Attending Interveiw

[Greg_n_Lien 0]

Hello Everyone,

I am planning a Trip to HCMC at the end of March and first of April. I am still in NOA1 state and waiting for NOA2. Hopefully that will be about the time of the Interview. IS IT IMPORTANT FOR ME TO BE PRESENT AT THE INTERVIEW???? I know that I am not allowed in for the interview. Is there ANY advantage to me being there, other than just MORAL support.

She wants me to come back early, and i want to come back also, it will be over 7 months at that time since we saw each other last and our wedding. ALSO that will be my 3rd trip to HCM, which is GOOD for the interview process as well.

THANKS ALL

[BinhJerome 14]

Hello Everyone,

I am planning a Trip to HCMC at the end of March and first of April. I am still in NOA1 state and waiting for NOA2. Hopefully that will be about the time of the Interview. IS IT IMPORTANT FOR ME TO BE PRESENT AT THE INTERVIEW???? I know that I am not allowed in for the interview. Is there ANY advantage to me being there, other than just MORAL support.

She wants me to come back early, and i want to come back also, it will be over 7 months at that time since we saw each other last and our wedding. ALSO that will be my 3rd trip to HCM, which is GOOD for the interview process as well.

THANKS ALL

It is not required for you to be there. Some people go and get approved, and some get denied, some people don't go and get approved and some get denied. It is really what you can afford to do and what you want to do. Will it help, maybe, but it will not hurt and that is certain. Will she be able to come back with you if you get approved, that depends on how long you will be there after the interview. I am sure that if you were there and got approved and she came home with you it would be much easier on her. But once again, this is your choice, it could and probably will help at the interview if you are there, also you can get into the embassy if you want. You will just have to show up apart, and if you look at my link I have the file that you will need to fill out to get in the doors, then instead of going to the window you just go sit next to your wife. Good luck at your interview when it gets set up. Jerome

[Bernie C 24]

Hi Greg,

The is so much disparity in HCM that its hard to say. It seems more and more that many of the decisions are already made before the interview but can be lost at the interview. If you were to be there for that time you could add your tickets and things as more proof but there is no gaurantee they will even look at this.

From my experience If possible I would be there. I arrived a week before and we went through all of our paperwork together. Organizartion is key. I made flexiable binders with tabs that identified everything so when they asked for something it was 1-2-3 and in their hands. If you are well preparred it makes a good impression. We also reviewed our time line together and did mock interviews where I was the interviewer. We practiced even off the wall and uncommon questions that we have read about just in case. Also is very good to be there for support if possible. It is a bit crazy and really great of you can hook up with someone and wait together. Jim and I (both members) waited together and were joined with another nonmember too.

As far as the proofs from being here - well they didnt look at it. The CO asked for plane tickets which Doan provided from Jan, April, Sept and current. He tossed them all aside and looked only at September. I expect this was because the Jan and Apr were part of the I-129F package that they already had seen.

I had emailed our timeline (which I updated to just a few weeks before I arrived) beforehand and they never asked for the original notarized copy. I assume the CO reviewed it and was satisfied.

Doan was asked the following questions. 1st he asked if she spoke english (which she does very excellently)

1) How did you meet your fiance

2) What is his name (Doan laughed so hard at this because she cannot believe they would ask it)

3) How many times has he visited you in Vietnam

4) Does he have any children

5) Does his children still live with him

6) How many times has he been divorced and when was the ending days of them

(Unfortunately I have more than one) But no more!

7) How much is his income

8) Do you know the name of the city where you will live in the US if you can get a visa

9) When was your engaged ceremony

10) What was the name of the restaurant where you had you reception

(we had two ceremony - traditional in the morning and reception in the evening)(It was actually a wedding ceremony but we didnt register the marriage) I disclosed this all clearly in our I-129F with a definitive explanation. This was on our second visit and I sent I-129F after that visit including my ticket receipt for third visit in September)

11) What is your fiance job in the US

12) Where does he work

13) What is (her) job here in Vietnam

14) How long have you worked at Vinpearl (her employer)

15) How may siblings does your fiance have

16) When will your wedding be (she answered we dont know because we dont have visa yet)

17) Where will you have wedding party (she told them we plan to have party at Sportmans Club - (local club I belong to with all my friends)

18) Do you know how many days you have after you enter the US (open ended question which she answered "we have 90 days to be married")

As far as proofs submission - he asked for pictures (we had many pages I printed with 10-12 pictures per page) probably 8-10 pages per visit. I did them in power point and put dates and captions.

He looked briefly at a few pages.

Asked for flight tickets

That was it as far as proofs. We had hundreds of pages of email and some chat logs but they did not request any. Also we saved hundreds of restaurant receipts, hotel receipts and all the receipts from our ceremony and all places we visited together. He did not look at any of this.

I think I am getting off base from your original question but hopefully some of this may aid you in your preparations and experience

Take Care,

Bernie & Doan

[vietazn 1]

The only benefit I see of being there is if they ask when the last time you two saw each other, she can say "This morning. He is waiting outside." Other than that, if you had to choose to go before the interview or during the interview, going a few weeks before is better because it allows you to get the documents organized with all the evidence from the trip wrapped up. Being there might be moral support or it might add extra emotions/pressure to someone who might already be really nervous.

[Greg_n_Lien 0]

The only benefit I see of being there is if they ask when the last time you two saw each other, she can say "This morning. He is waiting outside." Other than that, if you had to choose to go before the interview or during the interview, going a few weeks before is better because it allows you to get the documents organized with all the evidence from the trip wrapped up. Being there might be moral support or it might add extra emotions/pressure to someone who might already be really nervous.

I am going to HCMC now on MArch 30 for a little over 2 weeks (wish it could be longer but ............) That SHOULD be about a month or so before the interview. That will add some more proof and pictures and we will be able to organized documents then as well. I TALKED to Lien about the MORAL SUPPORT factor and that i would be good if i could be there. BUT she says she will be fine and would rather we come early. At first she seemed nervous about travelling (she had never flown on a plane) but on my last trip we flew to Da Nang, and before that i got her a ticket to fly to see you Aunt and Uncle before the wedding ceremony . NOW she says NO PROBLEM, i can travel by myself. ALSO her Aunt that lives near me will be in Vietnam in MAY, HOPEFULLY we will get pink 1st time and that should be about MAY! Then she can travel back with her Aunt to POE DAllAS and i will meet her at the AIRPORT!

FUN FUN FUN< what an ADVENTURE

[hyperetai 0]

I was there for my fiance's interview, wife now, but visa was still denied so I can't say that it will help convince the CO of anything but in the very least you can go over some details and ask questions with each other.

[luckytxn 2,265]

I didn't go over for her interview. Strangely I had planned to and was ready but she asked me not to spend the money and that she would be fine. She said that I had already come to see her and done everything and that she wanted to come to me that time. She received a blue for a timeline and list of relatives which I then made and sent to her and the following week she went to embassy and received her pink that same day.

[Icarus 0]

While it seems everyone is adressing whether its important to be there for the actual interview, the quick answer is 'no', as you really can't sit next to her or answer questions on her behalf. HOWEVER, if you'd like to be there for moral support, to help prepare, and to share in the the good news when she walks out with the pink, you will have shared an experience together you will never forget.

Conversely, and what no one has mentioned, is that if all goes poorly and she walks out confused with a blue/green slip, you are there to help solve the problem and possibly get the issue straightened out faster than you could from the states. As we all know, the embassy can be incrediibly vague when providing reasons for denial, and being so far away can be extremely frustrating in trying to assess what went down. You'd be there to help with finding a real attorney (if needed), to request a meeting with the Embassy, or just to hold your em and tell her all will be ok. I think of at least a dozen reasons to be there, and can't think of one on why I should'nt be...

My suggestion is be there, be strong, and be ready to fight for your love.

G

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

There have occasionally been cases where the US citizen was waiting outside during the interview, and the consular officer asked the USC to come into the consulate. They then interviewed both beneficiary and petitioner separately. Mr. Nam showed me a couple of recent cases where that had happened when I was in Saigon in December. He did this because he was trying to convince me that it's important for the petitioner to be prepared just in case the CO wants to interview them. I asked him to show me a case where the petitioner had been asked to come in and be interviewed, and where the beneficiary ended up leaving the consulate with a pink slip. He couldn't do it. I knew darn well that if it gets to the point that they want to talk to the petitioner then the interview has already gone very far south, and there's very little likelihood that things are going to turn around based on an interview with the petitioner. They don't call the petitioner in unless they haven't yet managed to extract a grounds for denial out of the beneficiary, and they just need to get one conflicting answer from the two so that they can deny the visa.

I told Phuong that if the interview deteriorates to the point where they start asking extremely personal questions ("When did you last have sex?", etc. - completely inappropriate for a K1 interview), or they ask for me to come into the consulate, then the interview is already a failure - she isn't going to get the visa. If that happens, there isn't much point in continuing. Refuse to answer the question. If they asked me to come into the consulate, I would have refused to be interviewed. At that point, it's better to just let them send the petition back to USCIS and deal with it there.

This isn't the same at all consulates. Ecuador, for example, insists on the petitioner being present, and also being interviewed. However, at the consulate in HCM this doesn't happen unless the CO is already determined to deny the visa.

Anyway, there are plenty of good reasons for the USC to be present. You can help your fiancee prepare in the days leading up to the interview. You can give her moral support. You can be there to celebrate if you succeed, or help console her if you don't. You can be there to help prepare and submit any additional evidence if you get a blue slip. If you get the visa, you can fly to the US with her and help guide her through foreign airports, and ultimately through US customs and immigration. Most importantly, you'll get to spend more time with your fiancee.