Interviewed yesterday and got a blue slip.

[TylerTrúc 1]

My wife had her interview for a cr1 visa yesterday. We received a blue slip. The CO told me I need employment verification (which I already submitted) for a job I just started and he needed my 2015 tax return. I lived in VN in 2015 and made $2000. I have a join sponsor so I wasn't too worried about it. He told my wife we needed more pics from our wedding. I already gave them 50+ photos. The blue sheet also says I need credit cards statements for all the flights. I need to list all my wife's relatives in the US, she needs to fill out her family tree, I need to do a timeline of our relationship and have a signed letter from the person that introduced us.

It seems like a lot for a case that I thought was pretty obviously legit. I lived with my wife for over a year in Vietnam and in no way have I gained anything financially from this. My whole family came to our wedding in Long An.

I would appreciate some advice. I am planning on submitting all documents tomorrow. What exactly is considered a relative? Do second cousins count?

Do we have a chance of getting a visa or is the CO already made up his mind?

[caliliving 606]

you lived together for a year and got all this? it is weird! Your will get your visa.. it will just take more work/timeI am confused because you got this from the embassay? i did not know vietnam embassay did this..

I would do what the letter states.. if he needs a letter signed form someone that met you then do that. You also met her family and have tons of family photos/vacations together.. this is not normal..The blue sheet says you need all this? wow! i think you need to see if anyone else received a blue sheet from your embassay after a CR1 interview and what they did to overcome it.

[TylerTrúc 1]

Yes, i was very surprised. I understand the issue with the 2015 tax return, that was my mistake, but the rest seems a little much. I have all the paperwork ready to go now except the list of relatives in the US. She has no immediate relatives only a cousin of a cousin. I'm not sure if that counts.

I would love to hear from another cr1 candidate that got a blue slip. I feel like any reasonable CO would have looked at the details and evidence and saw that it was legit.

[carolynhotstuff 252]

Yes, i was very surprised. I understand the issue with the 2015 tax return, that was my mistake, but the rest seems a little much. I have all the paperwork ready to go now except the list of relatives in the US. She has no immediate relatives only a cousin of a cousin. I'm not sure if that counts.

I would love to hear from another cr1 candidate that got a blue slip. I feel like any reasonable CO would have looked at the details and evidence and saw that it was legit.

Sometimes the embassy makes you jump through hoops to see if you will provide everything asked as proof of a real relationship. Don't continue to waste time wondering why just provide everything they are asking for. The cousin of the cousin doesn't count. Get your documents and pics in ASAP to get your visa issued soon. She can also write a timeline and get English written letters from her family and friends too.

[milimelo 4,481]

High fraud embassy - pretty normal. Follow the instructions and give them what they ask for and you should be fine.

[cyclone27 710]

Clear sailing with my wife's interview last year!

We heavily front loaded. I included both tax transcripts and 6mo of pay stubs for the financial bit.

-assorted pics of all our travels over 5yrs

-timeline of significant dates in our relationship

-emails

-chat logs

-flight/hotel bookings

-engagement/wedding ring receipts

Perhaps overkill but I think when dealing with beaucratic process the more you have the better off in the long run.

[heo luoi 206]

I would agree a Cousin's cousin... probably wouldn't count. Id make sure you understand the relationship clearly, alot of times vietnamese people can get pretty...lazy ambiguous about all the relations. I'd clearly say if it was maternal /paternal side etc. Where they live if possible.

Also of note a 'cousin's cousin' does NOT = a '2nd cousin'....and counterintuitively a cousin's cousin has more of a blood relationship than a 2nd cousin.

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cousins+cousin

I would also not waste time wondering why they asked and whom else. VN is a high fraud so I'd have expected some BS. It seems like you had plenty but your one mistake opened yourself to scrutiny and added hoops.

[Smartwater 5]

Congrats! The obstacles you need to overcome don't seem too bad. I'm sure a visa would be issued after you provide evidences. What questions did they ask your wife during the interview? I'm thinking maybe they asked less questions and wanted to see more evidences versus asking lots of questions and don't need to see evidences.

[kris&me 572]

My RFE made me send in all family members of mine and his and my late husband's

all cousins and aunts and uncles included

i had to sign up for facebook to find some as i lost touch with my big family

[TylerTrúc 1]

Congrats! The obstacles you need to overcome don't seem too bad. I'm sure a visa would be issued after you provide evidences. What questions did they ask your wife during the interview? I'm thinking maybe they asked less questions and wanted to see more evidences versus asking lots of questions and don't need to see evidences.

she said they didnt ask many questions. They mainly just asked about me traveling to Vietnam and when our wedding was and for more pictures of the wedding.

[Smartwater 5]

Tyler

Did you attend the interview? Either way, I am sure they will issue her a visa. Nothing to worry about

[Cathi 5,748]

Just send them what they ask for, no need to second guess yourself. I'm sure everything will be fine once you send them what they want. Good luck and keep us updated.

[talltex 0]

You need to file your 2015 tax return, and since you were married in 2015 get her a Tax ID number and make sure she is listed on the return as your spouse. Even if you only made $2000, you are still legally required to file a tax return annually and the $2000 thing is why they want you to prove you are still employed and can support your wife - even with a joint sponsor. The credit card receipts are to establish you actually purchased the itineraries you claim show you traveled to and from Vietnam. Just be honest about the family situation. If she has no family in the US, no big deal, just submit something in writing explaining the situation. They are making you jump through hoops because, contrary to you might think, this is not a clear cut case - especially if you don't have children. Give them what they ask for, continue to be polite and respectful, and eventually your wife will get her green card.

[TylerTrúc 1]

Just wanted to gve an update. We returned today and the visa was approved! We submitted the documents and waited for about an hour. They called us up the window and said our visa was approved no questions asked. I did submit everything on the blue sheet and made sure nothing was left out.

[TylerTrúc 1]

You need to file your 2015 tax return, and since you were married in 2015 get her a Tax ID number and make sure she is listed on the return as your spouse. Even if you only made $2000, you are still legally required to file a tax return annually and the $2000 thing is why they want you to prove you are still employed and can support your wife - even with a joint sponsor. The credit card receipts are to establish you actually purchased the itineraries you claim show you traveled to and from Vietnam. Just be honest about the family situation. If she has no family in the US, no big deal, just submit something in writing explaining the situation. They are making you jump through hoops because, contrary to you might think, this is not a clear cut case - especially if you don't have children. Give them what they ask for, continue to be polite and respectful, and eventually your wife will get her green card.

I did file a 2015 tax return but I accidentally left it at the house when I flew out to Vietnam. I filed as married filing separately because it was too difficult to do jointly without her ssn. I do think your not leagally required to file if you make under $10k.