Got word fron senator

[Rodney n. 0]

got word from my senator that the reason many are getting blue slips is a directive from president bush. they said it may have been some sort of favor to the Vietnamese government who are upset at number of women leaving the country. this would make sense too me.

Rodney

[Jack & Xuan 0]

This is sad. Is the Vietnamese government worried they will run out of women? Are you KIDDING ME?

[RalphandHanh 1]

This is not what I wanted to read right now is Anyone getting through?

[mimhnhut 0]

I think it's not truth. There are many ways else to lose women. For example, visa F-1, F-3, F-4 (parents/ daughters, brothers/ sister) and marrying with Korean, Chinese,....

Edited July 31, 2008 by mimhnhut

[mimhnhut 0]

I am a Vietnamese.I think it's not truth. There are many ways else to lose women. For example, visa F-1, F-3, F-4 (parents/ daughters, brothers/ sister) and marrying with Korean, Chinese,....

The Vietnamese government don't worry about running out of women. Viet Nam is a populous country.

[Rodney n. 0]

I am not sure why they would mind either, but it was part of response received from the us consulate in HCMC about my case. i have been having my senator check into the case and several others in my area are having same issues. it doesn't mean they wont allow it . they just make it more difficult. my fiancée has an appointment with Marc Ellis today so i hope that will help my case some.

Rodney

[RalphandHanh 1]

Please let us know how it goes. I will be contacting M.E. soon myself.

[CoolHand2x2y2z 0]

senator --smanator...

You need Rambo! He's older, sure, but he's on growth hormone and he can handle that consulate!

[hope2018 25]

Plenty of Women in vietnam. Marc will help you all out he is a great lawyer good luck

Edited July 31, 2008 by Eric and An Thuy

[Teacher Mark 53]

I think if that were true then the Vietnamese Government wouldn't be allowing any foreign marriages. They would block them on their end.

[PeterFB 0]

The US State Department, USCIS and HCMC Consulate all know the law about Visas. Your Senator, Congressmen, etc are unable to do much at all about changing or finding out really what is going on. The law makes the decisions by the Consulate free from "meddling" by Congress and the President. You have more power by using the Freedom of Imformation Act to find out what is really going on. I think your Senator gave you an answer to make you "give up" and not call them anymore. Marc Ellis can do more for you than they can, so listen to him not your Senator.

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

Wedding 2008-4-26

[FormerConOff 0]

The US State Department, USCIS and HCMC Consulate all know the law about Visas. Your Senator, Congressmen, etc are unable to do much at all about changing or finding out really what is going on. The law makes the decisions by the Consulate free from "meddling" by Congress and the President. You have more power by using the Freedom of Imformation Act to find out what is really going on. I think your Senator gave you an answer to make you "give up" and not call them anymore. Marc Ellis can do more for you than they can, so listen to him not your Senator.

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

Wedding 2008-4-26

Agreed. That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. The Vietnamese government has so much more to worry about than this. Even if they did care, there is no way they can influence visa adjudications at the U.S. Consulate. I can't believe a U.S. senator would say this. I have heard of members of congress saying some pretty ridiculous stuff to constituents in order to get them to stop bothering them about visa stuff, but this takes the cake. Don't believe a word of it.

You sure this was a senator, and not just a overworked staffer?

And yes, it's true: contacting your member of congress or senator usually does very little. Why? The Consulate gets dozens of boilerplate "inquiries" every day from members of congress, most of them making clear, explicitly or implicitly, that they have no personal knowledge of petitioner or applicant. The only time I ever saw a letter from a senator or member of congress that changed my mind about a case in any way was when the member of congress personally knew the petitioner as a friend and vouched for the validity of the relationship -- because he had known the petitioner for 20 years. Absent that sort of letter, you're probably off saving your effort. It's nice to think that your member of congress can get your fiancee a visa, but he/she cannot. They can only ask for status updates, same as you. They have no power that you yourself do not possess.

[Dau_Que 0]

The following comments are purely personal speculations and observation:

1) If everyone (fraudulent cases excluded) is given pink slips, then immigration lawyers will sit in coffee shops all day long? You know very well in Vietnamese culture, there's a saying "Thu tuc DAU TIEN", meaning one needs to cough up $$$ for things to move along. I'm not mentioning any lawyer in particular, but please, they're the ONES who shake hands with the US Consulate and push them to pass out as many Blue/Green slips as possible, so they'll have clients, then in return, they (the lawyers) will go golfing, dinning, blah blah with the gov't officials.

2) Vietnam is well-known around the world for "arranged" marriages between VNese ladies and Taiwanese men. Who will pay "more" into the "system", you or those Asian men? Think about it, then you'll understand why the VNese gov't prefers one over the other!

Therefore, if you do everything by yourself and are successful, consider yourself the very few lucky enough to slip through the crack of the system, otherwise, it's the "norm" of the Vietnamese way of doing business. There must be a reason why 33 years after 1975 Vietnam is still among the poorest countries in the world.

Welcome to the Vietnamese system!!

Edited August 2, 2008 by PhongLovesHa

[Teacher Mark 53]

The following comments are purely personal speculations and observation:

1) If everyone (fraudulent cases excluded) is given pink slips, then immigration lawyers will sit in coffee shops all day long? You know very well in Vietnamese culture, there's a saying "Thu tuc DAU TIEN", meaning one needs to cough up $$$ for things to move along. I'm not mentioning any lawyer in particular, but please, they're the ONES who shake hands with the US Consulate and push them to pass out as many Blue/Green slips as possible, so they'll have clients, then in return, they (the lawyers) will go golfing, dinning, blah blah with the gov't officials.

2) Vietnam is well-known around the world for "arranged" marriages between VNese ladies and Taiwanese men. Who will pay "more" into the "system", you or those Asian men? Think about it, then you'll understand why the VNese gov't prefers one over the other!

Therefore, if you do everything by yourself and are successful, consider yourself the very few lucky enough to slip through the crack of the system, otherwise, it's the "norm" of the Vietnamese way of doing business. There must be a reason why 33 years after 1975 Vietnam is still among the poorest countries in the world.

Welcome to the Vietnamese system!!

This is an American system. Lawyers are a byproduct of that system. I would love to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon, but I don't think that is the case. The one's that I know that have gotten through on the first try have had their I-129s or I-130s meticulously prepared. If you submit your papers written in Crayola with evidence missing then you can probably expect to be denied. I do think there is a fair amount of luck involved as well though.

[PeterFB 0]

The following comments are purely personal speculations and observation:

1) If everyone (fraudulent cases excluded) is given pink slips, then immigration lawyers will sit in coffee shops all day long? You know very well in Vietnamese culture, there's a saying "Thu tuc DAU TIEN", meaning one needs to cough up $$$ for things to move along. I'm not mentioning any lawyer in particular, but please, they're the ONES who shake hands with the US Consulate and push them to pass out as many Blue/Green slips as possible, so they'll have clients, then in return, they (the lawyers) will go golfing, dinning, blah blah with the gov't officials.

2) Vietnam is well-known around the world for "arranged" marriages between VNese ladies and Taiwanese men. Who will pay "more" into the "system", you or those Asian men? Think about it, then you'll understand why the VNese gov't prefers one over the other!

Therefore, if you do everything by yourself and are successful, consider yourself the very few lucky enough to slip through the crack of the system, otherwise, it's the "norm" of the Vietnamese way of doing business. There must be a reason why 33 years after 1975 Vietnam is still among the poorest countries in the world.

Welcome to the Vietnamese system!!

This is an American system. Lawyers are a byproduct of that system. I would love to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon, but I don't think that is the case. The one's that I know that have gotten through on the first try have had their I-129s or I-130s meticulously prepared. If you submit your papers written in Crayola with evidence missing then you can probably expect to be denied. I do think there is a fair amount of luck involved as well though.

I appreciate your observations and speculations but I'd like to say this:

The Visa process of coming to the US, to visit or move is governed by the American system not Vietnamese. Most of the people who get blue slips get them because their I-129f wasn't properly done. Properly done means filling out the forms, supplying the required documents and (most misunderstood) presently their relationship in a manner that any reasonable person would consider a real relationship. Many blue slips are given asking for a timeline. Why? because the I-129f as submiited didn't give a complete picture of how the relationship started and progressed. The blue slips for not having a real relationship seem to be bassed on the lack of addressing red flags that either are caused by the odds (ie Vietnamese Americans meeting thru family members) where fraud is high or not addressing issues that are brought up in your I-129f, for example, going to Vietnam just once two months after meeting your fiancee and getting engaged but not supplying any reciepts for rings, hotels, etc, few emails before or after, not sending flowers or gifts on special occasions and so on So why is that happening? Fraud comes to mind in the Consulate's eyes.

I think you're confusing lobbyists with people who give bribes. Within the Vietnamese government this may be true. I have heard from many people both current and former Vietnamese citizens as well as foreigners that dealing with the Vietnamese government and businesses, bribes go a long way in making things happen.

Giving money to police, inspectors, etc can get you thown in jail in the US. While the US government is strongly influenced by lobbyists, any hint of bribes will usually bring the poilce, FBI into play, and there's usually lobbyists for both sides trying to influence the government.

However the Visa process is run by the US government beaurocrats and is by law shielded by influence from Congress, the President, etc from affecting the process on a individual basis. They can pass laws to affect people in general, ie "immigration reform" but they can't call up the Consulate to change a blue into a pink.

Also the Consulate is "US Soil" meaning the laws of the US are in effect on everyone inside. SO if a Vietnamese or American lawyer tried to bribe a Consulate Ofiicer, they could/should be arrested and if a Consulate Officer is taking bribes, they should be arrested.

I've found most Vietnamese who have moved to the US, are very happy that the US is a nation of laws not bribes and if the law isn't being properly applied, enforced, etc, people have recourse to fight it in the courts and or change the law without fear of their lives or livelyhoods being affected.

On a personal note, I don't believe I'm a lucky one who slipped thru the cracks but rather one who took the time to understand what is needed to be submitted to get a pink slip. Where did I learn how to do that? Here at Visa Journey.

The reason Vietnam is still a poor country lies with the Vietnamese government. Up until the 1990s they didn't want to be part of the global economy. Now they have decided to part of the gobal economy and the Vietnamese people are seeing many benefits but there's a long way to go.

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

Wedding 2008-4-26

Edited August 3, 2008 by PeterFB