Where to start?

[JSW 0]

Hello all,

Ok so, as I begin this process my biggest question is what would be best...?

My Fiancee is a citizen of Vietnam and I am a citizen of the United States. I plan on visiting her in the next few months once I get my passport and a tourist visa to Vietnam. Most of what I have read so far is making sure you have a history of a relationship and that you can prove it is also ongoing. I talk with her mostly on skype so I can have a solid record of the time we have known each other and proof that the relationship is continious, ongoing and the feelings we share are genuine. Once I visit my love in Vietnam and we can establish the physical meeting and suport it with photo's and reciepts of our time together. Would it be best to propose then and be married at that point so we can apply for the spousal visa. Or... just have the trip as a meeting and have the Dinh Hong (engagement party) then plan on being married after we are together in the USA by aplying for the K-1 Fiancee visa. I understand that the spousal visa (c-130 I think) is about half the over all cost of the k-1 but it takes longer for the process to work its course 8-9 months for the C-130 vs. 6-7 months for the K-1. The time or cost isnt the issue, (I am a machinist so I make a fair living lol but I am far from being comfortable financialy) I am more concerned with making sure everything is done correctly so that we have the best chance to be together. If worse comes to worse I am even considering selling everything here in the USA and moving to Vietnam should she be denied a visa. Although I would much rather we live here in the USA... I do enjoy the freedom and life we have here...

[brian_n_phuong 193]

Hello all,

Ok so, as I begin this process my biggest question is what would be best...?

My Fiancee is a citizen of Vietnam and I am a citizen of the United States. I plan on visiting her in the next few months once I get my passport and a tourist visa to Vietnam. Most of what I have read so far is making sure you have a history of a relationship and that you can prove it is also ongoing. I talk with her mostly on skype so I can have a solid record of the time we have known each other and proof that the relationship is continious, ongoing and the feelings we share are genuine. Once I visit my love in Vietnam and we can establish the physical meeting and suport it with photo's and reciepts of our time together. Would it be best to propose then and be married at that point so we can apply for the spousal visa. Or... just have the trip as a meeting and have the Dinh Hong (engagement party) then plan on being married after we are together in the USA by aplying for the K-1 Fiancee visa. I understand that the spousal visa (c-130 I think) is about half the over all cost of the k-1 but it takes longer for the process to work its course 8-9 months for the C-130 vs. 6-7 months for the K-1. The time or cost isnt the issue, (I am a machinist so I make a fair living lol but I am far from being comfortable financialy) I am more concerned with making sure everything is done correctly so that we have the best chance to be together. If worse comes to worse I am even considering selling everything here in the USA and moving to Vietnam should she be denied a visa. Although I would much rather we live here in the USA... I do enjoy the freedom and life we have here...

I would move your post to the Viet Nam forum. The specifics with immigration cases are very unique in Viet Nam due to fraud and other factors. The advise you would get in the Viet Nam forum would be more applicable than the generalized advice you will receive in themain K-1 forum. Most of us go with the K-1 if not already married of course, build up a two year relationship with lots of photos and visits, Dam Hoi/Dinh Hong in some form, and then submit a 129F. A single meeting will probably end in denial in HCMC, but we can explain more in the Viet Nam forum. There is no reason that you should not be succesfull unless you have significant red flags, but the relationship "in-country" must be established over time.

PS...Let the mods know you need the post moved, they can do it for you. Dont just re-post the same info as it pisses them off.

Edited January 7, 2012 by brian_n_phuong

[Kathryn41 3,205]

topic has been moved from the K-1 forum to the Vietnam Regional forum as the OPs concerns are more than just K-1 process related and would best be addressed in this forum

[CGivens 1]

Hello all,

Ok so, as I begin this process my biggest question is what would be best...?

My Fiancee is a citizen of Vietnam and I am a citizen of the United States. I plan on visiting her in the next few months once I get my passport and a tourist visa to Vietnam. Most of what I have read so far is making sure you have a history of a relationship and that you can prove it is also ongoing. I talk with her mostly on skype so I can have a solid record of the time we have known each other and proof that the relationship is continious, ongoing and the feelings we share are genuine. Once I visit my love in Vietnam and we can establish the physical meeting and suport it with photo's and reciepts of our time together. Would it be best to propose then and be married at that point so we can apply for the spousal visa. Or... just have the trip as a meeting and have the Dinh Hong (engagement party) then plan on being married after we are together in the USA by aplying for the K-1 Fiancee visa. I understand that the spousal visa (c-130 I think) is about half the over all cost of the k-1 but it takes longer for the process to work its course 8-9 months for the C-130 vs. 6-7 months for the K-1. The time or cost isnt the issue, (I am a machinist so I make a fair living lol but I am far from being comfortable financialy) I am more concerned with making sure everything is done correctly so that we have the best chance to be together. If worse comes to worse I am even considering selling everything here in the USA and moving to Vietnam should she be denied a visa. Although I would much rather we live here in the USA... I do enjoy the freedom and life we have here...

The best would be selling everything now and move to VN. Eventually she would ask you to do the same anyway, after she moves here in the US for a short period of time. Save yourself money and the trouble. Do that now. Then if your relationship with her doesn't work out, you can move back to the States, assuming she and her family are nice enough to leave you some left-over money to bring home.

Good luck in the future.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

Hello all,

Ok so, as I begin this process my biggest question is what would be best...?

My Fiancee is a citizen of Vietnam and I am a citizen of the United States. I plan on visiting her in the next few months once I get my passport and a tourist visa to Vietnam. Most of what I have read so far is making sure you have a history of a relationship and that you can prove it is also ongoing. I talk with her mostly on skype so I can have a solid record of the time we have known each other and proof that the relationship is continious, ongoing and the feelings we share are genuine. Once I visit my love in Vietnam and we can establish the physical meeting and suport it with photo's and reciepts of our time together. Would it be best to propose then and be married at that point so we can apply for the spousal visa. Or... just have the trip as a meeting and have the Dinh Hong (engagement party) then plan on being married after we are together in the USA by aplying for the K-1 Fiancee visa. I understand that the spousal visa (c-130 I think) is about half the over all cost of the k-1 but it takes longer for the process to work its course 8-9 months for the C-130 vs. 6-7 months for the K-1. The time or cost isnt the issue, (I am a machinist so I make a fair living lol but I am far from being comfortable financialy) I am more concerned with making sure everything is done correctly so that we have the best chance to be together. If worse comes to worse I am even considering selling everything here in the USA and moving to Vietnam should she be denied a visa. Although I would much rather we live here in the USA... I do enjoy the freedom and life we have here...

JSW--

First start will be here to determine which visa would best fit your sitation:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

We can provide advice once you have choosen which route to take.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The best would be selling everything now and move to VN. Eventually she would ask you to do the same anyway, after she moves here in the US for a short period of time. Save yourself money and the trouble. Do that now. Then if your relationship with her doesn't work out, you can move back to the States, assuming she and her family are nice enough to leave you some left-over money to bring home.

Good luck in the future.

Are you seriously telling him to sell everything he has and move to Vietnam when he hasn't even met his fiancee face to face yet?

This all seems strangely familiar. Kind of like another member here who was Viet Kieu, and had a fundamental dislike for white American guys marrying Vietnamese girls.

[CGivens 1]

Are you seriously telling him to sell everything he has and move to Vietnam when he hasn't even met his fiancee face to face yet?

This all seems strangely familiar. Kind of like another member here who was Viet Kieu, and had a fundamental dislike for white American guys marrying Vietnamese girls.

Did I advise the OP to sell his asset and transfer it to her account? I told him to save all the hassles by skipping the "unnecessary" steps. (he already proposed that step in the very last entry of his post).

In regards to your statement, you ARE THE ONE who is attacking other VJ member (me) at the moment. And that's against the TOS.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I understand that the spousal visa (c-130 I think) is about half the over all cost of the k-1 but it takes longer for the process to work its course 8-9 months for the C-130 vs. 6-7 months for the K-1. The time or cost isnt the issue, (I am a machinist so I make a fair living lol but I am far from being comfortable financialy) I am more concerned with making sure everything is done correctly so that we have the best chance to be together.

The waiting time for both is apparently on par at the moment.

The question that had me picking K1 was: "Do you want to spend all or part of the first year of marriage apart?" and the answer for me was a definite NO. Even though the CR-1 permits travel and work immediately (which definitely would ease the transition), I just didn't want to be apart from my new husband for so long. I know some cultures/religions have issues with people living together before marriage so that's another reason some people pick CR-1, because k1 often means living together for a couple of weeks or so before the wedding can be organised in the US.

Edited January 8, 2012 by Vanessa&Tony

[CGivens 1]

The waiting time for both is apparently on par at the moment.

The question that had me picking K1 was: "Do you want to spend all or part of the first year of marriage apart?" and the answer for me was a definite NO. Even though the CR-1 permits travel and work immediately (which definitely would ease the transition), I just didn't want to be apart from my new husband for so long. I know some cultures/religions have issues with people living together before marriage so that's another reason some people pick CR-1, because k1 often means living together for a couple of weeks or so before the wedding can be organised in the US.

Do you realize for Vietnam Consulate a K-1 route is almost a guarantee for failure? K-1 route tends to be favored by people who committed in fake/arranged marriages (VN I'm talking about now) and the US Consulate knows how to turn away those people, by rejecting those petitions as much as they can.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Do you realize for Vietnam Consulate a K-1 route is almost a guarantee for failure? K-1 route tends to be favored by people who committed in fake/arranged marriages (VN I'm talking about now) and the US Consulate knows how to turn away those people, by rejecting those petitions as much as they can.

Jim did K1 and didn't fail. I would say it depends entirely on the relationship.

[tthomas 0]

I want to suggest that you try for a K-1 visa. See if you can take your time and do it as properly as possible. Trying to cut any corners or sending in forms incomplete or with mistakes will cause more time in delays than taking the time to try to get it right.

I think it may also be a good idea to try to get mentally prepared for the long process. I have been able to visit every 4 months since we started our relationship and I miss my finance very much. Skype helps a lot but since I turned in the first packet and am waiting for NOA2 it feels like time is standing still. It has only been about 2 months so I think I still have more waiting to do. On the last trip we had the engagement party and it was a wonderful experience. If it had been up to me I would have rushed more and had a small party to just try and get the visa but instead I decided try and instead consider what her family wanted. I want her Father and Mother to like me. The party was great and the food that her mother and sisters make is delicious. It was not the first time that I met her family but I now feel much closer to them and look forward to being more of a part of it. In few weeks we will have the wedding party when I visit again. I am rambling a little but my point is this is a long process and it may not go as fast or the way you plan it. Mine has not but I think in the end it is better that the way I wanted it.

So, I suggest that you try for a k-1 and hope that she can be in a year or so. If there are any reasons that you think she may be denied a visa (red flags) then I would try to address then right away and seek legal help if the advise on the forum cannot help.

[JSW 0]

Thanks alot for the responces everyone. It does apear that it will have to work its own way through the system taking its own time. I have yet to file any of the paperwork, I will wait to file anything till after we meet the first time in person. For now I am gathereing all the paperwork and researching the best course of action and the process itself. After all no sence in filing anything or paying any fees if once we meet we decide were not exactly ment for each other. I hope for the best and will work for a dream of being together in a loving relationship. Moving to VN would only be a last resort action only if the process takes an excedingly long time. Also my job as a R&D machinist may raise questions for my relocation to a country like VN. Having worked on projects for the DoD, NIF, FormFactor, LLL and others I am not sure how that would work in relocating. I may just be overthinking it to... I have a consultation with an imigration attourney next week :-P he is also from Vietnam and specialises the visa process from VN. At most I would plan on using him for a consultant but I dont think I will actualy hire him unless absolutly nessecary. Thanks again for all the input and I look forward to reading more from you all.

Best Wishes all,

J. Scott Walkins

[luckytxn 2,264]

Are you seriously telling him to sell everything he has and move to Vietnam when he hasn't even met his fiancee face to face yet?

This all seems strangely familiar. Kind of like another member here who was Viet Kieu, and had a fundamental dislike for white American guys marrying Vietnamese girls.

It was Dau Que. I am not sure he was being facetious or a regular Ahole as usual.

[JSW 0]

Now out of curiosity how many times should I visit my Fiancee in VN in order to satisfy the "ongoing relationship" standards for the k-1 requirements... Being I have been at my new job less than a year I do not yet have paid vacation so any time I take off will be unpaid and as an hourly employee the cost of the plane tix is a little steep to be running back and forth many times...

[luckytxn 2,264]

Now out of curiosity how many times should I visit my Fiancee in VN in order to satisfy the "ongoing relationship" standards for the k-1 requirements... Being I have been at my new job less than a year I do not yet have paid vacation so any time I take off will be unpaid and as an hourly employee the cost of the plane tix is a little steep to be running back and forth many times...

I did it once and was OK.