Sample Letter Requesting Us Tourist Visa For Thai

[RedQualia]

This is a small part of the information we actually assembled for her visa request (also included was a copy of the receipt for health insurance for her, W2 forms, letters from my bank and employer, 50 pages of printed email, photos of us together, photos of my houses as well as copies of the deeds (leases) from city hall, etc).

The letter below is quite specific to me (and somewhat to her). It is my hope, however, that it may be of use to you in helping you decide what you might put in your own letter to the embassy. (This was cut and pasted from a Word doc; apologies for font and paragraph formatting problems below.)

This letter (or rather, the entire application package we assembled) did work...

From: John R. Doe June 1, 2007

To: The American Embassy

Bangkok, Thailand

Subject: Request for tourist visa for Ms. Xxx

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have invited Ms. Yyy Xxx to visit me in The United States, and write to discuss the visa request. Please excuse us if our efforts are overly done. The visa process is a bit costly, in terms of money, of course, but also in time and effort. Ms. Xxx and I have done our best to assure success.

I have known Ms. Xxx for several months now. I have been building a house in (Thai Province), and so have visited Thailand three times in the past 12 months. Ms. Xxx and I met by accident one day. We are both older, and both divorced. I think we were a bit surprised that we greatly enjoyed each other's company. We have spent as much time together as we can, but the distance between us is a problem. We have exchanged email and I have telephoned her often since then; and so our relationship has grown.

Because I have spent so much time in Thailand this year, I now have very little vacation time left. While I do plan to live in Thailand soon, I will not be finished with things in the USA for perhaps one year. Matters relating to economics, bonuses, etc., further suggest that I probably will not move to Thailand for about 18 months. This seems a very long time to wait for Ms. Xxx and I to see one another again.

Ms. Xxx and I would very much like to continue exploring our relationship, and this is the primary reason for the visa request. Of course, seeing a bit of The United States (San Francisco, Yosemite, Mt. Lassen and Lake Tahoe are all nearby) would no doubt be delightful for her as well. I would also very much like for her to meet my family – my mother, daughter, sister, and so forth.

I find Ms. Xxx to be a very good person. She is mature in her thinking and behavior (her age is yy), and strikes me as somewhat wise. She has a house in (Thai Province), as well as two children, age 13 and 16. She is a devoted mother, and takes very good care of herself and her family. She is hard working, intelligent, and industrious. She works fulltime, often seven days each week. She is also a student, and plans to open her own shop in (Thai town). Yet she still finds time to go to the temple, feed monks, and so forth, and so has every reason to hold her head high. I trust that her good qualities will be apparent to you as well in any interview you conduct.

Who I am: My name is John R. Doe, and I am zz years of age. I work as a "Senior Shoveler" for My Company, 123 Some Street, Some City, Some State, Some zip code, and have since Some Month, Some Year. My past salary is shown in the attached W2 forms, and a small raise this year will increase it to about $93,000, plus bonuses. Note that all benefits are completely paid by My Company, including health, dental and eye care, four weeks of vacation annually, and an annual retirement fund contribution of 15% of my salary. My compensation, then, is much more than my salary. Should you run a credit check, you will find that I am in good standing with my creditors. My property in Thailand is also completely paid for. My education includes an A.S. in Some Subject from Some College in Some City, Some State; a B.A. in Another Subject from a Different University, Different City; an M.A. in Another Subject from Yet Another University, in Some City; and several certificates in different aspects of My Career.

I have lived in Thailand before and thought that I would stay there at that time. I planned to teach then, and acquired a TEFL certificate from That There Training Place in Some Month, Some Year. I was also accepted into a Ph.D. program at a Thai University, in Bangkok, where I was to study Some New But Related Subject. Because my mother became quite ill and my daughter decided to marry, I was forced to return to the USA, and was then re-employed by My Company. While I have stayed here since then, my heart still belongs to Thailand. I have great respect for the people of Thailand, and have continued to study the Thai language independently in the USA. I still have my TEFL certificate, of course, and I still plan to begin classes at the Thai University when I return. I mentioned above that I have been building a house in Thai Town. In fact, I now own two houses in Thai Town, both paid for, with the first rented to an Eskimo couple.

I have included this biographical information in an effort to describe my character as well as my plans. It should be clear that I have very strong ties to Thailand, and that I have every intention of returning there to live. I make no secret of this. You need only telephone my supervisor for confirmation of my plans (my supervisor’s name is Aaa Bbb; her office number in My Town, USA, is 800-555-1212).

Should Ms. Xxx be granted a visa, she will stay with me in my home at my address. My mother, Ccc Ddd, still lives. It would be very nice if she and Ms. Xxx could meet while there is still time. We therefore plan to visit her; and that address is (My mother's address).

I believe Ms. Xxx to have sufficient funds for the cost of the trip and any emergencies: she continues to work; I have also given her some money in recent months to help assure she continues her studies; her family may also have given her money; and she is a generally thrifty person. I have also given her a MasterCard, and it has remained unused. That said, then if the embassy feels she should have more in her account, then if it is acceptable, I can transfer it from my account in Thailand quite quickly.

There are, of course, enormous differences between the Thai and American economies. My earnings here are almost two orders of magnitude greater than that of most Thais. It is, then, quite reasonable for me to bear all expenses for her trip, including round trip airfare, all food, housing, personal expenses, travel costs within the USA, the cost of her medical insurance, and indeed, any expenses whatsoever. In fact, given the differences in the economies, it would be rude not to pay her expenses. Ms. Xxx will continue to be free to use any money she has in her accounts as she wishes.

I have included a notarized copy of form I-134 as evidence of my guarantee of her expenses and responsibility for her. This should help to alleviate any concerns over adequate funding of her visit, and any issues relating to her becoming a burden for the government in the USA.

My understanding is that another concern of the embassy is assuring that the applicant will return to his/her home country when the visit is over. Typical evidence of this is described as including strong family ties, a career, possession of property, and so forth.

Ms. Xxx will present to you her ties to her home country (home, family, job, school, etc), and you will evaluate these details as you see fit, of course. I offer the following additional thoughts:

- Ms. Xxx has no family in The United States and does not know anyone here other than me.

- I again call attention to the two houses I own in Thai Town, and to my plans to enter the PhD program at That There University in Bangkok. Clearly, I intend to live in Thailand, and it would be quite difficult for Ms. Xxx to survive alone in America.

- My Kansas Driver's license number is 14L55136J. If you run a check on me through The Department of Justice, you will find that I have no criminal record.

- I have enclosed a letter from my congressional representative in support of Ms. Xxx visiting the USA. The primary reason for this inclusion is simply as another way of showing that we are trying to be "above board," and have the best of intentions.

- I understand that my personal guarantee regarding Ms. Xxx's stay in the USA would have little value. I nonetheless insist that she will leave The United States within the time limitations imposed upon her stay. I have described myself in some detail above. I hope you can see that I am someone who considers his word to mean a great deal.

- Ms. Xxx and I are indeed, in a relationship. There are no plans for marriage, but it could happen someday. Given this, we would not want to create any problems that could hinder future visa requests. We will be careful she complies with the terms of any visa granted her.

A brief note about Ms. Xxx's trip to The USA: we plan for her to fly from Thai Town to Bangkok to begin with, where she will be met by my friend Eee Fff, and her husband Ggg (tel. 012-345-6789). Eee and Ggg are "world travelers," and will make sure that Ms. Xxx is comfortable in dealing with the airport in Bangkok. I have also provided her a map of the airport in Taiwan (among the easiest to deal with). We are confident, then, that she will have no difficulty in making the trip.

Because Ms. Xxx may want to visit more than once in the next 18 months, we would prefer a multiple entry visa, but of course, a single entry visa would be equally appreciated. We also request a two month visa, for the months of September and October, but a four or six week visa would do nicely as well.

We ask that you please grant Ms. Xxx a tourist visa. While it is my belief we have covered all details, please do not hesitate to contact me via email or telephone any time, day or night, should you have questions of any kind.

Sincerely,

John L. Doe

[thaihome]

That's the funny part of visa applications. I got a letter from my employer explaining I get a annual home leave and my wife is entitled to accompany me and a copy of our joint bank account passbook.

That worked too.

TH

[expatwannabe]

If I were the Immi officer, I would have approved that application just to avoid reading the letter!

[RedQualia]

If I were the Immi officer, I would have approved that application just to avoid reading the letter!

Ahh... That reminds me of another thing I've always done for visa applications such as this.

It is my belief that government agencies thrive on paper. If true, then one cannot possibly have too much paper in any visa application. The more paper, the better. Bury them with paper. 100 pages of printed email between you and yours is a handy thing to throw in. I'm always amazed to learn that they've read it all. Certainly a good way to occupy the time of the interviewer (rather than have them ask too many questions, for example). They only have so much time for an interview. Exhaust it on unimportant things.

(Learned from an ex-IRS agent, who taught that anytime you're going to be audited, take lots and lots of paper with extra circles and arrows written all over it. Then spend all their time going over the circles and arrows. Keep them busy looking at the stuff you know is right, until their out of time. Always works for me, regardless of government agency. )

[Krub]

If I were the Immi officer, I would have approved that application just to avoid reading the letter!

Ahh... That reminds me of another thing I've always done for visa applications such as this.

It is my belief that government agencies thrive on paper. If true, then one cannot possibly have too much paper in any visa application. The more paper, the better. Bury them with paper. 100 pages of printed email between you and yours is a handy thing to throw in. I'm always amazed to learn that they've read it all. Certainly a good way to occupy the time of the interviewer (rather than have them ask too many questions, for example). They only have so much time for an interview. Exhaust it on unimportant things.

(Learned from an ex-IRS agent, who taught that anytime you're going to be audited, take lots and lots of paper with extra circles and arrows written all over it. Then spend all their time going over the circles and arrows. Keep them busy looking at the stuff you know is right, until their out of time. Always works for me, regardless of government agency. )

This only works if you can get past the receptionist. A lot of the recpetionists are Thai and are not part of the decision process. They must ensure that the required documents are in the file. They very often take on them to return documents they deem not needed. It can make or break an apllication once it gets to the deciding officer's desk ! Experienced this twice at different Embassies (luckily spotted and faxed said removed documents and visa given)

Make sure all the documents you prepare are ccepted and are given to the deciding officer.

[thaihome]

With the current US Consulate process you do not submit the paperwork ahead of time, you bring it to the interview. If you were to bring a huge amount of extraneous paperwork, it would probably be detrimental to the review by the officer. Better to keep it brief and to the point.

TH

HOW TO APPLY FOR A U.S. VISA FROM THE US EMBASSY IN BANGKOK

[RedQualia]

With the current US Consulate process you do not submit the paperwork ahead of time, you bring it to the interview. If you were to bring a huge amount of extraneous paperwork, it would probably be detrimental to the review by the officer. Better to keep it brief and to the point.

TH

HOW TO APPLY FOR A U.S. VISA FROM THE US EMBASSY IN BANGKOK

Mileage varies. I've buried them with paper twice, and gotten visas twice.

[thaihome]

With the current US Consulate process you do not submit the paperwork ahead of time, you bring it to the interview. If you were to bring a huge amount of extraneous paperwork, it would probably be detrimental to the review by the officer. Better to keep it brief and to the point.

TH

HOW TO APPLY FOR A U.S. VISA FROM THE US EMBASSY IN BANGKOK

Mileage varies. I've buried them with paper twice, and gotten visas twice.

Was this before or after they went to the online process where the paperwork is submitted at the interview? People I know that have done it under the new process, say the officer barely looks at the documentation. Sounds like it was before as now virtually everyone is given a 10 year multi entry and you seem to have done twice (or maybe it was two different people?).

TH

[RedQualia]

With the current US Consulate process you do not submit the paperwork ahead of time, you bring it to the interview. If you were to bring a huge amount of extraneous paperwork, it would probably be detrimental to the review by the officer. Better to keep it brief and to the point.

TH

HOW TO APPLY FOR A U.S. VISA FROM THE US EMBASSY IN BANGKOK

Mileage varies. I've buried them with paper twice, and gotten visas twice.

Was this before or after they went to the online process where the paperwork is submitted at the interview? People I know that have done it under the new process, say the officer barely looks at the documentation. Sounds like it was before as now virtually everyone is given a 10 year multi entry and you seem to have done twice (or maybe it was two different people?).

TH

Last month, and a few years ago. Two different people.

Edited August 30, 2007 by RedQualia

[thaihome]

Last month, and a few years ago. Two different people.

So when you brought your 50 pages to the interview, did he read it?

TH

[kram908]

Do you guys think it would be wise to list relatives currently in US in the letter? Or that might weaken the case?

Thanks!

[gzu88bv]

....... I mentioned above that I have been building a house in Thai Town. In fact, I now own two houses in Thai Town, both paid for, with the first rented to an Eskimo couple.

John, just read your letter and I certainly do not want to pick on you. The matter might be too serious. But one thing draw my attention, that you own two houses in Thai Town, and I just assume that you in fact "invested" in these two houses would be a more appropriate term. I hope you got may point and I wish you good luck in all your endeavours.