I have a legally registered marriage to a Thai woman and an infant daughter. We will be heading to the US embassy in time to register the birth of the little one and apply for her passport. My wife holds a 10 year multi entry visa to the US currently. We are thinking of living in the US for a couple of years. Can the wife apply for an extension of stay in the US or do we need to get her an immigrant visa before we go? Does the fact she is the mother of my daughter have any bearing? And finally, what's the timeline for all this?

Thanks for the advice.

Your wife could only stay for 6 months in the US on her tourist visa. You will need to get a immigrant visa for her to stay for a couple of years.

Assuming you live in Thailand and have proof of such, you can file the I-130 petition with the USCIS office in Bangkok. If your ducks are in a nice neat row, the timing can be about 3 months to get the visa.

TH

Your wife could only stay for 6 months in the US on her tourist visa. You will need to get a immigrant visa for her to stay for a couple of years.

Assuming you live in Thailand and have proof of such, you can file the I-130 petition with the USCIS office in Bangkok. If your ducks are in a nice neat row, the timing can be about 3 months to get the visa.

TH

Is there a type of visa that she could apply for in the US to stay permanently? We may well be back to Thailand in time but we would stay as residents of the US for 2 years.

Your wife could only stay for 6 months in the US on her tourist visa. You will need to get a immigrant visa for her to stay for a couple of years.

Assuming you live in Thailand and have proof of such, you can file the I-130 petition with the USCIS office in Bangkok. If your ducks are in a nice neat row, the timing can be about 3 months to get the visa.

TH

Is there a type of visa that she could apply for in the US to stay permanently? We may well be back to Thailand in time but we would stay as residents of the US for 2 years.

My understanding is that visas are for entering the US, so if she is in the US already, she cannot apply for a visa. If she entered on a visa that makes her eligible, she can apply in the US to have her status changed to permanent resident. However, people who entered on a tourist visa aren't supposed to be able to do this (doesn't mean it's impossible though). The better option, if you do want to live in the US, is really to bring her in on an immigrant spouse visa, and then adjust her status to permanent resident. Note however, that if she wants to be a permanent resident, there is a residency requirement for the first few years (a minimum amount of time she must be in the US in order to keep her permanent residency).

The visa given when applying with an I-130 petition is a CR1 or IR1, both of which is immediate permanent resident. If you have been married more then 2 years you will receive the IR1 and there is no need to go through the change of status to remove the Conditional Residence status .

TH