Pls Help.. Us Tourist Visa For Thai Gf Denied, Any Advice?

[mrtonyc]

My girlfriend was denied a tourist visa to the US today at the US Consulate in Chiang Mai. She had sponsoring letters from myself and my mother. She has held a teaching job at the same school for over 10 years. She has 2 masters degrees. She has a daughter in Chiang Mai. Not only that, but she is the (not-legally) adopted daughter of the owner of the school where she teaches and will someday take over the school as the owners have no children and are unable to have children. I realize there is no way to prove this with documentation, but nevertheless this is the reality of the situation. We have return tickets. She has never worked in a bar.

The officer told her that whenever a US boyfriend / Thai girlfriend situation, they NEVER allow it because they always assume the couple will split up and the Thai girl will stay in the US. No amount of documentation regarding her job is considered since she can get a 'better' job in the US. Dont ask me why they ask for job documentation if they disregard it....

Im a businessman who does export from Chiang Mai, i'm here under a Non-Im B visa.

We have tickets leaving for the US beginning of Oct. returning mid Nov. and it will be very difficult to change them.

Another Thai person gave my gf a card of a visa service which they said could help but I cant imagine what they would provide further and I'm sure it will be expensive.

Any advice would be very very much appreciated.

[Ajarn]

Yes, they do give visas to that women who are gf's of USA men, but it can be a hassle because they are 'not supposed to believe anything that is said'. That is there official policy... My wife went for a visa, and was turned down.The next week, I went with her, and after some discussion, my name was added to her visa, meaning that she HAD to travel with me. I don't know what their reason was for turning here down the first time, but they were convinced she was going to stay also...

[dyinganimal]

My girlfriend was denied a tourist visa to the US today at the US Consulate in Chiang Mai. She had sponsoring letters from myself and my mother. She has held a teaching job at the same school for over 10 years. She has 2 masters degrees. She has a daughter in Chiang Mai. Not only that, but she is the (not-legally) adopted daughter of the owner of the school where she teaches and will someday take over the school as the owners have no children and are unable to have children. I realize there is no way to prove this with documentation, but nevertheless this is the reality of the situation. We have return tickets. She has never worked in a bar.

The officer told her that whenever a US boyfriend / Thai girlfriend situation, they NEVER allow it because they always assume the couple will split up and the Thai girl will stay in the US. No amount of documentation regarding her job is considered since she can get a 'better' job in the US. Dont ask me why they ask for job documentation if they disregard it....

Im a businessman who does export from Chiang Mai, i'm here under a Non-Im B visa.

We have tickets leaving for the US beginning of Oct. returning mid Nov. and it will be very difficult to change them.

Another Thai person gave my gf a card of a visa service which they said could help but I cant imagine what they would provide further and I'm sure it will be expensive.

Any advice would be very very much appreciated.

I've heard a few people (UK nationals) say that many poeple get refused the first time and then accepted the second. although a friend wrote this for Citylife mag.

4. I want to take my Thai girlfriend/boyfriend back to the USA, how hard is it getting a visa?

Hugh: First, your Thai girlfriend/boyfriend will have to have a Thai passport. Then, unless you are married, you have two options.

She can apply for a tourist visa. Of course she will have to qualify and have the necessary financial assets just like any other tourist.

Her other option is to apply for a fiancée visa or a ‘K-1’. First you apply with INS in the US, have proof that you can support a wife, prove that you really know her and have a real relationship and show that you really intend to marry. If the INS approves your request then she will have four months to apply. She will have to go through a lengthy application procedure in Thailand. This includes a long checklist consisting of police certificates, a physical, and a very in depth interview. If she has ever worked at a bar that will end it right there.

If she is granted a fiancée visa she has 6 months to use the visa and once she gets in country 90 days to marry you. If you aren't married at that time she will have to leave the country and will probably be denied further visas.

The whole process takes 4 - 8 months. If the consulate denies her a

K-1 visa you cannot appeal.

[mrtonyc]

Thank you Ajarn, that gives me some hope. Actually I also did not go with her to the interview today because everyone told us it would be a bad idea. By the way, I personally know of people who applied with absolutely NO documentation and after somewhat heated discussion, walked out with tourist visa. I also personally know a girl who was 'dating' someone at the Bkk US Consulate, she had no Uni. degree, no job, no working experience, but was given tourist visa on first attempt and by her own description...'everyone was so nice, they said with a smile....enjoy your trip!'

[Jimjim]

Put her in your suitcase?

But really, it can be tough. Perhaps if she was applying on her own it might work? I don't really know.

[mrtonyc]

Thank you very much LookSaMoon, We will look into that.

[engineer]

I had a similar problem a year ago with the Embassy in Bangkok .

GF had a great job with a bank , been there a long time .

Not a bar girl and never was ( she was crap in bed , thats how I know that )

She owned a car and the payments were current.

She had money in the bank , she brought statements.

I sent her a notorized sponsership letter.

I have family in Thailand and I also sent their names and addresses as references.

She was looking for a 2 week visa to come visit me as i was unable to come here because of work .

She had a return ticket.

They basicially took the $ 100.00 I sent her for the application fee and told her " No " and would not give a reason. She was told that she could re-apply but that would be another $ 100.00 .

No one bothered to contact her employer , my family here or myself to verify anything .

They just decided she was some bargirl looking to move to USA and took the money . All in all it was a bad experience and I am happy that my current GF has no interest in visiting the States as i have no interest in ever going thru that process again.

[Ajarn]

Thank you Ajarn, that gives me some hope. Actually I also did not go with her to the interview today because everyone told us it would be a bad idea. By the way, I personally know of people who applied with absolutely NO documentation and after somewhat heated discussion, walked out with tourist visa. I also personally know a girl who was 'dating' someone at the Bkk US Consulate, she had no Uni. degree, no job, no working experience, but was given tourist visa on first attempt and by her own description...'everyone was so nice, they said with a smile....enjoy your trip!'

Well, remember corruption is much more common here.... Usually, I enjoy my benefit from it, sometimes I don't...

Edited August 29, 2007 by Ajarn

[Dustoff]

Having an American boyfriend, sponsors and such mean little to nothing and can even be a hinderance.

It has long been the policy of the US Embassy/Consulates that people requesting a US tourist visa must qualify on their own merit. This means showing beyond any reasoable doubt that they have sufficient reason to return to Thailand. Long-term employment, children, property holdings, et al.. Comments about her ever having worked in a bar are simple nonsense.

As far as boyfriend/girlfriend status, our experience was that if she can demonstrate that you have been together in a relationship for more than two years, they will take that into consideration but only if you yourself are either here on a long-term retirement or work visa and the chances are that you are going to stay far longer, but even that is only marginally acceptable.

Basically, they have to believe that it would be ridiculous for her NOT to return to Thailand because of her own overwhelming commitments here.

Whatever you do, do NOT jerk them around by falsifying anything or mis-using the fiance visa for a short-term visit! If you do and they discover the deception (and trust me, they have seen plenty), the chances of her ever going to the US are slim indeed.

Best thing is to stay together for a while, get legally married and establish a firm decision to live here, or in the US, together long-term.

Good luck.

Edited August 29, 2007 by Dustoff

[steelepulse]

Having an American boyfriend, sponsors and such mean little to nothing and can even be a hinderance.

It has long been the policy of the US Embassy/Consulates that people requesting a US tourist visa must qualify on their own merit. This means showing beyond any reasoable doubt that they have sufficient reason to return to Thailand. Long-term employment, children, property holdings, et al.. Comments about her ever having worked in a bar are simple nonsense.

As far as boyfriend/girlfriend status, our experience was that if she can demonstrate that you have been together in a relationship for more than two years, they will take that into consideration but only if you yourself are either here on a long-term retirement or work visa and the chances are that you are going to stay far longer, but even that is only marginally acceptable.

Basically, they have to believe that it would be ridiculous for her NOT to return to Thailand because of her own overwhelming commitments here.

Whatever you do, do NOT jerk them around by falsifying anything or mis-using the fiance visa for a short-term visit! If you do and they discover the deception (and trust me, they have seen plenty), the chances of her ever going to the US are slim indeed.

Best thing is to stay together for a while, get legally married and establish a firm decision to live here, or in the US, together long-term.

Good luck.

Does your gf have a lot of money in a bank?  Does she own some property with her name on it? Does she have more reasons to come back to Thailand than to stay in the US?  If the answer to these is yes, the visa shouldn't be a problem.

[KBTexas]

I am going through the exact same pita process. I never realized the face our government shows to people of other countries until I started dealing with this. My gf is a teacher in Thailand and has been for 21 years. She has a Masters Degree and teaches English. It would seem to me that her visit could be construed as educational, but the stories such as the one above, make me believe that our government does abroad exactly what it does at home; talks a lot of platitudes and bs, and basically is uninterested in anyone who wants to do things legally. If she flew to Mexico and walked across the boarder, she would be eligible for education, food stamps, and all the other free government programs provided for illegal immigrants. But because we are both educated and wish to do things legally, we are singled out for government harrassment, or so it would seem.

She would like to visit here during the school break in 2008, but with all of the horror stories of trying to get a Tourist/K1/K3 visa, I decided I would ask a specialist in immigration law. Basically, we just want her to be able to visit here once a year for a couple of months, and I will visit there once a year, until such time as she retires. At that time, we would like to live together here until I retire, when we will move to Thailand. Simple, right? If you answered yes, you obviously have not tried to figure out the morass of government bs surrounding this issue in the US. I will let others here know what advise I get on this. But at this point, I am not sure if our hopes will come to more than just wishes, thanks to our governments"enlightened" immigration laws.

On a personal note, I WILL start paying more attention to what elected officials say and think about our immigration laws. It would seem that the way they are written now, there are stiff penalties for wanting to do things above board and legally.

Good luck to all in the same situation!

[thaihome]

Having an American boyfriend, sponsors and such mean little to nothing and can even be a hinderance.

It has long been the policy of the US Embassy/Consulates that people requesting a US tourist visa must qualify on their own merit. This means showing beyond any reasoable doubt that they have sufficient reason to return to Thailand. Long-term employment, children, property holdings, et al.. Comments about her ever having worked in a bar are simple nonsense.

As far as boyfriend/girlfriend status, our experience was that if she can demonstrate that you have been together in a relationship for more than two years, they will take that into consideration but only if you yourself are either here on a long-term retirement or work visa and the chances are that you are going to stay far longer, but even that is only marginally acceptable.

Basically, they have to believe that it would be ridiculous for her NOT to return to Thailand because of her own overwhelming commitments here.

Whatever you do, do NOT jerk them around by falsifying anything or mis-using the fiance visa for a short-term visit! If you do and they discover the deception (and trust me, they have seen plenty), the chances of her ever going to the US are slim indeed.

Best thing is to stay together for a while, get legally married and establish a firm decision to live here, or in the US, together long-term.

Good luck.

Dead on post. But it's almost like the other posters don't want to believe what you say. They would rather blame the government for their own problems. Not uncommon these days.

My own experience and those of my friends with Thai wives and GF:

•My wife received her first US tourist visa in 2002 from Bangkok. Documentation was simply a letter from company stating I get annual home leave and please give her a visa. It was single entry, had my name on it, and had to used within 3 months. We never used it.

•In 2003 she was issued 5 year multi entry in China with same letter. We will apply for new one early next year. She will get a 10 year multi entry.

•I have least 5 friends living in various countries; all wives have 10 year multi entry visa issued with little documentation and basically rubber stamped

•Another friend, living in Thailand, got his GF a visa (10 year multi entry) 2 years ago. He was recently transferred back to US. They got married and applied for spousal visa at Bangkok USCIS the next. She got the immigration visa in 2 months.

Read Dustoff's post carefully and compare to my experiences and yours. You should easily see the difference. From what I see, a “sponsorship” letter from a BF living in the US is the kiss of death to a visa application.

TH

[tweezer]

I had no problem at all getting my Thai fiance a 10 year multiple entry US tourist visa a few weeks ago. The key, I think, was my long term residence and employment status in Thailand. You can read about her 'qualifications' and how it went for us here.

Preparation is another key (although to my surprise they didn't even look at a single bit of documentation we brought along.)

Good luck...hope you can manage to be together eventually.

--t.