Bring Gf And Our Child To Us: Quickest Option?

[FreedomDude]

Help! My head is spinning from hours of research on our available options for immigration to the US.

Goal: Get my Thai GF (we're not legally married) and our 1-year-old child (who IS a US citizen with a US passport) to the US using the quickest route.

Other possibly useful facts:

- We're willing to get married here or in the US, whichever will make the process of getting to the US go faster.

- I've been here in Thailand for over a year now working legally on a proper working Visa, Work Permit, etc

- Our child does have US citizenship now.

Several people have told us we're lucky we haven't married as the processing time will be quicker. They mention this I-130 process which takes about 90 days, but my research today seems to indicate that you have to be MARRIED to apply for it. So why is everybody telling us NOT to get married here?????? I'm so confused.

So what would you do? 1 or 2 or something else:

1. Apply for the Fiance K1 Visa months

2. Get married here in Thailand, apply for I-130

Thanks for your advice!

[old wanderer]

A K1 Fiancee visa is 1/2 the time of a 130 process. The key things are to read EVERY word of the application, do EVERY step EXACTLY, when you get your notice of apporval, take it to the embassy and get the paperwork they will mail her in about a month when they get the approval via diplomatic pouch...when you get the notice, apply for the interview, as you should have completed all the steps in the 30 days you were waiting for the embassy to get "the official" word.

There is no issue of taking your child with a US passport, nothing additional is necessary. It might speed things up in Thailand if she got a Thai passport also, as she has no entry card.

Choke dee.

[FreedomDude]

A K1 Fiancee visa is 1/2 the time of a 130 process.

Everything else I have been reading indicates the OPPOSITE of this statement.

Visajourney.com

Fiance Visa(K1): Total time estimated: 6-9 months, give or take.

Direct Consular Filing (I-130): the quickest route to admission to the US and to a resident status in the US, based on marriage, usually taking 3 months or less

Also, in an earlier thread, thaihome said:

No doubt the quickest way to get the visa is a DCF. Thailand is strictly speaking not a DCF country, as there is a BCIS office here that processes the I-I30 petition. I thought I saw a thread where someone got the visa in little more then a month.

Still totally lost and confused

Edited April 2, 2007 by FreedomDude

[Gumballl]

The K-1 (fiance) visa is the quickest. It will take 6+ months.

The K-3 (spouse) visa takes about 9-12 months.

For the K-1, submit the I-129F to the USCIS. If you decide to get married (in LOS), then submit the I-130.

One thing to be aware of is that the USCIS will want to know how you intend to support your fiance when you are in the US. If you are living in Thailand (and presumably working), you will need to provide evidence that you either have a job lined up in the US or that you have assets that can cover the minimum salary requirements to sponsor someone. For a family of three, I think the minimum salary is something like $28K.

Here's the Website for the USCIS. Rumour has it that all I-129F's and I-130's must be submitted to the USCIS in the states. I heard this from my lawyer.

[FreedomDude]

Here's the Website for the USCIS. Rumour has it that all I-129F's and I-130's must be submitted to the USCIS in the states. I heard this from my lawyer.

This is not true. I walked over to the USCIS office today on the 15th floor across the street from the embassy. There were no other customers there, so I had the full attention of the woman behind the counter. They DO take the I-130s there. You have to be able to show you've been in Thailand for at least a year, which I can. She gave me the whole packet of applications and instructions. It IS INDEED FASTER than going to the embassy and doing the K3 visa. Total processing time is about 3 months on average.

[thaihome]

Here's the Website for the USCIS. Rumour has it that all I-129F's and I-130's must be submitted to the USCIS in the states. I heard this from my lawyer.

This is not true. I walked over to the USCIS office today on the 15th floor across the street from the embassy. There were no other customers there, so I had the full attention of the woman behind the counter. They DO take the I-130s there. You have to be able to show you've been in Thailand for at least a year, which I can. She gave me the whole packet of applications and instructions. It IS INDEED FASTER than going to the embassy and doing the K3 visa. Total processing time is about 3 months on average.

Good to see first hand confirmation of what I understood the process to be and how long it takes. I suspect that most of the 3 months is taken up with waiting for interview date.

The main issue for people living in Thailand going throguh this seems to be proving they have maintained a “domicile” in the US while living here. This usually means at least having a mailing address and maybe a bank account, but exactly what you have to do seems very vague. You will of course, also have to prove you have sufficent income.

You should note that since you have not been married for 2 years, your wife will be given a conditional green card on entry, which after 2 years she will have to apply for change of status to permanent. She will also need to apply for “parole” (love that name) in order to travel out of the US and not invalidate the conditional green card.

Good luck. Please keep us informed of your progress.

TH

[Gumballl]

Here's the Website for the USCIS. Rumour has it that all I-129F's and I-130's must be submitted to the USCIS in the states. I heard this from my lawyer.

This is not true. I walked over to the USCIS office today on the 15th floor across the street from the embassy. There were no other customers there, so I had the full attention of the woman behind the counter. They DO take the I-130s there. You have to be able to show you've been in Thailand for at least a year, which I can. She gave me the whole packet of applications and instructions. It IS INDEED FASTER than going to the embassy and doing the K3 visa. Total processing time is about 3 months on average.

Ok, I stand corrected about where to file.

Question... It was my understanding that you were not married. Did the BKK USCIS office still inform you to file the I-130, or do you mean the I-129F? The I-130 is used to sponsor a family member (spouse, parents, siblings, etc).

Btw, just so you know, when you fill out the forms, you do not have to request a visa for your child. He/she is already a US citizen with a passport. Thus you do not have to name your child on the I-129F or I-130. You will have to name (or count) him/her when you prepare the Affidavit of Support.

Edited April 3, 2007 by Gumballl

[fxm88]

Part of the problem in getting good information is that the situation is always changing: processing centers getting backed up or reassigned to higher priority tasks, rules change, who knows... plus the system has devolved into such a hodgepodge it's easy to get confused and people aren't always precise in reporting their experiences.

Anyways, last year I found myself in a similar situation as you describe and we had good success with the CR-1. For more see this post and this post. One other thing: at the interview, the consular officer was extremely interested in if I was up to date in filing & paying my taxes while out of the country (luckily I had been).

Good luck!

[thaihome]

I sent an email to the Bangkok USCIS office today in order to confirm they were accepting I-130 petititons from US citizens living in Thailand and recieved the following reply within 3 hours:

My note:

From what I have read, I can submit the I-130 and other required forms and documentation to the Bangkok USCIS office for processing and upon approval that is forwarded to the Consulate for

completion of the Packet 4 forms and scheduling of interview.

Is my understanding correct? How long does the process take?

TH

The reply:

Your understanding is correct. Please be aware that both you and your spouse must appear in person in order to file your Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130). If you submit the form with all appropriate evidence, processing of the I-130 can take as little as 1-2 weeks. Consular Processing for actual Immigrant Visa can take longer than that. Please check with the U.S. Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy regarding their processing times.

Thanks

Xxx

(Name Omitted)

Duty Officer

DHS/ Citizenship & Immigration Services

Bangkok, Thailand District Office

Ph# 011-66-2-205-5352

Fax# 011-66-2-650-7770