I am in the process of applying for a tourist visa for my thai wife ( i am a US citizen) and we have an interview scheduled at the US Embassy in Bangkok next week - we need to bring proof of our ties to thailand - does anyone know if we need to translate the Chanods we have ( one for a condo in nakula and one for land in Udon Thani) from Thai into english for the interview? Thanks for your help

Do not believe you would need translations of any documents for a tourist visa. I believe the Consular Officers still have Thai ability and even if they did not they could easily ask someone. One of the best ties would probably be employment if either of you have that.

Do not believe you would need translations of any documents for a tourist visa. I believe the Consular Officers still have Thai ability and even if they did not they could easily ask someone. One of the best ties would probably be employment if either of you have that.

Thanks - i was thinking the same thing regarding the need for translations - neither of us are employed - i retired here in October 2005 on a retirement visa and had it renewed in October 2005 - my understanding is that my ties to returning here ( own condo, car, cycle, bank account) will be important factors regarding the decision to grant her the visa - she has land in her name and small bank accounts as well as her mother and brothers living here

Although it is her visa your status helps to determine the likelihood of her return. That you have retired and extended that stay should help. The concern is that some people will marry and then immediately request a tourist visa with the intent to change status once in the USA and not return - just to avoid the immigrant visa delay of using the proper procedures.

I am in the process of applying for a tourist visa for my thai wife ( i am a US citizen) and we have an interview scheduled at the US Embassy in Bangkok next week - we need to bring proof of our ties to thailand - does anyone know if we need to translate the Chanods we have ( one for a condo in nakula and one for land in Udon Thani) from Thai into english for the interview? Thanks for your help

Last year my wife applied for another NIV to the U.S., she'd previously had a 10-year visa and come & gone several times.  And, yes, the ConOff was largely interested if I was going to return to the LoS.  The wife wasn't asked any Qs at all.

We had her chanotes, tambien ban, bank book with minimal balance, etc, all in Thai, they didn't even get looked at.

My passport did get looked at, it's got the Retirement extensions of my Thai Non-O visas going back several years.  That made the ConOff happy it seemed.

I also took along several envelopes with my local address on them, IRS stuff, SocSec, and 2-3 magazines with the local address.  They didn't get looked at but I figured they'd help to establish that I am pretty well retired HERE.

In any case, the more paperwork you can take along, the merrier!!

FYI, we showed up at the Consulate right on time at 0730 hrs, didn't get interviewed until about 1400 hrs!!  Something ain't quite right with their queue # system!!  Hope is improved by now.

Mac

I am in the process of applying for a tourist visa for my thai wife ( i am a US citizen) and we have an interview scheduled at the US Embassy in Bangkok next week - we need to bring proof of our ties to thailand - does anyone know if we need to translate the Chanods we have ( one for a condo in nakula and one for land in Udon Thani) from Thai into english for the interview? Thanks for your help

Last year my wife applied for another NIV to the U.S., she'd previously had a 10-year visa and come & gone several times.  And, yes, the ConOff was largely interested if I was going to return to the LoS.  The wife wasn't asked any Qs at all.

We had her chanotes, tambien ban, bank book with minimal balance, etc, all in Thai, they didn't even get looked at.

My passport did get looked at, it's got the Retirement extensions of my Thai Non-O visas going back several years.  That made the ConOff happy it seemed.

I also took along several envelopes with my local address on them, IRS stuff, SocSec, and 2-3 magazines with the local address.  They didn't get looked at but I figured they'd help to establish that I am pretty well retired HERE.

In any case, the more paperwork you can take along, the merrier!!

FYI, we showed up at the Consulate right on time at 0730 hrs, didn't get interviewed until about 1400 hrs!!  Something ain't quite right with their queue # system!!  Hope is improved by now.

Mac

Thanks for this first hand knowledge - i am planning on bringing along as much as i can find to show my tie to Thailand - i have prepaid receipts for my condo association fees, cable tv, gym membership, etc along with tax records - 7:30 appointment but not seen until 2 PM - Yuck and my appointment is at 9:30................looks like an all day adventure