Snoozy
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Thanks for the great advice. Interview was Friday. 15 minutes. Lots of papers showing proof and plans were ready, nothing was shown. After 15 minutes she was told that everything is ok and the passport would be delivered to the post office. She mentioned that she was flying today which meant Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... they said it should be fine. Today she intercepted the passport at the post office where the embassy sends from, before it was sent to the post office where it should be picked up. 10 year visa and made her plane. I'm in shock as all the tales of woe say that nothing about her situation should have enabled her to get approved at all. But here she is approved for a 10 year visa on the first shot.
Thanks for all the great advice!
Congratulations to you and your girlfriend! Yeah, that was our experience. We had everything we could think of, and nothing was looked at. I really think if the application is spot on, and she can answer questions about the information on it, it is a go. Well, that and not trying to bs your way through the interview. As stated somewhere on the gov't site, the main reason people are denied is because they screwed up on the application somehow, was improperly filled out, or had blank spaces.
What a relief to get that 10 year visa on the first try. I think it wore on my nerves more than it did my wife's, and you are right... there are way too many tales of woe. And although I can't back up this statement with irrefutable proof, I still think given the same application and interview process in BKK vs CM, more are approved in CM. BTW, we just came back from her first trip to the U.S., and although the wallet is significantly thinner, it was worth it. Amazing how quickly a month can go by.
Congrats again.
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If I remember right, there was an option to either have the PP mailed, or you could pick it up at the consulate. We opted to have it mailed since we couldn't stay in Chiang Mai, she had to go to work on Tuesday. But with that said, if your gf is granted a visa, maybe she can ask when she can pick up her PP at the consulate... it might be faster than mailing it.
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My wife and I made the drive from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai for her visa interview on 29-02-2016.
Thanks for the great post. My gf is from the north but currently living with me in Singapore where she is studying. We are setting up an interview in Chiang Mai but will need her to get her passport back in order to return to Singapore. With that in mind, how long did it take for your wife to get her passport back after the approval?
Her interview was on a Monday morning, she received her passport four days later on Thursday afternoon in the mail. They were pretty quick about it. I still think that DS 160 is probably the most important part of it all, please make sure the info is accurate and that she can answer everything that is stated on it. I honestly think if my wife couldn't tell the guy my birthday, what I did for a living when I was working, where we were going to go, or my brothers name (as already stated on the application), she would have failed. I read somewhere that the largest cause of denial is an improperly filled out application. I think that is where they don't even take the time to interview you, and just say denied. Best of luck to you with the process.
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Very good advice for the next time, maybe in 1 year. I think she did not want to involve employer because she would "lose face" if application denied.
Why wait a year? If there were gaps in the application, why not just reapply and explain the situation and include better evidence of reasons to return? A years wait will not necessarily change someones circumstances.
I don't know why you would wait a year. I have a friend in Alaska whose gf got rejected in BKK. Applied a few months latter and was approved. Although the way I understand it, she was about to get denied when she lost her temper and yelled at the guy.... saying something to the effect that she has already been denied once, came back with more evidence, and if they were going to deny her again, they could shove it... she went on to say whatever she brings they won't believe, so why bother. Either she made a good point, or the guy was afraid for his life having a pissed off Thai woman yelling at him... it was at that point he said approved, lol.
The whole problem with our interview procedure is that they will not tell you why you were not approved... so there is no way to fix whatever the issue is. I realize why they don't give reasons though, as it could actually help the people they don't want in, get in. But for those hard working Thais who just want to vacation and then come back, if they are denied, I think they should be told why... after all, it could be something as simple as a misunderstanding to a question.
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My wife and I made the drive from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai for her visa interview on 29-02-2016. We were married in Dec 2015, but didn't legally register it until Feb 1st, which I know is the only one that counts. I have to say, I didn't know if I should be positive or apprehensive after reading so much about this. I figured, and rightly so, it could go either way. Her appointment was for 08:15 in the morning, we got there at 7:45... which was a little early since they didn't allow entry into the building until 08:00 anyway.
We tried to cover all bases. She was armed with her work contract, a signed leave of absence from the college director, her blue book, her bank book, my bank book, statements from my bank in the U.S., wedding certificate, wedding pictures, proof that we have known each other for a couple of years, and a letter written by me addressed to the consulate stating why we/she wanted to visit the U.S. for the month of April, who were were going to visit, and who was going to pay for it. It also had a blurb about her/our plans when she/we return to Thailand at the end of the visit.
08:00 rolls around and she goes in. After checking in she was directed to wait until she was called. About 10 minutes, maybe less, she is called to a window where a Thai woman asks her a few preliminary questions, but doesn't ask to see any paperwork. She was then told to sit down again until her name is called. A couple minutes later, her name is called and was directed to go into room #2 where she meets the consulate guy who was sitting behind a glass partition. He asks her if she can speak English, she says a little, but would prefer Thai. The guy switches to Thai but yet still uses some English, so she did too, lol. He asked her where she was going to stay, who my brother was (staying at his house), and why she wanted to come to the U.S. He asked her if I can speak Thai, what I did for a living (retired teacher), and where I taught. He wanted to know how old I was... then when she told him, he asked her what my birthday was. He wanted to know the name of the school I taught at... which she didn't know... BUT it was written on that letter I wrote, so she handed it to him, which he then read. Then all of the sudden, he said okay, you are finished. She was a little confused... and didn't know if she could go home, but he reiterated and told her she was finished.
While outside, I was talking to a gentleman who asked me why I was there. So I told him my wife was applying for a tourist visa. He said she won't get it as it took his wife 4 tries. His wife was a professional, held a gov't job for 15 years at the time of their first application, they were married five years the first time they applied... married 9 years by the 4th time she applied. As I talked to him, out comes my wife at 08:30 with a big smile. The consulate guy never said she passed, never said she was denied... he just said they were finished,. But since they verified our address, and kept her passport, I am assuming all is well, and that we will be getting it in the mail shortly.
This whole thing was pretty stressful, I almost think more for me than her. But what advice I can give would be this: Make sure you take the time with your wife/girlfriend/partner to go over that DS-160 application form. And when you fill it out initially, make sure you fess up when they ask on the application if anyone helped them prepare it. He asked her a lot of questions that were already answered on her application...I believe it was to see if she would answer questions differently in person vs what was stated on the app. I think if my wife would have appeared to get tripped up, she would have been rejected. Rehearse with your person... why he/she wants to go, who and what they want to see, where they will stay, how long they want to stay. Make sure they don't deviate from any information provided on the application. With regard to all the supporting documentation, I would still recommend that it be taken... even if it wasn't looked at in our case. In her case, they didn't ask about finances or who was going to pay for it (but then, it was already stated on the DS-160 that I was paying for the trip...and they knew that). I would also recommend you write a letter addressed to them that includes a very brief history of yourself, how you met your significant other, what your plans are for the trip, and why you will come back. Like one of the above posts, it seemed as if the interviewer was more interested about our relationship, and making sure we weren't a "marriage of convenience".
One last thing, everyone I know that has interviewed in BKK has been denied a visa on their first interview. So far that has been three people, while everyone I know who has applied in Chiang Mai has gotten approved. Maybe there is something to that. But with that said, I really think it boils down to the application, how you present yourself, and not getting tripped up on the questions. My wife was in and out of the building within a half an hour.
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I believe your Thai wife will need to get a tourist visa to enter the U.S. In order to get that, you need to fill out the DS-160 form online, pay the fee at a the gov't bank (5,600 baht), then make an appointment for an interview at the nearest consulate that gives visas.
My wife and I are legally married too, and have all the supporting documents... but with that said, her being married to you really doesn't get her a pass into the states until she has a visa. Getting the visa all depends on the interview at the consulate. My wife passed on the first try, simply because she could answer all the guys questions about me (my middle name, b-day, brothers names, where I worked, where my mother lived, etc)... which proved that she really knew me and wasn't some sort of convenience marriage. I know others who didn't pass, but passed on the second interview.... and others who didn't pass until the 5th interview. If she is declined, they don't say why, you don't get a refund, and the only recourse you have is to apply again and pay another fee. It sucks that it is that way. Oh, the interview was only about 10 minutes long, was in either English or Thai, or a little bit of both. My wife interviewed on a Monday morning and received her passport with the visa in it via mail 4 days later on Thursday.
As far as your daughter goes, I don't know about that. I assume that if she was born in Thailand, your wife could take her to the gov't office that processes passports and just apply for a one. In our case, that was in Chiang Rai. That was a real simple process and takes about a week. If I remember right, it costs about 1,100 baht. Since she has a U.S. passport, there is no problem getting into the states, but there would be a problem returning to Thailand, which I guess is why you need the Thai PP.