USA tourist visa for Thai wife

[chaiyaphumcharlie]

I am thinking of taking my Thai wife and our 6 year old son to the US for the first time in March 2020. My son has an American passport. I would like my son to get to know the US but It would nice to travel there as a family. I have been reading up on the best way to do this on this site and others. It looks like the tourist visa is the way to go unless you are looking to move there. From what I can tell so far, the tourist visa is not easy to get even if you are married to a US citizen. Actually, being married to a US citizen may be a disadvantage. I understand that when applying for the tourist visa, every applicant is presumed to be an “intending immigrant.”

My wife will need to show “compelling social and economic ties” to Thailand like owning a home or having employment. She will need to prove during that she will return to Thailand or she will be denied.

My wife does not own a home, does not work or have a large balance on her bank account. Therefore, I don’t think she will be able to show that she has strong ties to Thailand. 

However, I may be able to show that I have strong ties to Thailand since I have been living here for the last 5 years with a Non-O visa with extensions of stay based on marriage. I have been going back to the US every year and have stayed there around a month each year. My passport shows that I return to Thailand and live here. Another factor that may help show ties to Thailand is that I maintain a big balance on my bank account here. Would the fact that I have a Non-O visa and a pretty good balance on my Thai bank show that I have strong ties to Thailand and help convince someone to grant my wife a visa or is it not enough? 

I was thinking of going to Japan in October for a week with my wife and son as a warm up before a potential big trip to the US. I see that you don’t need a visa with a Thai passport. It would create a little travel history on my wife’s passport. I read that it might help as well.

Any thoughts on my wife’s chances of getting a visa? 

Any recommendations on things to do that might help get a positive outcome?

Thanks

[lopburi3]

Are you actually retired?  From what you posted my take would be you have no ties to Thailand other than your wife as you mention stay on marriage extension of stay and no mention of any employment.  In her case immigrant visa might an option if unable to obtain tourist visa - she can always change her mind later and a tourist visa after having ability to stay would likely not be a problem.

 

[bkk6060]

They ( tourist visa for female) are very difficult to get.

How old is she?

Every person I know who has tried to get a tourist Visa for their Thai gf/ wife have been denied.  All of the girls were under 40.

I do know a guy who's wife got one but she is 46.

 

 

 

[Just Weird]

53 minutes ago, chaiyaphumcharlie said:

However, I may be able to show that I have strong ties to Thailand since I have been living here for the last 5 years with a Non-O visa with extensions of stay based on marriage.

Your wife needs to show strong ties to Thailand, not you.  Your "ties" (which are not ties by any stretch of the imagination) are irrelevant.

[khwaibah]

43 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Your wife needs to show strong ties to Thailand, not you.  Your "ties" (which are not ties by any stretch of the imagination) are irrelevant.

 

Not necessarily. If your on an "extension to stay based on retirement" not a visa and you have  a few million baht in your Thai bank account and your wife shows the original US passport and Thai bank book to the interviewer its like a slam dunk. It works. Your status in Thailand does matter. The strong ties for the wife to Thailand does count.

[chaiyaphumcharlie]

My extension of stay is based on marriage and I have maintained a few million baht on my Thai bank account for several years. I thought that might be a way of showing ties to Thailand. I understand the argument that this might not be relevant and that my wife needs to show the ties not me. 

To answer a previous post, I am retired and my wife is 29.

 

[lopburi3]

10 minutes ago, chaiyaphumcharlie said:

To answer a previous post, I am retired and my wife is 29.

In that case you want to show that you plan to remain here as retired so large account balance might be helpful but property ownership would likely count for more.

My wife applied for immigration and was approved to apply for the actual visa but we decided to remain here - a year later when she applied for tourist visa that paperwork was examined and immediate approval.  But she was not 29.  

[bkk6060]

11 minutes ago, chaiyaphumcharlie said:

My extension of stay is based on marriage and I have maintained a few million baht on my Thai bank account for several years. I thought that might be a way of showing ties to Thailand. I understand the argument that this might not be relevant and that my wife needs to show the ties not me. 

To answer a previous post, I am retired and my wife is 29.

 

Ok.

Good luck, but I think she may be too young.

There are no set guidelines but the info I have is historically, the younger girls do not come back so now they are not giving them visas.

Give it a shot.

Also, I would suggest not to go thru an agency.  An agency here cannot manipulate the US authorities as they do the Thai.

[ilms]

My wife applied for a US tourist visa 3 1/2 years ago and was denied. There's a lot of speculation out there about what it takes to get approved but it seems to be a bit of a moving target.

Here are some facts from our case:

-We used an agency. IMO, a total waste of money. You can easily fill out all the forms, get the supporting docs. and "prep" for the interview yourself. I agree with another poster who said that agencies don't have any pull with the US consular staff.

-The only questions they asked her in the interview were about me; What I was doing in Thailand, How much money I was making.  At the time, I was volunteering at an NGO. I had plenty of money in savings to support us but I don't think that looked good in the interview. 

At the time, my wife had been working in a mid-level position in the head office of a well-known multinational corporation for 9 years. She had all the docs. from the company. They didn't ask to see any of that. Nor did they enquire about any assets she had here.

 

My speculation:

-Age may be a factor. My wife was 34 at the time she applied.

-Duration of marriage. At the time she applied, we had only been married for 6 months. I know that on permanent resident (green card) applications, more documentation was required (at least in the past) if you had been married less than 2 years. I don't know if they apply similar criteria to tourist visas, but an "older" marriage may have a better chance.

-When we applied, I was still on the last few months of a 1-year, non-0 visa. I hadn't done my first marriage extension yet. Even though I had already been in Thailand full-time for 4 years, I think not being on the marriage extension could have made it look like I was not committed to staying here.

 

What I would do differently next time:

-Have my wife be ready to talk about me being in Thailand in a stable, long-term way. I would give her as much in the way of supporting docs. to support this as I could (bank statements, copy of extension of stay, etc).

-Have her bring any proof of assets and liabilities (such as a mortgage).

-If you have children that are in school, translate and bring documents proving their enrollment. 

-Have her be more assertive during the interview. Sure, you can't bluster your way through this but if there is anything to help bolster the case, she needs to try to bring it to their attention in the interview. 

-Establish a broader travel history. Many younger Thais who have gone abroad have only been to other ASEAN countries and maybe Japan or Korea. That's good but they don't need visas to go there. If it's within your realm of possibilities, you might consider a trip to a Schengen country before applying for the US visa. The approval rates for Schengen visas are fairly high, and it may look good on her travel history to have been to a country that she needs a visa to go to.

-Persistence. I know several Thai women married to Americans who got the visa on their 3rd and 4th tries. Most of them did not do much different on their subsequent applications but somehow they were approved. Maybe the US consulate gives weight to multiple attempts.

 

Unlike the UK, EU and Canada, when the US denies the visa, they don't tell you why, so you really don't have any way of knowing what to try to do differently the next time. It's frustrating when you're legit. and get refused. And of course, it's 6,000B each time you apply. The cynical part of me sees a money-making scheme as part of this whole thing too.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by ilms

[macahoom]

2 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Your wife needs to show strong ties to Thailand, not you.  Your "ties" (which are not ties by any stretch of the imagination) are irrelevant.

The husband's ties to Thailand are most certainly relevant.

[chaiyaphumcharlie]

1 hour ago, ilms said:

The only questions they asked her in the interview were about me; What I was doing in Thailand, How much money I was making.  At the time, I was volunteering at an NGO. I had plenty of money in savings to support us but I don't think that looked good in the interview. 

Ilms, thanks for thoughtful post on your experience with the tourist visa.

From reading your take, it looks like your wife was denied more because of your situation than her own.

She had a long job history while your situation may have been viewed as less stable.

That seems to suggest the husband's situation may be important.

  

[Just Weird]

On ‎7‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 2:14 PM, khwaibah said:

 

Not necessarily. If your on an "extension to stay based on retirement" not a visa and you have  a few million baht in your Thai bank account and your wife shows the original US passport and Thai bank book to the interviewer its like a slam dunk. It works. Your status in Thailand does matter. The strong ties for the wife to Thailand does count.

If you say so.  I disagree...for a reason.

[Just Weird]

21 hours ago, macahoom said:

The husband's ties to Thailand are most certainly relevant.

In comparison to the wife's ties, the US husband's pale into insignificance.

[GinBoy2]

So I agree with all the demonstrating strong ties to Thailand etc.

 

But, tourist visa's are subjective, and while the overall tourist visa success is quite high, TVF members often, as in the OP's case, occupy a sub section of those applicants.

 

Older men, with young wives. That's the killer for the CO. 

 

Remember the US is home to the largest Thai diaspora in the world, and if I had to guess in the CO's mind; pretty young girl goes to the US, dumps old man and disappears into the restaurant, 'massage' world.

 

Thats why I 'think', and again like others have said the US doesn't give any explanation of denial, in these situations the proof of intent to return needs to be overwhelming.

 

So get as much support documentation as you can and give it a try 

[macahoom]

1 hour ago, Just Weird said:

In comparison to the wife's ties, the US husband's pale into insignificance.

 

To Chaiyaphumcharlie:

Ignore what this man/woman says. Your status in Thailand is critical. 

 

Make sure your wife has your passport with her for the interview. The interviewing officer will probably ask to see it.

 

And make sure your wife is armed with documentation showing you have been living in Thailand for five years and intend to live there in the future, if that is the case. Include a covering letter with her application mentioning these facts.

[Just Weird]

45 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

To Chaiyaphumcharlie:

Ignore what this man/woman says. Your status in Thailand is critical. 

 

Make sure your wife has your passport with her for the interview. The interviewing officer will probably ask to see it.

 

And make sure your wife is armed with documentation showing you have been living in Thailand for five years and intend to live there in the future, if that is the case. Include a covering letter with her application mentioning these facts.

"And make sure your wife is armed with documentation showing you have been living in Thailand for five years and intend to live there in the future..."

What sort of document that carries any weight is available that would show that he was intending to live here in the future? 

 

Why are you referring to me a "man/woman", Mr/Ms Macahoom, was that a personal attack/flame?

[GinBoy2]

Try not to get too personal about this guys.

 

The bottom line is that married or not, the Thai national is applying for a tourist visa in her own right.

 

Your relationship is part of the determination of whether to grant a tourist visa, but only one of many that the CO considers.

 

Tourist visas, unlike immigrant visas are subjective, and you need to be aware of that.

 

Immigrant visas for a Thai spouse, check the boxes, and it's a done deal, very objective.

 

Tourist visas in contrast, are highly subjective, so just go into the process appreciating that fact

[macahoom]

35 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

"And make sure your wife is armed with documentation showing you have been living in Thailand for five years and intend to live there in the future..."

What sort of document that carries any weight is available that would show that he was intending to live here in the future? 

 

Why are you referring to me a "man/woman", Mr/Ms Macahoom, was that a personal attack/flame?

 

I referred to you as man/woman as your user name does not make your gender obvious.

 

I'm very sorry if this offended you, but I have no idea why it would. 

[Just Weird]

11 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

I referred to you as man/woman as your user name does not make your gender obvious.

 

I'm very sorry if this offended you, but I have no idea why it would. 

What has my gender got to do with the thread, I have a forum name, don't I?  Your name doesn't make your gender clear either so it's ok for you to be referred to as a man/woman?

[moe666]

Some time it just depends on the idiot you get to interview you. The first time my wife applied we were not married but been together for 6 years. As soon as that was explained, my wife says his faced changed, excused his self came back in and denied her.

Fast forward 2 years married now all info submitted the same as before no changes. But this time she has a nice american lady doing the interview, no problems breezed right thru 10 year visa. My wife was 50 when she applied they did ask her where we were going what we planned to do, also questions about my children in the US. Lady goes out comes back in welcome to america. Every post here is not relevant to you and your wife each case is different. Make out the computer forms get all of your paper work together, they didn't ask my wife for anything but they mayask your wife. Good luck and no it is not impossible for a thai woman to get a tourist visa, do not start believing that stuff. If she is 19 and you are 60 and she has massage on her application yes she will be denied maybe.

Edited July 9, 2019 by moe666

[macahoom]

24 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

What has my gender got to do with the thread, I have a forum name, don't I?  Your name doesn't make your gender clear either so it's ok for you to be referred to as a man/woman?

 

Good lord! Yes, it's perfectly okay.

[GinBoy2]

On 7/9/2019 at 4:28 AM, moe666 said:

Some time it just depends on the idiot you get to interview you. The first time my wife applied we were not married but been together for 6 years. As soon as that was explained, my wife says his faced changed, excused his self came back in and denied her.

Fast forward 2 years married now all info submitted the same as before no changes. But this time she has a nice american lady doing the interview, no problems breezed right thru 10 year visa. My wife was 50 when she applied they did ask her where we were going what we planned to do, also questions about my children in the US. Lady goes out comes back in welcome to america. Every post here is not relevant to you and your wife each case is different. Make out the computer forms get all of your paper work together, they didn't ask my wife for anything but they mayask your wife. Good luck and no it is not impossible for a thai woman to get a tourist visa, do not start believing that stuff. If she is 19 and you are 60 and she has massage on her application yes she will be denied maybe.

In some respects you have to feel some sympathy for the CO's.

 

They are placed in an almost impossible position of trying to assess in, what is in reality a less than 5 min interview, whats going on it a visa applicants head.

 

Based on the sheer numbers of Thai's resident in the US (it's the largest Thai diaspora) if they aren't a business person, or some school exchange, temporary worker, the flags go up in the CO's  mind.

 

Then add in the fact that a lot of TVF members, often have rather young girlfriends/wives relative to them, and you get the picture of what the CO is struggling with in this or her head

 

 

[jimmyyy]

My wife who was 22 at the time, was issued a visa and now has a green card.  She owned no property at the time and beyond her parents and family had no ties, we had a son with a US passport.  8 years later we are back in thailand.  Just go apply, be honest of your intentions. 

[Shot]

Macahoom is correct. “Your status in Thailand is critical.”

 

Your passport should be on top of all the other supporting documents. Flag your original visa and each extension with a post it note.

 

Don’t fudge on anything. Honesty is the best policy.

 

Triple check your DS 160 for errors, then check it 10 more times. Many visas are denied for typos and or errors.

 

Your wife should be on time and dress business casual for the interview.

 

I have done three of these, all successful with 10 year B2. The first was my girlfriend and one year later her two daughters. We have traveled back and fourth to the states several times since.

 

Please keep us informed.

 

Good luck and have a great trip.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Shot

[theoldgit]

Nonsense post removed.

[CaptainJack]

Please see my post on these USA immigration changes underway. This may effect you. 

 

 

[lopburi3]

4 hours ago, CaptainJack said:

Please see my post on these USA immigration changes underway. This may effect you. 

 

 

That is about proposal to close overseas immigration offices within the next year.  As thread is about tourist visa it would have no effect even if done today.  If he decides to obtain immigrant status would have to apply directly to office in USA rather than doing in Bangkok once office is closed - again not much of a change but could add time to process. 

 

I had been in Thailand about 5 years when tried to use local office and they refused because was using non immigrant o visa entry and had visa travel (so not residing here in their mind) which gave me personal experience using USA route.   

[CaptainJack]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

That is about proposal to close overseas immigration offices within the next year.  As thread is about tourist visa it would have no effect even if done today.  If he decides to obtain immigrant status would have to apply directly to office in USA rather than doing in Bangkok once office is closed - again not much of a change but could add time to process. 

 

I had been in Thailand about 5 years when tried to use local office and they refused because was using non immigrant o visa entry and had visa travel (so not residing here in their mind) which gave me personal experience using USA route.   

Hi!

 

You are absolutely correct.  I missed it the "tourist " part. Duh!  Regardless,  I think it is important information. 

 

 

This is a quote directly from the news article.  I also attached a recent report on the Manila office.  Please correct me if I got anything else wrong.

 

 

"“Its core mission is family reunification,” said Justin Cox, senior supervising attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project in New York. “In the best of circumstances, it is going to cause significant delays across the board. In the worst of circumstances, it could keep families apart for years.”

United States military personnel abroad would no longer be able to file immigrant visa petitions for spouses and family members locally.

“It’s going to smack all government employees abroad, including folks in the military, who have a foreign spouse or kids they are trying to bring to the U.S. legally,” said Ms. Stock, who handles a number of such cases in her immigration practice.

She said that one of her clients, an American defense contractor living on a military base in Kuwait who married a Yemeni woman, could be forced to remain apart from his wife for an extended period of time after returning to the United States if he cannot apply for her green card abroad.

“If he can’t get it through international operations, he will be thrown into the general U.S. backlog and have to be separated from his wife for more than a year,” Ms. Stock said.

The average processing time for all cases at Citizenship and Immigration Services surged by 46 percent over the past two fiscal years and 91 percent since 2014, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association".

Citation 
Michael D. Shear Contributing Reporting

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/philippines-uscis-manila-field-office

[chaiyaphumcharlie]

Here is an an update on my Thai wife’s USA tourist visa application. My wife just received her passport with a 10 year B1/B2 tourist visa. 

The CO asked a dozen questions. He asked who I was? Where did I live? What was I doing here?The officer asked to see my passport which shows all my extensions. I had post it stickers for every year. He asked my wife if it was hard for me to get my yearly extensions with immigration in Thailand.

 

This was a good surprise for both us. We did not expect this outcome. We prepared for the interview and practiced the expected questions. We had been told many times that it would be difficult to get the visa.

 

We met someone from an agency in Bangkok that told us we should try to get an immigrant visa. He thought there was little chance my wife would get a tourist visa. He told us that the fact that she did not work would be a big problem.

 

We decided to give it a shot anyway. We had nothing to lose except the fee for the application. We look forward to our trip to the US this spring. 

[steveb6]

My wife applied and was denied two times for a tourist visa when she was single. She has a well-paid job. We are married now and have a 15 month old son who is an American citizen. I have been in Thailand for 20 years and currently on a retirement Visa. My wife is 31 and I am 66. Any advice would be appreciated on her chances to get a tourist visa