HCMC Interview roll call

[Dai. 7]

Keep your head up everyone who in AP. As long as youre there, you still have a good chance. We are done with AP now and another round at USCIS. It's hard to be apart from your SO but this also can be a test for your future together. I'm going to VN end of July, anyone going? I know you're already there Jerome. ahhahahah

Good luck on your second round guys... You really deserve it... I hope you get success in the near future.

[BinhJerome 14]

Heading over to have coffee with the congressional liason right now... we'll see if he can do something this week or if I have to wait another month for the 90 DoS stated timeframe to pass....

Good luck hopefully they can get something done

[thongd4me 69]

Heading over to have coffee with the congressional liason right now... we'll see if he can do something this week or if I have to wait another month for the 90 DoS stated timeframe to pass....

Best of luck...make him work for his tax dollar salary

[Huong and Phung 0]

Good luck on your second round guys... You really deserve it... I hope you get success in the near future.

Thanks man. Congratulation on your baby and the new house.

[iTuan 0]

For my AP, I think the officer denied my case because I went there to much. The last time I saw him, he said: "I'll take it home over the weekend and review it for you". It was the labor day weekend. My denial letter was dated the week following the labor day.

I went to HCM many many time and saw the interviewer 2 time. Everytime, I got a feeling that everything is fine but at last they denied it. Oh well I am going back to VN again on the 20th of May and no plan to visit HCM. My wife and i just going to have fun and not to think about the wait. I think it is just a matter of time. At least I get to go to vn 3 or 4 time a year.

[lindal24 1]

For my AP, I think the officer denied my case because I went there to much. The last time I saw him, he said: "I'll take it home over the weekend and review it for you". It was the labor day weekend. My denial letter was dated the week following the labor day.

I went to HCM many many time and saw the interviewer 2 time. Everytime, I got a feeling that everything is fine but at last they denied it. Oh well I am going back to VN again on the 20th of May and no plan to visit HCM. My wife and i just going to have fun and not to think about the wait. I think it is just a matter of time. At least I get to go to vn 3 or 4 time a year.

Yea, my husband ruined it for me. Now I've gotta wait 4-5 years before I can go back! ...or maybe I'll just go back without him! My family's (mom dad & sister's family) is going next tet...maybe I can tag along...

[ScottThuy 140]

There will be a new chief consular general for VN as of this summer... they will likely,possibly,hopefully clean out the AP's before the new boss arrives... even though that is over a month away.. it gives some hope it wont be too much longer.. as per the HCMC Consulate website.. The visa issuance can be delayed for up to 1 year from the day of the interview. item 3.1.. thats 1 year from the first interview date... now I see how Fred got stuck in AP so long... it all boils down to some trigger causing them to close out the cases that are sitting idle. last year the trigger appeared to be the end of/start of the fiscal year.. hoping that we dont have to wait until that point this year...

Edited May 5, 2010 by ScottThuy

[lindal24 1]

There will be a new chief consular general for VN as of this summer... they will likely,possibly,hopefully clean out the AP's before the new boss arrives... even though that is over a month away.. it gives some hope it wont be too much longer.. as per the HCMC Consulate website.. The visa issuance can be delayed for up to 1 year from the day of the interview. item 3.1.. thats 1 year from the first interview date... now I see how Fred got stuck in AP so long... it all boils down to some trigger causing them to close out the cases that are sitting idle. last year the trigger appeared to be the end of/start of the fiscal year.. hoping that we dont have to wait until that point this year...

Scott - I think you're magnifying into the process too much, and perhaps giving false hope to many. IMO, I don't think it matters if there's a new chief consular general or the fact that a new fiscal year is coming up. If that was the case, why are some completed and others still pending(Fred's case was there well before mine and others)?

And as per the HCMC Consulate website, excerpt from item 3.1 says (which is/was most of our situation):

"If the OF-194 stated that “further administrative processing” is required, the beneficiary does not need to submit any documents and must wait for our consular officers to review the case. We will contact the beneficiary when the review is complete. Please note that the one year period does not apply in this type of denial."

Translated basically means if you got a blue slip that requires them further administrative processing time you don't have to submit anything else and that it can be any amount of time (not necessarily a year) to review and provide an approval or denail.

Where you are reading about 1 year deadline is to submit additional data as requested by the consulate officer before the case is closed--not an extension of a visa issuance. This basically means your case can sit at the consulate for eternity until they make a decision on the case and you can still get approved or denied. As long as you received an administrative processing notice (blue slip testing your patience and relationship) during/after your interview you are better off than receiving a straight out denial (white slip of death).

[ScottThuy 140]

Thats your opinion, The new consular general info came from a highly respected source... not me.. someone very familiar with the consulate.. and he was the one that told me the best hope is that they clean house before the new cheif comes to town. the 1 year info came from the same individual and if anyone knows HCMC policy its him... the 1 year rule is not something they had in the site before... they have added it in the past few months... the rule as was explained to me last night fit right in with the verbage that is provided in the site... the beneficiary officially applies for a visa on the date of the first interview and the consulate has 1 year to issue the visa not eternity. The writ of mandamus and DoS policy prevents eternity... once 1 year passesanew visa application must start... (not petition)

there have not been any cases approved from AP or denied since last year when the bunch went through... Robert's case wasn't a normal AP since he had been through the process already.. he was likely held just to get a supervisor to sign off on the case since it was a rebuttal.

I'm not giving false hope...its a potential outcome that could benefit a bunch of us in AP... it sux that Fred had to sit and wait so long for them to process the AP cases... compared to those that came after him...

what really sux is Frank getting put in APa few weeks after they got the AP files together to process them.... its been over 6 months for him now...

[lindal24 1]

Thats your opinion, The new consular general info came from a highly respected source... not me.. someone very familiar with the consulate.. and he was the one that told me the best hope is that they clean house before the new cheif comes to town. the 1 year info came from the same individual and if anyone knows HCMC policy its him... the 1 year rule is not something they had in the site before... they have added it in the past few months... the rule as was explained to me last night fit right in with the verbage that is provided in the site... the beneficiary officially applies for a visa on the date of the first interview and the consulate has 1 year to issue the visa not eternity. The writ of mandamus and DoS policy prevents eternity... once 1 year passesanew visa application must start... (not petition)

there have not been any cases approved from AP or denied since last year when the bunch went through... Robert's case wasn't a normal AP since he had been through the process already.. he was likely held just to get a supervisor to sign off on the case since it was a rebuttal.

I'm not giving false hope...its a potential outcome that could benefit a bunch of us in AP... it sux that Fred had to sit and wait so long for them to process the AP cases... compared to those that came after him...

what really sux is Frank getting put in APa few weeks after they got the AP files together to process them.... its been over 6 months for him now...

The entire HCMC Consulate site is in the process of being updated, so I agree that it was added in the past few months. But the 1 year you keep referring to is not what the website is saying--it may be what your source told you, but if you read the text on the website it contradicts that completely. Read it and you'll see what I mean.

Maybe a third/additional people can go in, read it, and provide their interpretation(s). But I don't see where you are getting that a decision must be given within a year of the interview (I read it quite the opposite). I wasn't implying that there are cases that sit at the consulate for eternity, just that it's a possibility based on my interpretation of that text on the HCMC Consulate website.

[lindal24 1]

What you may be referring to regarding the 1-year visa issuance delayed is if you're already approved for it and can't go within the 6 month validity...

From the website:

"Generally, a visa is valid for six months from the date of issuance. The validity of a visa, however, may also be limited because of medical restrictions or other reasons. If a beneficiary knows that departure will not be possible within this period, the beneficiary should notify us to delay the visa issuance. The visa issuance can be delayed for up to 1 year from the day of the interview"

[ScottThuy 140]

the same rule applies.. 1 year from the visa application date... whether they approve or deny(they consider a blue slip 221g a denial but not a refusal to issue) on that date,... they have 1 year from the date of application (interview) to issue the visa....

as it is worded in that quote.. 1 year from approval to get the visa issued... as is said in the other reference.. 1 year from interview to provide additional info to get a visa... its all about the same 1 year limit... after 1 year, they can't issue the visa and the beneficiary will need to submit another visa application along with updated documents...

Edited May 5, 2010 by ScottThuy

[ScottThuy 140]

The entire HCMC Consulate site is in the process of being updated, so I agree that it was added in the past few months. But the 1 year you keep referring to is not what the website is saying--it may be what your source told you, but if you read the text on the website it contradicts that completely. Read it and you'll see what I mean.

Maybe a third/additional people can go in, read it, and provide their interpretation(s). But I don't see where you are getting that a decision must be given within a year of the interview (I read it quite the opposite). I wasn't implying that there are cases that sit at the consulate for eternity, just that it's a possibility based on my interpretation of that text on the HCMC Consulate website.

The consulate wont say that they have 1 year to decide, on the website, but that is the rule.. they do say how the 1 year rule impacts the applicant as far as they are concerned when it comes to providing documents and getting the visa in hand...

[lindal24 1]

the same rule applies.. 1 year from the visa application date... whether they approve or deny on that date,... they have 1 year from the date of application (interview) to issue the visa.... Again, this is if you are approved for the visa during your interview date (section 3.1)

as it is worded in that quote.. 1 year from approval to get the visa issued I agree

... as is said in the other reference.. 1 year from interview to provide additional info to get a visa from the HCMC Website: "Note: applications refused under Section 221(g) have one year from the refusal date to submit the requested documents/information. Failure to do so could result in the termination of the case." This only means that you have up to one year to submit requested evidence, not that it will give you approval if you submit. If you don't provide the requested information they can terminate your case

... its all about the same 1 year limit... after 1 year, they can't issue the visa and the beneficiary will need to submit another visa application along with updated documents... The last statement is not stated in the text, so we can't assume that this is fact--even if it comes from the most reliable source.

...My comments in red above

Realistically though, in the scenario where a year has passed since your interview date and you had not heard from the consulate, would you go and reapply if (as far as you knew) your case on file is still an active?

If one year from the date the beneficiary interviewed a notice wasn't received, would you spend another 500+ bucks to file a new petition when you still believe your original petition is still being reviewed? It just doesn't make sense to do that.

For me, I would most likely not refile, because I would still believe that my petition was still valid because I hadn't heard back from the consulate yet. I would email them to ensure that my case was still pending, but until I get the notice that my case was approved or denied, I would just patiently wait. Now, I would hope that it wouldn't take that long, but I'm sure that the CO is not going to say "hey this person's case is about to come up on it's year expiration, we should send them a notice that we're still working on it".

[lindal24 1]

VJ Members currently in AP/AR at HCMC:

• Frank And Duyen ___________10/20/2009 CR1 Timeline
  
• Terry1____________________11/00/2009 CR1 - proof of paternity
  
• AnhBob___________________12/07/2009 CR1- proof of bonafide, timeline, info about ex, info about child
  
• RaymondV_________________12/00/2009 K1- timeline
  
• Ronnie&Hang______________12/29/2009 K1- timeline, medical results from Cho Ray
  
• James & Nicole_____________01/04/2010 K1- timeline, ex-wifes address, medical results from Cho Ray:awaiting TB treatment
  
• ScottThuy__________________03/01/2010 K1- timeline, ex-spouse address,police cert
  
• Josh_A___________________03/05/2010 CR1- timeline, Parent info, police cert

VJ Members who made it out of AP & results:

• Lindal24 ________________7/8/2009 - 10/7/2009 - 91 days in AP - APPROVED
  CR1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & List of Relatives
  
• FrednDaoHoney__________1/17/2009 - 10/15/2009 - 271 days in AP - APPROVED
  
• JohnCali9 _______________8/6/2009 - 10/21/2009 - 76 days in AP - APPROVED
  K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Ex-wife's situation & Timeline
  
• MichaelAndKha___________8/15/2009 - 10/21/2009 - 67 days in AP - Denied
  K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Timeline
  Reasons for Denial: 1.Inconsistent photos, 2.No engagement ceremony, 3.Lack of marriage ceremony details
  
• Andy (not a VJ member)____8/17/2009 - 10/23/2009 - 67 days in AP - Denied
  K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline
  
• Minh&Nhan (not a VJ member)__09/07/2009 - 10/23/2009 - 46 days in AP - APPROVED
  
• Huong and Phung _________9/8/2009 - 10/27/2009 - 49 days in AP - Denied
  CR1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline
  
• JeromeBinh______________8/20/2009 - 10/28/2009 - 69 days in AP - Denied
  K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Ex-wife's situation, Timeline & List of Relatives
  Reasons for Denial: 1.Inconsistent Photos, 2.Communiciation not credible, 3.One visit, 4.Small engagement, 5.Engagement shortly after meeting, 6.B has 3 relatives in US, but only listed 2; P lived close to B's relatives, 7.Lack of marriage ceremony details
  
• Ly Trinh _________________8/21/2009 - 10/28/2009 - 68 days in AP - Denied
  CR1 Visa - First blue RFE: Timeline
  
• Ituan __________________8/10/2009 - 09/15/2009 - 36 days in AP - Denied Additional interview granted for 11/11 2nd denial
  K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline
  
• ToanTien________________8/20/2009 - 12/18/2009 120 days in AP APPROVED
  CR1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline-- co-sponsor... yes I said co-sponsor
  
• Vi&Art____________________8/5/2009 K1 Visa - First blue RFE: Proof of Bona fide Relationship & Timeline No results reported.
  
• Robert & Mai_______________03/04/10 - 3/30/2010 no docs required--26 days in AP APPROVED