My Thai wife's US travel visa declined

[Shot]

38 minutes ago, JimmyTheMook said:

 

Absolute BS post - they could care less about the stamps in your passport.

 

To the OP - write or email to your local congressman back home and send a copy of the email to the bottom feeding scum at visa counter services dept.

 

 

This is incorrect. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by Shot

[newnative]

2 hours ago, sencelebi said:

She should reapply for the visa. You are a US citizen and you have right to take your family with you. There is no set requirements for foreign spouses to get visa. It all depends on the visa agent at the embassy. But again you have right to take your spouse and child with you to visit US.

I wish this was true--and it seems like it should be true--but it isn't. 

[EricTh]

7 hours ago, Bangkok or bust said:

My wife has an 8 year career,2 houses and a lot of money in the bank. The officer only looked at her passport and saw no travel stamps and that her job was new. He didn't ask to see any other documents that would have easily proven her ties. At his discretion that was all he needed to know. 

What is the American immigration afraid of? 

 

Some Thai girls do go to American to become hookers, but since your wife has lots of money and she's married to you, what are they afraid of?

 

Is your marriage registered?

 

[Bangkok or bust]

4 minutes ago, EricTh said:

What is the American immigration afraid of? 

 

Some Thai girls do go to American to become hookers, but since your wife has lots of money and she's married to you, what are they afraid of?

 

Is your marriage registered?

 

Turns out a Thai national has to have strong ties to Thailand (she does) and weak ties to America. Being married to an American citizen and having an American citizen child are too heavy negatives and are considered strong American ties that's why she got denied. 

 

after speaking to a local attorney it looks like an immigrant visa is our only other option which is roughly a hundred thousand Thai baht and still no guarantee and also could take 12 to 14 months.

[CNXexpat]

9 hours ago, Bangkok or bust said:

because my wife has never traveled outside of Asia to any Western countries

If every western country would act like the US, she will never have a chance to travel outside Asia. What a stupid rule from the US embassy.

[Bangkok or bust]

Update:

 

After talking to an attorney, he's surprised they didn't deny her at the check in window. The sole reason she got denied was because they consider being married to me and having a US citizen child as a strong tie to America. They pretty much just use the lack of stamps in her passport as an excuse.

 

at this point I'm being told the only route now is to go with an immigrant visa, and get a re-entry permit when we come back from visiting so she doesn't lose the immigrant visa by not staying in America for a certain length of time.

[Bangkok or bust]

6 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

If every western country would act like the US, she will never have a chance to travel outside Asia. What a stupid rule from the US embassy.

It was just a BS excuse that the officer used at the moment.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

 

Quote

 

--One was my original passport that she brought in for her appointment showing my long history of retirement extensions of stay in Thailand during the time we've been married, and

 

 

PS - One reason I knew the Embassy staff would be interested in my wife bringing in MY passport for her visa interview was what had happened with me and the Embassy there quite a few years prior.

 

Going back some years, I had a prior relationship with another lady (not legally married) and we decided to apply for a tourist visa so we could travel on vacation to the U.S. together. To support that, I prepared her with every conceivable document and photocopy I could imagine.

 

Included in that were copies of my passport pages and stamps and extensions of stay here, but I didn't give her my original passport to bring to the appointment (at that point, having no reason to suspect it would be necessary). But once inside for the interview, my GF at the time apparently got flustered, and couldn't find my passport photocopies that I'd given her when they asked her to see MY passport, and of course she didn't have the original. So in our post-denial debrief together, it quickly became very clear that the Embassy staff were keenly interested in MY history in Thailand, even though I wasn't the one applying for anything!

 

So I learned my lesson the second time around quite a few years later, and gave my wife my original passport with all its extension of stay stamps to bring inside for her interview. And as expected, the interview officer took quite a bit of time examining my passport, more time than he spent on my wife's Thai passport.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[lopburi3]

19 minutes ago, Bangkok or bust said:

which is roughly a hundred thousand Thai baht and still no guarantee and also could take 12 to 14 months.

Not sure where that price comes from as it can all be done by you and wife - there are normal fees involved but do not believe anything like that amount (I went through the process and had approval and decided to stay here - when applied for tourist visa later that paperwork (approval for immigrant visa not being used) provided immediate 10 year tourist visa.

 

As for time it is dependent on office used - took us about 5 months using a US office but can be more - if had used the office in Bangkok time would have been much less.

Edited August 15, 2019 by lopburi3

[Bangkok or bust]

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

Not sure where that price comes from as it can all be done by you and wife - there are normal fees involved but do not believe anything like that amount (I went through the process and had approval and decided to stay here - when applied for tourist visa later that paperwork (approval for immigrant visa not being used) provided immediate 10 year tourist visa.

64,200 baht attorney fee

$350 USD state department application

$550 USD Home land security application

Other miscellaneous small fees

 

I will try the online route ourselves initially.

 

I was also told that the u.s. immigration offices on the ground, I don't remember the name he used, but they will be leaving Thailand in march of 2020 these offices are used to expedite immigration applications. so if they don't accept the application soon it could take 12 to 14 months to get the immigrant visa.

[olfu]

^{tough--wait till new president is elected.}

[lopburi3]

Yo

1 minute ago, Bangkok or bust said:

64,200 baht attorney fee

No need for that at all - just a bunch of bio data forms/birth certificate and such - you and wife can easily do.  If you have to do in US believe they still process by region of country you live so time varies as to how slow they are.  Information should be available from Google.

[bkk6060]

9 hours ago, Bangkok or bust said:

Yeah, next step I guess. 

No.

Waste of money.

A Thai agent cannot influence US Visa's.

 

Things are very strict now. I know of noone who has gotten a travel Visa for a Thai female in recent times.

You can try the engagement Visa but that could take 12 months plus.

It all sucks.

[lopburi3]

https://www.uscis.gov/

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/thailand-uscis-bangkok-field-office

[bkk6060]

46 minutes ago, newnative said:

I wish this was true--and it seems like it should be true--but it isn't. 

Yes.

In today's times false.

 

[watcharacters]

3 hours ago, sencelebi said:

She should reapply for the visa. You are a US citizen and you have right to take your family with you. There is no set requirements for foreign spouses to get visa. It all depends on the visa agent at the embassy. But again you have right to take your spouse and child with you to visit US.

 

My experience years back did not show that to be the case.

 

 

[Ajvat37]

So basically you applied for a tourist visa for your wife and immigration believes that she is a high risk for immigration fraud In That once in America she will apply to change her visa status to an immigrant visa and bypass the proper visa process.  I am in the same situation as you with an 8 month old baby except we are not married.  My girlfriend was denied a tourist visa to visit my family with our daughter for the holidays.   I did a consultation with a US immigration lawyer in Maryland with excellent credentials and since you are married already you need to apply for a marriage visa even though it’s only for vacation.  This process is lengthy and requires a lot more paperwork and proof of income equal to 125% of the poverty line for your family size (3 people).  You can look up the amount easily.  I assume you did the CRBA and have a US passport for your child already, if not need to do that also.  You will need your marriage certificate legally recognized for the US so you will want to talk to a Thai lawyer also for that part.  If you don’t meet the income requirement to sponsor your wife then you need assets equal to 5 times the income requirement but even then they can deny you.  Since Last year things have gotten exponentially more difficult for marriage visa due to the focus on immigrants not using welfare systems once in America.  I’m a combat veteran who will need to return to America soon for an operation and more than likely won’t be able to bring my baby or girlfriend with me.  It’s not fair and doesn’t make much sense at all but the immigration people at the US consulates in Bangkok and Chiang Mai seem to have orders to be extremely biased to the rich and they don’t care about breaking up families.  You will have no appeal process if denied and no explanation either.  My recommendation is to get an immigration lawyer in America, it will be expensive but at the very least do a 1 hour consultation and have as many question ps as you can ready for that hour long call.  People complain about Thai immigration but I have had no problems yet being here with my daughter so.   One of the many examples of why I don’t live in America any more.  

[bkk6060]

3 hours ago, sencelebi said:

She should reapply for the visa. You are a US citizen and you have right to take your family with you. There is no set requirements for foreign spouses to get visa. It all depends on the visa agent at the embassy. But again you have right to take your spouse and child with you to visit US.

Untrue in today's environment.

[watcharacters]

3 hours ago, sencelebi said:

She should reapply for the visa. You are a US citizen and you have right to take your family with you. There is no set requirements for foreign spouses to get visa. It all depends on the visa agent at the embassy. But again you have right to take your spouse and child with you to visit US.

 

I  understand your feelings of how it seems you should be able to take your wife and child to the states  but I think you've been correctly   advised by many here with experience that that simply isn't the  case.  

 

If you don't mind,  is your post based on how you think it should be or did you read somewhere that you  have a right to  take a wife and child with you?

 

 

[lopburi3]

3 minutes ago, Ajvat37 said:

You will need your marriage certificate legally recognized for the US

That is a simple translation and registration at MFA - no lawyer required.  

[bkk6060]

2 minutes ago, Ajvat37 said:

So basically you applied for a tourist visa for your wife and immigration believes that she is a high risk for immigration fraud In That once in America she will apply to change her visa status to an immigrant visa and bypass the proper visa process.  I am in the same situation as you with an 8 month old baby except we are not married.  My girlfriend was denied a tourist visa to visit my family with our daughter for the holidays.   I did a consultation with a US immigration lawyer in Maryland with excellent credentials and since you are married already you need to apply for a marriage visa even though it’s only for vacation.  This process is lengthy and requires a lot more paperwork and proof of income equal to 125% of the poverty line for your family size (3 people).  You can look up the amount easily.  I assume you did the CRBA and have a US passport for your child already, if not need to do that also.  You will need your marriage certificate legally recognized for the US so you will want to talk to a Thai lawyer also for that part.  If you don’t meet the income requirement to sponsor your wife then you need assets equal to 5 times the income requirement but even then they can deny you.  Since Last year things have gotten exponentially more difficult for marriage visa due to the focus on immigrants not using welfare systems once in America.  I’m a combat veteran who will need to return to America soon for an operation and more than likely won’t be able to bring my baby or girlfriend with me.  It’s not fair and doesn’t make much sense at all but the immigration people at the US consulates in Bangkok and Chiang Mai seem to have orders to be extremely biased to the rich and they don’t care about breaking up families.  You will have no appeal process if denied and no explanation either.  My recommendation is to get an immigration lawyer in America, it will be expensive but at the very least do a 1 hour consultation and have as many question ps as you can ready for that hour long call.  People complain about Thai immigration but I have had no problems yet being here with my daughter so.   One of the many examples of why I don’t live in America any more.  

You and others do not get the fact that Thai females have created this.  Going to the US, overstaying and never being heard from again.

10's of thousands of them.

It all seems not fair, but there is a legit reason.

Sad but true.

[Ajvat37]

3 hours ago, sencelebi said:

She should reapply for the visa. You are a US citizen and you have right to take your family with you. There is no set requirements for foreign spouses to get visa. It all depends on the visa agent at the embassy. But again you have right to take your spouse and child with you to visit US.

You don’t have the right and there are family income requirements of the American member of the family for foreign spouses to get a visa equal to 125% of the poverty line which is around 26,000 for a family of 3.  

[Ajvat37]

7 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

You and others do not get the fact that Thai females have created this.  Going to the US, overstaying and never being heard from again.

10's of thousands of them.

It all seems not fair, but there is a legit reason.

Sad but true.

I get it but the immigration officials have 0 critical thinking skills to deduce that I have lived here for over 3 years and if we wanted to move to America permanently we would have married when she got pregnant and went through the process for a k1.  I have assets in Thailand, income in America, and had all the necessary paperwork to prove these things but they don’t care, in the last year and a half things have changed drastically for the worse in being able to get a visa to America, wether marriage or tourist.  They aren’t looking for proof, they are looking for an excuse to deny.

Edited August 15, 2019 by Ajvat37

[Ajvat37]

58 minutes ago, Bangkok or bust said:

Turns out a Thai national has to have strong ties to Thailand (she does) and weak ties to America. Being married to an American citizen and having an American citizen child are too heavy negatives and are considered strong American ties that's why she got denied. 

 

after speaking to a local attorney it looks like an immigrant visa is our only other option which is roughly a hundred thousand Thai baht and still no guarantee and also could take 12 to 14 months.

You don’t need to pay 100k baht to a Thai lawyer.  Do a consultation with an American lawyer with a good reputation, one actually practicing and living in America.  Your consultation will be like 300-400 dollars, they will tell you exactly what you need to do.  Once you have all of your initial paperwork ready again have the US lawyer review everything and then apply for the visa.  A Thai lawyer will not really help much at all compared to an American lawyer and for 3000 dollars you can get more than enough support and guidance from a high quality lawyer back home.

[brewsterbudgen]

About time all these countries started knocking back Thai visa applications and give them only what we Farangs get here, Grief!

Americans and most westerners don't need a visa to visit Thailand. Your comparison is ludicrous.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Bangkok or bust]

3 minutes ago, Ajvat37 said:

You don’t need to pay 100k baht to a Thai lawyer.  Do a consultation with an American lawyer with a good reputation, one actually practicing and living in America.  Your consultation will be like 300-400 dollars, they will tell you exactly what you need to do.  Once you have all of your initial paperwork ready again have the US lawyer review everything and then apply for the visa.  A Thai lawyer will not really help much at all compared to an American lawyer and for 3000 dollars you can get more than enough support and guidance from a high quality lawyer back home.

The attorney I spoke to his in Thailand and is American.

 

 

I will try the online application just like the non-immigrant application on the US embassies website.

[Bangkok or bust]

A tone have any advice on how long to wait to apply for immigrant visa? Will it look suspicion of we apply right away after her denial?

 

Thanks a lot to everybody that has given me input on this I really appreciate it.

[Bangkok or bust]

1 minute ago, FredGallaher said:

You don't need an attorney to apply for immigrant for Thai wife. However, if your in the US on a visitor's visa you might need legal help to change status. My previous experience was changing a visitor visa to a student visa. I couldn't do but the immigration attorney in the US could (connections I think). 

I did it years ago, but I'm sure someone here has recent experience.

The US consulate should be able to give you a list of require documents.  

We will just attempt The immigrant application on the US Embassy website. I remember when I was helping my wife fill out the application there were two options non-immigrant visa or immigrant visa. Thanks.

[lopburi3]

23 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

You and others do not get the fact that Thai females have created this.  Going to the US, overstaying and never being heard from again.

10's of thousands of them.

It all seems not fair, but there is a legit reason.

Sad but true.

Actually we are talking about married spouse in this thread. Much less chance of overstay than for attempt to change status without the normal immigrant visa wait outside country.

[Shot]

17 minutes ago, Ajvat37 said:

You don’t need to pay 100k baht to a Thai lawyer.  Do a consultation with an American lawyer with a good reputation, one actually practicing and living in America.  Your consultation will be like 300-400 dollars, they will tell you exactly what you need to do.  Once you have all of your initial paperwork ready again have the US lawyer review everything and then apply for the visa.  A Thai lawyer will not really help much at all compared to an American lawyer and for 3000 dollars you can get more than enough support and guidance from a high quality lawyer back home.

A reputable American lawyer will only be able to confirm your application and supporting paperwork is correct. They will have zero influence on the IO. Zip, zero, zilch. The only thing they can do for centain is take your money.

Edited August 15, 2019 by Shot