Details of Timeline

[shy1akaanh 0]

I been reading a lot on how time line are becoming a norm at HCMC. I have begun creating one myself. Although I am months away from the interview, I would like to start early. Please give me opinions of this entry. please tell me what else I need to include as well as things that need to be taken away. Thanks a lot for the feedback.

April xx, 2009

-After almost three months with my wife, it was time for me to go back to states. We been through a lot in this short amount of time. I felt that I love her more then ever. This trip was not lonely for me since I have my parents and my sister in law with her kids there on the same flight. However, I felt so alone. I was leaving the love of my life behind. It would be months before I can see her again. Although, I wanted to cry so bad because the thought alone was painful enough, pride did not allow me to. Instead I stood there acting normal when my heart was aching. She did not cry but you can see that she was holding it in her tears. She later told me that she cried on the taxi back. Her crying made her mom cry too which cause her dad to be very sad. On the flight back, the memory of happy times between me and her made me miss her even more. All the hardships we endured, obtaining the marriage certificate in Vietnam and even the wedding itself, was worth it because in the end, we were officially married, in the eyes of the law, God, and our closest friends and relatives. And we loved each other so much more.

Do i need include such things as my flight info such as airline and departure time? Thanks

[Anh map 2,098]

This is a nice summation of your trip to VN, but not the type of information that shows anything about the events of your relationship.

Look at some of the timelines that have been recently posted here to get ideas. If you are having trouble creating the document start by making alist of all the things that you have done together, who was there, and the date. Look through your past emails and chats to see where you discussed significant events/choices in your relationship.

After you have a list, start putting it together is a story format. It could be an outline style document. Or a series of paragraphs giving the details of events.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Keep it simple

[fred n Dao Honey 0]

I been reading a lot on how time line are becoming a norm at HCMC. I have begun creating one myself. Although I am months away from the interview, I would like to start early. Please give me opinions of this entry. please tell me what else I need to include as well as things that need to be taken away. Thanks a lot for the feedback.

April xx, 2009

-After almost three months with my wife, it was time for me to go back to states. We been through a lot in this short amount of time. I felt that I love her more then ever. This trip was not lonely for me since I have my parents and my sister in law with her kids there on the same flight. However, I felt so alone. I was leaving the love of my life behind. It would be months before I can see her again. Although, I wanted to cry so bad because the thought alone was painful enough, pride did not allow me to. Instead I stood there acting normal when my heart was aching. She did not cry but you can see that she was holding it in her tears. She later told me that she cried on the taxi back. Her crying made her mom cry too which cause her dad to be very sad. On the flight back, the memory of happy times between me and her made me miss her even more. All the hardships we endured, obtaining the marriage certificate in Vietnam and even the wedding itself, was worth it because in the end, we were officially married, in the eyes of the law, God, and our closest friends and relatives. And we loved each other so much more.

Do i need include such things as my flight info such as airline and departure time? Thanks

Date how and when you met.

Dates how you corrispond

Date when you met in person. pics

how much you miss her.

Date when you see her second time., pics

When and how you proposed. telling parents.

Date of each trip. where you went. with supporting documents and pics.

Date of engagement party. how many attended. pics

Date of wedding. how many attended, pics

To summerize you are preparing a case for them to look at. You have to proove you have a "Bonified Relationship". Make sure your spouse agrees with timeline. Some of her interview questions may come from it.

Yes you can put airline and hotel info on it but, make sure she can answer questions about it at interview.

Question in interview; Which airline did he travel on? Which Hotel did he stay in? What day did you go to the ....? If you put it in timeline she should know the answer.

Good luck,

Fred

[NgocThuan 0]

Your timeline must at least answer:

How you met?

When you met?

How many times you met?

How many trips to VN?

How long was each trip?

Did you propose in person/phone?

Time and location of proposal?

Did she say yes right away?

Did you have an engagement ceremony?

You want your timeline to be detailed but not too much. Remember the CO could ask her anything from the timeline. In other words, don't include something like the time of day of each event and what color dress she was wearing. Just put down date, where, and with whom. Example: 8/12/09-We went to Vung Tau with my aunt Pho and uncle Goi Cuon; we visited a couple of the temples on the way and later stopped to have lunch at the Hai Lua. Also, no need to include too much of the lovey dovey stuff or the CO might throw up. Your example is good as a summation, like Anh map mentioned above, so it's ok to write about the romantic stuff in the introduction paragraph; not in the timeline of events. Otherwise, your timeline will end up being way too long, which the CO will not have time to read and give you a blue, so he can read it later at his leisure. Just kidding. Not really sure they give blueslips to buy time to read your timeline.

[NgocThuan 0]

Your timeline must at least answer:

How you met?

When you met?

How many times you met?

How many trips to VN?

How long was each trip?

Did you propose in person/phone?

Time and location of proposal?

Did she say yes right away?

Did you have an engagement ceremony?

You want your timeline to be detailed but not too much. Remember the CO could ask her anything from the timeline. In other words, don't include something like the time of day of each event and what color dress she was wearing. Just put down date, where, and with whom. Example: 8/12/09-We went to Vung Tau with my aunt Pho and uncle Goi Cuon; we visited a couple of the temples on the way and later stopped to have lunch at the Hai Lua. Also, no need to include too much of the lovey dovey stuff or the CO might throw up. Your example is good as a summation, like Anh map mentioned above, so it's ok to write about the romantic stuff in the introduction paragraph; not in the timeline of events. Otherwise, your timeline will end up being way too long, which the CO will not have time to read and give you a blue, so he can read it later at his leisure. Just kidding. Not really sure they give blueslips to buy time to read your timeline.

One more: When did your relationship get serious?

[vietazn 1]

Your timeline must at least answer:

How you met?

When you met?

How many times you met?

How many trips to VN?

How long was each trip?

Did you propose in person/phone?

Time and location of proposal?

Did she say yes right away?

Did you have an engagement ceremony?

They give poorly worded questions, or they might be open-ended on purpose. But there needs to be distinction between meeting online or phone and meeting in person. Also, the question about how many times have you met always throws me off because there could be trouble if you respond with the number of trips you took to Vietnam. Then the engagement question must be geared towards Americans. Because when Vietnamese men want to marry Vietnamese women, they usually tell their parents to talk to the woman's parents or ask the women's parents first before proposing. So many consider the meeting between the parents to discuss the Dam Hoi or the Dam Hoi itself as technically being the proposal. Then many people choose to have the Dam Hoi and Dam Cuoi marriage on the same day, which would make it look like their engagement is only a few hours. All this stuff is so hard to explain in a short way, Vietnamese often nhieu chuyen qua.

How, where, and when did you first meet?

How, where, and when did you first meet in person, face to face?

How many times did you meet during each of your trips to Vietnam?

How many trips did you take, and what is duration of each trip?

Did you formally propose? When and where? Or when and where did you discuss marriage?

Did you have an engagement ceremony? How many attended?

[shy1akaanh 0]

thanks for the feedback guys. However, this was just one entry. I just wanted to know if it was ok or not? did it need more concrete detail such as flight information and such or was it fine expressing my feeling? anyway thanks

[NgocThuan 0]

thanks for the feedback guys. However, this was just one entry. I just wanted to know if it was ok or not? did it need more concrete detail such as flight information and such or was it fine expressing my feeling? anyway thanks

I don't think you need to include flight information; just the date of your arrival and departure is adequate to show length of trip. It's ok to include feelings and such but maybe just in your introduction and a little throughout the timeline; You could also have a closing statement of how much she means to you and that you can't wait to be with her again. You will end up with a very long timeline if each entry is like the one you posted. You have to understand the timeline is a tool that the HCM Consulate uses to determine if your relationship is real or not. I know the question has come up many times why this embassy requires a timeline while others don't. In my opinion, they must have decided, perhaps in a staff meeting or something that they needed a better way to determine if a relationship is real or not because VN is a high fraud country. I would guess that many people think that if they write their timeline like a romantic novel, the CO is going to say while they really are in love. I don't think that would be accurate. I believe they will look for a list of things that would me their criteria of a legit relationship, which you will provide for them when you answer the questions that I and others have posted earlier. On the flipside, you don't want your timeline to read like a technical manual, so please express your feelings but don't go overboard. They will be looking for things that a typical couple would experience together. Show them that you guys do things and go places together; describe significant events. You want your timeline to flow connecting one event after another, and include details of when, where, and with whom. Make it an easy read for them, because they usually only have a few minutes or so to read it.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

thanks for the feedback guys. However, this was just one entry. I just wanted to know if it was ok or not? did it need more concrete detail such as flight information and such or was it fine expressing my feeling? anyway thanks

I don't think you need to include flight information; just the date of your arrival and departure is adequate to show length of trip. It's ok to include feelings and such but maybe just in your introduction and a little throughout the timeline; You could also have a closing statement of how much she means to you and that you can't wait to be with her again. You will end up with a very long timeline if each entry is like the one you posted. You have to understand the timeline is a tool that the HCM Consulate uses to determine if your relationship is real or not. I know the question has come up many times why this embassy requires a timeline while others don't. In my opinion, they must have decided, perhaps in a staff meeting or something that they needed a better way to determine if a relationship is real or not because VN is a high fraud country. I would guess that many people think that if they write their timeline like a romantic novel, the CO is going to say while they really are in love. I don't think that would be accurate. I believe they will look for a list of things that would me their criteria of a legit relationship, which you will provide for them when you answer the questions that I and others have posted earlier. On the flipside, you don't want your timeline to read like a technical manual, so please express your feelings but don't go overboard. They will be looking for things that a typical couple would experience together. Show them that you guys do things and go places together; describe significant events. You want your timeline to flow connecting one event after another, and include details of when, where, and with whom. Make it an easy read for them, because they usually only have a few minutes or so to read it.

Agreed.

When they ask for the timeline it's because the order and timing of events in the relationship, as they currently know them, suggest a couple going through the steps to get a visa, and not necessarily the natural progression of a genuine relationship. If the timeline doesn't provide a reasonable explanation for when and why each significant event occurred when it did, then no amount of emotional pleading is going to convince them the relationship is real. Even a visa scammer would happily write a Shakespearean sonnet about their relationship, but it won't help if the timing still reads like a checklist for getting a visa and green card. You can't hope for the CO to read about each event and think "Aw, that's sweet!" - it isn't going to happen. The reaction you want from them is "Ok, that makes sense".

[wratran 0]

i am getting ready for package 4. Will the timeline be submitted at the interview?

Package 3 said to return only DS230 and 2001.

How will the CO have enough time to review the timeline if we submitted at the interview?

[ScottThuy 140]

i am getting ready for package 4. Will the timeline be submitted at the interview?

Package 3 said to return only DS230 and 2001.

How will the CO have enough time to review the timeline if we submitted at the interview?

Try to submit it at the interview with the rest of the docs... if not, it can become an excuse for a blue only to have you wait another month to submit it..... Have the beneficiary submit it with the rest of the stuff that morning.. then if the person refuses it, have her very politely insist that it is needed and should be included... they will likely agree after some insistance. Have a list of relatives in the US for the beneficiary if any exist and submit that also.

Be sure that the beneficiary knows everything about the petitioner and the petitioners family....

[lindal24 1]

i am getting ready for package 4. Will the timeline be submitted at the interview?

Package 3 said to return only DS230 and 2001.

How will the CO have enough time to review the timeline if we submitted at the interview?

Alot of people think its a good idea to include the timeline ahead of the interview (frontloading) so this is probably going to be your only opportunity to do that if you haven't already done so...

If the CO doesn't give you a pink slip they'll probably request the timeline at a later date (date on the blue slip you get). If you're lucky, the CO might even accept the timeline at the initial interview--if this is the case, if you keep it simple, he might just read it right then and there. But just a warning, the CO may or may not ask questions based on your timeline so make sure your SO knows all the details that you write down! Think of it like a school exam...the answers are all there--she just needs to study and ace it 100%!

ALSO (VERY IMPORTANT): make sure you have the timeline notarized!

[Dau Que 6]

Timeline should only contain facts, not your emotional thoughts. I see lots of people posting their timelines in here like novels of Danielle Steele. The CO already knows people can and will fake their love for Visas. Prove your points with facts: dates and what events happened on those dates, then document your facts.

[lindal24 1]

Timeline should only contain facts, not your emotional thoughts. I see lots of people posting their timelines in here like novels of Danielle Steele. The CO already knows people can and will fake their love for Visas. Prove your points with facts: dates and what events happened on those dates, then document your facts.

agreed!

...however, there is one timeline out there that was VERY detailed (AnhTien) and their case got the pink....so you never know with COs...

...I say keep it simple!