Any old timers still around?

[luckytxn 2,264]

Wow. Hell yeah I remember. Many congrats on the baby. Life is good.

Ceck the VJ section for that visa. They are sharp over there. My mom-in-law wants to come visit too.

Hey guys I hope you remember me. Jim, Curtis, Scott I hope you guys are doing well. I havent posted in the longest of time. My wife and I are having a baby daughter, Sophia, in just a few weeks. I cant wait! I decided to come back here because I was on the web doing research for getting a tourist visa for my wifes mother to come to the states and it made me remember this place. Tourist visa? Yeah...good luck with that right? LoL I know but we will try and see what happens.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hey guys I hope you remember me. Jim, Curtis, Scott I hope you guys are doing well. I havent posted in the longest of time. My wife and I are having a baby daughter, Sophia, in just a few weeks. I cant wait! I decided to come back here because I was on the web doing research for getting a tourist visa for my wifes mother to come to the states and it made me remember this place. Tourist visa? Yeah...good luck with that right? LoL I know but we will try and see what happens.

Wow! Major congrats on the baby!

A tourist visa is definitely possible. My wife's mom got one, much to my surprise. She's here in the US now making the rounds between the six gazillion relatives that live in Northern California. My wife's sister went to an immigration lawyer's office for help getting the tourist visa for mom. I told them it wasn't necessary. The lawyer's office told her she needed to submit an invitation letter. I told them it wasn't necessary, and in fact the consular officer wouldn't even look at it (says so on the consulate website). They did it anyway. The lawyer's office told them they'd need proof of financial support, and asked for tax returns. I said it wasn't necessary - again, says so on the consulate web site. They did it anyway. The lawyer's office insisted mom be "prepped" for the interview by their associates in HCMC. I said it wasn't necessary. They did it anyway.

I still don't know if the CO actually looked at the invitation letter or financial documents, or if the "prep" work helped at all. Nobody will give me a straight answer about it. They just say "Don't worry about it. She got the visa." Hmmm....

[Pitaya 2,577]

I'm living in VN outside of HCMC in Binh Duong where all the recent protest problems occurred.

Anh map,

Good to hear that all is well with you. I would like to thank you for your help when I was but a young'n here at VJ.

Take good care.

[bigdog 376]

Wow! Major congrats on the baby!

A tourist visa is definitely possible. My wife's mom got one, much to my surprise. She's here in the US now making the rounds between the six gazillion relatives that live in Northern California. My wife's sister went to an immigration lawyer's office for help getting the tourist visa for mom. I told them it wasn't necessary. The lawyer's office told her she needed to submit an invitation letter. I told them it wasn't necessary, and in fact the consular officer wouldn't even look at it (says so on the consulate website). They did it anyway. The lawyer's office told them they'd need proof of financial support, and asked for tax returns. I said it wasn't necessary - again, says so on the consulate web site. They did it anyway. The lawyer's office insisted mom be "prepped" for the interview by their associates in HCMC. I said it wasn't necessary. They did it anyway.

I still don't know if the CO actually looked at the invitation letter or financial documents, or if the "prep" work helped at all. Nobody will give me a straight answer about it. They just say "Don't worry about it. She got the visa." Hmmm....

We obtained one for the sister and had no issues. I wrote a separate letter to the embassy stating I would return her to China as well as her separate application. g

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

We obtained one for the sister and had no issues. I wrote a separate letter to the embassy stating I would return her to China as well as her separate application. g

I haven't looked at the embassy website in China (at least not in a long time), but the consulate website in HCMC specifically says:

Invitation letters, financial documents or employment documents are never required, and a visa will never be issued based solely on their presence. Nevertheless, many applicants believe they need to present documents about their finances or employment. Officers will often not examine these documents, either because they show facts the officer already understands, or because the information does not change the applicants basic situation already shown on the application form.

Even so, the immigration lawyers in San Jose that primarily serve the VN community pretty much all say to submit these documents. I think they need to update their bullet lists.

[quann 26]

hey good to see some familiar names. my wife just got her 10yr residency card recently....and i also love hue and its history. not a flame or anything but the south hates the north and the north hates the south...but both the south and the north hates hue and the middle . ok hate is a strong word but probably "strong prejudice". it's always said the middle part of the country suffers from the yearly floodings and poor conditions so the people there are known for their frugality and cheapness. they are "short and cheap" is how most vietnamese classify them....khong sa`i duoc.

[quann 26]

hmm that's the sentiment of the vietnamese people, i wouldn't call it "hate". can you be prejudiced against your own people...if it's true? this viewpoint was not born overnight....

yes the middle part have harsh condition so the people are wired a certain way. the south used to call the northerners "jungle people" who would unknowingly wash vegetables in a toilet because they didn't know what it was used for. all in good fun, right?

[b_weeks 6]

Hey Jim....

We are still here. I still come here every once in a while and answer people's questions. People still send me private messages for copies of my timelines.

Glad to hear everyone is doing well. My wife just got here citizenship in November. We weren't pressed for it, so we didn't file sooner. Our daughter is now 6 years old. We built a new house last year.

Glad to hear Ralph and Hanh are in the US now. If you talk to them, tell them Bill and Trang said HI. We stopped in there when they still had the place. I brought my wife's whole family in there for dinner. I still have some pictures of us together at the restaurant.

Edited December 30, 2014 by b_weeks