Tourist Visa To Usa

[Projectpaperclip]

I am a US citizen and I'm planning to take my Thai wife (Thai marriage) and my three-year-old son (has a US passport) back to the USA for a brief three-month road trip. She has her own legitimate business and generates around 30,000 baht per month, has a decent bank record, owns her own home, and we have a three-year-old child together.

After reading over the information provided by the US Embassy everything seems pretty straightforward but I thought I would check with the "experts" for any additional tips.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[aussiestyle1983]

If you will be with her during the interview and her English is good, request the interview in English so you can listen. Make sure your wife listens carefully to the questions before answering because they will be trying to get her to say something that can be held against her or something thaty can result in a refusal. All should go well for your wife, but just make sure she answers the questions carefully.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I am a US citizen and I'm planning to take my Thai wife (Thai marriage) and my three-year-old son (has a US passport) back to the USA for a brief three-month road trip. She has her own legitimate business and generates around 30,000 baht per month, has a decent bank record, owns her own home, and we have a three-year-old child together.

After reading over the information provided by the US Embassy everything seems pretty straightforward but I thought I would check with the "experts" for any additional tips.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

My wife got her second 10-year visa last year, I was with her at the window.  Interestingly enough, no questions were asked of her, all to me.  The wife owns the house, of course, one of the cars is registered in her name.  

Main point to establish was that we were going to return to Thailand, eg, not go to the U.S. on a tourist visa (NIV) and apply for adjustment of status to a PRA, thus jumping the regular immigration queue.  

Take your passport, and expired ones if you have such.  I'm retired here and have been since 1992 which is reflected in the passport(s).  They show a number of one and two month trips back to the U.S.,and most importantly, return here.  If you're working, be able to establish that fact.  I also took with me several U.S. magazine that show my local address, my Social Security statement, same, IRS, same, none of which was looked at, only my passport with "retirement" extensions to my Non-O visa.

In the end, the ConOff was mostly interested in my status, reckon the assumption is/was that if I was going to return, she would too.

Total interview time not much over five (5) minutes, after almost a six hour wait!!

Mac

[thaihome]

As stated above, the main criteria is proving the intent to return. As she is your wife, that intent revolves around you. Are you living in Thailand, do you have a job. If you cannot prove your ties to Thailand it will appear you are trying to short-circuit the immigration procedures and have your wife enter US on tourist visa and than apply for Change of Status based on marriage once there.

TH

[jm49er1]

My wife got her second 10-year visa last year, I was with her at the window.  Interestingly enough, no questions were asked of her, all to me.  The wife owns the house, of course, one of the cars is registered in her name.  

Main point to establish was that we were going to return to Thailand, eg, not go to the U.S. on a tourist visa (NIV) and apply for adjustment of status to a PRA, thus jumping the regular immigration queue.  

Take your passport, and expired ones if you have such.  I'm retired here and have been since 1992 which is reflected in the passport(s).  They show a number of one and two month trips back to the U.S.,and most importantly, return here.  If you're working, be able to establish that fact.  I also took with me several U.S. magazine that show my local address, my Social Security statement, same, IRS, same, none of which was looked at, only my passport with "retirement" extensions to my Non-O visa.

In the end, the ConOff was mostly interested in my status, reckon the assumption is/was that if I was going to return, she would too.

Total interview time not much over five (5) minutes, after almost a six hour wait!!

Mac

i am an american citizen who retired in Thailand in October 2005 - in Thailand i own a condo, car and motorcycle in my name - i married a Thai lady last October and we wish to visit my son living in California - she does not work and has approx 30,000 baht in her bank account. She does own 16 rai of land in the Udon Thani area worth maybe 300,000 baht - what issues do you think we will have in getting a tourist visa?

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My wife got her second 10-year visa last year, I was with her at the window.  Interestingly enough, no questions were asked of her, all to me.  The wife owns the house, of course, one of the cars is registered in her name.  

Main point to establish was that we were going to return to Thailand, eg, not go to the U.S. on a tourist visa (NIV) and apply for adjustment of status to a PRA, thus jumping the regular immigration queue.  

Take your passport, and expired ones if you have such.  I'm retired here and have been since 1992 which is reflected in the passport(s).  They show a number of one and two month trips back to the U.S.,and most importantly, return here.  If you're working, be able to establish that fact.  I also took with me several U.S. magazine that show my local address, my Social Security statement, same, IRS, same, none of which was looked at, only my passport with "retirement" extensions to my Non-O visa.

In the end, the ConOff was mostly interested in my status, reckon the assumption is/was that if I was going to return, she would too.

Total interview time not much over five (5) minutes, after almost a six hour wait!!

Mac

i am an american citizen who retired in Thailand in October 2005 - in Thailand i own a condo, car and motorcycle in my name - i married a Thai lady last October and we wish to visit my son living in California - she does not work and has approx 30,000 baht in her bank account. She does own 16 rai of land in the Udon Thani area worth maybe 300,000 baht - what issues do you think we will have in getting a tourist visa?

Same answer(s) as above, be able to establish that YOU are intending to return here. Might be well for you to get the one-year "retirement" extension before you apply for the NIV for the wife.

I see that you and the wife must have bought that land out by Ban Dung, right?

Mac

Full Version: Mother In Law Has Loan On 16 Rai

Thailand Forum > Business in Thailand, Jobs in Thailand > Real Estate, housing, house and land ownership

jm49er1

2007-01-15 15:55:43

My wifes mother took out a loan of 109,000 baht for 16 rai of land near Ban Dung about 10 years ago - she has not kept up with the interest payments for several years. She is willing to give the property to my Thai wife if we pay off the loan. We checked with the bank earlier this week and the payoff is now 160,000 baht - the original 109,000 loan amount and 51,000 baht in interest - i think the interest rate is around 5%. Does anyone have any experience of negotiating down the amount of the interest to a more reasonable figure? It would seem that the bank would jump at the chance to recover money from a non performing loan but "This is Thailand" Also would be curious as to how to estimate the value of the 16 rai - its land used for rice farming - not on a main road but accessable from a dirt road. The wifes sister owns the land on one side and her uncle owns the land on the other side- all of it is undeveloped.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[jm49er1]

[quote name='thanyaburimac'

Same answer(s) as above, be able to establish that YOU are intending to return here. Might be well for you to get the one-year "retirement" extension before you apply for the NIV for the wife.

I see that you and the wife must have bought that land out by Ban Dung, right?

Mac

Yeah we did - good detective work........name transfer fees under 5,000 baht so not a bad deal - only problem is that the wife now wants to build a house on the land and move up there - i'm not quite ready for that as i enjoy the living here in Pattaya - good medical, high speed internet, good nightlife etc - was hoping the land would be helpful in obtaining the tourist visa - am not interested in moving back as i am well settled here in Thailand and can afford a much better retirement here that i could ever have had there - based on what you are saying, it does not sound like its going to be too hard to get the Visa - i am currently on year 2 of my retirement visa ( renewed it once) and won't expire until october 2007

Edited February 18, 2007 by jm49er1

[Projectpaperclip]

Thank you everyone for your helpful answers. I have only made one trip back to the United States within the last five years however we have been to Indonesia for four months. I do not have my work permit and my revenue comes from an Internet-based business in the state of Washington. My passport is full of 30-day tourist visas.

We were just married in Thailand approximately 3 months ago; and the next time I reenter Thailand I will reenter on a marriage visa.

We are planning a four-month trip to Bali before our trip to the US in September.

I was hoping to stay in Bangkok for about two months (hopefully we could get the visa at that time) go to Bali, stop back in Thailand for a few days, then fly to America.

Given the above information does anybody have any additional advice?