Will it be ok for me to file K1 visa for my fiancee???

[nathanpham 0]

Hi all VJ member,

My name is Nathan, i have been lurking around the site for a while, I did, am, and will learn more day by day, thanks to all your inputs from your personal experiences. I am ready to file K1 visa, but i and my wife are really considered about our case, we think that our case is not strong enough to make it through. I think we will need different inputs so we can better prepared for our case. Here is our case:

1) A little bit about me: I am 26, my income for 2009 is $25,000.00 after tax, my projected income for 2010 will be $36,000.00 before tax. I don't own a house, or anything under my name except for my car and my school loan. I have been in VN for 2 times to see my finance: Jun/09, and Dec/09. I paid the ticket by myself: the first time with my card, second time with cash. I dont have the boarding pass for the 1st time, but I did keep everything from 2nd trip. I do have all the passport stamps from both trips. I don't think I will have any problem from my side to get approved in the US, but i might be wrong, what do you think?

2) A little bit about us: Phuong, my finance, and i was first introduced by my cousin via yahoo chat in June, 08. We don't have any record that can show we have been talked since Jun,08. The only thing that will help us is the phone bill from VN247 showing that i first called her in Sep, 08. I have been using VN247 ever since. Should we put that we were first introduced in Sep, 08 instead of Jun,08? During my 2 trips there, we took about 30 pictures of ourselves, but none of them with her family or mine, i think. Will this be a problem for us when it is time for interview? I know, we only need to send in about 4-5 pictures for USCIS including our engagement ceremony. We had the tradition engagement ceremony in Jan, 10, we had our engagement party at Ngoc Suong, we do have the receipt for the party. We took about 300 pictures total in that day. Will the shortage of pictures be a BIG problem for us? Should we be worry about that? I can't make any trip back this summer due to a new job i just had. During our 2+ years relationship, we barely write letter or email let alone card except on special days. Our mainly communication is phone, and chat which i have all the records. We will increase our mail, letter and card during this year but can we submit in when interview? Another thing is that we didnt travel anywhere during the 2 trips except Vung Tau but we didn't keep any hotel receipt or anything due to we went with a big group of friends and they took care of everything. I stayed at her house pretty much my 2 trips, we had the letter from the police in her district stated that i was at her house, hope that will help. We are planning to getting marry on Dec, 10, we had the reservation for restaurant already. I don't know what else i can do to improve our case? Or does our case lack of anything? what are the red flags for our case when CO interview Phuong? How much percentage that we will have upon win the case? Will we be better off filling for CR1 or K1?

3) I am planning to hire Marc Ellis to be my attorney, what do you think? According to Marc's email to me, most K1 cases refuse there. That's why it worry me a bit.

Please let me know what do you think? Any criticisms will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Nathan Pham

[Otto 83]

My name is Nathan, i have been lurking around the site for a while, I did, am, and will learn more day by day, thanks to all your inputs from your personal experiences. I am ready to file K1 visa, but i and my wife are really considered about our case,

Problem number one - you can't file a fiancé petition for your wife. (I'm assuming you misspoke)

I think you're doing the right thing by getting some advice before you file - especially since you're going through a notoriously 'tough' Embassy/Consulate.

[Anh map 2,098]

Where is this restaurant where you want to marry? If it's in VN then you will want to wait and file for the CR1 spouse visa. If it's in the US you may want to make sure that you can change the date. If you have not even filed the petition yet it's very optimistic that she would be here for a December wedding.

[nathanpham 0]

Otto: Yes, I mistyped the word .. It happens cause i think she is my wife now instead of my finance.

Anh Map: The restaurant will be in VN where her families are there. We haven't filed anything yet. We are considering everything right now, cause we don't want to rush things that will cause any delay for us. I really want to do CR1 but the marriage certificate will be hard to do when i am only have more than 3 weeks this coming December for the wedding.

[BinhJerome 14]

Here is the deal, Marc Is good, but his comment that he made is one of many why I do not like him. Many K1 do get denied, and many get accepted, it depends on the CO, and the evidence, not if it is a K1 or a CR1 there are many here that have been denied with a CR1 and many with a K1 that were approved, and vice versa. If you are planning on getting married in December, it might be best for you to wait to file because I do not think if you filed today that it would be done by December, because it seems that very few people get approved without some sort of "AP" and this means 9 months out. If you are willing to wait to get married and just plan a trip in December then you can file a K1, I would not lie about when you first met, tell the truth, and tell them you do not have reccords until such and such date, this actually looks a bit better since it resembles you were just infact talking at first, with no plans of her coming to america from the start, and then when things went along you started to fall in love, and then started to inquire about options for her to be with you so you started to save evidences of corrispondence, as for the plane ticket, you can call the airline or go online and get reccords of the flight, but as you also said you have copies of your entry and exit to vietnam on your passport. A CR1 is cheaper and is not much slower if any than the K1, but this does mean you WILL have to go back and get married, there are services there that can walk you through the entire process for $300 this usually entails paying the coffee money and ensures you will have very little troubles, but many people have done it on their own and were fine, just your preference. I feel that paying for a lawyer is a waste of money, all they can really do is have their name on the paperwork, and make your file look professional, but a friend of mine just hired an attorney and they left off the cover letter, so even with that mistakes can be made by professionals, they do and can also offer up their advise about what might be a hold up or not, and give a mock interview, but many people here can do that, and with the advice from Marc about the K1 getting denied, I think you have already been given BAD advice from a professional, this is just my opnion. As far as the photos go, how many of them are of the both of you wearing different clothes? The reason I ask is that most people dont go with a 15 day wardrobe, they go with maybe 5 days worth, and wear the same thing a few times, the CO seem to think that this means you were there for only 3 or 4 days, but it is something they try to use against people. You have phone reccords which is good, I truly feel your case is good enough to file for a K1 visa since you had your engagement party on your second trip, and have made two trips.

The thing with HCMC is that it IS a hard consulate, so this means two things that you will need

1) a strong case (wich you have)

2) luck (something everyone needs)

If I were in your shoes I would not hire a lawyer that talks about denials from the start, and one that pushes you to do something other than you initally wanted to do. I think that is a bunch of bull that he does things like that, with us he was quite rude and doom and gloom, and I have heard that from a few other people as well, then on the other hand I have heard many great things about him from many people. From what I hear he has some sort of problem so if you talk to him in the morning, he is good and friendly and alert, but in the afternoon if he has not had a nap he gets grumpy and all doom and gloom. This is why I would NEVER hire Marc, but as I have said many people have used him, and swear by him, but.... they might have been approved without him, some lawyers will only take on sure fire cases this way they can tell people I have a 80% or higher sucess rate, while others take the hard to win cases and have a much lower sucess rate, I feel that this is not the case with Marc, it is just that he can not actually do anything on peoples case, no lawyer can, it is all up to YOUR evidence, your fiancee'/fiancee/wife/husbands interview, and the CO, these are the things that make or break any application, a lawyer just really coddels you along. But seriously, you sound like your case is strong, just do what makes you feel comfortable, that is what matters because ultimately you are the one that has to live with your decision. Good luck Jerome and Binh

[clayr1 3]

Otto: Yes, I mistyped the word .. It happens cause i think she is my wife now instead of my finance.

Anh Map: The restaurant will be in VN where her families are there. We haven't filed anything yet. We are considering everything right now, cause we don't want to rush things that will cause any delay for us. I really want to do CR1 but the marriage certificate will be hard to do when i am only have more than 3 weeks this coming December for the wedding.

I would strongly suggest you mail each other a letter once a week this is written proof of communication with postage from both countries. My fiace failed first interview and we didn't have but 3 letters to and from. The interview is the most difficult aspect of the visa process. You might want to be there when she goes to interview and give her your passport and copies of all envelopes she sent to you. If she fails you don't want to be in the same situation I am in.

[BinhJerome 14]

I would strongly suggest you mail each other a letter once a week this is written proof of communication with postage from both countries. My fiace failed first interview and we didn't have but 3 letters to and from. The interview is the most difficult aspect of the visa process. You might want to be there when she goes to interview and give her your passport and copies of all envelopes she sent to you. If she fails you don't want to be in the same situation I am in.

clayr1, remember each case is different, there was a guy on here a while back that had 0 letters, he met his wife through family, there was a age difference (10 plus years) with in 1 month he proposed to her (on the internet) went to see her the first month of meeting, was there for ONLY 5 days, they had an engagement party (10 or so people) when he landed he filed for K1 visa, only yahoo chat logs and screen shots, no phone calls, went back for interview (another 5 days only) and was approved. As I said each case is different, there are two things needed at hcmc

1) good strong case

2) LUCK

Jerome

I would strongly suggest you mail each other a letter once a week this is written proof of communication with postage from both countries. My fiace failed first interview and we didn't have but 3 letters to and from. The interview is the most difficult aspect of the visa process. You might want to be there when she goes to interview and give her your passport and copies of all envelopes she sent to you. If she fails you don't want to be in the same situation I am in.

clayr1, remember each case is different, there was a guy on here a while back that had 0 letters, he met his wife through family, there was a age difference (10 plus years) with in 1 month he proposed to her (on the internet) went to see her the first month of meeting, was there for ONLY 5 days, they had an engagement party (10 or so people) when he landed he filed for K1 visa, only yahoo chat logs and screen shots, no phone calls, went back for interview (another 5 days only) and was approved. As I said each case is different, there are two things needed at hcmc

1) good strong case

2) LUCK

Jerome

I would strongly suggest you mail each other a letter once a week this is written proof of communication with postage from both countries. My fiace failed first interview and we didn't have but 3 letters to and from. The interview is the most difficult aspect of the visa process. You might want to be there when she goes to interview and give her your passport and copies of all envelopes she sent to you. If she fails you don't want to be in the same situation I am in.

clayr1, remember each case is different, there was a guy on here a while back that had 0 letters, he met his wife through family, there was a age difference (10 plus years) with in 1 month he proposed to her (on the internet) went to see her the first month of meeting, was there for ONLY 5 days, they had an engagement party (10 or so people) when he landed he filed for K1 visa, only yahoo chat logs and screen shots, no phone calls, went back for interview (another 5 days only) and was approved. As I said each case is different, there are two things needed at hcmc

1) good strong case

2) LUCK

Jerome

I would strongly suggest you mail each other a letter once a week this is written proof of communication with postage from both countries. My fiace failed first interview and we didn't have but 3 letters to and from. The interview is the most difficult aspect of the visa process. You might want to be there when she goes to interview and give her your passport and copies of all envelopes she sent to you. If she fails you don't want to be in the same situation I am in.

clayr1, remember each case is different, there was a guy on here a while back that had 0 letters, he met his wife through family, there was a age difference (10 plus years) with in 1 month he proposed to her (on the internet) went to see her the first month of meeting, was there for ONLY 5 days, they had an engagement party (10 or so people) when he landed he filed for K1 visa, only yahoo chat logs and screen shots, no phone calls, went back for interview (another 5 days only) and was approved. As I said each case is different, there are two things needed at hcmc

1) good strong case

2) LUCK

Jerome

I would strongly suggest you mail each other a letter once a week this is written proof of communication with postage from both countries. My fiace failed first interview and we didn't have but 3 letters to and from. The interview is the most difficult aspect of the visa process. You might want to be there when she goes to interview and give her your passport and copies of all envelopes she sent to you. If she fails you don't want to be in the same situation I am in.

clayr1, remember each case is different, there was a guy on here a while back that had 0 letters, he met his wife through family, there was a age difference (10 plus years) with in 1 month he proposed to her (on the internet) went to see her the first month of meeting, was there for ONLY 5 days, they had an engagement party (10 or so people) when he landed he filed for K1 visa, only yahoo chat logs and screen shots, no phone calls, went back for interview (another 5 days only) and was approved. As I said each case is different, there are two things needed at hcmc

1) good strong case

2) LUCK

Jerome

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I don't know if there are any hard statistics anywhere, but the anecdotal evidence is that most K1's ARE denied in HCMC. Now, if Marc also said that your chances are greatly improved with a CR1 (which Nathan didn't indicate he said) then I would consider that to be misleading. I haven't seen any evidence that the success rate with CR1's is dramatically different from K1's. It sounds like Marc may only have been giving Nathan a reality check, and not necessarily trying to talk him out of the K1 and into a CR1.

I think the one advantage Marc has over any other immigration attorney is that he knows the consulate in HCMC better than just about anyone in the world. He is also as well versed in immigration law as any immigration attorney I know of. The disadvantage that he shares with virtually all other immigration attorneys is that he doesn't know ANYONE'S case as well as they themselves know it, and having that knowledge is critical to being successful. Unless you're willing to be a very active participant, your chances won't be any better with Marc than they would be with any other immigration attorney.

[nathanpham 0]

Jerome: For us, this is a one shot type of deal, we dont want to take risk that will slow us down. Everyone has a different opinion about everything especially about immigration attorney. I am also considering different lawyers at the same time to see who will be fit our case the best or what will they do to help us in order to get visa? I am appreciated for your input though, keep it coming Jerome.

Clayr1: We are doing that right now to the best that we can. Thanks for that too.

Jim: You are right, Marc is just trying to give a reality check right now. He didn't mention anything about K1 or CR1 on our email. When it comes to HCMC consulate, everything has to be well prepare, hope for the best and expect for the worst. Thanks

[clayr1 3]

I used an attorney the first time and he was awful. He was Viet in Virginia and would never even call my wife to help her. These attornies are bad see if one will give you references that you can verify or ask someone who has used an attorney for immigration and found success. Be wary of one that wants all money upfront and gives you lofty guarantees, once you pay them that may be the end of their service.

[luckytxn 2,264]

I went once to Vietnam after knowing my babe for about 5 months and after her aunt introduced us. We had a engagement ceremony during my first stay. I put in for a K-1 right when I got back. We got a pink. It seems that most get denied but the reasons are varied. You have done already more than I had done to get a visa for her. The naysayers here will have you thinking you have no chance in hell. I was also told that I had little chance.

You on the other hand are doing the smart thing. You have been twice already. You already have evidence of going there. You are taking time to do it right. Your income last year blows but it looks like this year will be more than enough. Now from here on out you need to start showing more ongoing relationship stuff like saving all chat logs and any phone usage. Get to know one another well. Read a lot here on what others are doing right and avoid the wrong stuff. You have time.

Do not lie and say another time you met. Just acknowledge that you did not know it was needed and started to save the evidence after knowing each other for a bit. As for pics they will want to see the both of you on different days in different outfits at different places. Place yourself in the CO's shoes and try to look at what you are presenting. Does this sound real? So far you sound real so keep at that.

Good luck and God bless.

[BinhJerome 14]

Jerome: For us, this is a one shot type of deal, we dont want to take risk that will slow us down. Everyone has a different opinion about everything especially about immigration attorney. I am also considering different lawyers at the same time to see who will be fit our case the best or what will they do to help us in order to get visa? I am appreciated for your input though, keep it coming Jerome.

Clayr1: We are doing that right now to the best that we can. Thanks for that too.

Jim: You are right, Marc is just trying to give a reality check right now. He didn't mention anything about K1 or CR1 on our email. When it comes to HCMC consulate, everything has to be well prepare, hope for the best and expect for the worst. Thanks

Yes, I know it is a one shot deal, but to many people here try to put the fear of god into people when it is not needed, point blank you have met not once but twice in 2 years prior to you filiing for ANY application, you have proof of an ongoing relationship, that is ALL that is required. It was a one shot deal for me and Binh, the CO lied and denied us, no sense in crying over spilt milk, what is done is done. Just dont fall into the hype about that you CANT or that you WILL get denied because you dont have a lawyer, or that you only made 2 trips or any other BS reasons people try to tell you. The fact is that this is a help forum where people post their OWN opnions, and most of the time they do not post facts. NO lawyer can prommise you that you will get approved, even if you wait and get married, yet people will hurry and tell others "You need a lawyer" That is bull, as Lucky said, they told him the same, and he was approved, the other guy that only new his fiancee for 6 months, that is not a lie, he had his timeline posted for all to see right here on VJ, that is fact, not fiction. I have seen too many people scared off from filing, putting of filing that it makes me sick, people want to scream about a quota system with no factual proof, they bring statements in where "1 million visa applications were approved each year" and say that because they approved 1 mill then there had to be a quota and they denied 3 million, all of this might make a persons denial easier to swallow, but it is just bull, not fact. I dont buy that Marc is trying to give you a reality check, but that is another subject. The facts are simple you have plenty of proof, more than most people have, and had, fewer than others that have been both approved and denied. So if you and others have the required proof why are people getting denied???? That goes to my two points 1) good evidence and preperation 2) Luck... If the CO wants to issue a visa he will, if not he wont. I do wish you the best of luck, and I truly feel you will be fine, I just dont want you to get sucked into the nay sayers world of dispare and denial, HCMC might be tough but many people do in fact get through with both the K1 visa and the CR1 visa, most of them never hired any lawyer, and did it all on their own, if they can do it then you can too, just think positive, not negative, hope for the best but expect the worst. Good luck Jerome

[Bernie C 24]

Hi Nathan - maybe it would be beneficial if some K1 and CR1's from Vietnam shared their experience and story with you and then you can read them and do some comparisons and get an idea what you might think will work best for you. Every single case is different and sometimes there is no rhyme or reason why some pass and some fail. There is much inconsistency between CO's and what each wants to see. I'd be happy to share our story and process. I'll start with the short version and then go from there.

We did some things "out of the norm" so it will be an example, I would not necessarily recommend this - but it worked for us.

Doan (now my wife) and I met online while I was looking into places to stay while vacationing. She was the Guest Relation Supervisor at VinPearl in Nha Trang. We corresponded through email and yahoo chat for about 6 months before I first visited. Over the 6 months we grew very close.

I first visited in January of 2009. I was there for two weeks. I proposed to Doan after the first week. We spent much of our time with her family, relatives, and coworkers. I was there during Tet so there were lots of family and company activities to attend and we had lots of pictures with all. On Tet her family made an informal engagement announcment. All the close family abd friends were there at her home and it fit well. I originally planned to file for I-129 petition after that visit.

After joining visa journey and talking together we decided to wait until after another visit. We wanted to give ourselves the best chance for success. Between Feb and May we planned a full Vietnamese Traditional Wedding Ceremony.

I returned to Nha Trang in April 2009. We had a full day picture and video session all over the Nha Trang area and had pictures and video taken all day at 8 different locations with Doan in a variety of wedding and traditional dresses. A few days later we had the traditional ceremony at her parents home and a reception at the Angella 1 with over 350 guests. I could only stay for about 10 days that trip so the time went fast. I saved all our receipts from hotel, ceremony, hotels, photographer, restauranrts etc...

NOTE: We did not register the marriage in VN!

I returned home in early May and compiled our I-129F package. I front loaded the application with pictures and proof from the first two visits. And yes, I included pictures from the picture day and traditional ceremony. I also included a letter explaining that my family could not travel to Vietnam (my parents are in their 80's and my brother has a very busy construction business and 5 small children - just not possible). I explained in the letter that it was important to me that I show honor and respect for her family, relatives and friends and that we wanted them to be able to take part in the ceremony but that we did not register the marriage and we were free and legaly able to marry in the US together when she entered the US.

I submitted the I129F petition in June on 2009.

I returned to VN in September of 2009 and we did some local touring to Yang Bay Waterfall, Monkey Island and spnet the rest of my two weeks visiting with family and friends. Again, lots of pictures and saved all the receipts and proofs.

When I returned home the end of September our NOA2 approval was in the mail box. I called he NVC and the package was on its way to the consulate. Doan received packet three about 4 weeks later and sent them. Her interview was scheduled for December 15th 2009.

I returned to VN in early December and went with her for her medical. We visited family in Nha Trang and then spent most of our time in HCMC. I went with her on the interview day and also gave her my passport to take inside. The CO spotted my passport right away and asked to see it, asked if I was there etc...

He asked Doan about 20 questions and only looked at boarding passes from September visit and a handful of pictures. That was it. He didnt look at any receipts, email, chat logs...

I had made a very detailed timeline of relationship also. At trhe time, I was able to get it into my file for the CO prior to the interview. I think this option may now be out but I had emailed it prior to the interview. Some thought that I out to much personal info into the timeline but in our case everything worked out fine.

Doan was approved and received a pink slip. We did run into a small bump because her original fingerprints were not readable and we had to resubmit them. It was frustrating because they would not tell us what the problem was. I had to make multiple visits to the consulate but finally got an answer as to what the problem was. It delayed us receiving the visa for almost a month but it was nothing we did wrong.

We entered the US on January 16 2010 and are now preparing to file AOS.

A few things that may have helped us were that I visited 4 times within one year for a total of about 3 months (my last visit was for 6 weeks). My income is well above the required minimum. We had lots of photos from each visit with many different family members on many occasions and also with many friends and her coworkers and Managers.

For the I129F I provided very little from the time we started communicating but focued mainly on the time from our first in person meeting.

While we did some things that some suggested may be a problem (the wedding ceremony and using the pictures as evidence of relationship), in our case it worked out fine with no problems. We were fortunate to get a very nice CO. As I understand, he is one of the best to get so maybe luck was a big part of our success.

The best advice I could give would be to prepare as best you can, make as many visits as possible and be prepared for everything and anything.

Its very sad to say but there are no gaurantees. We've known other who were extremely well prepared and got AP, others who were not and were ok, and alot on inbetween.

If you have any questions about us I would be happy to share. I am sure you may find form others that there is much inconsistency in HCMC and all we can do is our best and hope for the same.

So there is one example of a successful K-1. Not intended to try to convince you of anything, it may be better for you to get married in VN and file CR-1. These decisions the two of you need to discuss and decide.

I wish you the very best always.

[BinhJerome 14]

Hi Nathan - maybe it would be beneficial if some K1 and CR1's from Vietnam shared their experience and story with you and then you can read them and do some comparisons and get an idea what you might think will work best for you. Every single case is different and sometimes there is no rhyme or reason why some pass and some fail. There is much inconsistency between CO's and what each wants to see. I'd be happy to share our story and process. I'll start with the short version and then go from there.

We did some things "out of the norm" so it will be an example, I would not necessarily recommend this - but it worked for us.

Doan (now my wife) and I met online while I was looking into places to stay while vacationing. She was the Guest Relation Supervisor at VinPearl in Nha Trang. We corresponded through email and yahoo chat for about 6 months before I first visited. Over the 6 months we grew very close.

I first visited in January of 2009. I was there for two weeks. I proposed to Doan after the first week. We spent much of our time with her family, relatives, and coworkers. I was there during Tet so there were lots of family and company activities to attend and we had lots of pictures with all. On Tet her family made an informal engagement announcment. All the close family abd friends were there at her home and it fit well. I originally planned to file for I-129 petition after that visit.

After joining visa journey and talking together we decided to wait until after another visit. We wanted to give ourselves the best chance for success. Between Feb and May we planned a full Vietnamese Traditional Wedding Ceremony.

I returned to Nha Trang in April 2009. We had a full day picture and video session all over the Nha Trang area and had pictures and video taken all day at 8 different locations with Doan in a variety of wedding and traditional dresses. A few days later we had the traditional ceremony at her parents home and a reception at the Angella 1 with over 350 guests. I could only stay for about 10 days that trip so the time went fast. I saved all our receipts from hotel, ceremony, hotels, photographer, restauranrts etc...

NOTE: We did not register the marriage in VN!

I returned home in early May and compiled our I-129F package. I front loaded the application with pictures and proof from the first two visits. And yes, I included pictures from the picture day and traditional ceremony. I also included a letter explaining that my family could not travel to Vietnam (my parents are in their 80's and my brother has a very busy construction business and 5 small children - just not possible). I explained in the letter that it was important to me that I show honor and respect for her family, relatives and friends and that we wanted them to be able to take part in the ceremony but that we did not register the marriage and we were free and legaly able to marry in the US together when she entered the US.

I submitted the I129F petition in June on 2009.

I returned to VN in September of 2009 and we did some local touring to Yang Bay Waterfall, Monkey Island and spnet the rest of my two weeks visiting with family and friends. Again, lots of pictures and saved all the receipts and proofs.

When I returned home the end of September our NOA2 approval was in the mail box. I called he NVC and the package was on its way to the consulate. Doan received packet three about 4 weeks later and sent them. Her interview was scheduled for December 15th 2009.

I returned to VN in early December and went with her for her medical. We visited family in Nha Trang and then spent most of our time in HCMC. I went with her on the interview day and also gave her my passport to take inside. The CO spotted my passport right away and asked to see it, asked if I was there etc...

He asked Doan about 20 questions and only looked at boarding passes from September visit and a handful of pictures. That was it. He didnt look at any receipts, email, chat logs...

I had made a very detailed timeline of relationship also. At trhe time, I was able to get it into my file for the CO prior to the interview. I think this option may now be out but I had emailed it prior to the interview. Some thought that I out to much personal info into the timeline but in our case everything worked out fine.

Doan was approved and received a pink slip. We did run into a small bump because her original fingerprints were not readable and we had to resubmit them. It was frustrating because they would not tell us what the problem was. I had to make multiple visits to the consulate but finally got an answer as to what the problem was. It delayed us receiving the visa for almost a month but it was nothing we did wrong.

We entered the US on January 16 2010 and are now preparing to file AOS.

A few things that may have helped us were that I visited 4 times within one year for a total of about 3 months (my last visit was for 6 weeks). My income is well above the required minimum. We had lots of photos from each visit with many different family members on many occasions and also with many friends and her coworkers and Managers.

For the I129F I provided very little from the time we started communicating but focued mainly on the time from our first in person meeting.

While we did some things that some suggested may be a problem (the wedding ceremony and using the pictures as evidence of relationship), in our case it worked out fine with no problems. We were fortunate to get a very nice CO. As I understand, he is one of the best to get so maybe luck was a big part of our success.

The best advice I could give would be to prepare as best you can, make as many visits as possible and be prepared for everything and anything.

Its very sad to say but there are no gaurantees. We've known other who were extremely well prepared and got AP, others who were not and were ok, and alot on inbetween.

If you have any questions about us I would be happy to share. I am sure you may find form others that there is much inconsistency in HCMC and all we can do is our best and hope for the same.

So there is one example of a successful K-1. Not intended to try to convince you of anything, it may be better for you to get married in VN and file CR-1. These decisions the two of you need to discuss and decide.

I wish you the very best always.

Great post Bernie, great examples, hopefully more posts like these will help people out Bravo

[Anh map 2,098]

Otto: Yes, I mistyped the word .. It happens cause i think she is my wife now instead of my finance.

Anh Map: The restaurant will be in VN where her families are there. We haven't filed anything yet. We are considering everything right now, cause we don't want to rush things that will cause any delay for us. I really want to do CR1 but the marriage certificate will be hard to do when i am only have more than 3 weeks this coming December for the wedding.

There are some folks on here that have gotten the marriage certificate with a short stay. I am sure that they will reply as well.

There is also a page on the VN embassy site that gives you the docs and info ->> http://www.vietnamembassy.us/consular_services/marry_a_vietnamese/ This can help you with the short time window.

As you are planning on marrying in VN the K1 visa is out as an option. CR1 will be a less involved process as there is no adjusting status after entering the US. She would have the green card and ability to work after entering the US. And the overall cost is less.

As you've seen so far each case is different. Take in all the feedback and apply it to your circumstances as is appropriate.