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SteinNebraska wrote:

My wife and daughter have been Documentarily Approved (yes, that's apparently a word) for their immigration visas to the US as of today!

Congratulations!

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Congratulations!

Thanks!

SteinNebraska wrote:

My wife and daughter have been Documentarily Approved (yes, that's apparently a word) for their immigration visas to the US as of today!  It's been a long year of paperwork and applications.  We still need to wait for the consulate to open again to schedule their interview but it's downhill from here on.  Assuming two months of backlogged and cancelled interviews to reschedule and maybe two months more to get our interview it's very possible we could make it home for Christmas!  I'm very happy today.

Fantastic news! I hope they'll be ready for winter in Nebraska!

SteinNebraska wrote:

My wife and daughter have been Documentarily Approved (yes, that's apparently a word) for their immigration visas to the US as of today! .... it's very possible we could make it home for Christmas!  I'm very happy today.

I'm very happy for you and your family.  I hope your wife and daughter have better chance to experience a white Christmas in Lincoln than I ever did.  In half a dozen years in and out of your town, I saw a few inches of snow on the ground once, then a week later when we returned to Southern CA, the road up to our home in the mountain was blocked due to 16" of snowfall overnight.

Ciambella wrote:

I'm very happy for you and your family.  I hope your wife and daughter have better chance to experience a white Christmas in Lincoln than I ever did.  In half a dozen years in and out of your town, I saw a few inches of snow on the ground once, then a week later when we returned to Southern CA, the road up to our home in the mountain was blocked due to 16" of snowfall overnight.

I had no idea you have spent time in my town!  It's grown quite a bit, around 300,00 people now with a Vietnamese population of around 8,000.

SteinNebraska wrote:

I had no idea you have spent time in my town!  It's grown quite a bit, around 300,00 people now with a Vietnamese population of around 8,000.

I used to have itchy feet -- still do although less intense now with age.  It's the main reason behind our constant travel and relocation.  I inherited that trait from my mother and passed it down to my youngest son.  Lincoln was were he lived during his late 20s and early 30s.

Just a word to the wise.  It is not in the list of documents that the circular from the consulate says they will need, but be sure to bring your wife's hộ khẩu booklet.  If her daughter is in a different book, like a grandparent's, bring that too.  The Vietnamese employees at the consulate were demanding it of all interviewees when my wife went for her interview even though it was not on the list.  Even showing the Viet employee a printout of the list did not work.  Only because I was there and only because I demanded to speak to an American citizen employee was the demand lifted.  Better play it safe and bring the booklet.

Also if you have any children from a previous marriage have your wife memorize their names and ages even if they are all over 18 years old.  I feel it is a totally invalid question but they may ask.   I went over all our application papers later and the information was on none of the forms.  It's totally a bluff question but just letting you know that it may be coming.  My wife anticipated the question because she heard of it from a Vietnamese applicant grapevine.

Gotcha on the house book.  It's actually listed on the Vietnam-specific list of documents on the US Embassy website.

The one thing that got me is that they want the original or certified copy of my birth certificate.  I mean really, I have every scrap of documentation (in original form) plus my passport and including a photocopy of my birth certificate where you can even read the raised seal and that isn't good enough.  I never even thought about bringing that back to VN with me.  I'm a US citizen.  Oh, well.  It's not a big deal.  My mother is going to my house to get it and take it to my office and they will send it along with the next shipment of whatever coming to me.

SteinNebraska wrote:

Gotcha on the house book.  It's actually listed on the Vietnam-specific list of documents on the US Embassy website.

That list of documents, or at least the description of each, has certainly grown over the past few years.  I distinctly remember it being a simple list that printed out on only one page.   In fact it may have been a downloadable PDF file.  Maybe the house book was added after too many guys like me pointed it out to them that it was not on the list.  Looks like you have it covered.