The Malaysian VJ Thread

[magjue 0]

hi everyone,

thought i'd just drop a note and let you wonderful people know that my visa has been approved. I had my interview on Aug 1st, although not without some drama (AOS form was missing a page) but that all didn't matter since I got approved.

Picked up my passport on Aug 2nd at the US Embassy KL, and leaving for the States tomorrow, Aug 6th.

I'll do a proper write-uo about my experience once I'm back Stateside, last day at home so it's a lil crazy around here!

Very excited as I haven't seen my husband for about 3 months! Hopefully POE will be uneventful and we'll soon be reunited. He asked me if he should give me a hug or do a side-hug since my belly is so much bigger than when I left the US in May! I'm due the first week of Oct so we're going to have a lot to do before our firstborn gets here!

Thanks for your help, everyone, and good luck to those still going through this journey. It's been a long wait (we applied Aug 18 2012) but it's so worth it!

Wow...congrats..!!Happy to hear you got your visa and that the waiting was finally over .I am still waiting for my certificate of good conduct to get approved,hopefully soon as it'll be a month since I applied it.I wish you a happy life with you husband and the new baby coming ahead..!

Edited August 6, 2013 by magjue

[rjbntsk 5]

Congratulations and safe journey to your new home!

[Craymel 0]

Hi all,

I am doing my final preparation of all my evidence . I am going to put into ring folder. Anyone can advise whether this would be advisable? I'm planning to arrange the evidence by pictures, emails, phone bills, hotel reservations + train tickets and etc.

Or anyone has a better idea to share?

[JP and Tee 13]

Hi all,

I am doing my final preparation of all my evidence . I am going to put into ring folder. Anyone can advise whether this would be advisable? I'm planning to arrange the evidence by pictures, emails, phone bills, hotel reservations + train tickets and etc.

Or anyone has a better idea to share?

Your interview is this Thursday ya? I used an accordion folder, since that worked out better for me. All the documents needed were put in order as per the letter sent by the embassy. I figured it'd be easier to find that way. All in all it was about a few kgs by the time i was done with it. I'll put up a proper picture of how I arranged it when I can.

[Craymel 0]

Hi JP and Tee,

So glad you are home safe there =)

How was settling down so far?

Yeap..is this Thursday. I am excited yet nervous too. Hehe. Thanks for ur advise. I will do so. Also thanks in advance for sharing the pic . Look fwd to it.

Cheers!

[JP and Tee 13]

Hi all,

I am doing my final preparation of all my evidence . I am going to put into ring folder. Anyone can advise whether this would be advisable? I'm planning to arrange the evidence by pictures, emails, phone bills, hotel reservations + train tickets and etc.

Or anyone has a better idea to share?

DISCLAIMER: MY CASE WAS EXPEDITED SO MY EXPERIENCE MIGHT NOT BE LIKE OTHERS.

Just thought I'd share so others can benefit

Ok, since I got the pix, i figured I'd just type it out all so I won't forget. I know how it feels to be so damn freaking nervous just before the interview -- i was a nervous wreck and kept telling my husband it would be denied -- just nerves, nothing else. You will do fine. Just be honest, relax and get your stuff in order before you get to the embassy -- it helps A LOT!

So as per the pix attached, I figured using an accordion file would be best, as i can take the documents in/out without having to pull it out of the plastic protector thingy, compared to if I used a ring binder. Plus, it's not as thick as a ring binder, and the accordion file comes with a handle and I was mighty glad for that because it meant I could carry it like a briefcase.

I put the order as per the letter sent from the embassy. I also included some of the documents which I had but was not asked by the embassy, just coz I thought i'd be better off having them WITH me in case the embassy did ask for them. They will tell you what you need so don't worry, just follow the list and you should be fine.

from left to right of picture, put in same section in accordion file:

1.

• 1. 2" x 2" passport pictures (embassy told me bring one, but I had 3 with my name and passport number written in black ink at the back of the pic -- lucky I did since the staff asked for 2, not 1 like requested by the letter)
• passports (old and new - old passport has my tourist visa in it)
• DS230 part 2 (filled in but not signed) -- you will sign it before your interview in front of the interviewer
• list of places you've been in the last 10 years (i typed this out as i was too lazy to do it by hand )
• interview letter

2. birth certificates and copies (petitioner and beneficiary)

3. marriage certificate and copies (include divorce decree and copy if you have one)

4.

• AOS form (original)
• tax returns
• W2
• pay stubs
• petitioner's proof of employment - military orders and enlistment records (I included just copies, we didn't notarize/certify true copy)

5. certificate of good conduct (Australia and Malaysia -- bring originals, make copies if you want to. staff didn't take the copies, just the original. Certs must be dated, valid for 1 year. If your certs have expired, pls get a new one. Mine expired at the end of August, so it was a relief I got an early Aug interview date!

6. relationship evidence

-- BILLS/RECORDS: credit card statements, copy of credit cards showing both our names from same bank with numbers blacked out except the last four, phone bills with both our US numbers on them, my Malaysian phone bill with his phone number highlighted (the only US number I really ever called ), a copy of military dependent ID, details from DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) stating me as a spouse and emergency contact, his insurance with my details stating me as beneficiary, my Tricare Prime details (military insurance provider for dental and medical)

-- emails between us spanning from 2007-2013, with a couple from his mother to me thrown in. Immigration stamps showing husband's visit to Malaysia from 2008-2012, immigration stamps in my passports showing my visits to the US from 2008-2013.

-- hotel receipts, greeting cards from relatives congratulating us on our marriage, a wedding invite from a friend sent to our US address with both our names on it, 5 pictures with date stamps on back

-- some receipts for stuff we bought online from various stores ie kohls, amazon, ebay -- showing our names at the same address

-- photobooks/wedding albums -- 1 from nikah/exchanging of vows ceremony, 1 from wedding reception, 1 which I made recently highlighting the things we'd accomplished in our 1st year of marriage (Thanksgiving, Xmas, bought a house, move houses etc) -- I figured it'd show the development of our relationship since we got married

7. copy of I130 - just thought i'd bring it along

My file was kind of a mish-mash of everything. I was nervous as heck, but I figured it'd be better to be over prepared than finding out I didn't have what I needed. It was heavy, but it was worth it coz it helped that I had everything and they were in order. That helped calm the nerves a little bit. And don't worry if you don't have some of the documents as the staff you'll speak to in the morning will allow you to pass it to him in the afternoon session. This happened to my AOS form, which we found out I brought the copy instead of the original so I went back and got it before handing it to the staff I spoke to in the morning during the afternoon session.

And guess what?

After all that putting together of relationship evidence (which involved me hassling my husband for MORE MORE MORE documents) the interviewer did not ask for ONE SINGLE ONE. He just looked thru the I130 (with plenty of evidence) we sent wayyyyy back in August 2012, and approved us! Oh well. Better to have MORE than LESS, I say

Good luck, hope this helps!

Edited August 12, 2013 by JP and Tee

[Craymel 0]

Thanks a lot JP and Tee for sharing this. It reallys does help to makes me feel better in preoaring the evidence. I will take note on the photos.

You have loads of evidence. Mine was not much because i never knew that all these is needed till i was being proposed by my fiance. I only got to know about this visa after the proposal . Thank God that i kept our europe train tickets and hotel receipt which initially wanted to do a scrapbook from it for my own Europe experience and end up never did..hahaha. Phone record also only some of it due to always on pay as you go ( in UK ) and prepaid ( when i first got back to Malaysia in 2010) as most of the time we are on skype.

As for the emails, i do still have quite a number which i kept since 2008 till now. I will put all of them in and arrange according to each years.

My fiance did not front load a lot because he is very confident that what he puts in is more than enough. ( Time line of our relationship, when we met and when we see each other in between. His passport entry to Malaysia at 2 different times and entry to UK. Few emails stating we communicate in skype and a total of 6 pictures of us together. ) Which is why now i have to ensure i do not miss out on anything.

Hehehe..i know what you mean by hassling your hubby. I did the same with my fiance..haha..but Thank God he is patience and loving enough to understand why i required all these.

So to make sure i understand you correctly. In the morning, you only give the required forms , documents and visa photo to them. You basically still holding onto your evidence till in the afternoon? Meaning to say , we do not give the evidence unless they asked for it during the interview?

[JP and Tee 13]

Thanks a lot JP and Tee for sharing this. It reallys does help to makes me feel better in preoaring the evidence. I will take note on the photos.

You have loads of evidence. Mine was not much because i never knew that all these is needed till i was being proposed by my fiance. I only got to know about this visa after the proposal . Thank God that i kept our europe train tickets and hotel receipt which initially wanted to do a scrapbook from it for my own Europe experience and end up never did..hahaha. Phone record also only some of it due to always on pay as you go ( in UK ) and prepaid ( when i first got back to Malaysia in 2010) as most of the time we are on skype.

As for the emails, i do still have quite a number which i kept since 2008 till now. I will put all of them in and arrange according to each years.

My fiance did not front load a lot because he is very confident that what he puts in is more than enough. ( Time line of our relationship, when we met and when we see each other in between. His passport entry to Malaysia at 2 different times and entry to UK. Few emails stating we communicate in skype and a total of 6 pictures of us together. ) Which is why now i have to ensure i do not miss out on anything.

Hehehe..i know what you mean by hassling your hubby. I did the same with my fiance..haha..but Thank God he is patience and loving enough to understand why i required all these.

So to make sure i understand you correctly. In the morning, you only give the required forms , documents and visa photo to them. You basically still holding onto your evidence till in the afternoon? Meaning to say , we do not give the evidence unless they asked for it during the interview?

I did ask the guy I spoke to in the morning (Counter 10) since I had ALL the evidence kan, but he said no need, and if the person interviewing me wants em, I'd be asked to hand them over. So in the afternoon, I brought the file with me, but was not asked about it at all.

Don't worry, if they feel your application is lacking, perhaps they will ask in the morning, because they'd go through your packet in the morning, making sure you have all the stuff needed.

We made sure we included a lot in the initial I130 coz we have a lot of stuff from our 5+ years rship, but not much pertaining to our marriage (since we filed about 90days from the date we married kan so not much evidence lah). I wrote a proper essay about our rship timeline, which we included in our I130 and was asked about that too.

So, suffice to say for I130, most of the rship evidence was related to our long term rship (trips we took together while we were dating, pictures with friends and family), documents pertaining to wedding (invites, receipts, pictures) as well as a few things we did together after marriage before my husband went back to the US (mini honeymoon/trip).

At the interview, I included MORE stuff that shows we are married - credit card details with both our names, phone records w both our names, the 1 year anniversary photobook showing the important events in our 1st year of marriage together. None of these were asked to be looked at, but it helped me calm down a little as I prepared for the interview.

I'll do a proper review soon, hopefully it will help you lah ya.

[Craymel 0]

JP and Tee,

Words just could not describe how much o appreciate ur advise.

Am doing last preparation n at least I know what the process is like for that day

My evidence is alot. Emails n phone bills especially

Because that is the only thing we have to prooof.haha.

How r u so far?

I am bringing my payslip n bank statement just in case. My fiance alreadt provide affidavit of support.

JP and Tee,

Words just could not describe how much o appreciate ur advise.

Am doing last preparation n at least I know what the process is like for that day

My evidence is alot. Emails n phone bills especially

Because that is the only thing we have to prooof.haha.

How r u so far?

I am bringing my payslip n bank statement just in case. My fiance alreadt provide affidavit of support.

[nanraj 7]

Hello Malaysian VJ members

I received my K1 packet 3 and need your help on this as I am quite confused

To start with ,what do I send back to Embassy in packet 3 response . Below documents are only required to be sent ?

1)DS-230 part 1

2)passport copy - biographic data

3)Checklist with the required documents box checked

4)Signed Application statement

Also the checklist indicate that the I-134 should be notarized and sponsor may elect to send a sworn in affidavit, also income tax returns should be notarized as well . Can you please confirm if the packet 3 issued is same for all from KL embassy.

Do I really need to have these documents notarized ( I-134 and Income tax returns) and any additional affidavit is required at all ?

Also is there anywhere online copy someone can point me to "Sponsor's Financial responsibly under the social security act"

Below Is the complete list for interview documents I am trying to collect , also is there document that required to be certified true copy

1)Passport

2)Birth Certificate

3)Police Certificates

4)DS-156 in duplicate

5)DS-157

6)DS-156K

7)2 Photographs

8)Letter of consent - Signed by USC

9)Evidence of relationship

10)Evidence of support I-134 - (W2 and bank statements )

11)Sponsor's Financial responsibly under the social security act - Signed by USC

I really appreciate help from you guys on this and taking time time to answer my question

[JP and Tee 13]

JP and Tee,

Words just could not describe how much o appreciate ur advise.

Am doing last preparation n at least I know what the process is like for that day

My evidence is alot. Emails n phone bills especially

Because that is the only thing we have to prooof.haha.

How r u so far?

I am bringing my payslip n bank statement just in case. My fiance alreadt provide affidavit of support.

JP and Tee,

Words just could not describe how much o appreciate ur advise.

Am doing last preparation n at least I know what the process is like for that day

My evidence is alot. Emails n phone bills especially

Because that is the only thing we have to prooof.haha.

How r u so far?

I am bringing my payslip n bank statement just in case. My fiance alreadt provide affidavit of support.

I didn't put anything pertaining to my job, though I hv one and still attached to the same msian company even tho I've moved to the us. You can include your Skype chat logs too, make sure they're Fr different dates so it shows a progression of the rship.

[Craymel 0]

Thanks JP and Tee. Unfortunately I never save any chat logs coz never knew this was important. By the time we start to file for k1, we r mostly on phone calls already. Huhuhu.

I am getting nervous now yet excited =)

[rusberri 1]

That's great advice JP and Tee! Thanks a lot! =)

NVC just received our file from the service centre and hopefully it gets shipped to the consulate within the week. How long did you guys have to wait between the consulate receiving the documents from NVC and you receiving packet 3 from the consulate?

[JP and Tee 13]

HI everyone,

I thought I'd do a review on my experience at the interview last Thursday. I thought it'd be helpful since we don't have a lot of reviews on the US Embassy KL.

I did a post on my experiences getting my medical at the panel clinic in Penang. Pls visit here if you'd like to read it.

I also shared how I put my documents together, you can read about it here.

REVIEW:

I stayed at GTower Hotel, which is about 10mins walk from the embassy. Got there at about 850am, the embassy seemed quiet, didn't see anyone lining up outside at all. Gave my IC to the guard, who then gave me a visitor's pass. Walked in through the door, went through security, left my blackberry and Lumia phone at the front before going in.

From what I know and based on reviews by others, I didn't bring my camera/Macbook Air, was told those would not be allowed into the embassy as well (tho im off the habit of taking them everywhere), I left them at the hotel. So if you're planning to read on your tablets while you wait, I'd suggest bring a book as your tablets would not be allowed inside.

Got in, chose a B number, mine was 411. Went to the door on the right, waiting area was FILLED with people (no wonder it was quiet outside, everyone was inside already haha), and waited. Sat from 9am, got called about 1030am. Went to room on left, to counter 10. Saw that staff had my I130 file open, he went through the document checklist and asked for the documents needed. Was not asked for the extra evidence of bona fide relationship at all (i brought more), but was told to bring it in case I'd be asked for more evidence during the interview in the afternoon.

It was then I found out my AOS form was missing page 3, and it was a copy so the staff wouldn't accept it. Almost had a heart attack, but recovered and asked if I could give him the original form later when I come back in the afternoon. He said it'd fine and to just tell the staff taking my biometrics to pass it on to him. I figured I must've left it at the hotel or something.

Paid IV fee USD230, used my US Bank credit card. They accept credit card (local/foreign) as well as cash payment in RM. I think on the day it was RM759.

Left at about 11am. Walked back to hotel, called my husband to tell him about what happened, got AOS form squared away. Rested and walked back to the embassy at about 115pm.

Got there about 130pm, again went through security. Went to room on right, waited again. Not many people, nerve-wrecking sitting there as even though there's like a glass booth in front of the counters, you can still hear the interviews going on. Esp when the interviewer used the microphone.

I was called at around 2pm, got my biometrics done by a nice Chinese lady at counter 5. She confirmed my name and the visa I was applying for. Told her I needed to pass the AOS form to the guy I saw this morning, passed it to her and waited some more.

At around 415pm, when I thought I was going to DIE from boredom (my back was killing me, sitting for long periods of time is NOT comfortable for a pregnant lady!), I got called to counter 5. Once I got into the glass booth, the interviewer asked MANY questions, most revolve around the same topic but worded differently. AMong them that I can still remember:

• how long have you been married for
• how did you meet each other
• have you met each others families
• details about visits to see each other - husband's visits to Msia, my visits to the US
• what was your wedding date
• what is your husband's rank, where is he stationed
• when was my last visit to the US
• details about wedding - who attended, who chose color scheme, where it was held
• I spoke about our life after we got married and what we've achieved together - mentioned we bought a house, moved to a new base, celebrated Thanksgiving, Xmas, birthdays together as a married couple

Then after a barrage of questions (he actually asked me a lot of questions, and I think I spoke a lot more than I should've but I was nervous and that usually happen when I'm nervous haha), he stopped asking and started typing on the computer. I just stood there, not knowing wat to do. His face was unreadable, the glass window was all dusty so I couldn't see his face very well and assess what he was feeling so I was a lil nervous.

I must mention the interviewer DID NOT ask for any of the extra relationship evidence I brought with me, he just looked though our I130 packet and asked questions based on what he saw in there.

Then he said "okay, I'm going to approve your visa."

I was overjoyed, and said," OH really, that's great, thanks so much!! Now I can go home!" He smiled and told me not to go yet, since his colleague would call me back to give me instructions on where to collect my visa the next day. He then cancelled my tourist visa which I got in 2008, congratulated me and told me to wait for further instructions.

The interview only took about 10-15 minutes but it felt longer to me! I got out of the glass booth very excited, and sat for a few minutes before being called by the guy at Counter 10. He congratulated me then gave me a piece of paper, that told me to get my passport at 2pm the next day at the embassy. Wisma MCA is no longer the place to go get the passport so DON'T go there.

At about 445pm, I walked out feeling rather overjoyed and when I turned my phone on, found out my husband was already up. The sweetheart offered to stay up but I told him to go to sleep since i had no idea how long it was going to take.

Called him immediately and talked about what happened. Then he asked, "DID YOU GET THE VISA?!"

I laughed and said, "Yes lah, I got it. I'll see you next week!" hehehe He whooped and was of course very happy with the news.

I went back to the embassy at 2pm the next day, got my passport, was out by 330pm.

Went back to my hometown that same night, packed my bags and flew home to the US on the 6th. POE was Charlotte, which was rather uneventful, tho there was a lot of people so I waited quite a bit. The officers were nice, congratulated me and said "Welcome to the USA"! One even called me "Ms Malaysia"

Oh oh oh, I must mention FORGOT to pay my ELIS 165USD fee BEFORE my POE, and only remembered to do so while I was in line at the POE haha but did it the next day I got home, and hopefully it will be ok!

Good luck to everyone who's going to have their interview tomorrow, I know it's nerve wrecking but be honest, be clear when you answer, and just act very damn confident (but not cocky), and they'll know you're sincere and not out to scam anyone.

I am very damn relieved I got through it, and so happy I'm home. Wishing the best to everyone! Hope this helps.

Edited August 14, 2013 by JP and Tee

[JP and Tee 13]

Thanks JP and Tee. Unfortunately I never save any chat logs coz never knew this was important. By the time we start to file for k1, we r mostly on phone calls already. Huhuhu.

I am getting nervous now yet excited =)

I did a review. Hope it helps. Just relax and be truthful. You'll do fine