U.S Embassy letter no longer be accepted in Chanthaburi

[GinBoy2]

You might be overthinking this.

 

You didn't say how far down the CR-1 process you are, but since you did a DCF, it'll only take ~100 days from start to finish assuming all the paperwork is filed correctly.

 

So as others have stated there are plenty of short term options that should get you over that 100 days , or whatever is left of it

[BertM]

I still see lots of anger, resentment and discussion on the forum about the 3 Embassies stopping the income letters and affidavits. Those emotions will probably continue for a long time. For those who are negatively affected, I hope you can find a way to meet the current requirements. Good luck to all...

 

I attached 2 documents from the US Embassy website where they explain why they stopped issuing the income affidavits.

US Embassy - FAQs on Income Affidavits.pdf US Embassy - Facts on Income Affidavits.pdf

[Pib]

A quote of one Fact from above US Embassy docs.

 

 

Based on all the confusion voiced in numerous related threads/posts, me thinks above is "not" a Fact....turned out to be a Goal or Wish that didn't come true.

[GinBoy2]

18 minutes ago, Pib said:

A quote of one Fact from above US Embassy docs.

 

 

Based on all the confusion voiced in numerous related threads/posts, me thinks above is "not" a Fact....turned out to be a Goal or Wish that didn't come true.

But isn't this always the case with Thai immigration, or indeed any Thai government dept.

 

I think the US Embassy has been clear, the statement from Thai Immigration has been clear.

But as with anything in Thailand how that is interpreted by different offices, is shall we say, less clear, and unfortunately in their own little fiefdom, there is not a lot you can do to complain

Edited May 5, 2019 by GinBoy2

[davhend25]

1 hour ago, GinBoy2 said:

You might be overthinking this.

 

You didn't say how far down the CR-1 process you are, but since you did a DCF, it'll only take ~100 days from start to finish assuming all the paperwork is filed correctly.

 

So as others have stated there are plenty of short term options that should get you over that 100 days , or whatever is left of it

We just filed a week ago in Bangkok. So we pretty much have the whole time period left to wait. However, your observation about short term options seems on point, as I've received several ideas today from other forum members for extending my stay for at least several months, maybe more. 

 

I'll try the retirement (income letter) extension first, if that doesn't fly, I'll submit a request for a 60 day extension based upon staying with my Thai wife. That should buy me some valuable time to come up with some other short term option.

 

Thanks for the positive post...

 

DH

 

[GinBoy2]

54 minutes ago, davhend25 said:

We just filed a week ago in Bangkok. So we pretty much have the whole time period left to wait. However, your observation about short term options seems on point, as I've received several ideas today from other forum members for extending my stay for at least several months, maybe more. 

 

I'll try the retirement (income letter) extension first, if that doesn't fly, I'll submit a request for a 60 day extension based upon staying with my Thai wife. That should buy me some valuable time to come up with some other short term option.

 

Thanks for the positive post...

 

DH

 

The other thing to think about is this.

 

If don't if you have everything set up back in the US, house etc, might be worth going home before her visa is approved to get everything ready.

 

The process when she gets to the port of entry is simple if tedious, she'll be fine without you.

She'll present the sealed packet to the immigration officer, then proceed to another desk where they will open it, check the docs and stamp her passport with the temporary I-551. It's not difficult.

 

But having a home to go straight to, will be a lot better for her to adjust to her new life, than a few weeks in a hotel, or bunking down with family.

 

So I personally wouldn't jump through flaming hoops to extend past a regular extension of a tourist visa, and would leave her in Thailand while you go home and get things ready 

 

 

 

I

Edited May 5, 2019 by GinBoy2

[davhend25]

3 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

The other thing to think about is this.

 

If don't if you have everything set up back in the US, house etc, might be worth going home before her visa is approved to get everything ready.

 

The process when she gets to the port of entry is simple if tedious, she'll be fine without you.

She'll present the sealed packet to the immigration officer, then proceed to another desk where they will open it, check the docs and stamp her passport with the temporary I-551. It's not difficult.

 

But having a home to go straight to, will be a lot better for her to adjust to her new life, than a few weeks in a hotel, or bunking down with family.

 

So I personally wouldn't jump through flaming hoops to extend past a regular extension of a tourist visa, and would leave her in Thailand while you go home and get things ready 

 

 

 

I

Your point is well taken, GinBoy2...I have already considered that as a possibility and somewhat of an advantage over bunking in with my brother and his wife for a few weeks. I also need to buy a car.  So yes, I think there is a definite case to be made for going back now and getting things ready....

 

But I'm still concerned about her making that trip with no traveling experience and speaking only broken English. She'll be fine at Suvarnabhumi, but once she leaves there she won't see any Thai language signage or people speaking it. That's what I'm afraid of. She's pretty smart, and think could figure things out, but I would still be worried for her on a long distance flight with 2 stops. Total travel time with layovers can be north of 48 hours for some itinerary's. 

 

Thanks for the thought...it is good advice, and I have considered it.

 

DH

 

[GinBoy2]

5 minutes ago, davhend25 said:

Your point is well taken, GinBoy2...I have already considered that as a possibility and somewhat of an advantage over bunking in with my brother and his wife for a few weeks. I also need to buy a car.  So yes, I think there is a definite case to be made for going back now and getting things ready....

 

But I'm still concerned about her making that trip with no traveling experience and speaking only broken English. She'll be fine at Suvarnabhumi, but once she leaves there she won't see any Thai language signage or people speaking it. That's what I'm afraid of. She's pretty smart, and think could figure things out, but I would still be worried for her on a long distance flight with 2 stops. Total travel time with layovers can be north of 48 hours for some itinerary's. 

 

Thanks for the thought...it is good advice, and I have considered it.

 

DH

 

So she'll do a port of entry, then I'm assuming you'll be flying within the United States to your final destination.

The transfer, be it Inchon, Taipei, Narita or wherever will be fine. I'd fly to wherever she is going to clear immigration in the US, because then when she leaves the International terminal, meet her and then you can navigate the domestic flight.

 

Without getting the basics sorted out, car, house, furniture, and don't underestimate how long all of that takes, it's sorta traumatic, especially if your lady has no experience of living outside Thailand.

 

On a totally tangential subject. My wife lived and studied in the US so her English is perfect.

You say your wife speaks broken English.

My wife volunteers as a tutor at the Black Hills of South Dakota Literacy Council, where she teaches non English speakers, and it's all free, and she has several Thai and Lao students.

 

Try to figure that kind of stuff out too, before you hit the ground.

 

The sooner she becomes fluent and can read the easier the transition will be.

 

No matter where you live there will be Thai's. Remember 25% of all overseas Thai's live in the US 

[davhend25]

10 hours ago, elviajero said:

At the end of each year you can leave or apply for any extension you qualify for; so instead of requesting another ‘retirement extension’ you can request a 60 day extension to visit your wife.

 

The requirements can vary, but here is a basic list;

• Original marriage certificate plus signed copy.
• Signed copies of wife's ID and Tabien Baan.
• Signed copies of your passport pages: ID page, visa, entry stamp, departure card.
• 1 x photo 6 x 4.
• Maybe they will want form TM30. This is the form used by the Owner/House-master to report that you are staying with them.

With regard to copies of the "Marriage" certificate, do they want the English translations, or just the Thai versions? The actual certificate (ornate) plus the Ror 2 official document form??

 

The translations are all stapled and taped over to insure validity and discourage tampering I'm assuming, and also have information on both sides.  Would be very difficult to photo copy the translation pages. Hope they don't need those.

 

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

DH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[davhend25]

25 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

So she'll do a port of entry, then I'm assuming you'll be flying within the United States to your final destination.

The transfer, be it Inchon, Taipei, Narita or wherever will be fine. I'd fly to wherever she is going to clear immigration in the US, because then when she leaves the International terminal, meet her and then you can navigate the domestic flight.

 

Without getting the basics sorted out, car, house, furniture, and don't underestimate how long all of that takes, it's sorta traumatic, especially if your lady has no experience of living outside Thailand.

 

On a totally tangential subject. My wife lived and studied in the US so her English is perfect.

You say your wife speaks broken English.

My wife volunteers as a tutor at the Black Hills of South Dakota Literacy Council, where she teaches non English speakers, and it's all free, and she has several Thai and Lao students.

 

Try to figure that kind of stuff out too, before you hit the ground.

 

The sooner she becomes fluent and can read the easier the transition will be.

 

No matter where you live there will be Thai's. Remember 25% of all overseas Thai's live in the US 

Thank you, again, for this really helpful information. I hadn't thought of flying to her port of entry. Yes, that would simplify things considerably. Also an interesting statistic about the percentage of overseas Thai's living in the U.S.

 

I do think I would like to stay here at least until we get the first approval notice, probably in about 3 months or so. Make sure our lawyer has everything she needs to file the additional application packets. Then I may consider leaving to set things up in the U.S.

 

Thanks for your insights on this, it definitely gives us some things to consider.

 

DH

 

 

 

 

[GinBoy2]

16 minutes ago, davhend25 said:

Thank you, again, for this really helpful information. I hadn't thought of flying to her port of entry. Yes, that would simplify things considerably. Also an interesting statistic about the percentage of overseas Thai's living in the U.S.

 

I do think I would like to stay here at least until we get the first approval notice, probably in about 3 months or so. Make sure our lawyer has everything she needs to file the additional application packets. Then I may consider leaving to set things up in the U.S.

 

Thanks for your insights on this, it definitely gives us some things to consider.

 

DH

 

 

 

 

Once you get the I-130 is approved, things move fast, Id posted this a while ago, but it might help you with some of your travel and visa timing

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by GinBoy2

[davhend25]

13 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

Once you get the I-130 is approved, things move fast, Id posted this a while ago, but it might help you with some of your travel and visa timing

 

Wow!! Really fast... thanks for posting this. It's great information. I hope ours moves along like your's did...

 

Thanks, again.

 

DH

 

[elviajero]

3 hours ago, davhend25 said:

With regard to copies of the "Marriage" certificate, do they want the English translations, or just the Thai versions? The actual certificate (ornate) plus the Ror 2 official document form??

 

The translations are all stapled and taped over to insure validity and discourage tampering I'm assuming, and also have information on both sides.  Would be very difficult to photo copy the translation pages. Hope they don't need those.

 

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

DH

If you have a KR.2 then I assume you married in Thailand. In which case they just need copies of the Thai marriage certificate and I would give them the a copy of the KR.2 too.

[GinBoy2]

4 hours ago, davhend25 said:

Wow!! Really fast... thanks for posting this. It's great information. I hope ours moves along like your's did...

 

Thanks, again.

 

DH

 

From other reports our timing for a direct consular filing was pretty typical, so as long as all the required paperwork is in order, and if your immigration attorney is good, there will be no issues, they know the drill.

 

So don't sweat the Thai visa thing, you'll be fine with a short term tourist with an extension.

But maybe you should think about going home straight away to get everything sorted out, during the 'dead' period until the I-130 approval, then fly back to Thailand so as soon as you get the final approval the two of you can fly back together?

 

In that scenario, it's a very simple Thai visa issue

[overherebc]

4 hours ago, elviajero said:

If you have a KR.2 then I assume you married in Thailand. In which case they just need copies of the Thai marriage certificate and I would give them the a copy of the KR.2 too.

Just to add, our local office just needs to see the original and wants a copy, back and front of both mar' cert and wife's ID, They don't ask for KR.2, but every office is different.