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Posted

I have a few questions:

I just submitted the I-130, for my wife, directly to the USCIS office in Bangkok, and it was approved very fast (1 week). However, the notice of approval form indicated that the petition had been forwarded to the U.S. consulate general in Australia. Does anyone know why this would happen? Isn't usually handled within Thailand? Will this adversely affect processing of the visa?

Also, my has already lived in the U.S. for three years while attending school. Does she need a police certificate for this period (she was older than 16)? Does anyone have experience in doing so? I am confused because some websites state the current and former residents of the U.S. should not try to obtain a police certificate for the period of their residence.

Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks.

Freddie

Posted

Dear Freddie,

Without seeing your I-130, just a couple of observations off the top of my head:

The Bangkok USCIS District Office has jurisdiction over U.S. immigration benefits for the following countries: Australia, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor, and New Zealand. It may be possible that your application was somehow mistakenly sent to Australia. If you are not in Australia, then obviously this is a problem because your Thai wife needs to do her interview here in Thailand. The packet likely needs to be sent back to the Embassy in Bangkok.

If you are here in Thailand and doing this on your own, go to the USCIS office in Bangkok and take the approval letter (aka. Notice of Action 2) and politely ask them why the packet has been forwarded to the Embassy in Australia (there could be a valid explanation, but from what you've stated here, I don't see what it could be) and if there has been a mistake, what needs to be done in order to get it back to Bangkok. As I understand the requirement, applicants are required to submit a police report from all countries in which they have resided for longer than 6 months, but I pulled this off of the USCIS website:

"Local Police Clearances

One commenter requested that the regulations provide a general exemption from the local police clearance requirement for persons who live or have lived in locations where the local authorities have made a blanket decision not to issue such clearances for immigration purposes, insofar as it relates to time periods when the applicant resided in that locale. The commenter listed New York City as an example of such a location. In the interest of reducing unnecessary burdens on both the applicants and on the local authorities, this suggestion has been adopted."

The above section is probably the basis for why you are hearing divergent information regarding police clearances. NVC also does a thorough background check so it would seem providing it again for their own jurisdiction would be redundant, but NVC is a different bureaucracy from that overseeing the US Embassy in Thailand.

My firm offers a consular processing service, where I deal with "consular processing" matters. Basically, we get all of these types of hiccups dealt with so you don't have to (as a licensed US Attorney, I can deal with US government in your stead). We are equipped to sort out issues like determining if your wife needs another US police clearance or not and also assist in getting her Royal Thai police clearance and medical test from Thailand. We can get your Thai wife prepared for the interview by getting your I-864 information in order and preparing her for the interview. Also, should more information be requested (221(g) Requests for more information from the consular officer) we can assist with this by dealing directly with the US Embassy consular services section in Bangkok.

Good luck and let me know if you need any help.

Best Regards,

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Managing Director

Integrity Legal

Posted

Ben - Thanks for the advice. Fortunately, the worst case scenario you described didn't happen. I was able to confirm our NOApproval was erroneous, and that our petition stayed in Bangkok by calling the USCIS office. The lady at the USCIS office said should would send a new NOApproval right away.

Freddie

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