Visa for Vietnamese girlfriend to visit USA

You mentioned near the end of your post,  "wait three years then come to US"..Are 3 years a required amount of time after a Vietnamese marriage for a US citizen to then bring spouse back?  I think I've heard that before.  Hope you can shed light on this.  Thanks

OK,  so the 1-130 is the documentation needed if I, the US citizen who married a Vietnamese woman in Vietnam,  wants to bring her back to the US.  And this process takes a minimum of 1 1/2 years........I am not sure,  but I've heard if I marry here in VN,  she can come to US after 3 years of marriage, not sooner.  Just something I heard but I have not read about it. ?

Honestly I don't know.  It's based on previous answer to this post that the process of getting Vietnamese wives legal papers to the US take about 3 years.

Hey Schleger, whatever you do, just don't have a kid yet until everything settles in USA.

THIGV wrote:

schleger wrote:

I see 2 other options: the Fiance visa route where she could visit US and we'd have 90 days I'm order to get married. Then she could stay in US..... Or,  and this is where I need clarification, what if I,  US citizen marry her here in VN?   I sense it would be easier and cheaper..... Then, could she (as my wife)  simply return with me to US? I appreciate your feedback.

Check all posts by vndreamer on the K-1 fiance visa.  He did it recently and knows the ropes. 

As for getting married now, you can't "simply return" to the US.  If you made the I-130 application the day after you got your marriage finalized and the documents translated, you are still looking at minimally a year and a half, if all goes as planned, before your spouse touches the ground in the US.  As one who has gone that route, I would like to strongly suggest you look seriously at the K-1 route before you commit to marriage in Vietnam.  If you do marry, the 1-130 is the only option.

I can confirm, our K-1 visa took six months from the date the papers were filed to the date she had the k-1 stamped in her passport.  I recently helped another friend with a VN K-1 visa and I think his took 8 months from the date of paper filing to the date she got the visa stamped in her passport.  She arrived in the USA last week.

Thanks for the info!

Hey y'all just read this thread very interesting I have been living in Vietnam 2 years with my girlfriend we have a home here and she's a full time student. I am a ship captain so I work 4 months on and 6-8 months off. Of course my time off is always with her. We travel a lot. It's not uncommon for us to take 6 - 10 flights a month. We've been to korea, Thailand, Philippine, Singapore, Bali, Malaysia, Cambodia ect ..... I absolutely hate America and only go there to visit my grandparents. I hate the feminist ways there and the way the women act there. But I want my girlfriend to meet my grandparents before they pass. 74 and 75 years old. We are applying for the tourist visa B-2 but from reading yalls thread it looks like bad idea. I make $1000+ usd dollars a day and have attached my pay stubs and stocks and real estate investments back home. Wouldn't the consultant see it so obviously that we don't want to live there? Given the large amount of money I make and world travels we do? If we wanted to live there I would simply get the fiancé visa. But we don't! We have a home and her mothers business here and I hate American culture.  Any advice guys? Thanks for all your help

Well, you've no legal status with her, so they don't give a damn about you (through it's still nice for them to know that you live together, owning, money, ...): a bit of a context.
What they want to know is if your significant other will go back home or not.

So, SHE must have money on her bank account, SHE has a job and monthly payment on her bank account to proof she has a socioeconomic life in Vietnam / student with financial support, SHE has already traveled in other OECD country before (make sure her korean visa is still in her current passport + any other visas (they don't care about visa-free stamps)) and she always come home without any problem with immigration, ...

==> SHE <==


Just for your understanding, immigration want to know how she'll handle herself if you decide to break up / not take care of her when she's in the US.
So yeah ==> she has a stable job + money + owning (if possible) + credit cards (trusted by the banks) so she'll come back home no matter what

Ok thanks for the advice. I forgot to mention I have a half million dollar life insurance policy in my name to her attached to the visa application. But it looks like they are not going review the package I have put together from what I'm hearing they will ask her three or four quick questions and say yep young 24 year old woman dating 30 yea old man? No kids? Not married? Not going happen denied. I will post update after September 9th when we go.... I've already looked into another opinion we are planning to just fly to Panama or to the Caribbean islands. Visa free there for Vietnam citizens and my grandparents can handle that short flight. So I think that's what will do. But we've already paid the fee and done the 160 crap or what ever online and compiled such a nice packet so might as well go September 9th to the meeting and see

So what happened?
As SteinNebraska said in post 2, it ain't happening.

It's also not so much about Vietnam, as it is any place that isn't the English speaking Commonwealth countires and the E.U.
Everyone else, it's very hard to get a tourist visa for ANY single female, no matter what.

Now, if you have a half million (USD) in the bank, they know you can get all sorts of visas, so that's another story.

Long story short, if you love her, go the K-1 route.
that's what we did and it worked as described. 10 months for visa.
Good luck

Abear2000 wrote:

I make $1000+ usd dollars a day

Abear2000..... Are they hiring? I will quick my job in America and move there..... Lol....

We don't want to live there though.  If we get a K-1 don't we have to stay in America?  I thought getting the k-1 we had to go there get married and stay there?  We simply want to go see my grandparents for A month and come back home to Vietnam. My girl could never be away from her family more than a month

Shipping has been boom but you need to have unlimited masters or chief officer and DPO unlimited as well ;-) I have buddies just starting out as Ordinary seaman they getting around 125 a day working same rotation

Also I do not have half a million Cash in the bank. I do have verifiable over half a million assets stocks, real estate and cash that they can see if they actually look at the forms and paperwork I gave her not to mention my tax returns. But I highly doubt they are going to view anything with what I've read and learned about them so far. Thanks for all yalls input it looks like we'll be going to the Caribbean or panama to meet my grandparents but I will update y'all September 9th after the interview already paid the money and have appointment so might as well go at this point. We are boarding plane now for Singapore ;-) thanks again

Abear2000 wrote:

Shipping has been boom but you need to have unlimited masters or chief officer and DPO unlimited as well ;-) I have buddies just starting out as Ordinary seaman they getting around 125 a day working same rotation

Thanks... I lives on the ship for 10 years as a U.S Navy and holding a bachelor degree in Systems Engineer... Just want to move to Vietnam to retire and start a new life.  If you have any advise on finding a new job in Vietnam like your will be a greatly appreciated.

If you have bachelor of engineering you can probably get a USCG engineer license pretty easy. I know the navy and USCG always at odds about the licenses. I would contact the national Maritime center and start asking questions. If you can get a USCG engineering document from them then you want to join “MEBA” that is the engineering union.  Day rates for a 3rd assistant I believe are over 550 a day right now.

Abear2000 wrote:

We don't want to live there though.  If we get a K-1 don't we have to stay in America?  I thought getting the k-1 we had to go there get married and stay there?  We simply want to go see my grandparents for A month and come back home to Vietnam. My girl could never be away from her family more than a month

You could do the K1 visa if you truly are going to visit the US "one time to see family".  Just apply for that one, wait 6-8 months and then have a 90 day visa to visit the US.  By the end of the visa period you must either marry or leave.  Treat it as an extended tourist visa, don't marry, just be sure to leave before the 90 days are up.  Simple as that.

SteinNebraska wrote:

Abear2000 wrote:

We don't want to live there though.  If we get a K-1 don't we have to stay in America?  I thought getting the k-1 we had to go there get married and stay there?  We simply want to go see my grandparents for A month and come back home to Vietnam. My girl could never be away from her family more than a month

You could do the K1 visa if you truly are going to visit the US "one time to see family".  Just apply for that one, wait 6-8 months and then have a 90 day visa to visit the US.  By the end of the visa period you must either marry or leave.  Treat it as an extended tourist visa, don't marry, just be sure to leave before the 90 days are up.  Simple as that.

Really? I did not know this. So for example let's say we do that. We go to USA meet my family spend 80 days with them then fly back unmarried. Is it going make it impossible to do a visitor visa say years down the line? Or say when we do have kids in Vietnam the children will have USA citizenship and Vietnam citizenship what if 10 years down the road or whatever she wants to go visit my brothers kids or something with me? Will that make it hard? I'm just trying to find the best solution here. Problem is like I said I work on the ship so let's just say for example ok we go to America K-1 for her to get green card. There isn't a chance in fucking hell shes going sit in America for months while I am on a ship. No way no how not even a option. She will loose her mind. We go to Singapore for 20 days and she's calling mom on video and ready to go back to our home in Vietnam.  I just want her to be able to see my grandparents. I guess that's a option but it seems like a one and done. :-/ we are at airport now and looking at flights to Caribbean that's so far our best option.
Also for what it's worth. I do plan on marrying her within in the next year or so. We been together two years now and I did that just to make sure I knew her really good and it wouldn't be a money money supporting the family thing as is with a lot of asian girls. But we been together two years and luckily no one has ever asked me for money her family has their own business ect so I do plan on marriage maybe February 2020 in Phu Quoc or Saigon. This all being if she says yes when I ask hahaha I guess if we are married in Vietnam then using the K-1 is out the question

Forgot to mention so I guess obviously should do the K-1 first visit and then return and do our Vietnam wedding after. ? 😓🙄

Abear2000 wrote:

This all being if she says yes when I ask hahaha I guess if we are married in Vietnam then using the K-1 is out the question

Correct

Abear2000 wrote:

Forgot to mention so I guess obviously should do the K-1 first visit and then return and do our Vietnam wedding after. ? 😓🙄

You could do the K1, visit, leave, marry in VN later and if you eventually decide to move to the US you can do CR1 or IR1 depending on how long you are married at the time of approval.  That said, you indicated she would never move to the US.  If you don't move to the US for AT LEAST 6 months per year after a CR1 or IR1 is issued the government will likely void the visa as abandoned since you aren't showing INTENT TO IMMIGRATE which is what this visa is for.  It's not a green card visa that lets you live anywhere you want and still have green card status, benefits and passport.  So don't bother trying to apply for that one if you don't plan on moving to the US permanently.

Abear2000 wrote:

we are at airport now and looking at flights to Caribbean that's so far our best option.

This really is your best option if you can get her there (I haven't looked into that option myself) in terms of ease of application, time, convenience if your grandparents can make the short flight.

Abear2000 wrote:

If you have bachelor of engineering you can probably get a USCG engineer license pretty easy. I know the navy and USCG always at odds about the licenses. I would contact the national Maritime center and start asking questions. If you can get a USCG engineering document from them then you want to join “MEBA” that is the engineering union.  Day rates for a 3rd assistant I believe are over 550 a day right now.

Great! Thank you.... I will look into it.

Thanks I really appreciate your help and every ones else's. I think for now we will just do that so she can meet them and have our little Vietnam wedding in 2020. It's absolutely out the question living in USA. I turn 30 next month so I plan on working another 5 years and retiring. Just wish she could travel there easy to meet them or say my grandparents got sick and I needed to go but she will just have to wait me here. That's the beauty of having a asian wife they are super loyal and understanding. She has never complained about me being gone for months on the ship. Only bad thing is once we marry in Vietnam the k-1 option is burnt. So maybe we will burn that first. Just to visit for 90 days. Then return and do our Vietnam wedding. ;-).    To bad we can't do a k-1 fly there get married in USA and return right back to Vietnam but I think you have to stay X amount of years or whatever after the marriage in USA.

Hey also if you google Vietnamese passport there is a link on google that shows every country that is visa free or visa on delivery. Many Caribbean islands ect. I just use that and find airports connecting. That's the plan

Abear2000 wrote:

Hey also if you google Vietnamese passport there is a link on google that shows every country that is visa free or visa on delivery. Many Caribbean islands ect. I just use that and find airports connecting. That's the plan

I just did that but it looks like Dominica (not to be confused with Dominican Republic) and Haiti are the only two options in the Caribbean.  Not exactly desirable vacation destinations.  Dominica might be OK but Haiti is not.

I think it's missing a couple. For example Jeju isn't on there but when you check them by country it is. I'll double check again and thanks for heads up

Panama was on there. I never been but heard it's nice. There are direct flights from Texas to panama and it's only a few hours so we could swing that option to

Abear2000 wrote:

Or say when we do have kids in Vietnam the children will have USA citizenship and Vietnam citizenship what if 10 years down the road or whatever she wants to go visit my brothers kids or something with me?

If your children are born in VN, U.S. citizenship is not guaranteed just because you are a U.S. citizen.  There are requirements (e.g., minimum number of years that you must live in the USA)  that YOU must meet in addition to just being a U.S. citizen for your foreign born children to qualify for U.S. citizenship. 

For example, I have friends from college, 1 is a U.S. citizen and he married a class mate that was a foreign student.  Fast forward after marriage, they left the USA and lived in Switzerland and had 3 kids.  They thought their 3 kids would be U.S. citizens because the father was born and raised in the USA.  But no!  They showed up at the U.S. embassy and their kids did not qualify for U.S. citizenship and the main reason, he left the USA when he was 15 years old.  So despite being born in the USA and living there for 15 years since birth, it was not long enough for his kids to qualify for U.S. citizenship.

First, you better check the law and make sure your kids will qualify for U.S. citizenship.   Second, you need to think about your grand children because if you have your kids in VN and they grow up outside the USA, their kids will not qualify for U.S. citizenship.

Here is a link to the subject matter:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel … broad.html

I did some research on this 15 year rule during the Obama/Trump birtherism controversy.  If you accept the decidedly false premise that Obama was not born in Hawaii, then his citizenship might have been jeopardized by the 15 year rule as his mother was, I forget how old, but rather young when he was born.  However, particularly as a Hawaii resident, I resoundingly reject the premise that he was not born in Hawaii and after statehood as well.

There may be cases of native born people, like your friend, coming afoul of this rule, but I expect such cases are rare.  By and large it affects naturalized US citizens who choose to return to their home country before living in the US for 15 years.

I was born in USA and lived there for 24 years. I still work in USA / on the ship. So I return every 6-8 months to ship out and spend 4-6 months on the ship. I also own a real estate company in USA and pay USA taxes. So that won't be a problem. I am certain if we have children they will get USA citizenship. I actually have no problem marrying my girl for her to get citizenship the problem is her and myself do not want to be in USA for longer than a month or so to meet my family in order for her to get citizenship we have to stay there for a while. No way that's happening. Immigration is so screwed up from all the broke illegal immigrates that when legitimate people come along we get shafted. I will probably do what the other guy suggested get a k-1 visit for 90 days return to Vietnam do our wedding in Vietnam and then go from there.  We will just use that K-1 as a 90 day tourist visa to meet my grandparents

Another thing we want the kids to have dual citizenship because they will get all our property in Vietnam. USA citizenship cannot own Vietnam property and business so my girlfriend future wife would be able to pass every thing down to them. If they have USA and Vietnam they can get everything from her and everything from me. Unless I'm missing something here please tell me if I am

Abear2000 wrote:

I will probably do what the other guy suggested get a k-1 visit for 90 days return to Vietnam do our wedding in Vietnam and then go from there.  We will just use that K-1 as a 90 day tourist visa to meet my grandparents

You might want to consult with an experienced immigration attorney (as opposed to our panel of experts     on this site) regarding this idea.  Utilizing a K-1 as a de facto tourist visa could present problems down the line if you change your mind and decide to file an I-130 for regular immigration for her.

Yea definitely will before we make any moves thanks

Hey and update on the Caribbean for anyone who wants to know. Also it's visa free for Vietnamese. Antigua. Barbados and st Vincent

Talking about military abroad and citizenship for children, it's gonna be a pain soon: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/28/poli … index.html

Abear2000 wrote:

Hey and update on the Caribbean for anyone who wants to know. Also it's visa free for Vietnamese. Antigua. Barbados and st Vincent

Good to know if we decide to go see family before the CR1 visa is approved.

AlexFromBelgium wrote:

Talking about military abroad and citizenship for children, it's gonna be a pain soon: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/28/poli … index.html

You need to take the CNN bias out of the article and no, it is not going to be a pain soon, except for naturalized citizens, which is no different than the current law as it applies to U.S. persons living and working outside the USA for corporations etc. 

The issue with this change is that Military bases, embassies and other U.S. government locations have historically been given the equivalent of being U.S. soil.  Thus, when you are inside a U.S. embassy/military base outside the USA, you are considered to be in the USA.  As a result, if you are having a baby at one of these locations, your baby is being born in the USA.  So my educated guess at this point is the Trump administration is no longer permitting babies born at these locations the birthright to U.S. citizenship. 

The immigration laws are going to be applied equally to all U.S. persons giving birth outside the USA (no more discrimination against non government employees).  I am sure legal action will be taken against the U.S. government because historically, these U.S. government locations outside the USA have been treated as U.S. soil.  Thus, there is a legal question as to whether Section 1 of the 14th Amendment applies to U.S. government locations outside the USA, is it or is it not considered U.S. soil.

Abear2000 wrote:

Another thing we want the kids to have dual citizenship because they will get all our property in Vietnam. USA citizenship cannot own Vietnam property and business so my girlfriend future wife would be able to pass every thing down to them. If they have USA and Vietnam they can get everything from her and everything from me. Unless I'm missing something here please tell me if I am

It is not as simple as you might think.  Your fact pattern of marriage, home, children etc. can have a material impact of who gets what when and where you die.  For example, if you marry and reside in VN until you die, you better know and understand how VN law is going to handle your estate, including any non VN assets.  I highly recommend you have a Will and for those assets that permit you to assign beneficiaries, do it now.  If you die without a Will and/or assigning beneficiaries, the VN and U.S. governments are going to dictate who gets what and how much. 

Not sure about VN, but under U.S. law, you cannot exclude your wife from your estate, even if you do a Will.  Statutory laws protect the surviving spouse and most states either guarantee 50% or 1/3.  The remainder goes to surviving children and if no surviving children, the next of kin etc. 

Don't assume you know.  Do the research and make sure you know what will happen when you are no longer here.  Otherwise, it will get ugly, no doubt.