Tourist Visa to USA for Thai GF

[rattlesnake]

On 5/5/2024 at 6:03 AM, Yagoda said:

Bring her in via the Northern Border. She can clain asylum at a port of entry. Or even better, claim some dude was trying to traffic her into the USA.

 

Then meet her in her apartment paid for by us.

 

But do it before November.

[Hawaiian]

On 5/11/2024 at 5:58 AM, jasonsamui55 said:

Complete and utter arrogance. They think that everyone wants to live there and be an illegal Mexican lawn boy for the rest of their lives. Haven’t they realized that for the last 20 years so-called third-world people don’t want to live in the US? A.) they’re probably better off in their home countries and b.) if they’re not, and they do want to move, the US is hardly the first choice any more. Maybe from the 1950s to 2000 it was but since 2000 or 9/11 only the lowest of the low South Americans want to go to the US. Everybody else would rather go to Canada or the UK or Australia or anywhere in Europe. Arrogance to the extreme. Riding their legacy laurels as if it were still 1950s. I once lived in HK and was planning to move temporarily to the US for work and offered to take my Filipina maid at the time to the US and sponsor her for a visa. She just laughed and politely declined. She later told me she likes the US but it was like number 30 on her list, so she held out for something better.

Overstay statistics are among the criteria in what determines the strictness in tourist visa requirements.  I know that Thailand and the Philippines are high up on the list of overstayers.

[Hawaiian]

2 hours ago, jasonsamui55 said:

To quote your illustrious ex president. But seriously, those are the lowest of the low, the ones who actually want to be the illegal Mexican lawn boys, or Ecuadorian lawn boys, or Bolivian lawn boys. 

There happens to be many well educated and talented people from countries that are going through perilously rough times trying to immigrate to the U.S. Venezuela is a good example.

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

I got my girlfriend a US visa in March. I had initially applied for one two years ago and was denied as most first-time applicants are. We had traveled elsewhere in Asia several times and she had gone to Japan and Singapore on her own so she had a record of traveling and going home which I think is important. Most of her friends have been turned down and I suspect it's because they have few stamps in their passport so the interviewing officer doesn't trust them to return home.

[ChicagoExpat]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:39 PM, charleskerins said:

it seems that they excel in not granting the visa.  

1) The law assumes that a person will overstay unless they can demonstrate otherwise and 2) wouldn't you err on the side of caution most of the time?

[ChicagoExpat]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:17 PM, how241 said:

A while ago I read that the basic assumption of the immigration staff is to say 'no'  unless you can convince the immigration staff that he should change that to a 'yes'. 

I have no info or facts to back this up,  just read it somewhere.  Good Luck.

It's not just the "basic assumption" -- it's the law.  Section 214 of the INA.

[ChicagoExpat]

On 5/11/2024 at 10:58 PM, jasonsamui55 said:

Complete and utter arrogance. They think that everyone wants to live there and be an illegal Mexican lawn boy for the rest of their lives. Haven’t they realized that for the last 20 years so-called third-world people don’t want to live in the US? A.) they’re probably better off in their home countries and b.) if they’re not, and they do want to move, the US is hardly the first choice any more. Maybe from the 1950s to 2000 it was but since 2000 or 9/11 only the lowest of the low South Americans want to go to the US. Everybody else would rather go to Canada or the UK or Australia or anywhere in Europe. Arrogance to the extreme. Riding their legacy laurels as if it were still 1950s. I once lived in HK and was planning to move temporarily to the US for work and offered to take my Filipina maid at the time to the US and sponsor her for a visa. She just laughed and politely declined. She later told me she likes the US but it was like number 30 on her list, so she held out for something better.

You seem to be completely detached from reality on this issue -- both in general as your assertion that "in the last 20 years third world people don't want to live there -- and specifically when it comes to Thais.  Just to take Wikipedia's figures, in 2019 there were 350,000 Thais in the U.S.  You REALLY THINK they all arrived and stayed legally?

[NativeBob]

I think that there's some sweepstake machine at the US Emb. ever since. I saw complete misfits who went to US and remains there as a nurse and successful businessman from IT industry who was denied 2 weeks visa to go to annual Comp Expo in Las Vegas.

Nothing rational behind their actions. 

As for agents - obviously not helping.

[charleskerins]

On 5/10/2024 at 7:35 PM, Sheryl said:

Visa agent can do nothing except help her fill out the application. No effect on the visa decision, which is made by Consular Officer at the Embassy upon interview.

 

As others have said:

 

• virtually zero chance if she does not have a good job and significant assets (and family) in Thailand
• having US citizen boyfriend is a minus not a plus in the decision, bets nto to even mention but that presupposes she has the finances to be believable as a tourist

Better to holiday elsewhere until such a time that you are ready to apply for a fiancee visa.

what needs to be proven for a fiancee visa?

[Hawaiian]

37 minutes ago, charleskerins said:

what needs to be proven for a fiancee visa?

Sponsor needs to provide an affidavit of support with documentation of financial ability such as verification of income and/or substantial assets to provide support.  IRS verified income tax returns may be required along with certified copies of bank statements, etc.

[Phillip9]

1 hour ago, charleskerins said:

what needs to be proven for a fiancee visa?

It's a very long complicated process that takes 1 or 2 years.  Don't even think about that unless you definitely will be moving her to the US permanently.

[Elkski]

On 3/27/2024 at 6:33 PM, ChipButty said:

 

Money in the bank because its required to be a tourist.     Airfare 50-70k baht.  Hotels 5k night, Disney 8k, bus tour or car rental 20k.   Just not a place people with 150k in the bank visit.  And they want to see bank book page. So no recent big deposits.    With a 10 year visa you can visit for 6 months at a time each year.  But you can be denied entry at any time. 

[GinBoy2]

Tourist visa's for Thai females are a total crap shoot.

 

My then girlfriend, hi tech job, US college graduate, we owned a home I was working in Taiwan at the time but commuting back.

And, we're not talking some young gal. my now wife is, and was at the time, a middle aged women

 

Just wanted to go visit my daughter who had just had a baby.

 

Of course it was denied. Several years later nothing materially changed, except we had actually got legally married for the green card, and it sailed though

 

Looking back on it, I think since my wife had grown up as a teenager with her Uncle in Chicago after her parents died she was more likely to disappear, which of course was nonsense, but I get the CO's paranoia

[theoldgit]

A number of unhelpful posts removed