Case Complete to Interview July 2017

[MLK2016 201]

On 6/23/2017 at 1:34 PM, JBMG said:

Just saw your updated notes on the spreadsheet.. Just curious, how did you get "expedited interview processing and scheduling by embassy" Did you request for this? If so, What reasons did you provide?  

 

I included everything in my review I could think of including this.  

[MLK2016 201]

On 6/23/2017 at 4:15 PM, abfar said:

Congrats on the visa @MLK2016 , did they print it for you immediately on the spot?

 

Finally our case is showing as "In Transit"    

They will mail the visa.  It will probably be received this week. Good luck

Edited June 24, 2017 by MLK2016
Typo

[MLK2016 201]

21 hours ago, Zurdo said:

Congratulations!! Please share the questions they asked 

Good luck on your interview. My review includes the questions asked

[PP_2016 246]

14 minutes ago, MLK2016 said:

Thank you and good luck.  I'm just posted a detailed description of the interview 

Yes I have read the details. Feel sorry for your elderly relative. Will your wife be still able to attend the important birthday? I hope she would.

[MLK2016 201]

12 hours ago, Ahmed & Amy said:

Congratulations to you and your mom. Hope you both have a safe and easy trip back to the US.  

 

Congratulations. Don't worry, everything will be fine. I too was freaking out right before the interview, but it ended up going much easier and quicker than I expected. Have faith that all will go well. Just be organized with your documents for his interview and the rest will be simple. Wish you and your husband all the best and good luck  

 

Congratulations!!! So happy for you both. I hope you both have an quick and easy trip back to the US. Wishing you all the best.

 

You will be scheduled soon. The NVC should be picking up interviewing next week, at most the first week of July. Congratulations on getting CC and wishing you to be scheduled so soon.  

 

Congratulations on your CC.  

 

Bring the AOS and W2's - IRS tax transcripts that you sent to NVC just in case, and send an updated AOS with 2016 W2-IRS Tax transcripts with you to the interview. It is required now to have the updated 2016 AOS and tax transcripts to interviews.

Thank you so much. 

[chamma 382]

1 hour ago, PP_2016 said:

So in a nutshell, now everybody who's interview is scheduled for July or after that would have to carry the original AOS (wet ink), which means modified AOS with 2016 details to the interview coz now the tax filing time has arrived and embassy will ask for the most recent tax return. Right @chamma??

Yes I think so  

[chamma 382]

13 minutes ago, MLK2016 said:

We followed the NVC journey together.  You will do great with interview.   I posted the review. Good luck my friend. 

Thank You. Hopefully everything will go fine.

[MLK2016 201]

5 minutes ago, PP_2016 said:

Yes I have read the details. Feel sorry for your elderly relative. Will your wife be still able to attend the important birthday? I hope she would.

Yes it is the beginning of August. 

[PP_2016 246]

Just now, MLK2016 said:

Yes it is the beginning of August. 

Wow that's so so awesome!! 👏👏 Happy birthday to her from the VJ family in advance ❤️

[JBMG 890]

2 hours ago, MLK2016 said:

 

       This review outlines our experience from our case complete through our interview with the United States Consulate  in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.   
       Following the submission of our documents to NVC we requested an expedite.   Our expedite request was based upon the desire of my wife to visit an elderly, ill relative of mine in the United States who was celebrating an important birthday. Included with our request were a physician’s letter and photographs    The expedite request was submitted to the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.  Several days after submitting the request they agreed that they would expedite our case for the interview after our case was completed by NVC. 
      Once  we received our case complete from NVC, it took them 13 long days for them to send the file to the consulate.  During that period of time we wondered if having an expedite would be any faster than not having one as others with case completes similar to ours were receiving interview dates.  I spoke to a supervisor at NVC who explained that although we had been granted an expedited interview, there were thousands of cases with expedites.  She said it therefore was not instantaneous from a case complete that our file would be sent to the consulate. We also learned that the NVC files are not physically mailed to the consulates.   They are electronically sent by NVC to the consulates.
      Once our file was sent electronically to the consulate, our status on the NVC website changed to “completed”. When I learned that the file had been sent to the Ho Chi Minh consulate, I filled out an inquiry form on their website asking how we would receive our interview date. Two days later we received an email from the consulate on a Thursday morning stating our interview to our amazement had been scheduled for 8 days later on a Friday morning at 9:30AM. 
      The next 8 days became frantic for my wife and me.   I had to book last minute airline tickets and rearrange my work schedule as I wanted to be present for the interview.  My wife had to schedule her medical examination and vaccinations. She was lucky to obtain last minute appointments for that Monday morning explaining that her interview had just been scheduled.  After completing her medical examinations and vaccinations, she received her medical reports in a sealed envelope on Wednesday to bring to the interview that Friday.  
        On Wednesday I left the United States on a 22 hour trip, 
arriving in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning, one day prior to the interview.  Even though my wife and I had not seen each other for 4 long months there was no time to celebrate or for me to adjust my jet lag.   That evening we had scheduled an appointment with an English language teacher who had been helping my wife with her English pronunciations.   The purpose of this meeting was to review answers to possible questions of the consulate. We obtained sample questions from visa journey.  Even though my wife could speak English and there would be an interpreter at the interview, we felt it best at the interview for her to answer the questions in English.  This we thought would show the interviewer we were able to communicate with each other. In addition we were deeply concerned that we could be denied at the interview as my wife in a previous tourist visa application at the bad advice of an agent in Vietnam indicated she was married when she was in fact single.    Her desire had been to visit her sister who was dying from cancer and the agent told her the best way to obtain the tourist visa was to say she was married.  By saying she was married the agent explained it would show her ties to return to Vietnam.  That tourist visa was denied. We disclosed this information on the DS-260.  We felt it best to indicate this rather than possibly be confronted at the interview as to why we did not detail the prior application    We were extremely worried that she would be asked at the interview as to why she lied on the tourist visa application.  We were concerned as to whether the consulate would approve our application.  
      After limited, restless sleep on Thursday night, we woke on Friday morning for the interview.   My wife was extremely nervous.  We arrived at the Ho Chi Minh Consulate at 8:30 for our 9:30 appointment.  To our surprise there were only about 8 people ahead of us waiting to enter the building.  After showing our interview appointment letter, we entered the building, went through a metal detector and left our cell phones with security who held them for us.
We were greeted by a host who immediately directed us to a window.   With us, we had a 3 ring binder with approximately 100 photographs on plastic pages.   We also had a plastic binder with removable plastic and labeled folders. In the labeled folders were our original and copies of the required documents, our paid receipts, copies of all of our documents filed through USCIS and NVC, copies of the supporting documents showing our bonafide relationship and additional documentation since our filings demonstrating our relationship. 
      The woman at the window asked for our documents.  I took out the folders which contained original and copies of documents, the folder containing the relationship proof submitted to USCIS and the additional proof.   She picked through the original documents taking them all.   She did not take the copies of the documents.   She did not take anything from the proof of our relationship submitted to USCIS.   The only document she kept from our additional proof of our relationship was our joint 2016 US Tax Return which I decided to bring.  (At the time of our filing with NVC the 2016 tax return was not due and was not needed). She asked me if we had a financial sponsor and I answered no.  She asked for the paid NVC receipt which I provided. We were given a number and told to wait to be called at a different window for the interview.  
        In the waiting area, we were again surprised to see only about 20 people waiting.  We thought that as our interview was expedited, perhaps Friday was not a regular business day for interviews.  
During our wait we observed that all the other couples with spouses present were being approved.  We noticed two women who were not present with their spouses (or fiancées) received blue denial slips.  For one we heard the questions.  Evidently she was in a relationship with a man since 2008. She was asked why he had not seen her for more than one year.  She said he was working.   Her application was denied.
         There were approximately 4 windows open.  Behind each window was an interviewer and an interpreter.  After about 30 minutes an interviewer pointed to us and instead of calling our number.  We went to the window.   However, he had called us by mistake.  He meant to call another person’s case.   He apologized to us and asked us to sit back down.   He then called the other case.  After he finished that case, he asked us for our number and he called us up again within a few minutes.  He told me to sit down saying he would call me up if I was needed.   I sat down and was close enough to observe and hear everything. First, they took biometric fingerprints of my wife at a pad in front of the interview window.   She was sworn in.   He then asked her the following questions:
1.     How did you meet?
2.     Where did you first meet him in person?
3.     Was he married before?
4.      When and where were you married?
5.      In the past you applied for a B2 tourist visa. Why were you denied?   Here it was I started to think.  Was he setting her for a question about lying on that application?  My wife answered him in English explaining about wanting to visit her sister in the United States who was dying from cancer and how through bad advice which she was sorry about an agent said to say she was married.  The agent then replied, “I am sorry about your sister”

      Then immediately after,  he said the visa was approved.  We were extremely happy and relieved.   We were never asked to show our photographs. Except for the police report, all of our original documents were returned to us.  I thanked the interviewer and we left the consulate all within about 1.5 hours.   
       Later that day we booked an airplane ticket for my wife to join me in the US in about 3 weeks.   For now we are  enjoying our holiday together for another week and can finally relax.
       The visa process for us was shorter than most, but still a very anxious and at times, a very frustrating process.    I definitely recommend that spouses and fiancées from the United States attend the interview.   Utilizing the resources of visajourney was a tremendous help and following others’ journeys on the boards made the waiting less anxious.  We hope you all achieve the positive result that we did.  
 

 

A great write up!! Thank you for sharing. Congrats MLK!! Very happy for you both!! Enjoy your 2nd honeymoon, exciting times.   

[Johnny385 10]

3 hours ago, MLK2016 said:

 

       This review outlines our experience from our case complete through our interview with the United States Consulate  in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.   
       Following the submission of our documents to NVC we requested an expedite.   Our expedite request was based upon the desire of my wife to visit an elderly, ill relative of mine in the United States who was celebrating an important birthday. Included with our request were a physician’s letter and photographs    The expedite request was submitted to the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.  Several days after submitting the request they agreed that they would expedite our case for the interview after our case was completed by NVC. 
      Once  we received our case complete from NVC, it took them 13 long days for them to send the file to the consulate.  During that period of time we wondered if having an expedite would be any faster than not having one as others with case completes similar to ours were receiving interview dates.  I spoke to a supervisor at NVC who explained that although we had been granted an expedited interview, there were thousands of cases with expedites.  She said it therefore was not instantaneous from a case complete that our file would be sent to the consulate. We also learned that the NVC files are not physically mailed to the consulates.   They are electronically sent by NVC to the consulates.
      Once our file was sent electronically to the consulate, our status on the NVC website changed to “completed”. When I learned that the file had been sent to the Ho Chi Minh consulate, I filled out an inquiry form on their website asking how we would receive our interview date. Two days later we received an email from the consulate on a Thursday morning stating our interview to our amazement had been scheduled for 8 days later on a Friday morning at 9:30AM. 
      The next 8 days became frantic for my wife and me.   I had to book last minute airline tickets and rearrange my work schedule as I wanted to be present for the interview.  My wife had to schedule her medical examination and vaccinations. She was lucky to obtain last minute appointments for that Monday morning explaining that her interview had just been scheduled.  After completing her medical examinations and vaccinations, she received her medical reports in a sealed envelope on Wednesday to bring to the interview that Friday.  
        On Wednesday I left the United States on a 22 hour trip, 
arriving in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning, one day prior to the interview.  Even though my wife and I had not seen each other for 4 long months there was no time to celebrate or for me to adjust my jet lag.   That evening we had scheduled an appointment with an English language teacher who had been helping my wife with her English pronunciations.   The purpose of this meeting was to review answers to possible questions of the consulate. We obtained sample questions from visa journey.  Even though my wife could speak English and there would be an interpreter at the interview, we felt it best at the interview for her to answer the questions in English.  This we thought would show the interviewer we were able to communicate with each other. In addition we were deeply concerned that we could be denied at the interview as my wife in a previous tourist visa application at the bad advice of an agent in Vietnam indicated she was married when she was in fact single.    Her desire had been to visit her sister who was dying from cancer and the agent told her the best way to obtain the tourist visa was to say she was married.  By saying she was married the agent explained it would show her ties to return to Vietnam.  That tourist visa was denied. We disclosed this information on the DS-260.  We felt it best to indicate this rather than possibly be confronted at the interview as to why we did not detail the prior application    We were extremely worried that she would be asked at the interview as to why she lied on the tourist visa application.  We were concerned as to whether the consulate would approve our application.  
      After limited, restless sleep on Thursday night, we woke on Friday morning for the interview.   My wife was extremely nervous.  We arrived at the Ho Chi Minh Consulate at 8:30 for our 9:30 appointment.  To our surprise there were only about 8 people ahead of us waiting to enter the building.  After showing our interview appointment letter, we entered the building, went through a metal detector and left our cell phones with security who held them for us.
We were greeted by a host who immediately directed us to a window.   With us, we had a 3 ring binder with approximately 100 photographs on plastic pages.   We also had a plastic binder with removable plastic and labeled folders. In the labeled folders were our original and copies of the required documents, our paid receipts, copies of all of our documents filed through USCIS and NVC, copies of the supporting documents showing our bonafide relationship and additional documentation since our filings demonstrating our relationship. 
      The woman at the window asked for our documents.  I took out the folders which contained original and copies of documents, the folder containing the relationship proof submitted to USCIS and the additional proof.   She picked through the original documents taking them all.   She did not take the copies of the documents.   She did not take anything from the proof of our relationship submitted to USCIS.   The only document she kept from our additional proof of our relationship was our joint 2016 US Tax Return which I decided to bring.  (At the time of our filing with NVC the 2016 tax return was not due and was not needed). She asked me if we had a financial sponsor and I answered no.  She asked for the paid NVC receipt which I provided. We were given a number and told to wait to be called at a different window for the interview.  
        In the waiting area, we were again surprised to see only about 20 people waiting.  We thought that as our interview was expedited, perhaps Friday was not a regular business day for interviews.  
During our wait we observed that all the other couples with spouses present were being approved.  We noticed two women who were not present with their spouses (or fiancées) received blue denial slips.  For one we heard the questions.  Evidently she was in a relationship with a man since 2008. She was asked why he had not seen her for more than one year.  She said he was working.   Her application was denied.
         There were approximately 4 windows open.  Behind each window was an interviewer and an interpreter.  After about 30 minutes an interviewer pointed to us and instead of calling our number.  We went to the window.   However, he had called us by mistake.  He meant to call another person’s case.   He apologized to us and asked us to sit back down.   He then called the other case.  After he finished that case, he asked us for our number and he called us up again within a few minutes.  He told me to sit down saying he would call me up if I was needed.   I sat down and was close enough to observe and hear everything. First, they took biometric fingerprints of my wife at a pad in front of the interview window.   She was sworn in.   He then asked her the following questions:
1.     How did you meet?
2.     Where did you first meet him in person?
3.     Was he married before?
4.      When and where were you married?
5.      In the past you applied for a B2 tourist visa. Why were you denied?   Here it was I started to think.  Was he setting her for a question about lying on that application?  My wife answered him in English explaining about wanting to visit her sister in the United States who was dying from cancer and how through bad advice which she was sorry about an agent said to say she was married.  The agent then replied, “I am sorry about your sister”

      Then immediately after,  he said the visa was approved.  We were extremely happy and relieved.   We were never asked to show our photographs. Except for the police report, all of our original documents were returned to us.  I thanked the interviewer and we left the consulate all within about 1.5 hours.   
       Later that day we booked an airplane ticket for my wife to join me in the US in about 3 weeks.   For now we are  enjoying our holiday together for another week and can finally relax.
       The visa process for us was shorter than most, but still a very anxious and at times, a very frustrating process.    I definitely recommend that spouses and fiancées from the United States attend the interview.   Utilizing the resources of visajourney was a tremendous help and following others’ journeys on the boards made the waiting less anxious.  We hope you all achieve the positive result that we did.  
 

 

They didn't request the i-864 copy?

[PP_2016 246]

9 minutes ago, Johnny385 said:

They didn't request the i-864 copy?

Thanks for asking it @Johnny385. Me too interested in knowing that..! It's an unresolved mystery and people are making rules and confirming also as per their convenience. Lol. I wanted to ask @MLK2016this question but thought since he was there with his wife for the interview he must have had it with him. An answer would help everyone with their upcoming interview. Else it may not be convenient for all or they may not have enough time to receive the physical copy of the updated AOS post 2016 tax return update. Let's resolve this for once and forever. 😋

Edited June 24, 2017 by PP_2016

[Eignes1009 23]

Anyone who have idea for this?

 

============================================================
======
Please make the below corrections to your Form I-864 or gather the requested financial
evidence:
[x] In Part 3. Information About the Immigrants You are Sponsoring, please correct the following:
[x] Item 3.a. through 27. This case's visa category does not allow accompanying family members; therefore, you
cannot list family members in this section.
[x] You must submit the following financial evidence:
[x] Your __2016_________________________________ IRS transcript from the most recent tax year. You can get a
transcript on the IRS's website: irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript. If you cannot get an IRS transcript, please send a
photocopy of your Federal income tax return and a copy of every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your return(s). Do
not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript for your Federal individual tax returns rather than
a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income.

[PP_2016 246]

2 minutes ago, Eignes1009 said:

Anyone who have idea for this?

 

============================================================
======
Please make the below corrections to your Form I-864 or gather the requested financial
evidence:
[x] In Part 3. Information About the Immigrants You are Sponsoring, please correct the following:
[x] Item 3.a. through 27. This case's visa category does not allow accompanying family members; therefore, you
cannot list family members in this section.
[x] You must submit the following financial evidence:
[x] Your __2016_________________________________ IRS transcript from the most recent tax year. You can get a
transcript on the IRS's website: irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript. If you cannot get an IRS transcript, please send a
photocopy of your Federal income tax return and a copy of every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your return(s). Do
not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript for your Federal individual tax returns rather than
a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income.

You received it from NVC? After CC? Or is it a checklist?

[Eignes1009 23]

5 minutes ago, PP_2016 said:

You received it from NVC? After CC? Or is it a checklist?

I rcvd it from Nvc after cc, its a check list but need to bring for my interview.