NOA2 Prep

[CharlieTshiab 66]

We are a Feb 2018 filer and still waiting but wanted to start prepping for the next steps.  What can my fiance start gathering?  Specifically for Vietnam interview as I know other countries may have slightly different requirements.

 

Marriage & Police report?  Can she gather this now?  Will she need authorization or letter from Consulate?  NOA2?  Can you share some of your experiences?  @WandY  and any other couples who has completed interview

 

Has anyone done the interview in Hanoi?  We've heard people say interviewing in HCMC is better & possibly easier then in Hanoi?  Has anyone heard different/same?  Please share experience as well.  Thanks!

 

[JJtheJetPlane 2]

Has your fiancee been married before? Otherwise there is no need for a marriage report. The police background check is good to get now and I believe it's valid for six months or one year. My fiancee only had to wait about one week to get her's and she didn't have to pay coffee money. You can also do your I-134 affidavit of support now too.

[WandY 430]

The visa journey in Vietnam is not too bad. I think you have to do the interview in Saigon - no visa interviews in Hanoi. My wife is from the Hanoi area and we had to go to Saigon. If no prior marriage in Vietnam, she will not need anything. Police check is pretty simple and cheap, but start the process now and keep on the official if you have trouble. It took us a few weeks to get the piece of paper.

 

My best advice: Don't freak out. Be honest in all of your forms. Follow the rules. Use me and others that have gone through the Vietnam visa process. Go to the interview. Make sure you have your financial info in good shape. You need tax records (I used three years of tax returns and W-2's). Have good photos of you in Vietnam, traveling together, meeting with family, etc. Don't overdo the photos, but show that you have been in Vietnam and spent time together - especially with family.  During the interview, your fiance will need to know how you met, where you've been together, what you do for a living, where you live in the USA, what you/she will do when you get married and live in the U.S. In other words, she needs to know a lot about you and you need to be ready to answer questions about finances, supporting her, etc. The interview is interesting. When you get close to it, let me know. Contact me anytime.

[frontgear 194]

Very good advice there, @WandY. I just want to add to what WandY said above.

 

Your fiancee should also know about your family (father, mother, how many siblings, where they live, what they do, etc.) She should also know if you went to college, which college, what degree, etc. Who you work for, your title, what you do, how much you make. Whether you own a house, rent an apartment, have a roommate or stay with your parents. Those are the details that some COs will look for in a genuine relationship. 

 

For my then-fiancee's interview, I had prepared a list of possible questions and made her study them. Before I flew back to VN to attend the interview with her, I quizzed her on these questions every other day for a week. She was never asked any of the questions I wrote on the list and still passed with flying colors. LOL

[CharlieTshiab 66]

Thanks for the responses as usual @WandY and @frontgear !!  Anything else you guys can think of that would be beneficial, we would really appreciate it.  And stay tune as I'll probably hit you 2 up for more information as things progress 

 

@JJtheJetPlane my fiance has not been married before but I thought she needs to get some sort of single status document.  

[frontgear 194]

1 hour ago, CharlieTshiab said:

@JJtheJetPlane my fiance has not been married before but I thought she needs to get some sort of single status document.  

 

It is not needed if she has never been married before. Having said that, I did ask my then-fiancee to get one (yes, they do issue this document in Vietnam), just for the sake of having one, and it was valid for 6 months. The CO never asked for it, however.

 

I prepared a lot of redundant documents for her interview, that were neither needed nor required. One of the reasons being that I had already bought her the ticket to fly back with me to the U.S. so I could not really afford to get Blue slips at the last minute. Some of these redundant documents included:

 

1. 10-year residence history for both

2. List of family members and relatives living in VN and abroad, for both

3. Single Status Certificate for her

4. Relationship timeline

 

You know the saying, "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

 

Edited July 3, 2018 by frontgear

[CharlieTshiab 66]

So yesterday, my fiance went and attempted to get her "Single Status Certificate" at her village.  She was told be the officials there that she can't just get that document.  If she's already has a foreign fiance, she would need to translate my passport and then bring it to them to get that document created.  I am confused as to why they would need my passport to create the document stating that she's "single".

 

@WandY and @frontgear did you guys' fiance have to do the same?

[KevinInATX 133]

7 hours ago, CharlieTshiab said:

I am confused as to why they would need my passport to create the document stating that she's "single".

I vísited my wife’s hometown in Ca Mau and they wanted my passport so they could enter my name into her single certificate. I don’t exactly recall what it said but she had it translated to English and said that she was single and free to marry with me (my name specifically in the single certificate)

i didn’t ask a lot of questions and thought it was cool they put my name saying she can marry me within 6 months of her single certificate. I am guessing they only create that when the Vietnamese citizen is ready to marry sincr its only good for 6 months. You will want to present it that way to the interview anyhow with your name in it. They asked for my passport at her local police station and made the certificate on the spot of course with some “coffee money of about 1million Dong) or wait 3 weeks for them to get around to it

[CharlieTshiab 66]

Thanks for the response @KandN.  I believe from what I've gathered.  This is not a required document as she has never been married.  I guess I'll talk to her to see if she wants to go to Hanoi to get it translated then back to make this document.  

[KevinInATX 133]

38 minutes ago, CharlieTshiab said:

 

Thanks for the response @KandN.  I believe from what I've gathered.  This is not a required document as she has never been married.  I guess I'll talk to her to see if she wants to go to Hanoi to get it translated then back to make this document.  

 

It may not be a required document but I’m pretty sure the Single Certificate is required to put the person’s name who is planning to marry. It only good for 6 months too so make a copy of your passport and email

it to her...that should be fine. I know that I did everything asked of me because I want to be with my fiancé. It’s Vietnam and although may not make sense to us here in the states, my fiancé always reminds me “its Vietnam style”

[CharlieTshiab 66]

Thanks and I agree "its Vietnam style" and I think that's still an understatement.  LOL

[frontgear 194]

3 hours ago, KandN said:

It may not be a required document but I’m pretty sure the Single Certificate is required to put the person’s name who is planning to marry. It only good for 6 months too so make a copy of your passport and email

it to her...that should be fine. I know that I did everything asked of me because I want to be with my fiancé. It’s Vietnam and although may not make sense to us here in the states, my fiancé always reminds me “its Vietnam style”

This is the first that I've heard, a Single Status Certificate with the name of the person you plan to marry on the certificate.

 

More like, "jungle law" than anything else.

[frontgear 194]

On 7/16/2018 at 9:20 AM, CharlieTshiab said:

So yesterday, my fiance went and attempted to get her "Single Status Certificate" at her village.  She was told be the officials there that she can't just get that document.  If she's already has a foreign fiance, she would need to translate my passport and then bring it to them to get that document created.  I am confused as to why they would need my passport to create the document stating that she's "single".

 

@WandY and @frontgear did you guys' fiance have to do the same?

Must be new. There was no requirement to present my passport (or copy of it) when my wife got hers. This was back in 2014, by the way, so alot could have been changed (or invented out of the blue to garner more coffee money.)

 

I do not think WandY's fiancee had to do this as he stated one time that he didn't believe such thing existed.

Edited July 17, 2018 by frontgear

[KevinInATX 133]

24 minutes ago, frontgear said:

Must be new. There was no requirement to present my passport (or copy of it) when my wife got hers. This was back in 2014, by the way, so alot could have been changed (or invented out of the blue to garner more coffee money.)

 

I do not think WandY's fiancee had to do this as he stated one time that he didn't believe such thing existed.

My fiancé created her documents from her hometown SW of Ca Mau a small village police station. This is what they wanted from me and I complied. Good for you that you didn’t have to in 2014, also looks like your timeline was shorter as well. It’s 2018 and things change...things change daily in Vietnam is my experience

[frontgear 194]

5 hours ago, KandN said:

My fiancé created her documents from her hometown SW of Ca Mau a small village police station. This is what they wanted from me and I complied. Good for you that you didn’t have to in 2014, also looks like your timeline was shorter as well. It’s 2018 and things change...things change daily in Vietnam is my experience

I don't know what the wait time is like nowadays but back in 2014, it took us exactly 6 months to get the NOA2. But then it moved quickly near the end (from USCIS --> NVC --> US Consulate in Saigon --> interview). I think we were one of the few that had to wait 6 months to get approved.