ATCSUSNRET

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***

I got lucky on the reschedule. I happened to log on and look at 4 pm US EST on a Saturday. There was an appointment for the 8th of January and the 14th of December. Someone got the December appointment. As I clicked it, it was unavailable so I took the one on the 8th. Our original appointment we got at about 9:15 am Vietnam time on a Monday. They opened about 15 slots for January all at once. I know it's very frustrating. We had looked for 10 straight days and there was nothing. And of course if you check too often they suspend your account.

She had medical last Monday in Ho Chi Minh and returned to pick up results Friday. She went and had her vaccines done beforehand and it wasn't an issue, despite what Pkt3 said.

I was able to login 4-5 times a day before I received a warning. Slots typically are published 9:30-11:30 am Vietnam time. It is a major pain. We looked for over 10 days before there were any appointments available.

You have to have original paper letter that arrives via courier with case number on it. Letter has a link to the actual Pkt3 instructions.

I was able to move the interview appointment up 8 days to Jan 8th.

Pkt3 came by courier on a Saturday. 300k VND.

Finally landed an appointment at Ho Chi Minh City for January 16th. NOA1 9/23/2022 NOA2 9/13/2023 NVC Received 09/29/2023 NVC Case number 10/05/2023 NVC In transit 10/11/2023 Consulate Case ready 10/16/2023 Pkt3 received 11/04/2023 Interview scheduled 11/15/2023

We were finally able to schedule our interview in Ho Chi Minh City last night for January 16th. I will be happy to knock the dust of this journey from my boots forever. Good luck everyone and stay strong. NOA1 9/23/2022 NOA2 9/13/2023 NVC Received 09/29/2023 NVC Case number 10/05/2023 NVC In transit 10/11/2023 Consulate Case ready 10/16/2023 Pkt3 received 11/04/2023 Interview scheduled 11/15/2023

We got our interview appointment scheduled for January 16th yesterday. There were maybe 12-15 slots and they were gone within minutes. <Break break> She was able to schedule medical appointment for next Monday via phone call.

No. There have literally been no appointments available for the last week. The Pkt3 is delivered by courier, yes. My financee was not home for the delivery. It was on a Saturday and the courier left it with her mother. We are at a standstill for medical awaiting a booked interview. I never dreamed it would be this frustrating at the end of this whole process.

Looks a new form of purgatory with trying to schedule interview. Is there any validity to account lockout for 72 hours after 4 logins in a day?

We got Pkt3 Saturday via Courier. Now the wait to schedule appointment begins.

It was sent from the Consulate yesterday. We went case Ready October 16th.

I would imagine probably via phone call. We are waiting on Pkt3 to be received so we will be in the same boat soon.

I have wondered the same thing regarding name.

We received Case number October 5th and shipped the 11th. You will probably go in this next batch.

This is specific to Vietnam. I do not know about other Consulates. Create USTravelDocs Account and Register Delivery Address After receiving the notification letter from the National Visa Center (NVC) which tells you that the NVC will forward the petition to our office, please immediately follow the step-by-step instructions below to create your USTravelDocs Account and register your delivery address. The Consulate needs this information in order to deliver the Instruction Package Letter (PKT3-K) as well as other documents to you. As part of this process, you will be asked to provide your valid DS-160 barcode number. Therefore, please make sure you visit: https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/ and follow the directions on the website to complete your Form DS-160. After having submitted the DS-160 successfully, please print out the DS-160 confirmation page, which includes the DS-160 barcode number, for future use. Step 1 – Create an account at: http://bit.ly/visa-account. If you already have an account, move to Step 2. Step 2 – Log in to your account at: http://bit.ly/us-login. Step 3 – After logging in, you will be taken to a Dashboard, please look at the left of the Dashboard, click on “New Application / Schedule Appointment”, and follow the instructions below: Choose “Immigrant Visa”, then click “Continue”. Choose “K1 Visas – Appointment Scheduling/Rescheduling and Fee payment”, then click “Continue”. Select “K1 – Fiance or Fiancee of U.S. Citizen”, then click “Continue”. Fill in all the required fields, then click “Continue”. Please make sure the First Name field includes both your first name and given name. For example, if your full name is Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, please enter “Thi Thu Trang” in the First Name field and “Nguyen” in the Last Name field. Please also make sure you enter your most updated Passport Number and please do not forget to provide your phone numbers. These fields are very important. If you have unmarried children under 21 years old and wish for them to immigrate with you, you will be able to add them as dependents, then click “Continue”. Select your preferred delivery option, then click “Continue”. YOU HAVE NOW COMPLETED REGISTERING YOUR DELIVERY ADDRESS. Please STOP HERE! Log out of the system and do not take any further action. Your Instruction Package Letter (PKT3–K) will be delivered to you at the registered address. You can continue further steps after receiving the Instruction Package Letter (PKT3–K) from the Consulate