daboyz1

By the way, you said "girlfriend." She should NOT mention "boyfriend." If she does, I can almost promise you the B2 visa will be denied and she will be directed to go for the K marriage/fiancee immigrant visa.

The K visa's are not immigrant visas. They are temporary visas just like the Tourist visa (but with a much higher passing rate since you can file petition of support among other things), which is why they recommended them to you. Someone who came on a K visa would still need to make a residency visa after they arrived in the US if they wanted to stay permanently

Technically K visas are not immigrant visas. However, they are non-immigrant visas with immigrant intent. A big difference between K visas and tourist visas. The US Embassy actually list the K visas under their immigrant visa section of their website.

I'm currently in the exact same situation as you - around 10 years in Thailand living with g/f, and now getting ready to move back to the US with her. I highly recommend reading the Nolo Fiance & Marriage Visa book (http://www.amazon.com/Fiance-Marriage-Visas-Couples-Immigration/dp/1413317375 ) which has been very helpful so far in describing what to do step-by-step. According to their lawyers, either the Marriage or Fiance visa could be the way to go for you, depending on your needs. One thing they strongly do not recommend is going on a tourist visa and getting married on it, because this could cause issues down the road if she ever wants to get residency and USCIS decides to question her actual original intent for going to the US back when she got that tourist visa.

Good luck!

I have to ask. Why aren't you getting married in Thailand and filing for DCF? It seems you meet the residency requirements. I realize everyone's situation is different.

One thing they strongly do not recommend is going on a tourist visa and getting married on it, because this could cause issues down the road if she ever wants to get residency and USCIS decides to question her actual original intent for going to the US back when she got that tourist visa.

Good luck!

Agree with above. Alot of people do that and have no issues, but technically it is visa fraud. I wouldn't take the chance. I met with a couple a few years ago. She came to the U.S. from Thailand on a tourist visa. Their plan was to marry right after she arrived, and then file to adjust status. I advised them this was a bad idea as it would be seen as using a tourist visa with immigrant intent. They waited a couple months then got married and adjusted status. It all worked out for them, but as huma79 says, it's a big risk. It could result in a ban for material misrepresentation. Doesn't seem worth the risk to me.

Thank you guys so much for your very helpful suggestions!

One other question please...

Have any of you used a service to apply for the fiance visa?

If so which one? and can you make a recommendation?

Or maybe some of you would recommend NOT using a service...thanks again

We met a lawyer here that offered to do everything required to get my wife her visa. It wasn't cheap. Luckily, wifey suggested we do it ourselves...err....I do it.

I used a website called visajourney. It's fantastic. Everything is laid out relatively well. Even has reports from people who are going through this and how long each processing center is taking.

If you don't mind doing the paperwork and have the time, it's really not that hard to do. Just make sure you do everything as stated in the directions and you'll be fine.

My friend just tried to get a tourist visa for his GF. He forget a few things and it was rejected. He's a busy guy and just doesn't have the time to do this, so he's hired somebody to help this time. Everything needs to be there...and then some.

It's a scary process...and we sweated it many times. But looking back, it really wasn't hard. But did take time researching the requirements and gathering all the docs.

The oath ceremony for her citizenship was quite moving. Amazing how many people cried and hugged each other. It was fantastic.

Ditto. Another mistake I made in this process was hiring a lawyer. Simply by doing that, it took an additional 3 months to have my wife in the U.S. Keep in mind even if you use a lawyer, you still have to collect all the information and documents. The lawyer just fills out the forms and sends them in. The forms are fairly straighforward. I'd equate the difficulty with filing your taxes. The Visajourney webiste is definitely the place to go for all of this.

I heard the rules on this changed recently. My recommendation is to contact the embassy here and see what they have to say. Not sure how it works now, but I went in and met somebody who helped me get started on this. I couldn't do DCF and was advised, at that time, the fiance visa was the quickest route to go...by a significant amount of time. My wife got her visa approved in about 4 months. After arrival in the US, she became a citizen in 3 years.

You couldn't do DCF because you were not married. You can't use DCF for a fiancee visa. In general you will need to show 6 months residence in Thailand with a valid visa. A bunch of strung together tourist visas wont do. Generally a Non-O or Non-B should be fine. Not sure when you went through the process, but years ago (early to mid 2000s) immigrant visas were taking years to get approved due to the NVC process. That issue has since been resolved. Actually, since the NVC has streamlined the process, the K-3 visa is pretty much done for. So that one should not even be considered, although it may show up in places as a valid path, it is obsolete.

From the Bangkok U.S. Embassy website:

In a limited number of cases, if the petitioner can demonstrate current residence in Thailand for at least six months, the petition may be filed with the USCIS office in Bangkok. The general inquiry email box for USCIS Bangkok is [email protected]. To access USCIS forms, click here

Source:

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/immigrant_visas/immigrant-visa-process.html

You're missing my point. I'm saying he should contact the embassy to see what the current situation is. As you know, it changes on a regular basis. I can't find the page now, but it says the process was changed about a year ago. But not sure what that means.

I did this in 2004 and without DCF it took us 4 months to get her fiance visa. Again, things change....

Craig - what changed?

The thing between the two is that you need to be on.a non-o and absolute minimum.six months to DCF. Then you need to be married really two years before you are eligible for the IR visa.

Its faster to go the fiance route if you have all your ducks in.a row. Its better to go the IR route if you can stay in Thailand three plus years.

I.wouldn't be contacting the embassy myself.

That's mostly true. The part about DCF and the 6 month residency requirement is true. The part about married 2 years for an IR-1 visa is somewhat true. To clarify, the ONLY difference between a CR-1 and IR-1 visa is how long you have been married. Also, in some cases people have been issued a CR-1 visa, but entered the U.S. after their 2 year wedding anniversary, which will result in a 10year green card, and no reason to remove conditions.

If you marry now, and meet the residency requirements for DCF, your spouse will get a CR-1 visa. There is absolutely no need to stay in Thailand for 3 years to get a CR-1 visa. The actual visa requirement is that you be married for 1 day. Of course you will be married a little longer than that. The DCF requirement is the 6 month residency requirement.

So, upon arrival in the US with the CR-1 visa (CR means conditional resident) after about a month your spouse will receive a 2 year green card. 3 months before the expiration date of that green card you will file form I-751 (removal of conditions on residency) This will result in a 10 year green card being issued to your spouse.

ETA: Just to clarify, CR-1 means 2 year green card after arrival, IR-1 means 10 year green card after arrival.

Cool. The Japanese guys can brush up on their Thai in Roppongi before they make their trip to Suk Soi 33.

Not sure how you feel about getting married, but that is the best route IMO. It gives you options that you don't have with a fiance visa.

Getting married allows you to file DCF (Direct Consular FIling) which means that you can do all the paperwork in Thailand. Also, the processing is only a few months vs. 6-12 if yo do it from the U.S. She will get a CR-1 visa which will result in a 2 year green card about 1 months after arrival in the U.S. This means she will be able to work and drive immediately upon arrival in the U.S. (After getting a job and a drivers license of course) You can not use direct consular filing for a K-1 (fiancee) visa. You will need to file from the U.S. or have U.S. domicile.

I wish I had asked someone this question back in 2007 when I left Thailand. I was married and it took 1 year to get my wife to the U.S. If I had known about DCF, I could have done it in about 2 months, and not have been separated from my wife for a year.

I heard the rules on this changed recently. My recommendation is to contact the embassy here and see what they have to say. Not sure how it works now, but I went in and met somebody who helped me get started on this. I couldn't do DCF and was advised, at that time, the fiance visa was the quickest route to go...by a significant amount of time. My wife got her visa approved in about 4 months. After arrival in the US, she became a citizen in 3 years.

You couldn't do DCF because you were not married. You can't use DCF for a fiancee visa. In general you will need to show 6 months residence in Thailand with a valid visa. A bunch of strung together tourist visas wont do. Generally a Non-O or Non-B should be fine. Not sure when you went through the process, but years ago (early to mid 2000s) immigrant visas were taking years to get approved due to the NVC process. That issue has since been resolved. Actually, since the NVC has streamlined the process, the K-3 visa is pretty much done for. So that one should not even be considered, although it may show up in places as a valid path, it is obsolete.

From the Bangkok U.S. Embassy website:

In a limited number of cases, if the petitioner can demonstrate current residence in Thailand for at least six months, the petition may be filed with the USCIS office in Bangkok. The general inquiry email box for USCIS Bangkok is [email protected]. To access USCIS forms, click here

Source:

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/immigrant_visas/immigrant-visa-process.html

You're missing my point. I'm saying he should contact the embassy to see what the current situation is. As you know, it changes on a regular basis. I can't find the page now, but it says the process was changed about a year ago. But not sure what that means.

I did this in 2004 and without DCF it took us 4 months to get her fiance visa. Again, things change....

Sorry to say it, but the embassy is pretty much clueless when it comes to this. Keep in mind they are only involved in the very last step of the process. The embassy issues visas. They don't know anything about petitions or how USCIS operates. They are two totally different agencies run by two totally separate parts of the U.S govt. USCIS is run by Dept. of Homeland Security, the Embassy is run by Dept. of State. I suppose the embassy could give you advice about what happens when the petition reaches them, but there are many things that must take place with USCIS before that happens.

ETA: I'm very familiar with how this process currently works. I follow it on a daily basis.

Not sure how you feel about getting married, but that is the best route IMO. It gives you options that you don't have with a fiance visa.

Getting married allows you to file DCF (Direct Consular FIling) which means that you can do all the paperwork in Thailand. Also, the processing is only a few months vs. 6-12 if yo do it from the U.S. She will get a CR-1 visa which will result in a 2 year green card about 1 months after arrival in the U.S. This means she will be able to work and drive immediately upon arrival in the U.S. (After getting a job and a drivers license of course) You can not use direct consular filing for a K-1 (fiancee) visa. You will need to file from the U.S. or have U.S. domicile.

I wish I had asked someone this question back in 2007 when I left Thailand. I was married and it took 1 year to get my wife to the U.S. If I had known about DCF, I could have done it in about 2 months, and not have been separated from my wife for a year.

I heard the rules on this changed recently. My recommendation is to contact the embassy here and see what they have to say. Not sure how it works now, but I went in and met somebody who helped me get started on this. I couldn't do DCF and was advised, at that time, the fiance visa was the quickest route to go...by a significant amount of time. My wife got her visa approved in about 4 months. After arrival in the US, she became a citizen in 3 years.

You couldn't do DCF because you were not married. You can't use DCF for a fiancee visa. In general you will need to show 6 months residence in Thailand with a valid visa. A bunch of strung together tourist visas wont do. Generally a Non-O or Non-B should be fine. Not sure when you went through the process, but years ago (early to mid 2000s) immigrant visas were taking years to get approved due to the NVC process. That issue has since been resolved. Actually, since the NVC has streamlined the process, the K-3 visa is pretty much done for. So that one should not even be considered, although it may show up in places as a valid path, it is obsolete.

From the Bangkok U.S. Embassy website:

In a limited number of cases, if the petitioner can demonstrate current residence in Thailand for at least six months, the petition may be filed with the USCIS office in Bangkok. The general inquiry email box for USCIS Bangkok is [email protected]. To access USCIS forms, click here

Source:

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/immigrant_visas/immigrant-visa-process.html

I don't have an answer for you, but I didn't realize you could get the Bangkok Post in any other language than English.

Not sure how you feel about getting married, but that is the best route IMO. It gives you options that you don't have with a fiance visa.

Getting married allows you to file DCF (Direct Consular FIling) which means that you can do all the paperwork in Thailand. Also, the processing is only a few months vs. 6-12 if yo do it from the U.S. She will get a CR-1 visa which will result in a 2 year green card about 1 months after arrival in the U.S. This means she will be able to work and drive immediately upon arrival in the U.S. (After getting a job and a drivers license of course) You can not use direct consular filing for a K-1 (fiancee) visa. You will need to file from the U.S. or have U.S. domicile.

I wish I had asked someone this question back in 2007 when I left Thailand. I was married and it took 1 year to get my wife to the U.S. If I had known about DCF, I could have done it in about 2 months, and not have been separated from my wife for a year.

I wonder what Thaksin has to say about all this? Surely he has an opinion. Maybe he'll just leave his sister hanging in the breeze.

Already posted.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/647003-whats-going-in-udon-thani/

I didn't realize Thaksin wrote for Reuters.

I wonder how much the Thai boyfriend got out of this?

If you're an honest guy, please let the gentlemen know what their wives are doing when abroad.Guess you'd be more than happy, when somebody would "open your eyes."

It's pretty much common here. I'd guess 80% of Thai women are doing the same shit.And you won't loose face telling it through let's say your wife.-

After 47 years in Southeast Asia, I can assure you the stupidity involved with the farangs in this situation is rampant. Wives of farangs with local husbands, girls with two or more farangs sending them money every month, wives of farangs who blow all their husband's money on gambling, boyfriends, or family, etc., ad infinitim.

Tell the men, you say? Well, I have lost two good friends following that advice. One died still resenting me, even though he came to realize his 'love' was scamming him. The other still refuses to talk to me. Some people just don't want others knowing anything about their private lives, especially if they are being duped; made the cuckold. Funny, I would like to be told if it were happening to me, which was the reason I told them.

When I moved to Thailand ~10 years ago, a couple farangs tried to give me advice about the girl I decided to "rescue" from the bar. Of course I knew better and this girl was different. I doubt she had a Thai husband on the side, but yet I'm fairly certain she still freelanced while I was away on business trips.

So tens of thousands of dollars later I finally woke up. Had to learn that lesson on my own I guess. I wished I would've learned sooner rather than later though. Could've saved me some cabbage.

It reminds me of that scorpion and frog story where the scorpion begs the frog for a ride over the river. The frog says "don't sting me" Scorpion says "no problem" Once they get to the other side of the river, the scorpion stings the hell out of the frog. The frog says "What the hell? You said you wouldn't do that" The Scorpion says, "What did you expect? I'm a scorpion. It's in my nature"

What's the point in being married if you're only going to see your spouse 2-3 months a year?

That said, I do know some married couples here in the U.S. where one party wishes this was the case.

We just sent a bunch of these Optiplex computers off to the crusher where I work a couple weeks ago. I'll look around and see if there's any left laying around. It don't think the RAM needs to be specifically for Dell Optiplex computers, does it?

By Michael Doyle — McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — A State Department official “received several million dollars in bribes” from

Vietnamese residents seeking visas, according to newly public court

documents.

Foreign Service officer Michael T. Sestak faces charges of conspiracy to commit

visa fraud and bribery in an alleged scheme that investigators say

spanned several countries. In some cases, investigators say, desperate

Vietnamese paid up to $70,000 each for visas granting legal entry to the

United States.

Investigators say the alleged conspiracy occurred while Sestak was handling non-immigrant visas in the

U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Sestak served in the consulate

until last September.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/05/23/2784268/foreign-service-officer-made-millions.html#storylink=cpy

Why should anyone with 78 not have all his marbles??? I am 72 and I think fairly up to date with technology etc, I would NEVER fall for a scam like this

6 more years to go... Let's see how you are at that time

Wow. A LOT of great information! Thanks to all who applied and I will definately get over to VJ.

A couple more questions.

- As for the DCF...I came in on a tourist, got it changed to a 3 month Non-Immigrant and I have the option to change it to a 1 yr education visa. Will an education visa count for the DCF? If I marry my fiancee will I get a status change to live in Thailand? How long does the DCF process normally take? Can I count all the time I've been in Thailand? Or does it have to be on one specific visa?

- As for the overseas portion...I contract for the US Govt. Which is why overseas is an option. I would be working for the US and I wondered how that would affect us. I wouldn't be immigrating to a foreign country.

- Also I mentioned the Singapore condo because of the money I put in for a down payment. But according to the I-864 I have enough to cover 125% with savings.

-Now once all the paperwork is submitted we just have to wait for it to be forwarded to the embassy for an interview? Do they interview the both of us or just her?

Again, thanks to everyone for the info. It's a wonder with all the rules that anyone can finish it!

I think an education visa will work for you as far as DCF is concerned. I lived in Bangkok for 3 years and made the (wrong) assumption that since we were married this would be a piece of cake once I got back to the U.S. It ended up taking a year to get my wife to the U.S. I wish I had known about DCF before I left Thailand. A DCF case on average takes a couple months.

I don't know about the contracting for the U.S. govt. I know they make special allowances for people in the military.

Sounds like you're good with the I-864. Make sure you don't have any tax liens out there. They'll know about it, and count it against when it comes to the I-864.

Yes you have to wait until everything is approved in the U.S. by USCIS before they forward it to the embassy in BKK (unless you go DCF). They only interview her. In fact, they wont even let you in the embassy with her for the interview. They used to let the USC in for the interview. I heard a story years ago that when a K-1 applicant was denied, the USC threatened the embassy worker in BKK, so now they only let the K-1 applicant in alone. Not sure if it's true.

Thanks. Pretty easy - after you get that far.

Are the questions they send exactly the ones on the list? I ask this because a person could memorize by rote. My first History course at university the instructor took all.the questions out of the workbook. It was a general survey course. Anyway, I memorized all 500 questions by flashcard. Finished the test in twenty minutes, scored 100 and given an A+.

Well, my wife's reading is poor, spelling worse so +3 on the verbals.

Thanks for input, congrats to your wife.

Yes they are exactly the ones on the list. You have to get 6 out of 10, so if you answer the first 6 right, they stop. They also ask you a question and you have to write the answer. My wife's English spelling and reading is terrible. The asked my wife "Who was the president during the Civil War?" She had to write "Abraham Lincoln was the president during the Civil War" She wrote "Abraham Lincoln was president the Civil War" She forgot "during" They passed her anyway.

I guess since she said Abraham Lincoln and not Jefferson Davis, they were fine with it.

I took the test myself and got alot wrong.

Here it is:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.d72b75bdf98917853423754f526e0aa0/?vgnextoid=afd6618bfe12f210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=afd6618bfe12f210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Daboyz: do you know how long the citizenship process takes and very generally what is involved?

Yes, actually my wife just went through it last year. It's actually the easiest part of the whole process I think. You file N-400 with USCIS. In a couple months you get a biometrics appointment (fingerprints and photos) Then about a month later you have an interview and they ask you 10 questions out of 100 possible questions. Civics, geography etc. You have to get 6 right to pass. After you pass that they send you a letter for the oath ceremony. Raise your right hand and all that and they give you the citizenship certificate right there. From start to finish it took us roughly 4 months.

I had a friend send me the 100 questions in English and Thai, as well as another tool you can load on your computer that asks you all the questions and gives the answers. My wife studied pretty hard for it.

I second visa journey

It is widely roumoured that if you want to file here, through the embassy (DCF) /USCIS that you must be on a non-o and have lived here for six months (I've read one year). There are also other issues that show to USCIS you two are a couple, one is a joint bank account another is an established residence here (our mgt only allows 1 person on lease).

I think if your marriage is 2+ years old, the cr1 turns to ir1 and she gets a green card for ten years.

My hunch is the kid and the filing are your issues. Have a look on vj, good luck!

PS Rick stated something regarding your possible interest in returning overseas. Bad idea both to inform them and to try it. You may be denied outright, if not the INS might have something to say about long visits (esp back to Thailand). If she is gone over one year wo prior approvsl I think the gc is null.and void.

Please be serious about returning or it casts doubt on the rest of us.

Finally, yeah that house in.Singapore might be an issue for some investagator?

Agreed on the 10 year green card. I didn't mention that because it sounds like you're not married yet. Also agree about not mentioning your plans to return to Thailand. Some people have tried (and failed) to use the green card as some kind of extended tourist visa. They want to know that your wife is going to be a permanent resident in the U.S. Now after 2 years and 9 months from the date of the green card you can file for U.S. citizenship. Once you're wife has that, she can live wherever she wants and come and go to the U.S. as she pleases.