Taking My Wife to the US on a Tourist Visa

[AcuDoc]

I would like to  take my Thai wife to the US to meet my family. I was told it is easier for her to get a Tourist Visa to the US verses a Marriage Visa.

 

I plan on spending only a month in the US. Do I have to give the exact dates immediately when we apply for the visa? At this point I do not know the exact dates as it depends on my work schedule and it is too far out to know for sure. My thoughts right now are somewhere around the middle to the end of May 2023.

 

How long does it take for the application process? A friend told my it took him 9 months to get approved. Is that realistic and the norm? How easy it it to do by yourself or should you hire a service in Thailand to help or expedite the process?

 

Thanks in advance - larry and pla

[Nino3]

I've been down this road many times. My experience has identified that in my case there is no right answer between marriage and tourist visa. Both have positive and negative perks. If you have any future plans to live in the US, perhaps your wife wants to work there, then I would go for the marriage visa. You would be one step closer and time ahead if deciding to apply for citizenship. 

 

Which is easier to get is sort of a loaded question. The tourist visa takes less effort and time. Only your wife provides supporting documentation for a tourist visa. Process duration for a tourist visa really depends on how quickly you can get the interview scheduled once you've submitted the application. May be only days or weeks. Marriage visa requires both of you to provide supporting documentation. Your friend may be correct is citing a 9 month approval process duration for a marriage visa.

 

You apply online and yes you will need to provide the dates that are aligned with your airline tickets. Since your travel plans are so far out in the future, you need to check the Consulate website and identify if there is still a window of entry requirement after the visa is granted. I believe it was 60 days. If she doesn't cross through a US immigration check point within that window then the visa is then voided. Check on this as it may have changed.

 

My Gf, not legally married, has been granted multiple tourist visa over the past 7 years. The first two were single entry granted by Bangkok Consulate and the current is a 10 year multiple entry granted by the US Consulate in Laos.

 

Recommendations:

 

1. Apply at the US Consulate in Laos as I know more than a few folks that received 10 year multiple entry visas, including my GF

 

2. The tourist visa process is simple enough so don't use an agent if you are able to provide solid supporting documentation. In the event you decide to use an agent, please get an electronic copy of the application so you know what information they provided ie; work history, finances, assets, etc. This will come in handy if you ever need to apply for another visa. 

 

3. If she has a ring in her nose demand she removes it before her interview. Yes, I have also been down this road. She must not wait for the interviewer to ask for her supporting documentation. She must simply shove it under the window once she is standing there.

 

Don't get discouraged if she is denied on her first request. A few years back, a Border Protection supervisor explained to me in simple English that the visa game works on a quota system. The interviewer most likely knows whether the visa request is granted or denied long before the interview and the review of supporting documentation.

 

It sounds like you work out of country, meaning the US. If so, you may want to get ahold of an employment contract, guarantee letter from your employer that demonstrates you reside outside the US for the majority of the year. Provide this as supporting documentation. I had to do this in order to get my GF's first visa granted.

 

Good Luck

 

 

 

 

[Rick Bechard]

I had no luck getting a tourist visa for my wife. We were married in late August 2017. Three weeks later she had a bridging visa to join me in Australia pending a spouse visa application. I am a dual citizen. She lived there until I retired at the end of 2018, when we moved to Thailand. She has applied 3 times for a visitor visa to the US and been denied. She applied a 4th time to accompany me on medical grounds, while I undergo eye surgery at the VA. That application was also denied. The basic reason for denial is "You failed to convince the official you have strong reasons to return". That means, unless she has a job, a letter giving permission for leave of absence, and strong ties requiring her to return, they will deny it. As someone else mentioned. the decision has pretty much been made before the interview, based on what is submitted in the application. There is a huge burden to change the official's mind at the interview. In my wife's case for instance, the questions asked are such that they have no relevance to intent. For instance, "How many cars do you have and where will you park them while you are gone"? 

At the conclusion of the interview, the applicant is merely told "sorry" and handed a form letter stating that you failed to convince the official you had strong reasons to return. The letter also states, "You may reapply anytime when your circumstances change". But they will not discuss what circumstances need to change. 

My wife's 4th application was in October. The waiting time for an interview was 1 year. The website does allow for a request to expedite for a family member to accompany for medical treatments. I supplied a letter from the Thai hospital ophthalmology department referring me to the VA for surgery. The official in Chiang Mai refused to even read the letter or look at any documents my wife carried. When she pushed them through the window, he said "I did not ask for those" and pushed them back. Then said sorry and walked away. There was no interview.

We are now 14 months into the CR1 Immigrant visa, with no action from the USCIS since April. 

[jerrymahoney]

Should all else fail and you really want your Thai wife to meet your family, Thai citizen can travel Visa Free to Bermuda for 3 months. (transit UK no visa required)

 

https://visalist.io/bermuda/visa-requirements/thailand

[Guest Isaanlife]

As others mentioned, extremely difficult to do for the reasons given.

 

The IO seem to naturally assume the Thai girl will not return.

 

There has to be overwhelming evidence she will.

 

Large bank account her name, land and house her name, career job, etc.

 

If she does not have these as a minimum, will be denied.

[sirineou]

As mentioned by other, she would have to convince the US immigration officer that she is coming back and that this is not an attempt to move to the US but dont want to wait for a marriage visa. So she would have to provide supporting evidence. (employment, assets owned, children is school here, etc) 

If you don't know when you are going and time is not a factor, then a marriage visa might be better because she can not be refused , (unless she has a criminal record, some disease  or some other compelling reason) . But it probably costs more, and would have to provide things such a vaccinations, medical certificate, police record etc. 

[GinBoy2]

Oh Dear, this is the cr%%pist of them all.

 

As @sirineou rightly points out the assumption for the CO will be that you will try to circumvent the immigrant process by applying for an adjustment of status while she is in the US on a tourist visa.

 

The way to alleviate that is probably trying to convince the CO that YOU have a compelling reason to return to Thailand, but good luck with that.

 

Tourist visas for married Thai's are a cr%%p shoot. Immigrant visas, CR-1 IR-1 are 100% a go, just check the boxes

 

But I have no idea what the processing time for any of them are nowadays.

 

Sorry to sound so vague, but in truth none of us can give solid advice, only speculation

Edited February 8, 2022 by GinBoy2

[bbko]

Several years back my wife and I wanted to take a trip to the US, we (she) owns a house and we have a son that was born here and his birth registered with the US Embassy in BKK.  When we applied and and she went for her interview, we were already married for about 8 years.  Her interview at the embassy was so fast and easy, once they saw the land chanote, our son's birth certificate and the number of years we've already been married they didn't even look at the other papers she brought (bank books, car & bike registration, etc) and she was granted a tourist visa good for 10 years.