interview help please

[don2008 0]

hi everyone.

my fiancee recently went to her interview. i thought for sure she would call me and tell me it was approved. instead she was cryibg and telling me that they didnt belive us. we have a ton of evidence to prove our relationship. but the letter they gave her stated that they need a hand written letter from me. is this common? anyways i wrote a letter tonight and will mail it soon but i was trying find help. im so scared now that if i say something worng in my letter they will deny her. here is a copy of what they sent her home with.

* The Consulate General is unable to issue a visa to you because you have found ineligible under the fpllowing section (s) of the US. Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended:

* Section 221 (g) of the Act prohibits the issuance of a visa to anyone who has failed to present the documents required in connection with the visa application or who has failed to submit sufficient credible evidence to support the claimed petitionable relationship. The following remarks apply in your case.

* Based on the information ascertained through the visa interview and through documentary materials, consulate officers do not believe that there is a bona fide fiance' (e)/spousal relationship between Petitioner and Beneficiary. If you have any other evidence to present which would convince a reasonable person that teh relationship exists for a reason other than immigration, please submit it. Please label and itemize all materials submitted.

* PETITIONER: Provide a short statement handwritten in the presence of a certified notary.

* Please dont submit anything until you have ALL of the items requested above. If you dont submit ALL of the requested items at the same time, processing delays will result. Consular officers will not make a decision on your case until all of the items we requested are submited. If you are unable obtain a requested item, please submit a written explanation. Please label and itemize all materials submitted.

* PETITIONER: In a sworn, notarized statement, please provide a detailed chronology( timeline) of your relationship.Please explain clearly when and how you first met, how you were introduce and when you began corresponding with each other, when you felt your relationship became serious, date and circumstances of marriage proposal (location, time, setting, etc...) .. Did spouse/fiance(e) propose in person or by phone ? where were you when s/he propose ( give exact location)? Did you accept immediately or ask for time to think about it? if s/he did not officially propose, when did you first discuss marriage? How many trips did you make to Vietnam to vistit your spouse/fiance'(e)? How many times have you seen him/her in total how long did you stay each visit? please give as many details as possible.

WARNING: IF YOU FAIL TO TAKE THE ACTION REQUESTED OR FAIL TO PRESENT ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE SUFFICIENT TO OVERCOME YOUR VISA DENIAL UNDER SECTION 221(g)OF THE ACT REQUIRES THAT YOUR APPLCATION BE CANCELLED.

[Otto 83]

We have a ton of evidence to prove our relationship.

What proof did you send with your petition?

[don2008 0]

We have a ton of evidence to prove our relationship.

What proof did you send with your petition?

i sent pictures and a few emails and a short letter on how me and her met and fell in love. when she went to the interview she gave them 1 years worht of emails and phone records and recipts of all the gift and post card i sent her,also from the time i spent with her in vietnam. i belive she also gave them all my boarding pases from the plane trip.

[PeterFB 0]

Sorry to hear that you didn't ge the pink. The Consulate is requesting what appears to be missing from your I-129f. Since HCMC is a high fraud Consulate, they are very suspious. A short letter like you wrote is ok for the USCIS but the Consulate wants a complete description of your relationship. That's the good news.

If you write a detailed letter about how you met answering the Consulate questions in the blue slip and follow that with a timeline with evidence showing the developement of your relationship, then you should get a pink.

The Consulaten looks at your I-129f before the interview and decides a lot about what they think about your case from it. So if you can think of anything now that could be a problem. For example, many Vietnamese Americans have to provide their parents and their fiance(e)s parent's birth certificate to show that they aren't related. When the Consulate asked for additional proof, they will usually want everything to be notarized.

Good Luck!

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

[KimandRuss 0]

Sorry to hear that. You got some great advice already. Send the letter and anything else you can think of. Hopefully that will be all they need. If they still don't believe you, hire an attorney and do not let your petition be sent back to the U.S. Do your best to keep it there and fight!

If I were you I'd seek out all other Ho Chi Minh filers you can find for the best advice on what you should send.

good luck

[don2008 0]

i have been putting together the letter and plan to send it this week. i hope she will get the pink. worst case would be they wont approve it then ill just go there and marry her and refile. it just sucks if i have to go that route because its more time we have to spend apart. hopefully if they dont approve the k1 we wont have any problems getting the marriage visa. thanks for the input it really helps. i feel much better after finding this site and reading about everyone elses visa adventures.

[KimandRuss 0]

Hi again don,

Marrying and 'just applying for another visa' isn't going to solve your problems. The burden of proof is still going to be on you.

Hopefully they just need a little more from you.

[JULIAFERNO 0]

Wow, I didn't realize they wanted so many details about the "proposal" My fiance still hasn't officially proposed to me (he has been saving for the ring and plans on officially proposing with the ring and all that jazz when he gets here) but we have discussed our intentions to marry at length and have every intention to do so. I don't want to make up some story about a proposal! It was something that we discussed together and decided we wanted to do...will that explanation not suffice?

[pushbrk 12,892]

* PETITIONER: Provide a short statement handwritten in the presence of a certified notary.

* Please dont submit anything until you have ALL of the items requested above. If you dont submit ALL of the requested items at the same time, processing delays will result. Consular officers will not make a decision on your case until all of the items we requested are submited. If you are unable obtain a requested item, please submit a written explanation. Please label and itemize all materials submitted.

* PETITIONER: In a sworn, notarized statement, please provide a detailed chronology( timeline) of your relationship.Please explain clearly when and how you first met, how you were introduce and when you began corresponding with each other, when you felt your relationship became serious, date and circumstances of marriage proposal (location, time, setting, etc...) .. Did spouse/fiance(e) propose in person or by phone ? where were you when s/he propose ( give exact location)? Did you accept immediately or ask for time to think about it? if s/he did not officially propose, when did you first discuss marriage? How many trips did you make to Vietnam to vistit your spouse/fiance'(e)? How many times have you seen him/her in total how long did you stay each visit? please give as many details as possible.

You are requested to do two things. One is to write a short hand written statement in the presence of a Notary. This sounds a bit weird but I would do it. It need not be detailed. It could say something like I, John Smith have proposed marriage to Jane Doe and am submitting the enclosed detailed chronology of our relationship for your consideration. Hand write this.

The second request is the actual detailed choronology. You might want to get some help on this or at least another set of eyes to look it over before printing it and taking it to the Notary's office.

Then, if there is any other evidence you can think of, send it along too.

[yankee 0]

Wow, I didn't realize that there are cases of K-1 like that, I thought it's just a formality since the Visa Center approved your application. anyways, just follow what they asked you to do so, convince them that the relationship is real, maybe u can mention your intention to marry as soon as she gets here.

Patience is a virtue and being together with your love is a prize..

Goodluck..

[PeterFB 0]

Wow, I didn't realize that there are cases of K-1 like that, I thought it's just a formality since the Visa Center approved your application. anyways, just follow what they asked you to do so, convince them that the relationship is real, maybe u can mention your intention to marry as soon as she gets here.

Patience is a virtue and being together with your love is a prize..

Goodluck..

The K1 visa process is two steps to get the visa.Then more steps once in the US to get permanent status. The USCIS approves the Petitioner's petition for sponsing the immigration of the Beneficary. That's usually simple, if you haven't filed for a K series visa before, aren't a crimminal or terrorist, etc, fill out the forms correctly and supply some info about how you met, you will be approved. The HCMC Consulate (or Embassy, depending on where your fiance(e) lives) decides whether or not the Visa should be given. The HCMC Consulate looks at the I-129f very closely. They can only deny a Visa if they find evidence not known to the USCIS that would caused the USCIS not to approve the petition or evidence of fraud on the part of the Petitioner or Beneficary. They don't accept the approval of the USCIS outright. An I-129f will little evidence about how you met and your ongoing relationship is a problem for HCMC.

There are many red flags that they are looking for. Not supplying a complete picture of your first meeting and proof of an ongoing relationship in your I-129f usually will result in a blue slip because the Consulate wants more information. Once given they then continue going thru the case starting from where they left off. That means they don't tell you with the first blue slip if that's the only problems they may have with your case. If they find other problems, they will issue another blue slip. Usually the second blue slip results in either a pink slip or green slip depending on the information requested. This is the normal mindset of the US government. One error and they stop processing. You then fix the error and they will continue to process untill either they are finished or find another error.

These blue/green slips are emotionally upsetting and delays getting the visa from a few days to months or in rare cases years. They can usually be avoided by starting with a solid I-129f with enough evidence to convince the Consulate that the interview is just a check to see if the beneficary is believable and the relationship appears real. The Consulate doesn't have the time or mindset to really check at the interview to see if all the ongoing relationship evidence is true or accurate. That's why many people at HCMC complain that the Consualte decided before the interview to hand out the blue slip. And why they only ask 5-10 questions at the interview.

They have already made up their minds based on the I-129f and supporting evidence given with it. A blue slip is usually because there isn't enough evidence to convince the Consulate about an issue, ie how did you meet, is this a real relationship or not? If you come to the interview without the required evidence in the proper form, ie originals not photo copies when required or only a couple of pictures and emails, you can turn your pink slip into a blue because they have to have the correct evidence and believe your relationship is real. Too many photos, emails, chats, etc aren't the problem, it's not enough evidence.

I can't say if this is true about other countries, but from what I've been thru, read and seen on VJ and other sites, this is the case at HCMC Consulate.

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

[don2008 0]

so since we got a green slip is that better than getting a blue slip?

[PeterFB 0]

so since we got a green slip is that better than getting a blue slip?

No, neither is good. The green slip means that after the Consulate gets the requested evidence, they will take time to review what you have given them. A blue slip usually is a request for more evidence which when submitted could result in a pink slip. As long as the Consulate doesn't tell you that your case is going back to the US and the USCIS, you still have a pink slip possible.

Good Luck

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

[motu 6]

No, neither is good. The green slip means that after the Consulate gets the requested evidence, they will take time to review what you have given them. A blue slip usually is a request for more evidence which when submitted could result in a pink slip.

In US work force - a 'pink slip' is a slip telling you that you have been laid off or fired from the job!

[J & Q 0]

i have been putting together the letter and plan to send it this week. i hope she will get the pink. worst case would be they wont approve it then ill just go there and marry her and refile. it just sucks if i have to go that route because its more time we have to spend apart. hopefully if they dont approve the k1 we wont have any problems getting the marriage visa. thanks for the input it really helps. i feel much better after finding this site and reading about everyone elses visa adventures.

I highly advice against trying to get married in Vietnam. It is very difficult, I tried. You have to complete a whole packet of information. You can find this information at http://hochiminh.usconsulate.gov/marriage_in_vietnam.html. You will then have to submit the authenticated and stamped documents from the Vietnamese Consulate to the Department of Justice in her jurisdiction. They don't seem to follow the same requirements as the Vietnamese Consulate and often require additional information. They will likely not give you any type of list of what their requirements are either so be prepared for a long and stressful journey if you go that route.

I would recommend hiring someone to assist you in Vietnam with the application. I believe that there is someone by the name of Mark Ellis that many VJ members have used and had success with. I am not satisfied with the person that I am currently using so I won't even mention him.

Best of luck to you.