The legal group fiancee visa attorneys

[Scalawag]

I am seeking legal assistance in securing a fiancee visa for my Thai lady. We would like to marry in the US then return to live here again. I saw this firm advertised on this web site as I registered for the first time. This is my first post. I'd like to know if anyone has had experience with this group. The price is right at $350 but I'd like at least one recommendation. Thanks.

[lopburi3]

First question is why?  Why a lawyer when you can do it yourself just as well?  Why do it at all if you plan to live here (Thailand)?  A marriage here is just as legal as anywhere else.  But perhaps it is because of your family wanting the wedding to be there?  

The fiance visa assumes your wife will want to live in the US and thus requires a long process to approve and a bunch of paperwork to file over a period of many months.

If you marry here and work here your wife should be able to obtain a normal tourist visa for any visits you later want to make to visit family.  Maybe do the US marriage ceremony during one of these visits?

Anyhow, have not had experience with them but any law firm should be able to help you fill out the paperwork if you really need help.

[dlfisher]

As far as I remember from my last visit to the embassy, there is a sign out fron that Visa Agents CANNOT accompany a client inside, so I have no idea what you expect them to accomplish. Since they won't be in there running interference (sorry, football season is here) then I don't know how much more likely you are to get a visa by having used them. The paperwork is all over at the embassy for you to get yourself.

Save the cash for your plane fare

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Lop's advice is sound ...do it yourself.

[Scalawag]

I was advised by the US Embassy to apply for the fiancee visa even though we would only be in the US for a short time. We wish to get married there rather than Thailand because family is there etc. I studied the application forms regs etc. and couldn't believe the horrendous amount of paperwork and documentationi.e. bank statements,police records,medical exam by designated doctors,photos,passports,divorce papers,exact address for last 5 years and employment record etc. etc. Then if there is a single error or something isn't quite right, the visa is rejected. In addition, the regs and rules are changing rapidly so one has to have the latest stuff so that a bureaucrat can't say "sorry you need form 1b not form 1c........." The legal form I'm inquiring about will at least guarantee the $350 back if the visa is rejected. Sure, I could do it myself but I'm choosing not to. It's well worth $350 to me to know the process was done correctly and under the latest rules.....................

[lopburi3]

I was advised by the US Embassy to apply for the fiancee visa even though we would only be in the US for a short time.

You were, correctly, told that because the purpose of your trip to marry.  They can not issue a tourist visa, even if otherwise qualified, once they know that as this is sometimes used as a backdoor method to enter the US and apply for adjustment of status after the marriage.

It really is not that much of a problem filling out the forms and complete instructions are provided but if you feel more comfortable having someone else do it fine.  But you will still have to provide all the information, gather all the paperwork, and do all the exams yourself.  As all this is for nothing if she does not intend to remain in the USA still would just marry here and later plan to perform a ceremony for family in the US myself.

[OhSquid]

Please forgive me for my ignorance and other threads I may have missed.

I myself live in the US and live just outside Washington DC, I too want to bring a Thai lady to the United States on a Fiancée Visa.

Questions:

Would I have to go to both embassies to pick-up the necessary applications/documents, etc.?

What is the expiration period for the Fiancée Visa? I do want to marry her...perhaps in Las Vegas (if possible) and consider having a ceremony in Thailand.

How long on the average does it take to acquire a Fiancée Visa?

[Ken]

<font color='#000000'>......If you marry here and work here your wife should be able to obtain a normal tourist visa for any visits you later want to make to visit family.  Maybe do the US marriage ceremony during one of these visits?

Would agree with most of what "lop" says. One point however is from my own recent experience and that point is you may or may not be able to get a tourist visa later. My "story" is HERE. Yes I know that "lop" said "should be able to".