ToNhi

Thank you! Do you know the processing times? On the USCIS website, it says 12.5 months average for Employment Authorization, and 14-15 months for the I-485.

Hi, I am currently assembling my I-485 packet and was wondering what the best evidences were: Marriage Certificate NOA2 Letter Photos of City Hall/Courthouse Wedding Evidence of Cohabituation (Both of our names on credit card statements, bank statements, phone bills, medical/dental/vision insurance policies) Her name as beneficiary to my retirement/IRA accounts Photos of us together in the U.S. Birth Ceritificate CA DMV ID Card Passport Biographical Page Passport K1 Visa Page Copy of I-94 Arrival U.S. Admission Stamp on Passport Affidavit of Support Vaccinations/Medical Reports Should I include anything from my K-1 packet (Vietnam) such as our engagement party/banquet/how we met/relationship timeline, etc.?

I recommend going through the Vietnam forum and looking at past blue slip denial reasons and bringing all of that evidence with you to the future interview (relationship timeline, family tree, chat/message screenshots, photos, engagement party/dinh hon photos, receipts of places visited together, airline tickets, how did you meet, who introduced.) If I could do it all over again, I'd recommend CR-1 over K-1. Trying for a K-1 from HCMC Vietnam was tough.

Bring it with you to the interview. They may not even look at it. I stressed out for months because I did not frontload my petition with a relationship timeline or family tree, but they had approved us before they even met us. The C.O. had questions pre-loaded on her computer screen, and she simply asked us those questions and typed out our answers (me in English with my Fiancee in Vietnamese through an interpreter). They didn't even look at any of the evidence that we had brought (which was 3 binders full, and fearing that we would receive a blue slip, I forced stack of our Dinh Hon/engagement photos through the little slot and made her look at them, lol).

Hmm, so would it be best to apply for the name change when applying for AOS (I-485), like @Phamas mentioned, or when applying for naturalization (N-400), like @Liam2021 suggests? Also, do most Vietnamese drop their "middle name" (Văn for male/ Thị for female) when they apply for the name change? Do they allow that? So essentially her name will be [Thu Trang] [Nguyen or Phan (My Last Name)] without the 'Thị' after the name change. From 'Thi Thu Trang Nguyen' to 'Thu Trang Nguyen' or 'Thu Trang Phan'. My immigration consultant said to keep everything consistent and all the same with the name on her USCIS account, K-1 Visa, and Vietnamese Passport like @Liam2021 said to avoid mixups between different government agencies (Federal, State, City, etc.) so her name would be essentially 'Thi Thu Trang Nguyen' until we start her name change process later on.

@Phamas Thank you so much, Davis! And sames (calling my fiancée by her full first name)! It always catches her by surprise. 😂

I've seen numerous posts about this topic, but I am still confused. For my Fiancee's paperwork, passport, and K-1 visa her name all matches, which is: Surname: Nguyen (Example) Given Name: Thi Thu Trang (Example) Her airplane ticket is in this order. In Vietnamese, her surname would be "Nguyen", her middle name "Thi", and her Vietnamese Given Name is "Thu Trang". A lot of Vietnamese have 2 names as their First Name. (Last, Middle, First #1, First #2) For Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) purposes, we know we should match it exactly like how it appears on her I-94 entry form (Thi Thu Trang Nguyen). For everything else, including our upcoming Adjustment of Status (AOS) paperwork, Removal of Conditions (ROC) paperwork, rental/lease agreements, employer health, dental, vision insurance, utility bills, and credit card/bank statements, Should the correct 'American Name Order' be: Trang Thi Thu Nguyen (First #2, Middle, First #1, Last) or Trang Thu Thi Nguyen (First #2, First #1, Middle, Last) or Thu Trang Thi Nguyen (First #1, First #2, Middle, Last) It's a bit awkward for my Fiancee to get used to having her name switched around which I am sure everyone here (and their relatives and spouse) has had to deal with as well when first coming to the states. Thank you so much! - Tony

I am Vietnamese-American and my Fiancée is Vietnamese National. We both speak Vietnamese to one another (which is pretty uncommon for this site I guess?). Has anyone had trouble at Port of Entry (SFO, SF Int'l specifically) for their Fiancée at a POE and required secondary inspection? Will they have translators there at POE (SF)? Thank you so much!

Hi, I was wondering for USCIS Adjustment of Status purposes, if a city hall/courthouse wedding is acceptable at first, and then a couple of months later, if an interview is required for our I-485 (App. to Register Permanent Residence), if we can bring evidence/photos/video proof of an actual wedding celebration then. I have a giant family here in the U.S. and it will take months to book a venue, and have "evidence" of a wedding celebration. We hope to have the "legal" marriage first at city hall/courthouse and wasn't sure if USCIS would accept this as adequate proof of bonafide marriage evidence. Thanks! - Tony

@Liam2021 Sorry, I meant, I will be coming back in February 2025 (after Tet) and taking her back with me to the U.S.

@TD6886 Not yet! She has a ton of stuff to pack. Hoping to return and celebrate Christmas or Tet Vietnamese New Year with her and come back with her sometime in February!

Hi, I am a bit confused about the I-94 document requirement for entry for K-1 Fiance/Fiancée(s) into a U.S. Port of Entry (specifically SFO, SF Int'l). Should my Fiancee have this filled out online (https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94) a week before her entry into the U.S. Or will one be issued to her (application to be filled out) in the U.S. when she lands into SF Int'l Airport. I was told by my immigration consultant that I do not need to apply for online but I rather be safe than sorry. Thank you so much! - Tony

Hi @TD6886, my Fiancée received her passport with the visa by courier on early morning, Monday, 10/7 which was about Sunday night, 10/6, over here in California (PST time). Good luck, Yung! And congratulations again! Sorry that you had to endure months and months of having to deal with the Blue slip denial from Vietnam!

@TD6886 Congrats, Yung!

@Liam2021 Sorry for the confusing title. We passed our interview and Fiancee received her K-1 Visa by mail 2 days ago despite myself not front-loading the petition. We did not include a relationship timeline, a family tree, chat logs, socia media screenshots, statements from family members, or any photos of our Dinh Hon/engagement party. C.O. maybe looked through 20 of our Dinh Hon photos at the interview.

@ I was told to frontload for the HCM Embassy, as many people have received OF-194 Refusal Blue Slips for not bringing things like a Family Tree, Relationship Timeline, Proof of Purchase of Airline Tickets (Credit Card Statements), Statements of Relationship from Family Members/Friends, Not Having a big engagement party, Getting engaged too quickly, Not spending more than 1+ year together before sending the I-129F, etc. I had done none of these and was still approved.

Just curious to see if anyone else had been approved for a K-1/CR-1 or any other types of marriage-based visas from the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Embassy (a high fraud consulate) without front-loading and also submitting the bare minimum. My immigration consultant that I used had worked for the Ho Chi Minh City embassy as a Visa Supervisor 20 years ago but she basically sent the most minimum barebone packet for our K-1 application. We did not include a relationship timeline, a family tree, chat logs, socia media screenshots, statements from family members, or any photos of our Dinh Hon/engagement party and were approved anyways. The only thing that she sent into USCIS for our petition was: I-129F petition itself, Our 2x2 photos, Non-long form birth certificates, ~20 photos of us together at non-landmark locations and photos with family and friends from before our engagement party (non-dated and no names or names of location included in the back) Copies of passport stamps + boarding passes No hotel/travel receipts and chat records were included The interviewer literally asked us a few questions each (petitioner and beneficiary) and we were approved. They maybe looked through about ~20 of our Dinh Hon/engagement photos when I forced them through the window slot nearing the end of the interview before she gave us the results. Just curious to see if anyone else has had this easy of an experience. All of the stories that I read about Vietnam being super difficult was untrue.

@Phamas I would take everything you see on these forums with a grain a salt. We exchanged engagement rings for our Dinh Hon and the interviewer even asked if we were currently wearing them at the interview yesterday (we were) and it wasn't a problem at all! I think the officers there are pretty much trained to know the difference between an engagement and an actual wedding ceremony. Our Dinh Hon was more like a giant party where both families were able to meet one another (my 80+ family members and her 500+ family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers). They asked us if jewelry was given as engagement gifts and I showed them those photos as well and told them we had 5 American guests at the party. After the longest 30 seconds of my life hearing nothing but typing, they said we were approved. I think having the Dinh Hon party helped our case by a lot.

@TD6886 We passed! They asked us a few questions each and looked through our Dinh Hon/Engagement photos and after skimming through about 20 photos, the interviewer said we were approved!

@JasonGG We passed! Similar to your experience we had brought 3 binders full of evidence and they asked for none of it. Just looked at a couple of our Engagement/Dinh Hon photos and said we passed and will receive the passport in about 2 weeks. Compiling all of the evidence, printing out hundreds of photos and 3 stacks of paperwork, and 9 months of worrying was definitely the hardest part of the K-1 process. They had already made a decision before they even met us.

@Phamas Nhi and I are wearing the traditional red clothing for the tea ceremony (my profile pic) at the altar inside her home with just her family members in those photos. But for the photos at the dinner banquet outside her home with our 500+ family members all across Vietnam, I am wearing a tux and Nhi is wearing a red dress. Should we not show them these pictures then, even though it is evidence that we had a large engagement party with all of her family and friends in town? I've heard they usually want to see evidence of a large Dinh Hon with lots and lots of people.

Hmm @sleepynt, where did you read that one shouldn't exchange rings? I've seen others get approved since it is only "engagement rings".

Thank you so much for all of your help so far, @JasonGG! From the very beginning to now the (almost) end for the K-1 route. AOS will be another journey, lol.

Hi, we currently have a stack of 12+ inches of paperwork (photos, proof of relationship, I-134 documents, Relationship Timeline, all of the required documents, Family Tree, updated letters of intent, etc.) to give to the C.O. We know there will be a small slot at the window to handover documents to the officer. I know everything should be arranged according to Part 4 of the Packet 3 Instructions, but we weren't sure how to exactly do this. Do most people just put everything in the order that they want and hand over each document at a time? Give them one giant folder? Or should we split it all into 3 separate paper folders and hand them all 3 that way so that it fits through the window slot. Thank you!

@sleepynt Hmm, I can't go back in time and change the sign to "Le Dinh Hon", lol. What do you suggest I do at this point? We have a ton of relationship evidence and photos and chat logs. I'm just worried about the Consulate misconstruing the engagement ceremony as well and giving us a denial.