Visa For Thai Wife (travel To The Us)

[universe2000]

My fiancée is a Thai citizen and we will get married early next year. We both live in Thailand now and will stay until retirement (maybe 20+ years). Afterwards, we plan on living part-time in both countries (maybe 6 months each year).

Four months after the wedding, I plan on taking her to the US for two to four weeks. This type of trip will probably occur every two years. Which Visa option is best? I don't think she will have trouble getting a tourist visa for the US since she owns property in Thailand and has a nice job. But there might be other options I am unaware of for long term purposes.

Thanks for your help.

[soic]

My fiancée is a Thai citizen and we will get married early next year. We both live in Thailand now and will stay until retirement (maybe 20+ years). Afterwards, we plan on living part-time in both countries (maybe 6 months each year).

Four months after the wedding, I plan on taking her to the US for two to four weeks. This type of trip will probably occur every two years. Which Visa option is best? I don't think she will have trouble getting a tourist visa for the US since she owns property in Thailand and has a nice job. But there might be other options I am unaware of for long term purposes.

Thanks for your help.

I can't speak for your particular case, but I'd recommend that you take her on a fiance visa and marry her there and maybe do the thai wedding here after you get back. I'm currently getting a permanent resident visa for my wife, we too plan to travel back and forth, but plan to keep our primary residence there in Thailand. I can send you the email address to the Visa agency that I'm using if you PM me, they're honest and decent people there.

Good luck!

[dingdongrb]

I can't speak for your particular case, but I'd recommend that you take her on a fiance visa and marry her there and maybe do the thai wedding here after you get back. I'm currently getting a permanent resident visa for my wife, we too plan to travel back and forth, but plan to keep our primary residence there in Thailand. I can send you the email address to the Visa agency that I'm using if you PM me, they're honest and decent people there.

Good luck!

Why not do the K1 Fiance visa application yourself? It's can't be that difficult, as I did it for my wife.

[Martian]

My fiancée is a Thai citizen and we will get married early next year. We both live in Thailand now and will stay until retirement (maybe 20+ years). Afterwards, we plan on living part-time in both countries (maybe 6 months each year).

Four months after the wedding, I plan on taking her to the US for two to four weeks. This type of trip will probably occur every two years. Which Visa option is best? I don't think she will have trouble getting a tourist visa for the US since she owns property in Thailand and has a nice job. But there might be other options I am unaware of for long term purposes.

Thanks for your help.

As long as you don't register the Thai marriage with the Thai government, your Thai wife can still be considered your fiancee and utilize the K-1 visa. Just don't go mentioning the fact you had a ceremony or wears wedding rings to the embassy etc....it will only cause confusion. You can register the Thai wedding anytime.

Martian

Edited August 20, 2008 by Martian

[thaihome]

With you living in Thailand, once you get married, the wife will get a 10 year multi entry tourist visa almost automatically (assuming you have a long term visa and established ties to Thailand). They may give her a single entry the first time, but the 10 year will be given the next time for sure.

Going for the fiancé visa is a waste of time if you have no intent on living in the US in the next 20 years, it would be a struggle to keep the green card valid while not living the US. In 20 years, you can apply for green card in Thailand if you want. Still may not be worth it as she will generally get a 6 month entry stamp anyway.

TH

[universe2000]

Thanks for all the advice.

It sounds like the normal tourist visa is the way to go. She obtained her graduate degree in the US and returned to get a nice job here, so the consulate should not have an issue with her being a flight risk.

Since we will be living in Thailand, it will be difficult for her to adhere to any US residence requirements and thus the other options do not seem very convenient.

I assume we will need to make an appointment and go to the US Embassy in Bangkok to submit the Visa application. Do you know how far in advance I should make the appointment (how many months prior to travel). I am unaware of how long it takes for the US Embassy to schedule an appointment.

Thanks

[thaihome]

Everything you need to know about the process is on the US consulate web site. Current wait time for interview is 4 days.

Be sure to emphasize YOUR ties to Thailand, i.e., long term visa, work permit, etc and your wife’s ties to you, i.e. marriage certificate, joint bank accounts, etc.

TH

[universe2000]

Checking to see how early my wife can apply for the US Visa. If I travel in May, can she apply for a US Visa now, or is there a 60 or 90 day expiration date.

Thanks.