How long is actually long enough?

[tanstaafl 1]

Hi everyone

I've heard that in order for your case to be approved, you and your spouse (or fiance) have to have sufficient evidence of your relationship. Besides trips to Vietnam, photos taken together, phone calls, emails & chats, etc., you have to have met her/him for a long enough time in order to be considered. My question is how long is sufficiently long enough? Four months, six months, a year or more?

[Amy and Nick 37]

There is no length of relationship requirement.

Obviously 5 year marriage would have a lot more evidence then a four month relationship, but as long as you have sufficient evidence you should be fine.

I think a red flag would be speaking for a week and then marrying, but many people on here have had short relationships and been fine!

[Tero 105]

It does not matter how long your relationship has been. You just need to have sufficient evidence to prove your relationship. Since you are married, your marriage certificate will be very important to include along with the rest of the evidence you have listed.

[tanstaafl 1]

Thanks Amy and Nick and Tero. We were married 10 months after we first met. This time period may sound pretty short to some.

[ScottThuy 140]

Wow.... it really makes no sense for someone that is not familiar with the way HCMC does things to respond to A VN specific topic.

Wayne,

There have been some folks Like Curtis that got lucky with few trips, engaged first trip etc... Others have been denied for having relationship parameters like this... They like to see a few trips at a minimum and a growth of a relationship rather than flying over and getting proposed first trip with no Dam Hoi... They are aware of VN specific traditions/cultural norms and have made note of those expectations in a number of denials in the past.

There is no perfect relationship that they are looking for... X trips + Y months = visa...

Your relationship is what it is and there isnt anything you can do other than providing documentation to show that bonafide relationship to the CO... Dont dwell on it at this point...

[ScottThuy 140]

For those that feel they know for a fact that it does not matter how long the relationship was as the two non-VN posters above... take a moment and ask Huong why they denied his wifes visa application at HCMC... Know ####### you are talking about before you post ####### here in the VN regional!!!!!!!!!!! misinformation can ruin lives....

[tanstaafl 1]

Hi Scott

What if Dam Hoi is scheduled for the same day as well, due to bad weather and time constraint?

[Amy and Nick 37]

For those that feel they know for a fact that it does not matter how long the relationship was as the two non-VN posters above... take a moment and ask Huong why they denied his wifes visa application at HCMC... Know ####### you are talking about before you post ####### here in the VN regional!!!!!!!!!!! misinformation can ruin lives....

Before freaking out take a moment to read what I wrote.

There is no length of relationship requirement

As long as you have sufficient evidence you should be fine.

Both true statements not at all related to which country the beneficiary is from.

Clearly, I do NOT know the in-and-outs of the specific bona-fides required/recommended specific to Vietnam, but that is not what the OP's question asked.

And I believe Huong believed his denial to be due to lack of an engagement party, and lack of family at the wedding. Nothing to do with the length of the relationship.

The question was DO you have to have a specific length of relationship to be approved. The answer is no.

[Tero 105]

For those that feel they know for a fact that it does not matter how long the relationship was as the two non-VN posters above... take a moment and ask Huong why they denied his wifes visa application at HCMC... Know ####### you are talking about before you post ####### here in the VN regional!!!!!!!!!!! misinformation can ruin lives....

Dude, there is no need coming out swinging! Channel your frustrations somewhere else instead of directing it at people trying to help. All you have to do is simply state your answer to the question and give your references if any. You are much closer to violating the VJ TOS than the people you are attacking. At least show some class, this is not a bout. There is no law restricting non-VN posters from posting on a VN forum with the intent to help and none of the answers you criticize is wrong. Give your answers without attacking anyone okay?

Edited March 8, 2011 by Tero

[cedwards001 18]

Don't worry guys. I'm sure Scott meant no harm

Anyways, I don't believe there is a requirement for how long you should be in a relationship for your fiance/spouse. With the HCMC Consulate, the more the better. The most important things to consider are that if you are going the K1 route, make every effort to have an official engagement ceremony, preferable on your 2nd or 3rd trip to Vietnam. If you are going the CR1 route, make every effort to have an engagement ceremony prior to your wedding ceremony. The HCMC Consulate expects you to follow the Vietnamese traditions very closely so try to respect that.

If you have more questions OP, please ask more. Good luck!

[Tero 105]

Before freaking out take a moment to read what I wrote.

There is no length of relationship requirement

As long as you have sufficient evidence you should be fine.

Both true statements not at all related to which country the beneficiary is from.

Clearly, I do NOT know the in-and-outs of the specific bona-fides required/recommended specific to Vietnam, but that is not what the OP's question asked.

And I believe Huong believed his denial to be due to lack of an engagement party, and lack of family at the wedding. Nothing to do with the length of the relationship.

The question was DO you have to have a specific length of relationship to be approved. The answer is no.

[ScottThuy 140]

Dude, there is no need coming out swinging! Channel your frustrations somewhere else instead of directing it at people trying to help. All you have to do is simply state your answer to the question and give your references if any. You are much closer to violating the VJ TOS than the people you are attacking. At least show some class, this is not a bout. There is no law restricting non-VN posters from posting on a VN forum with the intent to help and none of the answers you criticize is wrong. Give your answers without attacking anyone okay?

I am nowhere near violating TOS..and did not attack anyone. As I said .. posting to a regional forum where you have no specifc experience is wreckless and the VN consulate does have specific expectations aside from those spelled out by USCIS and DoS.. they do things their own way... HCMC Denial slips that say the relationship was too short are denied for a reason other than the total duration of the relationship?

You may think I was coming out swinging, not at all.. just tired of people thinking they know the answers to everything and providing misinformation given that the topic is HCMC specific and in the VN regional forum... If you feel that you are versed enough in the way HCMC does things. filed there before? feel free to post, but why would you want to post something that is potentially wrong and provide someone wrong information if you dont know anything about VN culture or the way HCMC handles cases? That is what makes no sense to me...

Accept the fact that you don't know how HCMC does things and go with it... you may think what you said was spot on, maybe in another country, but not in this one and not with most of the CO's at HCMC...

[ScottThuy 140]

Hi Scott

What if Dam Hoi is scheduled for the same day as well, due to bad weather and time constraint?

Dam Hoi the same day you were engaged? It could smell fishy to the CO as there are stages that a normal VN relationship goes through... If you mean the Dam Hoi the same day as the wedding, that does happen... and is said to be village specifc... some villages have no problem with it and other would say no way... the same holds true with the big feast/celebration...

Before freaking out take a moment to read what I wrote.

There is no length of relationship requirement

As long as you have sufficient evidence you should be fine.

Both true statements not at all related to which country the beneficiary is from.

Clearly, I do NOT know the in-and-outs of the specific bona-fides required/recommended specific to Vietnam, but that is not what the OP's question asked.

And I believe Huong believed his denial to be due to lack of an engagement party, and lack of family at the wedding. Nothing to do with the length of the relationship.

The question was DO you have to have a specific length of relationship to be approved. The answer is no.

Wrong.. wrong and wrong again...

[Amy and Nick 37]

Wrong.. wrong and wrong again...

Oh pipe down.

VJ is an advice forum - thats the point. Noone knows the exact answers.

Anyone who uses VJ as absolute fact would be irresponsible.

I gave my advice. Deal.

[tanstaafl 1]

Don't worry guys. I'm sure Scott meant no harm

Anyways, I don't believe there is a requirement for how long you should be in a relationship for your fiance/spouse. With the HCMC Consulate, the more the better. The most important things to consider are that if you are going the K1 route, make every effort to have an official engagement ceremony, preferable on your 2nd or 3rd trip to Vietnam. If you are going the CR1 route, make every effort to have an engagement ceremony prior to your wedding ceremony. The HCMC Consulate expects you to follow the Vietnamese traditions very closely so try to respect that.

If you have more questions OP, please ask more. Good luck!

OK guys. I agree with cedwards that Scott meant no harm. We're all here to help and discuss, right? Cheers to all and 'ppreciate all comments.

Dam Hoi the same day you were engaged? It could smell fishy to the CO as there are stages that a normal VN relationship goes through... If you mean the Dam Hoi the same day as the wedding, that does happen... and is said to be village specifc... some villages have no problem with it and other would say no way... the same holds true with the big feast/celebration...

Scott and Edward

My wife told me that Dam Hoi is a different ceremony, it should always be held before the wedding ceremony. I don't know how to explain it to you guys. It's a lot like an engagement ceremony in which my family and I have to come over to her place to ask for her family's permission to marry her. This is a tradition for a long time. Recently, some villages have grown accustomed to accepting the Dam Hoi and wedding ceremony altogether to save time and money. In our specific case, we did originally plan to have them separate but there was a severe storm and rainy day all day on that day so the only chance left for us was to combine them at one, of course with some additional fees and the organizer's acceptance. Her father was dissatisfied but had no choice to do.

Edited March 9, 2011 by WayneAiLan