Interview timeline HCMC

[khoamythovn 1]

I have been reading a lot of posting about the list of questions and the letter of timeline notarized. The .doc file in VN and US. I also read about the CO in HCMC wanting this information or they will give a blue slip?

I was introduced to my fiancée by my aunt who lives in US. She will wrote a short statement verifying she is the person who introduce me to my fiancée and have it notarized. Will this be enough for what the CO maybe looking for?

[ScottThuy 140]

there are a couple of topics in the VN area about timelines that include examples....

[Tuanv 2]

I have been reading a lot of posting about the list of questions and the letter of timeline notarized. The .doc file in VN and US. I also read about the CO in HCMC wanting this information or they will give a blue slip?

I was introduced to my fiancée by my aunt who lives in US. She will wrote a short statement verifying she is the person who introduce me to my fiancée and have it notarized. Will this be enough for what the CO maybe looking for?

Besides the notarized letter from your aunt, you need other documents to prove that you have a relationship with your fiancee (e.g., phone & messenger log, pictures, etc).

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I doubt you'll need anything from your aunt, though the CO might want an explanation of how your aunt came to know your fiancee.

In my opinion, this sort of information is better explained in the petition package. The CO's in HCMC are notorious for not accepting evidence at the interview, and then denying the visa for lack of evidence. Your VJ timeline says you filed your I-129F petition two days ago. Is this true? Did you already file the petition?

[khoamythovn 1]

I mailed the I-129F for K1 visa on 5/19. I have included all the necessary documents and as much evidence as I have.

The timeline questions seem to be similar to the I-129F Question 18 'How we met'. I have thoroughly explained it in that section. From the 1st time I saw her picture, to the first time we met, and the engagement ceremony. It is verified by photos of my aunt and her family in it.

I know that the CO loves to question about 1st time we met, how she was introduced to me, and questions of that nature. What I am concern about the additional evidence that maybe require after the interview if a blue slip is given. I want to prepare as much as possible for the specific particular request from the CO, if they ask for it. I was concern about this part as other postings mention about a 98% will get a blue slip if they do not give a timeline. I do not know if this is what the CO is looking for. Granted I did not include in I-129F, but can be prepared and ready for during the interview, if asked for it.

Should I be worrying about this, or am I going way into depth?

[ScottThuy 140]

start working on a timeline now.. so that it is comprehensive, and well prepared if they ask for it at the interview or after... its one of those things that takes alot of time and thought so start working on it together early and keep it updated as time passes... send snailmails or cards back and forth as additional documentation of ongoing relationship...

[BinhJerome 14]

I mailed the I-129F for K1 visa on 5/19. I have included all the necessary documents and as much evidence as I have.

The timeline questions seem to be similar to the I-129F Question 18 'How we met'. I have thoroughly explained it in that section. From the 1st time I saw her picture, to the first time we met, and the engagement ceremony. It is verified by photos of my aunt and her family in it.

I know that the CO loves to question about 1st time we met, how she was introduced to me, and questions of that nature. What I am concern about the additional evidence that maybe require after the interview if a blue slip is given. I want to prepare as much as possible for the specific particular request from the CO, if they ask for it. I was concern about this part as other postings mention about a 98% will get a blue slip if they do not give a timeline. I do not know if this is what the CO is looking for. Granted I did not include in I-129F, but can be prepared and ready for during the interview, if asked for it.

Should I be worrying about this, or am I going way into depth?

There are many ways to do a timeline; the most common is to put the date down then what happened on that day, sort of like this

Dec 18^th 2010: My aunt gave me a phone number for Phoung

Dec 19^th 2010: I called Phoung for the very first time, we talked for 3 hours and I got her Yahoo and Skype Messenger ID so we could chat every day.

Dec 25^th 2010: I chatted with Phoung on my laptop and opened up Christmas presents where she could see them and so she could see my family

Things like this that you deem important should go into the timeline, you can also do clipart with it and put in screenshot photos if you both use webcam, or even photos of the two of you together, make sure the photos are not huge if you want to use clipart, and you can place them on the top on one page, then the bottom on another, and also in the middle, just mix it up a bit, on the first page, have a bigger photo of the two of you together, and a brief introduction with your feelings towards your partner would be a plus, then on the second page start to list the dates that important things happened, you can also scan ticket stubs and use them as clipart, even your passport with the used visa stamps. Anything that can make your timeline stand out and look professional, don't put more than 1 photo per page or it could seem gaudy. Also make sure that this timeline is notarized and signed by you, then make sure it gets to her before the interview, there is still the chance they will not accept it but if they do, then great. Hope it helps Jerome

[khoamythovn 1]

Thanks for the advice. I have several months before an interview will be scheduled. I will start to put together a timeline and get it notarized once done. I will also have my aunt write a short statement verifying she is indeed the person who knew my fiancee's aunt who in turn told me she was single. Just to cover the base of how I was introduced to her, if the CO ask for this information.

I was born in My Tho, Vietnam. I am a Viet Kieu. I hope this is an advantage to my case. Plus, my fiancee family knew my grandfather about 15 years ago when both families do business around the same markets in my hometown. My fiancee's aunt lives in the temple in My Tho hopefully every picture evidence of this will show to the CO my fiancee family are good people.

I send her letters about two to three times a month. The letters have like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Fathers's Day. Also, I send her small gifts about once a month. I email to her almost daily. The part of 'ongoing relationship' I believe I have enough evidence will not be a problem.

Any other things I can start collecting or doing before interview, besides the information on VJ about what to send to financee after filing I-129F( After NOA2). I am most concern about the interview, since no one can know what the CO maybe wanting or asking. Just trying to cover as much base as possible.

[khoamythovn 1]

Is the timeline required in the I-129F form submission?

I did not even know about it until after reading some posts on VJ about it. Hence, it was already mailed. Anyways, I was reading a lot of other interviews were given a blue slip because of timeline evidence not present and/or other additional evidence not present.

Will the CO reject the timeline evidence if it available upon request? I just want to shed some light about this.

Either way, I am doing the timeline notarized and mailing to my fiancee. She will be bringing it to the interview and only if asked about it will it be present.

[ScottThuy 140]

Is the timeline required in the I-129F form submission?

I did not even know about it until after reading some posts on VJ about it. Hence, it was already mailed. Anyways, I was reading a lot of other interviews were given a blue slip because of timeline evidence not present and/or other additional evidence not present.

Will the CO reject the timeline evidence if it available upon request? I just want to shed some light about this.

Either way, I am doing the timeline notarized and mailing to my fiancee. She will be bringing it to the interview and only if asked about it will it be present.

The timeline is something pretty unique to HCMC and not required by USCIS. The CO often asks for the timeline after the interview as an item on the 221g blue slip... even if the SO has the timeline in hand, the CO often say not now.. bring it back in a month as stated oon the paper...

Have your fiance help you create the timeline... talk about in when you are doing those yahoo chats... talk about times and dates... that way everything is fresh in her memory and there are no inconsistencies...

nothing worse than you remembering things differently than her and getting denied based on something trivial... datesmatter to the CO... big time!

I was just in MyTho in late Feb... lookover the packet #4 that is providedon the consulate website.. it lists exactly what she will need to bring.. she can start getting everything sorted in a file folder and become very familiar with each item... good document organization makes a huge difference....

sort things into two sections.. before the engagement and after... its a good idea to setup outlines for the two sections and keep notes in the outline of what is missing etc... this way when she gets to the window to submit things.. its all straightforward and a clean transaction...

Edited May 22, 2010 by ScottThuy

[BinhJerome 14]

Thanks for the advice. I have several months before an interview will be scheduled. I will start to put together a timeline and get it notarized once done. I will also have my aunt write a short statement verifying she is indeed the person who knew my fiancee's aunt who in turn told me she was single. Just to cover the base of how I was introduced to her, if the CO ask for this information.

I was born in My Tho, Vietnam. I am a Viet Kieu. I hope this is an advantage to my case. Plus, my fiancee family knew my grandfather about 15 years ago when both families do business around the same markets in my hometown. My fiancee's aunt lives in the temple in My Tho hopefully every picture evidence of this will show to the CO my fiancee family are good people.

I send her letters about two to three times a month. The letters have like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Fathers's Day. Also, I send her small gifts about once a month. I email to her almost daily. The part of 'ongoing relationship' I believe I have enough evidence will not be a problem.

Any other things I can start collecting or doing before interview, besides the information on VJ about what to send to financee after filing I-129F( After NOA2). I am most concern about the interview, since no one can know what the CO maybe wanting or asking. Just trying to cover as much base as possible.

Like Scott said go to the website and look up packet 4 this is the information she will need when she goes for the interview. For the interview, remember that if you submitted it she should know it. She might not be asked when your mother was born, but it is a possibility, other questions will be about your home town, your work, and your activities, these are things she should know about you. One tricky question they will ask is "what are your wedding plans" There are many ways to answer this, but I feel the best is to say "USCIS states not to make any wedding plans prior to being issued a visa, so we have not made fixed plans BUT WE ARE GOING TO GET MARRIED WITHIN 90 DAYS" or "We are planning to get married in a church near his family so that his family will all be there, we do not know how many quests will be there because we have not got the visa and we have not sent out RSVP cards BUT We ARE GOING TO GET MARRIED WITHIN 90 DAYS" somthing along these lines should be acceptable. If they accept your timeline, be prepared to answer questions about it, other questions they will ask will be about when you first met in person, on the phone or through mail, questions about your engagement, how many trips he has made, what you did together while in Vietnam, any little story she can tell that might seem funny would be great, it shows that she is relaxed and remembers little things about your trip. But make sure everything is organized, maybe make little sub folders like Scott said, pre proposal, first trip, engagement party, ect. ect. Good luck and hope the info helps Jerome

[feelinglucky 1]

Having a timeline and showing proof of your realtionship will only come naturally during the course of your petition. You will have a 8 to 10 months to build it up. IMO that the least of your concerns, I am more worried about your families past, because this is a potential red flag. You already admitted you were introduce by your aunt. The consulate will take a close look at this and try to connect any dots that may be there. Because 2 families are from the same city and your fiancee as prior knowledge of your family the CO will try to see if any collusion, or if infact you guys are somehow related. IF the CO has a bad day they will ask you to submit a detail info sheet regarding all your realatives in the US, and ask your fiancee to submit one as well if appicable. To add to interview preparations. The CO will ask the general questions at first, then pick out certain questions that they want to dig deeper. For example, CO asked my fiancee what my mother name, then dug deeper and asked how old is she. Second example, This happened on both interviews she was asked future wedding plans. My Fiancee gave the same generic answer, we cant plan ahead untill the visa is issued. The CO then dug deeper and asked where will your wedding reception be. My fiancee replied with the same answer. Finally the CO dug some more and asked where will the honeymoon be. So i hope you get my point, dont try to get cute with them. On the second interview, the CO again asked the same questions. Only this time we had answers to them. First, my fiancee answered we will have a traditional vietnamese wedding at home, cost 2000 usd. 1000 for food, 500 for band and MC. 500 for photographer. And yes the family will be there. Second, I had went to local resturant and got a qoute with no deposit down for a wedding reception and gave to my fiancee for the interview. They asked her where it will be, but didnt want to see the quote when she offered. lastly, she said we are going to Las Vegas for our honeymoon, when the CO asked what in Las Vegas? MY fiancee said all casions ( SIN CITY) By the end of that sections of questions the CO was satified that there was some preparation about geting married after obtaining a visa. Whether you choose to keep those wedding plans is up to you, The CO wont make you follow thru on the venues or places stated. The just want to know if you guys and talked about your future once she get to the US. Just merely making a statement of intent wont fly at HCMC.

Finally, you havent mention that you had or planning to have an engagement cermony, I think you should and also bring all engagement pic to interivew(i.e. guest photos) not just ones showing your families, they look for quanity in these pic. By giving all the pics it give the precepiton of a bigger ceremony, thus seeming more legitimate. Good Luck on your Journey, Feeling Lucky

[khoamythovn 1]

I was introduced by my aunt who met my fiancee's aunt while at a temple in My Tho. My fiancee's aunt told to my aunt her niece was single and gave a picture to my aunt which in turn gave it to me. The connection tie of the two families are not close. We are not from same city. I was born in My Tho. My fiancee born in Ben Tre. My fiancee has no relatives or family in US. There is only a vague knowledge that my fiancee family knew my grandfather a long time ago when my fiancee family was in My Tho doing business. My fiancee does not know this information directly. It just happens to be a coincidence since My Tho is a small town. I do not think this is potential red flag. CO can dig into it, but will not have any connection linking both families.

We did have enagement ceremony in Vietnam included all pictures of me putting ring and necklace on her. It was not a big one, just 4 tables. In the background has my parents, her parents, my grandparents. My fiancee will also bring more photos and the evidence from our ongoing relationship which will include the ones I will mail her also. I only included 12 photos for the I-129F submission.

I have made plans to return vietnam in september 2010 to go to Phu Quoc. It is a popular honeymoon spot. I have included the itinerary for it including airplane ticket paid for. I did however think your advice to get a quote of a restaurant verifying intent to have wedding is a good one just in case they ask for it.

It is very difficult to know what to the CO will be asking or wanting. CO may even give blue slip for evidence that is present. They just want to give a delay and give a hard time. It is great to have multiple insights for preparation, organization, and lessen the chance for issues.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks for the advice. I have several months before an interview will be scheduled. I will start to put together a timeline and get it notarized once done. I will also have my aunt write a short statement verifying she is indeed the person who knew my fiancee's aunt who in turn told me she was single. Just to cover the base of how I was introduced to her, if the CO ask for this information.

I was born in My Tho, Vietnam. I am a Viet Kieu. I hope this is an advantage to my case. Plus, my fiancee family knew my grandfather about 15 years ago when both families do business around the same markets in my hometown. My fiancee's aunt lives in the temple in My Tho hopefully every picture evidence of this will show to the CO my fiancee family are good people.

I send her letters about two to three times a month. The letters have like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Fathers's Day. Also, I send her small gifts about once a month. I email to her almost daily. The part of 'ongoing relationship' I believe I have enough evidence will not be a problem.

Any other things I can start collecting or doing before interview, besides the information on VJ about what to send to financee after filing I-129F( After NOA2). I am most concern about the interview, since no one can know what the CO maybe wanting or asking. Just trying to cover as much base as possible.

The only way that I can think of there being any advantage to your being Viet Kieu is if your fiancee speaks absolutely no English, and you speak fluent Vietnamese. In that event, you've got the potential "language barrier" problem licked. On the other hand, there are a variety of reasons that your being Viet Kieu could work against you.

Outside of a genuine relationship, there are several reasons a Vietnamese girl might want to marry a US citizen and move to the US. One is family reunification. Another is to get a foothold in the US to help other family members immigrate. Another is to provide a source of remittances to help support the family in Vietnam. If any of these are the primary reason for the girl wanting to marry an American then it falls under the general umbrella of "marriage for the purpose of evading US immigration law", or visa fraud. All of these reasons exist, to some extent, with people from any third world country. Family reunification is probably more frequently a reason than most other third world countries, partly because of the mass migration of Vietnamese to the US after the war, and the importance the Vietnamese place on family unity.

Unfortunately, the CO's will often suspect any of these motives more when the petitioner is Viet Kieu. This is not because they think the odds are higher with a Viet Kieu petitioner that there is an ulterior motive, but because they believe there is a greater possibility that the petitioner is complicit in helping the beneficiary achieve their real goals. They can still suspect these motives when the petitioner is non-Vietnamese, but they'd usually have to believe the petitioner was being duped by the beneficiary. The only exception is if they believe a non-Vietnamese petitioner is being paid to help the beneficiary immigrate, which is why the consulate in HCMC is reluctant to accept a co-sponsor for a K1 visa. Someone who doesn't meet the minimum income requirements is more likely to be susceptible to being paid off.

Also, because you are Viet Kieu, the consulate is not likely to be very forgiving of any deviation from Vietnamese traditional norms. The fact that both of your parents were present at the Dam Hoi is good. The fact that it was a small celebration is probably not so good.

I can't say whether your fiancee's aunt living in a temple is going to have any effect in persuading the CO that they are "good people". I know many Viet Kieu who are very devout Buddhists, and I would consider them to be highly moral people, but their devotion to Buddhist teachings does not seem to preclude being patently dishonest with the government in Vietnam because they know the government in Vietnam is patently corrupt. When it's explained to them that they cannot deal with the US government this way because the same level of corruption does not exist, and that dishonesty has severe consequences, they initially accept this because they don't want to get into any trouble. It takes some time living in the US before they begin to believe that honesty when dealing with the government is morally correct, and not simply a way of staying out of trouble.

I'm not saying any of the above will have any affect on your case whatever. I just don't want to see you fall into a false sense of security because you're Viet Kieu, and think this is somehow going to help you at the consulate in HCMC. In all likelihood, it won't.

[khoamythovn 1]

Since HCMC consulate is one of the most difficult consulate, I don't believe being Viet Kieu or not will help since both can point to advantages and disadvantages. The CO can deny, or delay the possess if they choose and for any reason. It mostly comes down to luck as there are no guarantee of course. Having an easy CO or difficult one are the cards you are dealt with. With that in mind, there is no way of knowing what to expect. The things to do now are get the facts consistent, be prepare and hope for the best. Since the consulate in HCM is a unique one, it is best to front load all the information in the 1st submission.