New member seeking help

[JonnyX 1]

Johnny, the document titles on the VN consulate page I sent are hyperlinked. Click on them and you can download the forms there.

Ok so I just follow from step 1-6 from this link http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/consular_services/marry_a_vietnamese/ and get all those documents here before I go back to Vietnam for the wedding and get the Marriage Certificate? In step 1 Application for Marriage Registration in Vietnam I get this in Vietnam after the wedding right? Before I get Application for Marriage Registration I need to get Affidavit of Single Status, Certificate of No-marriage Records, Medical Certificate here in US right? As for the copy of my passport do I do it here too or in Vietnam? As for Documents 2, 4, and 5 must be certified by a Notary Public. Where is the Notary Public? Because I called the Vital Record for the Affidavit of Single Status and they say they will send it directly to the Secretary of State to have it authenticated. As for the Medical Certificate do I get here or in Vietnam?

[rostov007 29]

Ok so I just follow from step 1-6 from this link http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/consular_services/marry_a_vietnamese/ and get all those documents here before I go back to Vietnam for the wedding and get the Marriage Certificate? In step 1 Application for Marriage Registration in Vietnam I get this in Vietnam after the wedding right? Before I get Application for Marriage Registration I need to get Affidavit of Single Status, Certificate of No-marriage Records, Medical Certificate here in US right? As for the copy of my passport do I do it here too or in Vietnam? As for Documents 2, 4, and 5 must be certified by a Notary Public. Where is the Notary Public? Because I called the Vital Record for the Affidavit of Single Status and they say they will send it directly to the Secretary of State to have it authenticated. As for the Medical Certificate do I get here or in Vietnam?

It's difficult to answer so many questions in one reply but:

1. Get all the pertaining documents from the website
   
2. Fill everything out completely
   
3. Get your required documents from gov sources
   
4. Get everything that is not a certified copy notarized (google Notary, your city)$10 each
   
5. Take all your US documents to the Sec States office in Olympia for apostilles ($10 each)
   
6. Send all the documents from the list to the consulate in San Francisco (when we did this it was 180, might have changed, you can get your visa at the same time +$40) They will come back translated, with official seals and cover pages from the consulate. These are to certify to the VN government that the papers are legit, in VN, they would have no way of knowing if they are fake without them.
   
7. Take the returned documents to VN
   
8. Meet with the lawyer
   

Are you already married? If so, no need to wait you can file anytime. If not, obviously you can't file until that is completed. There is an interview process at the licensing office for her, but you won't even be involved other than going there with her and smiling for the photo at the end.

Copy of passport you can do at the notary office, then they will certify that it is a real copy

mental health certificate- make an appointment with a psychologist for a brief session. Tell them when you make the appointment what you are asking for, so they will know how to handle the session to make the certification. Ours ended up being a letter on letterhead saying "I have examined the applicant and found him to be of sound mental health....my state license number is XXXXX....etc. You won't have to repeat this step in Vietnam if you go with the lawyer I told you about. but if you do, there's not even a session, its just a doctor who signs a form after you pay a fee.

[JonnyX 1]

so how much does it cost to get all this done by yourself? Will it be around $200-$400 USD or less because Service (Dịch vụ) charge around that to do get the công hàm độc thân

Edited September 6, 2011 by JonnyX

[Hot Vit Lon 7]

so how much does it cost to get all this done by yourself? Will it be around $200-$400 USD or less because Service (Dịch vụ) charge around that to do get the công hàm độc thân

Does it matter to you how much "time" is worth in terms of money? Some people believe "time is money", and some don't. Which one are you?

[JonnyX 1]

Does it matter to you how much "time" is worth in terms of money? Some people believe "time is money", and some don't. Which one are you?

Then will 6 weeks be enough time to get everything done?

[rostov007 29]

Then will 6 weeks be enough time to get everything done?

I didn't understand that last exchange but six weeks is plenty. Once you have all the source documents, notaries and apostilles can happen in one day if you drive to Olympia to do it.

If you pay for rush processing you will get your visa and your documents back from the VN consulate in SF in 7-10 days.

Cheers,

[Dan_P 5]

3 - 4 weeks for regular processing at the embassy, 6 weeks should be OK considering getting the documentation together.

[JonnyX 1]

I'm confuse I went to my Count Clerk to have them do a search for the Certificate of No-marriage Records which they did, so now do I need to notarized it because the person who did the checking for me he/she already have their seal on it. As for the Affidavit of Single Status I contact the Vital Records and ask them what it look like and they told me it a letter containing my name, DOB, and something else, but they also told me that when I order for the Affidavit of Single Status and have them send to the Secretary of State to authenticate and apostilles. It doesn't look the one show from the VN Embassy, so should I download the one from http://www.vietnamembassy.us/consular_services/marry_a_vietnamese/ and fill it out and notarized it and send to the Secretary of State for authentication and apostiles? Also I got my Passport notarize and the Certificate of No-marriage Records from my County Clerk so now all I need is to wait on the Affidavit of Single Status and send them to VN consulate in San Francisco. Do I need to send my copy of passport to the Secretary of State and the Certificate of No-marriage Records from my County to be authenticated?

[JonnyX 1]

Ok let me get this straight.

First I should get this Certificate of No-marriage Records from the Vital Statistics Office in my State and have them notarized and send to Secretary of State to authenticated and get the apostile. Because I contact the Vital Statistics Office from my state and ask them how to get the Affidavit of Single Status and they told me this. Order it through the phone or send a request so I pick the phone option. Then they told me the process to get this is that they will get it for me and send to the Secretary of State for authenticate but the Secretary of State also will give me another letter an apostilles letter. I ask them if the Affidavit of Single Status the same as the Certificate of No-marriage Records the same and they say it the same thing. Then how come the Affidavit of Single Status from the VN Embassy http://www.vietnamembassy.us/consular_services/marry_a_vietnamese/ look different? Then I should download the Affidavit of Single Status from the VN Embassy and send it to the Secretary of State for authenticate, because the Affidavit of Single Status from the Vital Statistics Office are just a letter showing a records of any of my marriage in the state and not the same as the one from VN Embassy. Or is it the second letter from the Secretary of State? Did you guys get any second letter from the Secretary of State when you have them get the Certificate of No-marriage Records for you?

[rostov007 29]

Ok let me get this straight.

First I should get this Certificate of No-marriage Records from the Vital Statistics Office in my State and have them notarized and send to Secretary of State to authenticated and get the apostile. Because I contact the Vital Statistics Office from my state and ask them how to get the Affidavit of Single Status and they told me this. Order it through the phone or send a request so I pick the phone option. Then they told me the process to get this is that they will get it for me and send to the Secretary of State for authenticate but the Secretary of State also will give me another letter an apostilles letter. I ask them if the Affidavit of Single Status the same as the Certificate of No-marriage Records the same and they say it the same thing. Then how come the Affidavit of Single Status from the VN Embassy http://www.vietnamembassy.us/consular_services/marry_a_vietnamese/ look different? Then I should download the Affidavit of Single Status from the VN Embassy and send it to the Secretary of State for authenticate, because the Affidavit of Single Status from the Vital Statistics Office are just a letter showing a records of any of my marriage in the state and not the same as the one from VN Embassy. Or is it the second letter from the Secretary of State? Did you guys get any second letter from the Secretary of State when you have them get the Certificate of No-marriage Records for you?

The affadavit of single status is you swearing that you are single. the certificate of no marriage records is the state confirming what you are saying.

[JonnyX 1]

The affadavit of single status is you swearing that you are single. the certificate of no marriage records is the state confirming what you are saying.

hmmm so I should download the affidavit of single status from the VN Embassy and fill it out and send to the secretary of state for authenticate? Do I get the certificate of no-marriage from my county or state or both?

[Dan_P 5]

hmmm so I should download the affidavit of single status from the VN Embassy and fill it out and send to the secretary of state for authenticate? Do I get the certificate of no-marriage from my county or state or both?

Affidavit of single status only needs to be notarized. Secretary of State can authenticate notary signature and county recorder signature.

[rostov007 29]

Affidavit of single status only needs to be notarized. Secretary of State can authenticate notary signature and county recorder signature.

I think I agree with you, I'm just clarifying your thought.

The Affadavit must be notarized and THEN appostilled with SOS. The notary alone is not acceptable to the consulate in SF. They can only verify a State level signature, which is what the apostille does.

Cheers,

[JonnyX 1]

Hey Dan_P I look at your Single Status sample and the one where it say Certificate of Search I got the same one from the County but it not the same as the Affidavit of Single Status right? Then I need to download the Affidavit of Single Status from the VN Embassy website and fill it all out and send to Secretary of State or do I bring it to a Notary Public and have them notarized it first then send to Secretary of State? As for the Certificate of Search the one you have did you need to notarized it or it already notarized when you get it?

[utst10 0]

Let me help you out JonnyX.

You do not need any paper work from America to get marry in Vietnam. You will need all the paper work people are pointing you to when you file for the CR-1.

I went over to Vietnam and got marry with no paper work in hand. NOW, getting the marriage certificate was pretty difficult.

First, you were supposed to appy for a marriage certificate before getting marry (I got married then applied...suppose to be a $$$ penalty for getting marry then filing the paperwork but didn't pay one).

When you filed for the marriage certificate in Vietnam, they interview both you and your wife. I'm not sure what was written up for me during our interview. They then send the paperwork somewhere. It usually takes about 6 weeks...we pay the "coffee money" so it took about 12 days to get the certificate (it was too late for me because I have already flown back to the USA). I had to fly back to Vietnam (60 or 90 days limitation) to SIGN the certificate IN PERSON before we got our marriage certificate.

Once you get the marriage certificate, you can file for a CR-1 and get all the paperwork require by USCIS and NVC.