Hoping this Thai woman can get USA tourist Visa.

[Elkski]

I'm a bit worried about this Thai gal getting a USA tourist Visa for a two week trip to sightsee in the West and visit my home.  No plans to marry.  She is 40, and has worked at same minimal pay job for 17 years. Has a letter of this employment and permission for 2 weeks vacation.  

Now the issues;

First off her boss insisted on filling in the dates for the two weeks vacation September 12-26 and the interview dates were a month out August17, so it's only going to be a bit shy of a  month from interview to the trip date. This may result in high airfare and the last minute. It's going to be risky to buy airfare on verbal approval, when it may take two or three weeks for the passport/visa to come back.  I'm sure the boss is ok with 2 weeks starting 2 weeks later but how will this look being such a tight schedule.  We didn't think this qualified for rush.  

The next issue is she only has a hundred thousand baht in the bank. And I have sent her 5000 in the last month.  So it would show if they look at 2 months bank book statements. 

The next issue is I paid for her application fee in person at the bank and you have to put the payees name on the form and  the payment form is supposed to be taken to the interview. She was at work. Mistake!

Another issue about her bank statements is that I recently took her a load of Coach purses that she has been selling over these last 4 weeks with deposits going into her bank book that might look suspicious.  So after years of consistent paycheck deposits in her bank account she now will have this Smuggler/drug dealer  looking Bank book.   

This will be interesting.  

What are the passport/visa delivery time frames running?  I know one person who after verbal approval they asked for more documentation so it took over a month.  

Edited July 26, 2018 by Elkski
Interview date

[macahoom]

Sorry, but this sounds like a complete mess.

 

I think if your girl is granted a visa, she will be extremely lucky.

[Elkski]

Also another question.  There is the place near the end of  the DS160 for supporting documentation but it didn't seem like the place to upload  the employment letter or copies of her bank book.  I forget what it said?  Is there a place to see all the pages of a DS160 without filling out an actual online form?  It seems like they really don't have much to go on about a person's personal life from the DS160.  I imagine they run a criminal records check, tax and income levels from a real job are probably easy to trace electronically as well as parents status.   Many have said they don't even look at documents brought to the interview?

Also there was no place to request an interview in English or Thai from what I remember.   This woman's English and voice are nice.  I think she should do it in English?   1 gal I know who had an accent like Nicole Kidman and a very good command of English,  when asked if she knew English she smart-aleckly said of course I can speak English!. I guess she just needs to be honest and sincere as I'm sure these interview people are better than lie detectors. 

 

One more thing to ask.  Maybe more so for a K1 visa it a b1/b2 with a sponsor.  But people say they use 100 photos, and line or Skype communication logs.  I mean who's line log is only G rated much less R?  And who keeps plane ticket records to her hometown?   I guess a family pic would have been a good idea. 

Edited July 27, 2018 by Elkski

[GinBoy2]

Honestly I wouldn't hold your breath for this one.

Single Thai women getting a tourist visa are really tough, bit of a crap shoot in point of fact.

Before my wife got her green card we'd tried for a tourist visa several years ago. I'd lived in Thailand for years, and just wanted her to go for a 2 week vacation, meet my daughters in person etc.

Thought we'd checked all the boxes, at the interview...Nah,

Anyway, good luck

'If' she gets approved, and if my wife's immigrant visa is example, she got her passport returned with visa 3 days after the interview approval

[Elkski]

Sadly she didn't get it.  

[GinBoy2]

1 hour ago, Elkski said:

Sadly she didn't get it.  

Can’t say that many of us with experience of US immigration will be surprised by this one. 

 

It’s unfortunate but it's reality of Thai’s trying to get US tourist visa's

[impulse]

2 hours ago, Elkski said:

Sadly she didn't get it.  

 

What was/were the reason(s) given in the refusal letter?  I'm curious because I have some former co-workers who hope to visit me in the USA next year. 

 

No romantic involvement, some of them are guys, and they love to travel together.  Just wondering how to optimize their odds of all getting visas.  They all make pretty good dosh- 30-100K per month each.

 

Edit:  It would be a bummer if only the guys got visas...

 

Edited August 17, 2018 by impulse

[Elkski]

They asked these questions. 

1.Why do you want to go to america
2.who did you go with
3.Have you ever been to America?
4.where will you stay in the us
5.how long will you stay in the us
I can't say how she answered.  She never wanted to practice with me in a serious fashion.  But she never seemed genuine to me.  Not confident at all.   

I think it helps if you have travel partners and if you can show you have traveled before.  There is a place on the DS160 that asks about travel history.  I tried your get her to find someone with a Visa.  I told her to find anyone so she could say they plan to travel together.  She didn't know anyone if didn't see the importance of this.  

I think a better income is important.  Maybe in the 30 k plus range helps.   I don't recall if there is a place on DS160 to put savings amount.  There is a place to upload support documents but it didn't seem like it inferred you put letter from work showing work history and permission to take off for travel.    they did not even look at this letter she brought or her copies of bank book. 

They never give you any reasons of denial.  

Edited August 17, 2018 by Elkski

[GinBoy2]

Now it's been a while since we went down the tourist visa road, but as I seem to recall they give no reasons, written or verbal why they deny a visa.

I think the words, as Mrs Gin recalls where simply, "I think I going to deny you a visa".....end of story

Edited August 17, 2018 by GinBoy2

[Nyezhov]

It's not easy for a unmarried woman from any of the counties other than   EU,Oz/NZ or Japan to get a Visa to the US. 

 

The reasons are self evident.

[Elkski]

It seems to be easy for certain women.   Maybe I filled out ds160 wrong?  I should have uploaded letter from employer with her 17 year work in there and permission for vacation.  It just didn't seem like the right place to upload that it bank book copies.   This upload section doesn't show up on any sample ds160 forms I see.  I forget the wording.   Only way to see this is to do a form from beginning again using some name and bogus info.   If I use her info from my USA isp address I think they see that.  It sucks that this may effect our future life so much.  She is sad today.   I can't imagine how it feels.   Like USA is such a great place.   Look at us now.  I'm not proud to live here now. 

[NCC1701A]

17 minutes ago, Elkski said:

It seems to be easy for certain women. 

does she own land or a house?

have young children to return to?

money in the bank?

really good job or own a real business?

a car?

 

these are some of the things that help. the less you have to walk away from the harder it is.

 

Edited August 17, 2018 by NCC1701A

[Elkski]

Yes, I may have stated the facts earlier but a bit of a review. 

40

No College degree.

No car

No house or land

A 20% share of a company but no income. 

No debt. 

No out of Thailand travel that I recall.  

17 yr receptionist position at same company. 20 k/mo range.

Under 100k savings . 

I don't think they ask on DS160 about savings.  And they didn't even look at papers she brought.  

I'm not sure how she answered the questions.  Her English is decent enough to travel in USA.  But like most she isn't confident about it. 

Edited August 17, 2018 by Elkski

[Airalee]

When my gf asked me about visiting the US I just roll my eyes, laugh and say “They’re not giving you a visa”.

 

Like yours, I’m sure she wouldn’t take things seriously (such as practicing/discussing the questions and other things such as bank account issues (regularly depositing her pay) etc etc...because...well...”Mai bpen rai...don’t think too much...I’m hungry”.  And like yours...(and all the others who are denied)...she will be sad when denied.

 

Im sure your story plays out multiple times a day.   I doubt that any changes are made for any future applications because if one tries to tell them where they might have screwed up and what they need to rectify, they don’t want to hear it and will probably just get angry at you.

[theoldgit]

I've removed a number of posts that don't specifically address the original post.

[sirineou]

20 hours ago, Elkski said:

Yes, I may have stated the facts earlier but a bit of a review. 

40

No College degree.

No car

No house or land

A 20% share of a company but no income. 

No debt. 

No out of Thailand travel that I recall.  

17 yr receptionist position at same company. 20 k/mo range.

Under 100k savings . 

I don't think they ask on DS160 about savings.  And they didn't even look at papers she brought.  

I'm not sure how she answered the questions.  Her English is decent enough to travel in USA.  But like most she isn't confident about it. 

 Sorry to hear of your predicament , but the result was predictable, I would had being surprised if she got the visa. all the interviewer wants to know is that she will return and is not trying to circumvent  the immigration process by  traveling on a tourist visa and when there overstay or do a change of status.

   For that she has to provide compelling reason to return.

From your description her situation is not very different than the general population in Thailand and if she could get a tourist visa, than most everyone else would, and half the people in Thailand would leave for the US on a tourist visa.   When asked the reason for going there if she mentioned anything about you would almost certainly be grounds of rejection because the would think that she was trying to circumvent the K1 visa process   and when she got there you two would get married and apply for a change of status . It seems to me that if you want to get her there, apply for a K1 visa, (fiance) when she gets there you have three months to marry (you dont have to) if you two don't get married she has to return, but be advised that if you do that it might make it difficult for her to get an other K1 visa in the future.

 

[GinBoy2]

21 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 Sorry to hear of your predicament , but the result was predictable, I would had being surprised if she got the visa. all the interviewer wants to know is that she will return and is not trying to circumvent  the immigration process by  traveling on a tourist visa and when there overstay or do a change of status.

   For that she has to provide compelling reason to return.

From your description her situation is not very different than the general population in Thailand and if she could get a tourist visa, than most everyone else would, and half the people in Thailand would leave for the US on a tourist visa.   When asked the reason for going there if she mentioned anything about you would almost certainly be grounds of rejection because the would think that she was trying to circumvent the K1 visa process   and when she got there you two would get married and apply for a change of status . It seems to me that if you want to get her there, apply for a K1 visa, (fiance) when she gets there you have three months to marry (you dont have to) if you two don't get married she has to return, but be advised that if you do that it might make it difficult for her to get an other K1 visa in the future.

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head. 

 

It’s really ‘is’ she going to go home, or try some change of status when in the US.

 

I’ve speculated many times why my wife (then gf) was denied a tourist visa, twice, and that the only thing I can come up with.

 

She’d lived for 4 years in Chicago on a student visa, so it wasn’t like she was some security risk, but since we were planning to travel together i guess the thought process is that we would have married when in the US, then done a change of status.

 

Glad thats all behind us now

Edited August 18, 2018 by GinBoy2