OUR STORY

[Julian_Hien 0]

firstly i would like to thank all that have previously gone through the process and continue to help those in need like myself,i have posted several questions and have had some great responses, ok our story and plan, we met online in april 09, right away we found a connection im 45 she is 36, no children, both have same family morals and so on,after several weeks of talking we felt that we need to meet in person , so i planned a visit late aug 09 we continued to corospond via email, skype,yahoo messenger and letters, until my first visit which due to work could only be 8 days, needless to say, we fell in love our first trip,so much so i went back 3 weeks later for another 8 days, this time i proposed to her and gave her engagement ring, while there we took many pics and spent time with her wonderful family in ho chi minh city, when i came back to the states we started planning the wedding and set the date for may,i intend to be in vietnam for two weeks in may and then visit again in 5 months and then hopefully again in march for her interview,as im thinking ten months till interview, we are going to apply for the c1,(i think thats what its called)after we get the marriage cert, ok so here is my question do you see any red flags, i am divorced for three years, my fiance, has never been married, i have started a timeline , we periodically print our email phone calls , we write each other every month, hien has done her family tree, and written down the names of her family in us, she has aunt in boston brother in la,i live in las vegas,so basically we are putting together all our evidence to front load, what im unsure of is what needs to be notorized?and how to address the red flags, thanks for any advice

[ScottThuy 140]

The first thing I see is that you were married before... You will need to get documentation that your ex no longer lives with you... utility bills for each showing different addresses along with a notarized affidavit is a good start... The timeline that you submit with the petition should be notarized... its easy enough to have any of the paperwork notarized by going to your local bank and having one of them do it free... they usually do everything except wills... A strong well written- well organized notarized timeline can be a great thing to frontload... submit photos that are directly related to events in the timeline along with documentation of communication... the wedding receipts and documentation IMO should be sent in the frontend so that it is all there from the beginning and you don't have to fight to get it introduced at the interview... have you had any traditional VN ceremonies yet? Dam Hoi... Dinh Hon?

[tung tran 0]

My worry is that marriage cert. takes about 1 month for completion. your trip this May is only 2 weeks, I don't know how you get this marriage cert. done. One way you can do it is contact "DICH VU" over there, but will cost you $300-500.

[ScottThuy 140]

My worry is that marriage cert. takes about 1 month for completion. your trip this May is only 2 weeks, I don't know how you get this marriage cert. done. One way you can do it is contact "DICH VU" over there, but will cost you $300-500.

He is doing 2 visits... can't he apply for the cert on the first visit and then seal the deal on the second?

[Dau Que 6]

firstly i would like to thank all that have previously gone through the process and continue to help those in need like myself,i have posted several questions and have had some great responses, ok our story and plan, we met online in april 09, right away we found a connection im 45 she is 36, no children, both have same family morals and so on,after several weeks of talking we felt that we need to meet in person , so i planned a visit late aug 09 we continued to corospond via email, skype,yahoo messenger and letters, until my first visit which due to work could only be 8 days, needless to say, we fell in love our first trip,so much so i went back 3 weeks later for another 8 days, this time i proposed to her and gave her engagement ring, while there we took many pics and spent time with her wonderful family in ho chi minh city, when i came back to the states we started planning the wedding and set the date for may,i intend to be in vietnam for two weeks in may and then visit again in 5 months and then hopefully again in march for her interview,as im thinking ten months till interview, we are going to apply for the c1,(i think thats what its called)after we get the marriage cert, ok so here is my question do you see any red flags, i am divorced for three years, my fiance, has never been married, i have started a timeline , we periodically print our email phone calls , we write each other every month, hien has done her family tree, and written down the names of her family in us, she has aunt in boston brother in la,i live in las vegas,so basically we are putting together all our evidence to front load, what im unsure of is what needs to be notorized?and how to address the red flags, thanks for any advice

I hope you'll write your timeline in easier to read format, like in paragraphs.

Example: First encounter: 04/2009

First visit and face to face meeting: 08/2009

Your red flags, IMHO, are:

1) Short time between first time meeting to wedding, with the missing crucial step, Engagement Ceremony (typically translated in the CO's mind: marriage fraud used to rush the waiting time). As the beneficiary's age gets older, you can't use the old story "we love each other so much and we have to be a family in less than a year of knowing each other. Your case is a typical one, with one already been divorced.

2) She has relatives living in the US. Does she have any pending immigration case, sponsored by her family relatives at the moment? If yes, that will DEFINITELY be a major red flag!

[Julian_Hien 0]

thank you for the replies, to answer some of the questions brought up, we plan on using power of attorney to set up the wedding cert, that way most of the paper work will be done before i get there, also her family in us have never tried to sponsor her to get her us visa,i am troubled by the fact we didnt have engagement party,but we are older so didnt think it as nessasary, has anyone married without engagement ceramony,and recieved pink? and also how would one address this issue to co

[ScottThuy 140]

mention it in the timeline.. if you talk about he fact that it was discussed and that you both decided based on your ages that it was not needed, that would be a great help.. front load that so it is in the packet before it gets to the consulate...a huge Dam Cui wouldn't hurt either...

folks without Dam Hoi have been approved and some have been denied based in part on the lack of ceremony...

[lindal24 1]

We had our engagement ceremony the day of our wedding...but we filed CR-1.

[minatours 0]

firstly i would like to thank all that have previously gone through the process and continue to help those in need like myself,i have posted several questions and have had some great responses, ok our story and plan, we met online in april 09, right away we found a connection im 45 she is 36, no children, both have same family morals and so on,after several weeks of talking we felt that we need to meet in person , so i planned a visit late aug 09 we continued to corospond via email, skype,yahoo messenger and letters, until my first visit which due to work could only be 8 days, needless to say, we fell in love our first trip,so much so i went back 3 weeks later for another 8 days, this time i proposed to her and gave her engagement ring, while there we took many pics and spent time with her wonderful family in ho chi minh city, when i came back to the states we started planning the wedding and set the date for may,i intend to be in vietnam for two weeks in may and then visit again in 5 months and then hopefully again in march for her interview,as im thinking ten months till interview, we are going to apply for the c1,(i think thats what its called)after we get the marriage cert, ok so here is my question do you see any red flags, i am divorced for three years, my fiance, has never been married, i have started a timeline , we periodically print our email phone calls , we write each other every month, hien has done her family tree, and written down the names of her family in us, she has aunt in boston brother in la,i live in las vegas,so basically we are putting together all our evidence to front load, what im unsure of is what needs to be notorized?and how to address the red flags, thanks for any advice

your case seems to be fine and there is nothing to worry about it. i assure you this red flags complete different story than your but ease your mind here is when the red flags show up

1-the wife older than the husband

2-either one of spouse cant speak english

3-the both parties never met in person

4-the american citizen spouse has been married to foreign person and brought him to america and later on they got divorced

5-visa over stayed

6-you couldnt provide sufficient evidenves of the relationship

good luck and again your case seems fine . if you have any other questions feel free

[ScottThuy 140]

your case seems to be fine and there is nothing to worry about it. i assure you this red flags complete different story than your but ease your mind here is when the red flags show up

1-the wife older than the husband

2-either one of spouse cant speak english

3-the both parties never met in person

4-the american citizen spouse has been married to foreign person and brought him to america and later on they got divorced

5-visa over stayed

6-you couldnt provide sufficient evidenves of the relationship

good luck and again your case seems fine . if you have any other questions feel free

minatours,

Do you realize this is a VN specific discussion and that the HCMC consulate plays by a different set of rules than other consulates? Red Flags in HCMC include deviation from cultural norms that you are not likely familiar with... Your input is appreciated, but please take graet care when providing feedback that is inaccurate given that it is very unlikely that you are familiar enough with VN culture to give adequate advice in this case.

[ellmvl 1]

thank you for the replies, to answer some of the questions brought up, we plan on using power of attorney to set up the wedding cert, that way most of the paper work will be done before i get there, also her family in us have never tried to sponsor her to get her us visa,i am troubled by the fact we didnt have engagement party,but we are older so didnt think it as nessasary, has anyone married without engagement ceramony,and recieved pink? and also how would one address this issue to co

We never got an engagement party nor an engagement ring but yes I passed the interview. The CO didn't even ask about the engagement but she was interested in looking our wedding photos coz I brought the whole album which shown my hundred families and friends who have attended the wedding lol (she even appreciated the ceremony). I am not sure about the tradition in Vietnam though, if engagement party is very important there because in the Phils. it is not a big deal if you don't have it.

They might be questioning her about her family in the US but make sure you'll have the evidence of how you guys have met and prove that were not introduced by her family

Goodluck and best wishes

Edited January 24, 2010 by ellmvl

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I'll go one step further than Scott, and address each of these points:

your case seems to be fine and there is nothing to worry about it. i assure you this red flags complete different story than your but ease your mind here is when the red flags show up

1-the wife older than the husband

Yes, this can also be a red flag in HCM.

2-either one of spouse cant speak english

Of more importance at the consulate in HCM is whether the couple has a "common language". If both speak Vietnamese fluently, then the consulate won't much care if neither speak English very well. Even if they don't share a common language in which both are fluent, this can be overcome if they can demonstrate that they DO communicate effectively. I did this in my case, and we were approved.

3-the both parties never met in person

Marriages arranged in the complete absence of the bride and groom are a cultural norm in many Islamic countries, but this never happens in Vietnam. The traditional engagement ceremony requires the presence of both parties, so it's almost impossible for the consulate to consider the couple to be "engaged" if they had never actually met. The petition would never have been approved because there is no religious or cultural basis for it in Vietnam.

4-the american citizen spouse has been married to foreign person and brought him to america and later on they got divorced

This can be a red flag at almost any consulate in the world.

5-visa over stayed

Again, this can be a red flag at any consulate in the world. However, it's highly unlikely in HCM, since getting any other kind of visa to visit the US is practically impossible. This means the odds of ever having gotten a visa that they could have overstayed is remote.

6-you couldnt provide sufficient evidenves of the relationship

This is the biggest cause of visa denials in HCM. The worst part is that the beneficiary is often not permitted to submit evidence at the interview, even if they have a lot of it. This reinforces the case for frontloading the petition.

good luck and again your case seems fine . if you have any other questions feel free

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

We never got an engagement party nor an engagement ring but yes I passed the interview. The CO didn't even ask about the engagement but she was interested in looking our wedding photos coz I brought the whole album which shown my hundred families and friends who have attended the wedding lol (she even appreciated the ceremony). I am not sure about the tradition in Vietnam though, if engagement party is very important there because in the Phils. it is not a big deal if you don't have it.

They might be questioning her about her family in the US but make sure you'll have the evidence of how you guys have met and prove that were not introduced by her family

Goodluck and best wishes

For a similar reason as the previous post, HCM and Manila are two completely different animals, each with it's own specific requirements. Engagement parties are little more than a social event in the Philippines, whereas the ceremony and party are a cultural imperative in Vietnam.

[ScottThuy 140]

I'll go one step further than Scott, and address each of these points:

Thanks brother... I was talking to Thuy when I was responding to the earlier post and she asked why I was so frustrated... I asked her if she remembered what the girl at the hospital and others had told her about people being unprepared for interiews and acting on advice from people that did not understand the HCMC Consulate system.. she said sure that she would never forget that because she felt so sorry for the pain those people are going through having been denied...

I don't think I would be able to sleep at night if I told someone that their case was good to go and they got denied because they went on my advice rather than someone more familiar with what they were going through in their specific country... Good Gawd man.... don't these people understand the impact of what is going on here?

I sure would not go to the PI or any other regional forum giving advice on a specific topic that I had no personal knowledge of... generic red flags are posted all over VJ, but when someone asks questions about a country specific issue why would one post generic info that does nothing more than deviate from the focus of the topic?

Sorry for the rant Julien_Hien... I just don't want you or anyone else to get confused or misled by someone that does not understand the intricacies of the VN culture and HCMC Consulate expectations..

[vietazn 1]

On issue #6, a lot of not being able to present evidence at the interview is partly due to short time frame of interview (less than 20 minutes), but there also is error by person being interviewed. It is really up to the person being interviewed to provide to the CO the evidence quickly and efficiently. My fiance spoke with others who outsourced everything and didn't know what documents were what or where. Of course I would like to think my fiance did an outstanding job interviewing because we didn't frontload anything. But what if the whole frontloading theory is not what it is built up to be? Perhaps more emphasis should be placed on organization and interview preparation.