ATCSUSNRET

I was able to see the RFE online. It referenced tax transcripts (last 3 years provided), joint sponsor reqs( not necessary) and proof of my citizenship via passport/birth cert. I can only assume it is the citizenship part. It is in the block 11 instructions on the 864 to provide, I just overlooked it.

I did not. That did not occur to me. That seems like a strange requirement given that we already had the K1 approved. I am hoping it is something simple like that. Thanks for the response.

Hello everyone, Woke up to an RFE notification on our case status this morning. Our timeline is: I-797 May 16, Scheduled Biometrics May 24, RFE sent May 28. I am a bit confused, as we have only received the 797 in the mail, which was Sat the 25th. I had assumed we were at a standstill until biometrics are complete. We did not submit for EAD or AP, just the 485 and 864. I make 7x the poverty level cutoff, submitted last 3 years of tax transcripts, employment verification, etc. Can anyone shine some light on this? I know I have to wait to actually receive the RFE, just wondering if anyone has heard of one being issued prior to biometrics. Thanks Seth

Good evening everyone. We have finally arrived at the AOS stage and I am a bit confused. Do we receive a new case number/NOA1? My bank account was debited for the Elgin lockbox today but I didnt receive a text/email notification. I am curious on how to check our case status? Thanks in advance Seth & Hoa

She arrived here Feb 16. I didn't even think of it before she left VN. So anyone reading, read and heed. Bring the cement pillow 😆

I have one coming today via amazon. If that don't cut it Ill try cutting up a memory foam topper I have like mentioned above.

Yes, we went by one yesterday.

I apologize if this seems silly, but my finacee is finally here and I cannot find a very firm/hard pillow like she had in Vietnam. I have bought 3 different "firm" pillows since her arrival 3 weeks ago and they are all too soft. Her pillow at home was unbelievably hard in my opinion, and I cannot find anything over here comparable to date. Anyone else run into this? I'm thinking some sort of Yoga bolster, etc. Seth

What is your status? Are you case ready? It was delivered to her house via courier, to the address in our ustraveldocs account. You have been waiting 2 months since when?

I took my K1 beneficiary to get her Social Security Card yesterday via walk in. She arrived in the US February 16th. All we needed was her passport/visa and her I-94. Anyone running into difficulties, just go to a different office where they know what they are doing. After research here and elsewhere, it seems it is easier to get SSN upon arrival and then change the name following marriage so as to not run into difficulties with the name on the marriage cert not matching Visa/Passport. At any rate, we were in and out in less than 30 minutes. Bloomington, Indiana. God speed to all Seth

I will provide officiant services for free to anyone in Indiana. Not intending to hijack thread.

The VA generated letter stating your disability is 100% is fine and as far as USAA, I would contact them and request a summary letter of when your account was opened, and deposits/withdrawals for the last 12 months. I did this with Navy Federal and had no issues.

We passed our interview in Ho Chi Minh City January 8th. Visa in hand January 13th. I will be flying her over February 16. I attended the interview. It went very well.

What do you mean, submitting documents shortly before the interview? The only thing you will be submitting is the DS-160, and that is an online submission. You definitely need to take any pertinent evidence that was not included in your I-129 with you to the interview. They did not look at ours, but I did see them looking at others that were there. I did not see any slip of paper at our interview, and I was looking for it.

Thank you very much. I wish the best to us all on this difficult journey.

Thanks! February 16th is the plan. She's going to love Indiana in the winter.

She will be with me so that does not matter.

Thank you. It's been a long haul.

Our appointment was January 8, 2023 at 7:30 am. I am the petitioner and attended the interview. We booked a room at the Muong Thanh Saigon Centre Hotel, right across the street from the Consulate. The room was $80. We scouted out the area the night prior to get an idea of where to go in the morning. We walked 2 blocks in the morning to the area directly opposite the entrance. There was no issue with the Red Chair people as I had read in previous reviews. We paid 70k VND for us both to sit and have coffee and wait. At about 7 on the dot a guard came outside, and the "rush" to the line outside the entrance began. We were maybe 2/3 of the way toward the end of the block, with probably 30 people in front of us. 3 people came outside and began verifying ID, passport, Appointment Confirmation, DS160 Confirmation, and 2 Visa Photos. They also checked my passport. ** Have your documents arranged in order per part 4 of the Instruction Package.** Many people did not and got very flustered trying to find what was required, as the people checking were all business and no nonsense and were understandably impatient. At 7:20 we were in the entrance, where a guard swept everyone with a metal detector. We spent maybe 10 minutes in line, turned our cell phones in (they give you a placard you use to get them back when leaving), and arrived at the main area, where we were separated by a male staffer. I waited in a seat while she was in line. They verified the Pkt3 letter, that she had the medical envelope, and her birth certificate. Then gave her a slip with our number on it, 2041, and told her to go sit and wait. We waited together for our number to be called, probably 15 minutes or so. We got called to Window 5, where she was asked to supply copies of her passport, original and copy of my birth certificate and divorce decree, her justice record, etc from the required documents list. The originals of everything were returned once they verified the copies were correct. ***We were required to supply the DS-160 receipt, which is not listed on the instruction packet. Luckily we had it or would have been sent away *** We were told to go have a seat and wait for our number to be called. They have an automated system that calls out numbers and windows, as well as a display that scrolls the numbers as they are called. They do not go in numerical order. there are 20 something windows total. **Sidenote, bay/window 11 has a door into a booth. We saw 3 people get called there, and each was there a good bit. I have no idea what it was for.** They were calling 1000 and 2000 series numbers at a pretty good clip. A few people did not hear or see their number called and staff located them, so do not worry if it's too loud to hear well, although how anyone could miss their number on the display is beyond me. After maybe an hour our number was called and we went to bay 14. There was a young man with a tattoo on his arm and a female Vietnamese interpreter. He asked Hoa if she spoke english. She said a little. They swore her in in Vietnamese. The interpreter was telling her to place her fingers on a scanner outside the window, which she did, but her hands were too sweaty. They passed her a tissue and had a good laugh about it, which broke the tension a little bit. The interviewer then told her in Vietnamese to scan her thumbs as well. That dude speaks Vietnamese like a native. Here are the questions they asked, as best as I can recall: To her: Where was she going to live when she went to the US? What is my job? What is my address? Do I have kids? How many? Does she have any family in the US? *** The interviewer was asking her the questions in english and was typing as the interpreter and Hoa talked in Vietnamese. Then he turned to me: How did we meet? (Vietnam Cupid. He did not ask for the IMBRA) When did we meet? When did I divorce? What was Hoa's job in Vietnam (she's currently laid off so I explained) Has Hoa talked to my children? Has Hoa talked to my mother? Have I ever sent her money? (I said yes. He did not ask for any supporting info). They then switched back to Hoa and he asked her if she had any kids? Something went amiss with the interpreter, and Hoa told her 3, thinking she was asking about mine. He then jumped in and spoke to her in Vietnamese and clarified and they all 3 laughed. Does she have any family in the US? I was telling him she had distant family in California and a niece in Iowa and he asked if I had ever met her? I said no. He then asked Hoa the same thing in Vietnamese. She answered and he said "Congratulations, your Visa is approved. Have a nice day and enjoy your time in the US" and stamped the appointment confirmation with a blue stamp. It took maybe 5 minutes tops at the window. They did not ask to see any evidence of our relationship at all, or the I-134. He typed the entire time as we answered each question. If there was anything they asked that was not straight off of the I-129 I cannot remember what it was. In summary, I do believe they decide in advance whether or not they are going to approve the Visa. The questions were preloaded on the computer and he was reading the questions and typing our answers in as we went. They were very nice and relaxed, which helped, as Hoa was very nervous. I was eyeballing the entire time looking for a slip in our packet and didn't see anything. If your relationship is genuine and you submit a good 129 package there is nothing to worry about. I read horror stories all over the place how terrible the consulate in Ho Chi Minh is, how the petitioner should not attend the interview, sending money is looked at as human trafficking, show up 2 hours early because of how bad the line is, people getting yelled at, etc etc. None of that was true. We were the 3 hours total. Jan 8 2024 interview/verbal approval Jan 9 CEAC status APPROVED Jan 10 CEAC status ISSUED God Speed to everyone. Feel free to PM me if needed. Seth

We interviewed successfully yesterday at HCM. They did not look at one single piece of evidence we brought. It was not at all what I was expecting. Follow Pkt3 for document preparation and you'll be fine. Obviously not every case is the same but it was not unpleasant in the least for us.

Thank you guys very much!

Hello everyone, Our interview is coming up the 8th of January. She (beneficiary) got the new blue passport in October of 2022. It is stamped with a signature stating place of birth is Dong Nai, which is technically true, but she was born in Long Khanh in Dong Nai Province. Will this be an issue? I am just dotting I's and crossing T's and want to be as well prepared as possible. I will be flying over to attend the interview.

"Note: If you have small children whose names are not on any confirmation letter, you should arrange for alternate child care during the interview as they will not be allowed into the consulate." And yes, the Petetioner can attend the interview. Straight from consulate website.

Congrats! I did our DS160 when our case was In Transit. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. You are almost there.

I strongly suspect, and I could be wrong, that appointment slots available for reschedule are not visible to those trying to get their initial appointment. I follow other sources and many have scheduled appointments in January and then rescheduled for early to mid December. Don't believe all the scuttlebutt about appointments being booked full through February and March. Be patient and keep checking. ***For clarity, I am talking about Ho Chi Minh, not other consulates***