY! It's your signature that they're notarizing.

They did not charge me anything to get my Timeline notarized at the Consulate. But I had to go inside, wait in line with everyone else to get a number, go to the window when my number was called to submit my Timeline, wait again for number to be called, then an American CO had me swear that everything was true, I signed the document, he disappeared around the corner to get the notary seal, then he came back and showed me the notary seal on the document just below my signature.

Before her interview, my fiancee submitted both a detailed chronologically-ordered 3 page "Explanation of Meeting and Relationship" document that was notarized in the US, plus a higher-level quick-reference Timeline document that wasn't notarized. They flagged the latter -- I don't know if they reviewed the other document or not. Even if the Timeline had been notarized, it didn't have enough detail, plus I hadn't included the names and addresses of my US travel companions on my first trip to Vietnam (in either document). My assumption that names and addresses of travel companions weren't necessary was DEAD WRONG -- so we were destined for blue.

I got two documents notarized at US Citizens Services when I was in HCM in April. They charged me $30 for each one.

I included a timeline with my petition, and I did get it notarized. I also didn't list my travel companions, but I'm figuring I'm going to be making an updated timeline for the interview. I'll include the travel companions on that one.

I did the same thing that Jim did. I put a 3-pager in with my petition and then a 7-pager for the interview. both were notarized. the 7-pager had travel companion names, travel destinations, dates, the works. DO NOT SKIMP ON THE TIMELINE!

I kinda skimped on my timeline I made and just added the least amount of info but all factual and could be checked easily by any and all documents already known and submitted and corresponded to the actual interview questions. After seeing and reading about all the 2-3-7 page timelines and mine being only almost a full page kinda embarrases me but it got us the pink.

It could be that my original Timeline would have been accepted had it been notarized -- even though it lacked detail and the names and addresses of travel companions -- I can't be sure. Once we got the blue slip, I made every effort to add detail that addressed every point listed on the blue slip. The basics were in the original Timeline, so I don't think it hindered the CO conducting the interview.

It could be that I didn't get charged for notarization at the Consulate because I was submitting a new document in response to a blue slip, rather than getting documents notarized beforehand. Or maybe someone just forgot to collect $$ from me.

[Dave 'n' Hai Au 0]

Congratulations and thanks for all the details. I wonder if it helped that the translator was not present since it seems that their purpose is to just be an agitator for interview. How would CO know she spoke English before they even talk? I think the timeline even for a CR-1 is an important thing to have, sometimes it seems to make a difference. Good luck in your new life together!!

[Nong dan 0]

Congratulations and thanks for all the details. I wonder if it helped that the translator was not present since it seems that their purpose is to just be an agitator for interview. How would CO know she spoke English before they even talk? I think the timeline even for a CR-1 is an important thing to have, sometimes it seems to make a difference. Good luck in your new life together!!

Thanks to everyone for their kind words and best wishes!

For us i would say they knew Huong spoke english because I said so in my personal statement, and that she was teaching me tieng viet as well (Co Giao Gioi Qua! hehe) and also because we included sample chats and emails in our evidence and they were all in long, english paragraphs - we both write quite a lot as you can tell, hehe. Yes over and over we are hearing blue slips due to missing timelines, and her interviewer really really used the timeline as a reference for many of his questions, so it seems they rely on it quite heavily.

thanks again-

H&M

[calilove 0]

can you please provide a checklist of all the documents that your wife brought to the interview? and what documents were translated from Vietnamese into English? Thank you

[David-Hien 11]

Matthew, your fiance first name is HuongGiang, not Huong.

CONGRATULATION.

I wanted to call her but I know that you are on honeymoon, I don't want to bother both of you. I will move to Florida on beginning of July.

[Nong dan 0]

Matthew, your fiance first name is HuongGiang, not Huong.

CONGRATULATION.

I wanted to call her but I know that you are on honeymoon, I don't want to bother both of you. I will move to Florida on beginning of July.

Sorry but I think I know a little more about my fiance than you do, but thanks and take care.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Matthew, your fiance first name is HuongGiang, not Huong.

CONGRATULATION.

I wanted to call her but I know that you are on honeymoon, I don't want to bother both of you. I will move to Florida on beginning of July.

Sorry but I think I know a little more about my fiance than you do, but thanks and take care.

I think he may have meant it as a compliment. "Hương Giang" is a poetic reference to the Perfume River.