mmcsusnret

I have read many people who don't seem to believe that there are that many "English Teachers" working illegally in Thaland. I have been fully qualified and legally working for 3 years, in a school with a startup English Program. Out of 7 full time teachers in the program only 2 have work permits. Of the 5 teachers without a work permit, 2 of those do have long stay visa's, but cannot meet the requirements to get a work permit. At the school, we are co-located with a standard MOE school and the shady company that I work for has another 3 illegal workers working on tourist visas, teaching the 1-2 hours per class per week that the P1-P6 classes get. So in my little corner of the rice paddy, it seems like there are a lot of illegally workers here.

My main concern is for the disruption of the education of the students that is caused by these people who decide to take a walk, sometimes in the middele of the day and never return. They constantly are missing due to visa runs, so the students miss out on that days teaching. Many of them have drug and alcohol problems that cause missed days work and further disruptions in the education process. These people will work for peanuts to stay in Thailand, so the language school will hire them regardles of qualifications or ability to have a body in the classroom most of the time, sometimes promising to get them legal after they have proven themselves. Most of these don't last long enough. The compay keeps reassuring the EP and MOE school that they will fix the problems, and the to avoid losing face on either side they both take no action.

This is an ongoing problem with many school programs and the abilty to use these illegals, allow the language schools to keep salaries low to maximize profit despite the poor performance, and constantly remind the legal workers that they can be replaced. I guess I'm just a bar run (by my employer) of being ousted and replaced. This is where the problem lies. Immigration and Labor ministry need to be proactive and have regular unschedule visits to the schools to verify documentation, on the spot. Arrest and deporth the illegals and fine or close the language schools that employ them. That would force the language schools to abide by the law

I have tried to get this problem corrected in my little mud hole, but TIT, and have had no luck. I am leaving at the end of my contract (hope I can hold on until them) and will leave the teaching for a while, even though I get great pleasure from it despite the low pay and poor support. I am teaching because I want to, not because I have to. I will miss it and maybe return to it later, with hopefully a more honest school. I am relocating to Korat to relax and travel with my Thai wife, my pension and my sanity.

Last June my wife received her IR-1 visa and I did all of the paperwork myself except for the translations and none of them ever went to the MFA. They were all stamped be the translator "Certified to be a true and correct translation". All were accepted and no problems. In fact, the only document that I ever had to have legalized at the MFA was the "Affirmation to marry" a few years back. So, I would think the answer is no, but I didn't have that detail to worry about. If you sold the property already, why would they be interested in the deed?

As stated they will need to go to their embassy to get the affirmation to marry. They will need to take proof of disoultion of any previous marriges (divorce or death certificates) and it is basically a sworn and notarized statement stating that they are free to marry. Many translation services near the embassies (you didn't say which one). Many of the services can assist with the Ministry of Foreign Affars "legalization". I did mine myself, got the letter from the US Embassy, had it translated across the street from the embassy (2nd floor Sindhorn 1 Tower) and took a taxi to the MFA on Chaeng Whittana Rd. There we turned in the paper and a small fee plus a posted expedited service fee and picked it up about 2 hours later. The exp. fee was not very much, but I don't remember the cost.

If they are just interested mainly in the certificate, any Amphur office can do it, but in more remote provinces might be a little difficult if they are not used to dealing with foreigners. They would be well advised to have a Thai speaker with them along with 2 witnesses. The registar will ask a few questions, fill in a few forms, collect a few baht (20-30 I think) and they are done. Any other "basic ceremony" can be from a small donation and blessing at a temple to

however much they care to spend, with planners, photographers, caterers and the works. None of this will make them any more married. But the planners can get them through all of the hoops for their fee. I like low buget affairs, so we took a few friends and the witnesses to lunch at a restaurant and that was it.

I would also reccmmend that the get the marriage document translated to their countries language and have them certified as true and correct translations before they return to their home country.

If they want someone to organize all of the details google "Thailand Weddings" and you can find plenty of services listed, for a price of course.

Hope this helps.

CW--I think that your thread got hijacked, at least from the Green Card post. You probably won't have andy problem getting a 1 year multiple entry based on marriage to a Thai. If CW stands for what I think (and I like both types) Houston or New Orleans are your best bets. Last April, while on vacation from Phuket, I made a phone call to the New Orleans Honorary Consulate, made an appointment, showed up at 8:45 am and was in the French Quarter Market drinking coffee at 9:30 with a new visa in my passport. Very quick, friendly service about a 10 minute walk from Harrah's Casino. By the way the address listed in the pinned topic was wrong but is close. Give them a call and get the info from them.

I believe that most people can do the paperwork themselves without a visa service or lawyer. Since you don't qualify to file at BKK USCIS. as mentioned youll have to file with the USCIS that has jurisdiction over the area where ever you call home in the US. I think that it can be done by mail. Gather what you need, fill out the forms with a US mailing return address. If it is with parents, brothers, sisters they can post and receive information for you. I don't think that you have to physically be in the US when filing there. When it goes through the process, eventually your spouse will be notified that she needs to make an appointment at the BKK embassy. She needs to file additional forms and paperwork for submission. At some point in time, you will have to establish a "domicile"(a place to live), provide proof of support and the like. On the domicile issue, since you are not fully residing in Thailand (long term visa wise) I think that you probably still have a legal "tax home" or "home of record, since it seems "flying home most months" it is like a lot of long holidays. This process is slow and can take more than a year (especially if information has to be forwarded to Thialand and back).

Or, get a long term Thai visa, a multi-entry 12 month O based on marriage to a Thai, the next time that you are in the US. Use it for 6 months or so (border runs every 90 days) and establish a "legal" home here. Then file here at the end of 6 months (have everything ready ahead of time) and in a few months you can have the visa, if all is in order. A few months ago, my wife got her visa in about 10 weeks, from filing with the USCIS to visa issue. We are leaving in November. Did all of the paperwork myself except the translations.

If your goal is permanent residence for you and your spouse in the US, You may want to consider the CR-1 or IR-1 visa instead of the K3. In the long term it is less paperwork and money as these set you up for the green card as part of the process. A K3 would be more suited for a long stay, but not permanent and would require a change of status + paperwork+ fees. As you will see the difference between the CR-1 or IR-1 visa is the length of marriage being more than 2 years for the IR-1.

Good luck whichever way you go.

I think that there may be a slight problem. Won't you have to get a proper work permit to do the work to organize this? You might have more to worry about than the "high" fees, because in a project like this, you really need to be within the law (as such) with all of the "i,s" dotted and the "t's" crossed.

I have done it 2 times for my wife and both times we received it in the mail in about 15 days. You may be able to speed it up by requesting a speedier service, making a "donation" and picking it up in person, but I don't know for sure as I was not in a hurry and living in Phuket makes it difficult to pick it up.

They are available from the Royal Thai Police, Special Branch

Section 2, Subdivision 3, General Staff Division

Rama I Road

Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel 02-205-2605

For and immmigrant visa to the US. The US Embassy state 2 passport photos (but in my experience they take digital pictures at the SB)

original and copy of passport information

ID card if applicable

household registration if applicable

name change if applicable

marriage/divorce certificates if applicable

I know that all of this may not apply to you, but it is a starting point. At the SB you enter and go fairly far inside of a large compound and find their office. Many people walking around can direct you to the right place. You fill out the forms with assistance of a SB officer who will take you to do the pictures. About 30 minutes (depending on the amount of people there, stops a 3-4 desks and your done. Officially there is no fee except for mailing the certificate to you but the last time I went to the SB with my wife, there was an unknown request/suggestion for a 200 Baht fee. It takes 2-3 weeks to arrive in the mail via EMS.

Edit: As an afterthought, could you just get some pages added to your passport? I have a US passport and have added pages twice.

Aviud the duty free shops, don't even look. Avoid any touts, just ignore or bypass any you see. Check your baggage for tampering before you approach customs. and ask for assistance if you suspect tampeing. Do not exceed any duty free allowances. Don't look confused, act knowledgable and confident.

Use the taxi line or take a bus if needed. Don't use the airport currency exchnges and have your money (cash type) checked for possible bogus notes before you arrive here. Have fun!

I'll try again.

The interview has a much worse reputation than it actually is. About 10 minutes. Questions about how you met, what do both of your families think of this, have you met them and she yours, differences in cultures and religion, and things like that. Unless there is a skeleton in the closet, it should be fairly easy, if you put together a complete well documented package together. Usually, the interview is mostly to dot the I's and cross the T's.

Good luck to you both

Go to the US Embassy website and follow the links to non immigrant visas. Read and understand the rules and instructions. Download and fill out the forms. You can probably do this yourself not using an agent who will charge you a large fee and probably get the same results. As OG says the main hurdle is for her to prove to the consulate that she has a compelling reason to return to Thailand and not trying to circumvent the system to be able to stay in the US, by having substantial ties to Thailand. A good job, with tax records, letter from the boss, property ownership, school and the like are good reasons for her to return. A flunky job at 7-11 is not a real help. Family in Thailand does not seem to be much help.

If after looking at the requirements and deciding if she has a convincing reason (for the consulate, not you) to come back, fill out the forms, gather the evidence needed, make the appointment, pay the fees and good luck. Probably the odds are against approval but without the specifics, it is hard to guess the outcome.

On the other hand, if there is an honest possibility of marriage, you might consider a fiancee visa. Then the burden shifts from proving that she will return, to proving that it is a valid relationship. Pictures, contacts, bills, receipts, leases with both names on it and the like. Still jumping through a lot of hoops, but not having to prove she will return. If approved she'll have 90 days to marry you and apply for a change of status to remain in the US or have to return to Thailand. Don't just get married because it is convenient, or easier for her to get a visa.

Choose wisely and good luck.

Cash, US $ or baht, credit card or US Postal money order. I had my sister send me the US Postal money order and the cashier appearantly had never seen one before and asked for cash. I asked her to check with a supervisor and showed her the words the money order and the USCIS instructions, but she kept insisting that is was a check. The supervisor had her read the big words across the top of the money order and then she said it was ok.

I hope that Nick's mother and father found out that he was visiting an adult website and took away his keyboard.

BM, Granted there are some individuals who start slow and later become successful. But this is about a 17 year old kid with no experience wanting to go 1/3 of the way around the world with no travel experience, and try to get a job with none of the documentation that any respectful school would require some of. There are school who would take advantage of this possibly to fill a short term need of a warm body, but he would not be legally working and at risk of getting into trouble with the authorities, which he probably would not have the knowledge or skills to deal with. He would probably be easy to convince to obtain KSR documentaion which he may not understand the consequences of if he were caught. As already mentioned, he is not even old enough to enter into a contract on his own.

But let's not encourage the lad to set himself up to be taken advantage of. I wanted to be a fireman when I was a kid, but never was, but I have gotten over it. The thoughts we develop when youthful don't aways come with the facts that we need to consider. Hearing about a friend of yours, who made it good in life, after a slow start may encourage him and give him false dreams. How many people who did good in school later became failures in adult life? Probably more than losers who made it big. He may be headstrong and only listen to the people who tell him to go for it, but in my opinion, this is like telling your kids to go play with matches. There is a good chance that someone will get burned.

If you had a child that age, would you as a responsible parent encourage this adventure? Most parents would not. I would probably ground him until he was 21, but that's just me.

Still had time to edit but the next post by slapout is on target. Nick, the older you get. the smarter people your parents age (and of course your parents) will get.

I hope that if he decides to "immigrate to Bangkok" that his mommy pins a note on his shirt so the airlines can make sure the unaccompanied minor does't get lost.

Nick, between the two threads, General and Bangkok, the advice seems to be about 17-3 against doing this at this stage of your life, and 1 or 2 votes that this is a troll. A visit with an experienced trustworthy friend sure. A complete make over of your life at 17, probably not a good idea.

Nick, are you paying attention?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict the future and what will happen in your case. My first question would be "Why?" While it may seem like a good idea, you need to take a good, hard, and honest look at yourself.

Do you have the life skills, discipline, work ethic and responsibility to deal with the multiple items that you will need to take care of the day-to-day details of doing everything for yourself. Do you have a safety net? For example, what if you have problems? Do you know any people here in Thailand that can be relied upon to help you? Do you have the funds to provide for yourself, for an extended period of time and maintain an escape plan to be able to return home if things do not work out? Are you skilled in dealing with a sometimes non-sensical (sp?) system to do the things that will need to be taken care of to live here?

Do you merely want to come here for a good time, wine, women and song? You'll need to find out early on that if you have a job, that you must be at early each day, that puts a damper on the fun. It is easy to fall into a trap and getting caught up in bad things here. A young man that I know (19 year old) from the UK got a job where I work, but did not have the work ethic required to go the distance. He tried but failed because of marginal qualifications, not being able to care for himself, not knowing when he was being taken advantage of, but mostly because of getting involved in illegal drugs. which while illegal, are readily available. He had little to no self-control and ended up leaving in the middle of the school year to go to a drug rehab program, which disrupts the education of the 28 childern that he was responsible for.

To sucessfully be a good teacher you must be able to dedicate yourself to the effort and resposibility that you take for the lives of your students. It should be the highest priority in your life. If you want to come here only for the fun and easy life style, I would advise you to stay at home. There are many people who see teaching as a way to stay in Thailand so they can party all the time, and for the most part are not good teachers and are easily distracted from the teaching by the partying. These indiviuals give the dedicated good teachers a bad reputation, as the Thai people will lump all of the foreingers together and assume that we are all that way.

You seem to be facing a catch-22 situation. You probably don't have the experience and skills that you need but the only way to get the skills and experience is to do it, but it is hard to do without the skills and experience. This is circular logic, but that's how it is. In the 4 years that I have been teaching here (with previous teaching experience) I have seen good and bad things happen. I have had the same job and class of students in an English Program for the entire time, but the pay is low for full time resposiblity. I enjoy the work, but must make ends meet relying on a retirement pension, which makes it possible. Many young people come here with good intentions but no experience in having to take care of everything in their life. You have to worry about the budget, pay the bills, do the laundry, take out the trash, etc. You need to be able to step up the whiteboard and challenges of dealing with a large group of young learners, with little or no guidance or support from your school.

In the end teaching here can be rewarding, but the pay and the support in many areas is lousy. You have to do an honest assessment of your life skills and decide for yourself if you can do it.

Either way, good luck.

This thread is also on the Bangkok forum so I reposted my input.

This post has been edited by mmcsusnret: Today, 2009-08-16 08:32:08

Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict the future and what will happen in your case. My first question would be "Why?" While it may seem like a good idea, you need to take a good, hard, and honest look at yourself.

Do you have the life skills, discipline, work ethic and responsibility to deal with the multiple items that you will need to take care of the day-to-day details of doing everything for yourself. Do you have a safety net? For example, what if you have problems? Do you know any people here in Thailand that can be relied upon to help you? Do you have the funds to provide for yourself, for an extended period of time and maintain an escape plan to be able to return home if things do not work out? Are you skilled in dealing with a sometimes non-sensical (sp?) system to do the things that will need to be taken care of to live here?

Do you merely want to come here for a good time, wine, women and song? You'll need to find out early on that if you have a job, that you must be at early each day, that puts a damper on the fun. It is easy to fall into a trap and getting caught up in bad things here. A young man that I know (19 year old) from the UK got a job where I work, but did not have the work ethic required to go the distance. He tried but failed because of marginal qualifications, not being able to care for himself, not knowing when he was being taken advantage of, but mostly because of getting involved in illegal drugs. which while illegal, are readily available. He had little to no self-control and ended up leaving in the middle of the school year to go to a drug rehab program, which disrupts the education of the 28 childern that he was responsible for.

To sucessfully be a good teacher you must be able to dedicate yourself to the effort and resposibility that you take for the lives of your students. It should be the highest priority in your life. If you want to come here only for the fun and easy life style, I would advise you to stay at home. There are many people who see teaching as a way to stay in Thailand so they can party all the time, and for the most part are not good teachers and are easily distracted from the teaching by the partying. These indiviuals give the dedicated good teachers a bad reputation, as the Thai people will lump all of the foreingers together and assume that we are all that way.

You seem to be facing a catch-22 situation. You probably don't have the experience and skills that you need but the only way to get the skills and experience is to do it, but it is hard to do without the skills and experience. This is circular logic, but that's how it is. In the 4 years that I have been teaching here (with previous teaching experience) I have seen good and bad things happen. I have had the same job and class of students in an English Program for the entire time, but the pay is low for full time resposiblity. I enjoy the work, but must make ends meet relying on a retirement pension, which makes it possible. Many young people come here with good intentions but no experience in having to take care of everything in their life. You have to worry about the budget, pay the bills, do the laundry, take out the trash, etc. You need to be able to step up the whiteboard and challenges of dealing with a large group of young learners, with little or no guidance or support from your school.

In the end teaching here can be rewarding, but the pay and the support in many areas is lousy. You have to do an honest assessment of your life skills and decide for yourself if you can do it.

Either way, good luck.

Look for a small strap wrench with a rubber strap at a place like Home Pro or the likes. Should be near the pipe wrenches.

You could take them (washed, dried and folded) in plastic bags to the local Wat and they will be redistributed, to those in need. My Thia wife and I do this every couple of months and it seems to be accepted. One one occassion we saw one of the ladies who is always present begging, wearing a nice shirt that I had just donated before the lengthy praying session. But please, not that you would, do not donate clothes that are in disrepair. And 2nd hand underwear may be impolite.

Some government hospitals also have a social department that could distribute them to needy clients. Check with them first.

I have personaly been to the Special Branch RTP on 4 occasions with three different people (my wife twice and 2 friends) and each time had no problems or requests for extra money. The officers that I encountered were helpful and professional. If they get a clearance as is (without cleansing) at least they will know what it says, not mere speculation. They can reapply later and try again to get another clearance certificate, and aim for a different officer, if they feel that the incident being included is a show stopper for the visa.

If they use an agent, they will escort her to the Special Branch to do the same thing, possibly ending up paying the 30K baht and the agents fee ($1500 - $3500, quotes I have been given within the last 8 months) and then find out that there was nothing to worry about. The agent will get the same treatment (and possibly a cut) by going along with the extorntionist.

In the US Navy we called this type of offer to remove a problem "Run it up the flag pole and see if anyone salutes". Translation: let's see if we can scare this applicant into giving us some money by mentioning this nothing incident (especially if she went without her sponser) because many Thai ladies are easy to confuse when dealing with officials and tend to believe what they are told by that official, where having an interested outsider there will be able to spot the flaw in the officials statements (by the way each time I went to SB the officers spoke and understood adequate English).

By the way, I guess you missed the word "witness" in asking if I was going to interview them to see if they were corrupt. If you were crooked, asking to do something illegal for cash, would you want a lot of people watching the transaction. I don't think that I would, especially with the minature sizes of cameras and recording devices.

I'll grant you that it "might" be a very long and slow process and they "might" be told that there are thousands of applicants in front of hers. They "might" save 30K baht and get the certicate to at least see what it says and then decide if it will be a problem. They "might" get a different and more honest (or cheaper) Special Branch Officer if the reapply. They "might" have nothing to worry about. But, they will never know if they roll over on their back and throw their legs into the air, by paying the bribe, committing fraud, and committing a crime.

The Special Branch RTP must have some honest officers who could be complained to if the paperwork gets "lost". Another, option is to take a witness (be it a friend, lawyer, or reporter) to observe the "transaction" if they decide to risk paying the bribe. It may not be easy, but it is honest and the right thing to do.

This is the main US State Department webpage. http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/ineligib...ities_1364.html.

Having just recently gotten the police certificate for my wife the certificate is simple, It states that "Name and ID info is a berson with no behavior endangering the peace and order or the security of the state and then signed by the police".

I would go ahead and get it without the bribe to see exactly what it says. It is mailed to you or your wife. See if the charge or more importantly a conviction is even listed. The mentioning of the gambling incident could just be a scare tactic to get some loot. If the certificate includes the incident, you need to know exactly what is says anyway, and then decide if it will affect her visa application. If it only charged or alleged and not a conviction, I think that it would be overlooked. A 1200 baht fine is like a traffic ticket in my thinking.

I would be inclined to believe that the local police filed an incident report but probably no charges were filed, so she was not prosecuted, therefore not convicted. The Special Branch sees the report and an opportunity to collect from a walkng ATM.

Don't pay the bribe, get the certificate to see what it says then go from there. You can always backtrack and get another certificate by complying to the "request" later.

I would also be concerned that having something "cleansed" from a record could come back to haunt you. What if another request is made in the future that indicates that this was "newly discovered information" and by all rights should be sent to the embassy even after she gets her visa, which could be revoked if the visa folks found out, unless you "contribute" another amount to another officer. The problem is that once you break the law by paying a bribe, you possibly leave yourself open to further requests of money or even possibly criminal charges by either or both Thai and US officials.

If it truly is a minor, friendly game she was caught in, I would think it better to take my chances with the embassy, even to pointing out the precise details and the request for the bribe. If it was something more in depth such as the organinzed underground lottery that was ongoing for a long time, you may have to make a tough decision and take your chances. Honesty is usually the best policy.

Hope things work out for you and your lady.

Another possibility would be to email or call the US State Department (in the US not in Thaland!) and ask them, or even better maybe have a friend or relative do it so as your details would possibly remain not conected directly with your case.

The big difference is that it will probably satisfy the immigtration officer who has the approval stamp that you are after. It doesn't have to make sense, you just need to do it.

I think that you are right that the time is 6 months vice two years.