I'm sure this has been asked before but after doing a quick search in the forum I didn't come up with anything. I am a USA citizen. I have not been to the USA in a number of years and need to go to Los Angeles sometime soon (in the next 2-3 months) to take care of some long over-due business. I will stay there for about thirty days and then return to Thailand.

I would like to take my girlfriend with me if possible and show her around, where I grew up, introduce her to my friends, etc., etc. She has a passport. How difficult is it for her to get a tourist visa? Is it even possible? Anybody taken their girlfriend to the USA with them? Was it difficult to get a visa?

I searched the website of the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai and saw a lot about paying them money for PIN numbers, application fees, etc. I also saw things like presenting "evidence of financial assets" and "evidence of compelling ties to Thailand". She does not have much so to speak. I would be financially responsible for her.

Just looking for a little first-hand information before spending any money on a ticket, visa application fees, etc. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Living permanently in Thailand and not the States is definitely a plus, I've seen some stories (when the search tool wasn't broken) where gfs with no education, little money, etc. were able to get the tourist visa when their bf worked in thailand... and they prepared thoroughly and their relationship was long-term. I'm not sure if there is any harm in trying and failing, will that put a red flag on future applications?

I had one post about whether the lady owning a house is 'reason to return' to thailand, and the general consenses appeared to be that it wouldn't help much: good job and money in the bank is more convincing.

So I take it that means that if a Thai female has a higher level of education, is employed or self-employed, and has some assets in Thailand, that she has a better chance of getting a tourist visa than someone who is poor or less fortunate? My girlfriend does not have much; a motorcycle and a very small piece of land. Certainly no cash in the bank. She is 29, a high-school graduate, currently unemployed, and lives with her Mom.

It would not be the end of the world if she can't come. But it would be nice to have her with me. Thanks for your input.

So I take it that means that if a Thai female has a higher level of education, is employed or self-employed, and has some assets in Thailand, that she has a better chance of getting a tourist visa than someone who is poor or less fortunate? My girlfriend does not have much; a motorcycle and a very small piece of land. Certainly no cash in the bank. She is 29, a high-school graduate, currently unemployed, and lives with her Mom.

It would not be the end of the world if she can't come. But it would be nice to have her with me. Thanks for your input.

I figure it'd be easier if she actually lived with you.

My now wife got two short-term tourist visas to the U.S. and her first 10-year visa when prior to being married.  Just showed the ConOff that I was retired here, had a lease on a house, and that she lived with me.  These visas over a four year period, first one after we'd been together about six months.  BTW, wife, GF at the time, had zero assets in Thailand then.

However, give it a try, show that you do live long term in Thailand and that she's a long term GF.

Mac

Mac

She has a passport. How difficult is it for her to get a tourist visa? Is it even possible?

What are her personal circumstances ? farm girl or daughter of Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi ?

My friend got a 10 years visa last year. She was 34 years old, 8x,xxx baht in her bank account but she was a sales manager for a hotel in Phuket.

She has a passport. How difficult is it for her to get a tourist visa? Is it even possible?

What are her personal circumstances ? farm girl or daughter of Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi ?

As stated above, she is 29, a high-school graduate, currently unemployed, and lives with her Mom. She is from Chiang Mai, not a farm girl. Her assets are a small piece of land and a motorbike. She does not have cash in the bank.