Usa 10 Year Tourist Visa For Spouse

[dotcom]

My wife is getting some mixed information. She spoke to a few of those agencies opposite the consulate on Wireless Road.

Bio - wife 55 yo Thai National. Me 57 YO American citizen long term resident in LoS.

Question - is there a 10 year tourist visa & b.) Is it easy to get.

She wants it so as to be able to visit relatives. She got told by those agencies that she could only get a 3 months visa & not renewable. They knew she is married to an American.

Any help or suggestions here will be appreciated.

[bangkokbert]

My wife got a 10 year visa to the USA about 3 years ago. She didn't ask for the 10 years but they gave it to her because the interviewer felt she would return to Thailad. He felt that she would return because she was married to me and that I have been living in BKk for almost 17 years.

[jumnien]

Same here; wife got the 10 year visa without asking for it.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My wife is getting some mixed information. She spoke to a few of those agencies opposite the consulate on Wireless Road.

Bio - wife 55 yo Thai National. Me 57 YO American citizen long term resident in LoS.

Question - is there a 10 year tourist visa & b.) Is it easy to get.

She wants it so as to be able to visit relatives. She got told by those agencies that she could only get a 3 months visa & not renewable. They knew she is married to an American.

Any help or suggestions here will be appreciated.

Having relatives in the U.S. might make it a wee bit more difficult but I'd think not much.  Main thing is to establish that you are both firmly planted in Thailand and not planning to jump the Immigrant Visa queue to live in the U.S.

Has your wife been to the U.S. on short term visas before?  Once to many times?  If so, I'd expect a 10-year visa next time just to save the Consulate time, and you money.

FYI, my wife has a 10-year visa as so a whole bunch of other folks I know.

Mac

[Gary A]

It's a sore subject for me. My Thai wife and I live in Thailand and have no intention of ever moving to the US. We went to the US Embassy to apply for a visa and no one would talk to us. I was told I had to buy a PIN to talk with someone on the phone. I paid for their PIN with a credit card, made the call and talked to someone who didn't know squat. He could tell me nothing except that I would have to make an appointment. I tried to explain my situation to him that the visa would be used only in an emergency because my parents are both 87 years old. He was nearly rude and finally told me that he couldn't tell me whether I could expect to get a visa or not. I told him thanks for nothing and that I really didn't want to make a 1,300 kilometer round trip for nothing. That was the end of my experience with the visa section. As far as I am concerned they are a lazy bunch who won't even bother to answer emails. Emails to them return a computer generated BS message. I hope they read this because since they have computers doing all their work they should have plenty of time to read Thai Visa.

[thaihome]

You will have to ignore Gary A, as he said he is very bitter because he couldn’t get anyone to at the consulate to give him any special attention for what is a routine process for them and any other American living in Thailand that wants to get a tourist visa for their wife. Note, he has never even applied.

Other posters have said it here and in many other threads, establish your ties to Thailand and as well as your wife’s ties to you and she will get the visa. There is a very good chance the first will be a single entry 3 month, but once that expires (even if you have not used it), apply again and it will likely be a 10 year multi entry. This has been done by many, many people with no problems.

TH

[dotcom]

Hey thanks for the good info guys.

She went through the whole K-3 visa process. INS gave her an appointment but later cancelled it - we are still looking into why.

But immigrant visa was never the route we wanted to go.

I am going to persue this. Thanks again.

[Gary A]

You will have to ignore Gary A, as he said he is very bitter because he couldn’t get anyone to at the consulate to give him any special attention for what is a routine process for them and any other American living in Thailand that wants to get a tourist visa for their wife. Note, he has never even applied.

Other posters have said it here and in many other threads, establish your ties to Thailand and as well as your wife’s ties to you and she will get the visa. There is a very good chance the first will be a single entry 3 month, but once that expires (even if you have not used it), apply again and it will likely be a 10 year multi entry. This has been done by many, many people with no problems.

TH

So how long have you been a conscientious, dedicated public servant bureaucrat?

[thaihome]

So how long have you been a conscientious, dedicated public servant bureaucrat?

Never. But in the course of 50 some odd years, I have learned a bit about dealing with bureaucrats and avoid beating my head needlessly against a wall I have constructed myself.

I just continue to be baffled by the fact you will not submit an application for your wife to get a tourist visa just because you can’t talk to consulate official first. That is actually ok as that is your issue, but then you go on and on about your unique situation and how somehow this is the consulate’s fault and they should be obligated to guarantee success before you will apply.

TH

[Gary A]

So how long have you been a conscientious, dedicated public servant bureaucrat?

Never. But in the course of 50 some odd years, I have learned a bit about dealing with bureaucrats and avoid beating my head needlessly against a wall I have constructed myself.

I just continue to be baffled by the fact you will not submit an application for your wife to get a tourist visa just because you can’t talk to consulate official first. That is actually ok as that is your issue, but then you go on and on about your unique situation and how somehow this is the consulate’s fault and they should be obligated to guarantee success before you will apply.

TH

All I expected was some information and a little courtesy. It's not like I can walk across the street to the embassy. It's a 650 kilometer trip. The person I talked to couldn't tell me what to expect or what, if any documents to bring. Exactly how many trips are necessary? Paying for information and getting none irritates me greatly. Wouldn't it be more efficient to give me a package of instructions and forms to fill out BEFORE I make another useless trip?

I have been married twice here in Thailand. About 1994 was my parents 50th anniversary. I took my then Thai wife to the embassy and we were standing in a very long line of Thai people waiting to see someone. A young man came out and asked if I was US citizen. I stated that I was and he asked me to follow him. He said US citizens don't have to stand in line. We were taken to a room where a lot of questions were asked. They asked for my wife's passport and told me to come back the next day to pick it up, visa and all. Exactly WHAT happened to that kind of service? I'm sorry I even posted because it upsets me to see how bureaucratic and inefficient the Bangkok embassy has become.

I might add that whoever runs the visa section should take a look at how the other sections are managed and run. I have never had any problems getting a new passport, pages added or obtaining any information I needed. I DO think I have a right to at least somewhat courteous efficient service.

Edited July 8, 2008 by Gary A

[thaihome]

I know what you mean about service. With my wife’s first visa in 2002 she did not even have an interview. We personally never even went to consulate at all. Driver delivered application, passport, and documents to Consulate and 3 days later he picked up passport with visa.

When we lived in China they hade a really great thing which was an “American Day” each week where you could go and talk to an officer about cases near and dear to you. That is where my wife got her second visa in 2003 Took one day. Not sure they have that now, but certainly Bangkok could do with some of that. My feeling is that with the number of visa applications and the requirement that all applicants have to interviewed every time, they just don’t have the time to give any personal service. The good thing is they are much more liberal with the 10 year visas then they used to be. Since you have never even been to visa section not sure you are qualified to say what the service is like.

Note, the Consulate web site has the application forms, a checklist and some pretty good instructions and hints (in English and Thai). I don’t see anywhere that buying a PIN gives you the phone or e-mail access to ask questions other then technical ones about the website. Personally, the one time I sent an e-mail to visa section they replied within a day with a clear answer.

Unfortunately, in order to get the visa, you are going to have to invest the time and money to come to Bangkok, there is just no getting around that.

To be honest, all your grousing about this just seems like excuses not to apply.