DCF in Vietnam

[Levick13 0]

I Have done dinh hon with wife on September 25th, 2013 after spending 10/30/12-1/21/2013 & 4/19/2013-10/17/2013 living in Vietnam. I have a leased apartment for the next year in Vietnam from 10/1/2013-10/1/2014. I plan to return to Vietnam 2/15/2015 (post TET). We are planning to get married in Vietnam in March, and then apply for a DCF in August in the hopes that we can get her a spousal visa by October. is that possible? From what I've read, getting a DCF filed visa is MUCH faster than filing through the United States. Is that true? Has anyone done a DCF in Vietnam?

[Mark88 183]

DCF is not offered in Vietnman. Only embassies/consulates with a USCIS foreign office are able to process these. You will have to go through the regular process which takes about 6-12 months or longer.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

[Anonymous885 44]

Two months to get spousal visa? I dont think that is the case in Vietnam or any other countries in general.

[Chris & Trinh 15]

I Have done dinh hon with wife on September 25th, 2013 after spending 10/30/12-1/21/2013 & 4/19/2013-10/17/2013 living in Vietnam. I have a leased apartment for the next year in Vietnam from 10/1/2013-10/1/2014. I plan to return to Vietnam 2/15/2015 (post TET). We are planning to get married in Vietnam in March, and then apply for a DCF in August in the hopes that we can get her a spousal visa by October. is that possible? From what I've read, getting a DCF filed visa is MUCH faster than filing through the United States. Is that true? Has anyone done a DCF in Vietnam?

As been said. Vietnam does not have DCF. Going through the spousal visa with my wife now, I live in Vietnam with her. We are at the 8 month mark and counting in the process. However, we are a ways ahead of others who filed at the same time and the petitioner lived in the US. So it is faster living abroad but still takes a LONG time in my opinion.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Chris & Trinh

[Levick13 0]

As been said. Vietnam does not have DCF. Going through the spousal visa with my wife now, I live in Vietnam with her. We are at the 8 month mark and counting in the process. However, we are a ways ahead of others who filed at the same time and the petitioner lived in the US. So it is faster living abroad but still takes a LONG time in my opinion.

Chris,

Glad to meet another westerner going through the same annoying bureaucratic (*$(. I'm due to return to D7 in February/March 2014, but i wanted to get a jumpstart on the paperwork. We had a dinh hon in September and are having the actual wedding in March. i have all the paperwork to file for marriage here in the United States, but the cost of authenticating the documents here in the United States is unbelievably expensive. Besides the fact that I have to go first to a notary, then the clerk of courts for the county the notary is registered and get the county stamp, then the state of Ohio for the State to verify the county's stamp, and then send the documents to the Vietnamese embassy in Washington for their stamp----which costs $50 per stamp! (7 documents: Notary free at bank; $2 per document at County clerk; $5 per document at State level; then $50 per stamp from Vietnam!! How is a poor country 10 times as expensive as the State of ohio?) Because i was previously married, I have to bring my divorce decree, too. My question to you is this: is it better to wait until i return and fill the paperwork out in vietnam, or is it better to get all the above documents stamped and send them ahead so my wife can file them with Vietnam before i arrive so we have a headstart? I still have to go through all the bullshit with the US government for the marriage visa. Previously we applied for a K-1 visa but were denied because i didn't ask specifically for an IMBRA waiver. Since that was denied, i either have to wait until August to file another k-1 or just file a cr-1 and wait the extra time. The benefit of the marriage visa being no adjustment of status, but the downside being having to wait an extra long time. I'm preparing to teach english in Vietnam until she can return with me, but obviously, its a financial stretch to live here versus the money that i can earn in the United States. (Especially if you consider that I have remodeling company in the united states and there is no work in construction in Vietnam because they have a labor pool willing to kill themselves for next to no money.) Teaching english pays well enough to survive, but it won't be stress free. This whole process is frustrating because she can't accompany back to the United States on a tourist visa until the other visa is processed. I just want to get on with our new life and worry about normal things besides whether my wife can accompany me to my home country. Anyway, any thoughts on how best to proceed is appreciated.

Take care,

Stephen

[Mark88 183]

Two months to get spousal visa? I dont think that is the case in Vietnam or any other countries in general.

Our DCF was completed in 4 months. Friends had theirs finished in just 6 weeks. Both were done in the Frankfurt Consulate General since they enjoy a great piece of autonomy and are able to decide things themselfs. I guess because they have the manpower, too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consulate_General_of_the_United_States,_Frankfurt