Us Visa Success And Advice

[NguuMuu]

Hi all,

Well, about 1 month ago (mid-december) my gf had a successful visitor visa interview. It took me a while to get this together and typed up, but I Just thought I'd share my story with all you that helped provide the information I needed. I didn't post any questions, but definitely scoured this board many times over.

A quick overview of my situation: Me and my gf have been together for 3 years. During this time she has not had a real job, just helping parents on the farm or working with cousins in a few tiny restaurants. We were both born within a month of each other. She has almost no money in her bank account. I do work legally in Thailand. She has left Thailand with me several times to visit vietnam and hong kong. She has met my family several times when they've come to visit.

Anyway, I pretty much followed along as directed. I had been slowly gathering all sorts of information for 3 months before I even bought a pin number or fee receipt. By the time I did that I already had a nice packet of documents, including all the usual stuff--copies of both passports, old airline tickets, all my work papers, invitation letter, a few affidavits, etc. All forms were filled out honestly. Employment: none, Preparer: me.

I fully believe a lot more of the interview has to do with presentation than most will admit. I know that's not what the law mandates, but presentation will directly affect the interviewers perception. First impression is very important.

Obviously, that's not all there is to it, and I can't really judge their situation, but I can't help but think the couple in front of me that walked off crying after 1 minute may have had a different result (or at least a better chance) had they not been wearing shorts and sandals (guy) and short skirt, bare midriff (girl).

Anyway, I definitely feel that part of our success was due to being fully prepared. Makes sense, doesn't it? We both dressed in office attire (I had to go immediately to work afterwards anyway), had a nice fat binder full of documents, and had everything in exactly the same order as requested on the internet. We even had the envelope address form filled out ahead of time. Now we had a lot of documents..most completely useless and unnecessary. For example, copies of thai drivers license and letters from friends...what good would those do? Anyway, I had to explain to my gf that its not really about the documents and if we're lucky he probably won't look at any of them, although it is nice to have them just in case. The reality of the situation is, yet again, presentation and preparation. The idea here is simply that the interviewer sees a big stack of papers and already he's thinking "wow, these guys really prepared a lot more than most. they must be on top of things and really want this visa."

Our preparation may not seem like much, but I couldn't believe how many people were bumbling around when we arrived at the embassy early in the morning. Mostly office workers so they probably got their visas without any problem, but still...be prepared!

Of course, despite all of our preparation, we were both still very nervous. I had reassured my gf many times that if the application is rejected, don't worry about it. We'll just try again later. I was only giving it 50/50 anyway. Depending on what I read that day, some days I was thinking we should definitely get it, others I was thinking there's no way we'll get it.

So here we are the day of. We arrived on time, cruised through all the lines (there's a lot of them!) since everything was in order and we ended up being one of the first interviews called within 45 minutes of arriving at the embassy. The gf did freak out a little bit when some people in front of us had to leave since their photo did not meet the requirements. She thought ours would have a problem, but I told her to relax...I followed all the directions exactly as indicated. Also, they ask if you want a Thai or English interview when they get the fingerprints. We chose English.

When the interview began we both went up. He asked who I was and then told me to go sit down and he'd call me if I was needed. The room was pretty packed at this point so I had to stand in the corner, fortunately close enough to overhear the interview. He asked the basics:

How long have you known your bf?

When did you meet?

How did you meet?

What were you doing when you met?

Are you going to get married?

What does your bf do in Thailand?

...and similar questions.

Then he called me up and asked the same. He also wanted to see my work permit and employment contract. That's it...none of the other 20 or so documents. And finally:

"I'm going to give you a visa! But, it's only going to be single entry, 6 months with your name attached. By law she is supposed to prove ties by herself. Now it's clear to me that she doesn't have the funds to make this trip and not much holding her in Thailand. If you do decide to marry or disappear into the US I assure you that none of her family members will ever be granted a visa and if you make your way back to Thailand you will never be allowed back into the US (to the gf). Because you guys have been together for a while and you clearly work in Thailand I will grant this. It's the guys on vacation in Pattaya who come in with their brand new gfs that we tend to reject regularly. You seem real and stable so this should be no problem. If you make this trip, everything goes okay, and you come back and apply again you'll have a good chance at a 10 year multiple entry."

In the end my gf didn't think he was mean, but not so nice either, but I told her afterwards, "no, he's just american". I thought he was good. Very clear, stern, straightforward, helpful, and fair (IMHO). He was professional and seemed quite experienced at this to me. My gf said his Thai was fluent. I would definitely be happy to have him as the interviewer should we try again.

After he told us we'd get the visa he mentioned a few things that I was hoping some of you could expand upon:

-He said to make sure I go through the 'foreigner' immigration line with her when we arrive in the US. I thought she could accompany me in the american citizen line since she is traveling with me?

-He said I should also bring my work permit with me in case they have questions. Is this true? I generally like to leave it at work in case anything happens. I guess I could bring a photocopy.

My experience seemed to be very similar to tweezer's in this post: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=137514

Finally,

Be prepared!

I've seen quite a few posts on here stating that the interviewer doesn't care about the bf's situation. Well, in my case he did acknowledge that by law she needs to prove everything herself, but that in this case I am her tie to Thailand. I think this reinforces that it is indeed important and helpful if the bf can prove his own tie to both the girl and Thailand, thus linking the chain. In many cases it may be a stretch, but if everything is legit I think you should be okay.

Again, presentation and preparation.

Good luck to others!

Edited January 13, 2008 by NguuMuu