Thai Wants To Move To US

[CalicoConsulting]

His 14-year-old son lives there. That's his reason. What are his options?

He does know someone who is willing to employ him and sponsor him. But he's unskilled labor, and the job is delivering sushi. Something tells me Immigration won't be impressed.

I'm totally ignorant of US immigration law. Even if you could point me in the direction of an expert, that'd be a great start.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[expatwannabe]

His 14-year-old son lives there. That's his reason. What are his options?

He does know someone who is willing to employ him and sponsor him. But he's unskilled labor, and the job is delivering sushi. Something tells me Immigration won't be impressed.

I'm totally ignorant of US immigration law. Even if you could point me in the direction of an expert, that'd be a great start.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I assume by "there" you mean the United States, and that you want to know if the adult father of a 14 y/o boy can join his son.

It's possible if the boy is an unmarried US citizen at least 21 y/o. If not, it's very very difficult. The job offer needs to be some kind of specialty that the father is well suited for, and that the business has difficulty finding locally. Like if they could claim they needed his expertise in Thai cooking and that he was a certified Thai chef, that might work.

Other shortage areas in the US that qualify for waivers are for IT programmers and nurses.

Finally, the way I think most Thais get into the US is via the Visa Waiver program, also known as the Visa Lottery. He should do that irrespective of whether he's pursuing another approach. They aren't mutually exclusive.

Here's the US immigration website:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Edited May 26, 2007 by expatwannabe

[CalicoConsulting]

Thank you!

This gives me a starting point. I've snooped around some of the US Immigration websites and am coming up equally empty. I had thought about that lottery but didn't know where to find it. Now I do.

Meanwhile, if anybody else reading this has any advice, please send it to me. If there's a good immigration lawyer around here who specializes in this sort of thing, for example, I'd like some contact info. He/she would probably know more than we do.

[LaReina]

For someone to hire him in the US under an employment visa. That would be an H1-B1 visa. And he will not get it for delivering sushi. If he is unskilled, immigration will look at him as a potential tax burden.

When his kid turns 21 (or maybe 18?) he/she can sponsor his parent to come and live with him. Immigration will most likely not deny this application, but then the child may have to show proof of income and that they can help support the parent.

Legally I don’t think he stands much of a chance other than via the lottery. So his options are.. get into the US, and become an illegal resident.. or.. get into the US and get married to an American or try and further his education in an american uni. and from there finish, and apply for a job and stay.

What kind of work is he doing now??

[CalicoConsulting]

He's my sales manager, hirer and firer, translator (spoken only), driver, handyman and yard worker, point of contact for potential customers who are afraid to speak English to the farang, and in his spare time he's raised my website to top Google ratings for anyone who searches in Thai rather than English. And my cat likes him too.

I usually say "right hand man" because it gets too confusing otherwise.

This is a valuable skill, but it's not one the U.S. needs to import Thais for.

Oh, and if he does succeed in his quest, I'll probably be disappointed in his replacement, but I'll manage.

[LaReina]

Open a branch in the US and employe him .. in which case that might go by easier.. no??

6 months in thailand, 6 months in the US.

[CalicoConsulting]

If I had the money...

And a viable business plan for a US branch...

[CTM]

First off, I don't think a 14 year old can work legally in the US unless it is the family store or farm. Pesky child labor laws. Certainly not if delivering sushi requires driving a car or motorcycle.

Why can't he just apply as a dependent ? America isn't Thailand. If the parent is working legally, the dependent children can get a visa also.

[CalicoConsulting]

First off, I don't think a 14 year old can work legally in the US unless it is the family store or farm. Pesky child labor laws. Certainly not if delivering sushi requires driving a car or motorcycle.

Why can't he just apply as a dependent ? America isn't Thailand. If the parent is working legally, the dependent children can get a visa also.

The child is the one living in the USA. The parent wants to join him.

[eastbaybob]

I have a good knowledge of immigration law, and there is no chance of this guy getting to the US as a worker.

And I kind of have to wonder how his son got here but not him. The most likely way is that the son's mother married a USC and immigrated here with the child. Then it becomes one of those issues if the son even knows who the father is.

Thailand is a nice place, he has a nice job with a boss that cares, that sounds good.

[CalicoConsulting]

I have a good knowledge of immigration law, and there is no chance of this guy getting to the US as a worker.

And I kind of have to wonder how his son got here but not him. The most likely way is that the son's mother married a USC and immigrated here with the child. Then it becomes one of those issues if the son even knows who the father is.

Thailand is a nice place, he has a nice job with a boss that cares, that sounds good.

I don't want to get into his personal life, but his ex-wife is American. If not for the divorce, I'd have never met the guy.

And yeah, he's got it good here, but he really wants to be with his son, and some well-intentioned but uninformed people are trusting their hearts a bit much. Nothing criminal, just some misinformation. I'd like to get some solid, definitive information and resolve this one way or another.

(Definitive information about immigration? Yeah, I'm dreaming. )

[ProThaiExpat]

13 million illegal aliens in the U.S. and many are Thais. When the latest immigration bill passes, most of the illegals will become legal once they take the steps provided in the new law.

The U.S. has a history of these amnesty type immigration law changes, so technically overstaying a visa is not an illegal entry and then applying for amnesty is a method of obtaining long stay legal status. This method is probably the reason getting a tourist visa is so difficult.

[expatwannabe]

So it sounds like the thing to do is have him apply through the visa lottery every year until his son is old enough to sponsor him.

Sorry there isn't better news, Calico.

[exexpat]

Even the H1B visa is hard to get as programmers from India, nurses from Philippines fill the quota very quickly, and there is a long backlog.  You'd have to compete with the likes of HP, Microsoft, Google, Kaiser Permanente, etc.

The immigration "amnesty" bill is gonna have a tough time.   Liberals and Conservatives both hate it...

Even if it passes:  

No Amnesty For Illegal Immigrants: Illegal immigrants who come out of the shadows will be given probationary status. Once the border security and enforcement benchmarks are met, they must pass a background check, remain employed, maintain a clean criminal record, pay a $1,000 fine, and receive a counterfeit-proof biometric card to apply for a work visa or "Z visa." Some years later, these Z visa holders will be eligible to apply for a green card, but only after paying an additional $4,000 fine; completing accelerated English requirements; getting in line while the current backlog clears; returning to their home country to file their green card application; and demonstrating merit under the merit-based system. 

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1179511978687.shtm

Edited May 28, 2007 by exexpat