Necessary To Have Attorney? Visa To USA

[bobbysan124]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

[ubonjoe]

Moved to here

[ShugNorris]

Hi,

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Uk-Visa-t239215.html

If you read this post, it's very similar to yours but for the UK and is currently active.

Hope this helps a bit,

- Shug

[dinthailand]

Hi,

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Uk-Visa-t239215.html

If you read this post, it's very similar to yours but for the UK and is currently active.

Hope this helps a bit,

- Shug

Check the forum posts but basically don't use attorneys or agents. They can do no more than you could do yourself . And they have a habit of " guessing" some of the answers to questions on forms!! Saves them time in asking you but can be fatally dangerous for the applicant when challlenged by the thai authorities, the lawyer will by then be nowhere to be found ( the thai disappearing trick for which they are all famous!!"

[ubonjoe]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

It seems to me you have more than one question.

If you plan on living long term in the US with your fiance then the K1 fiance visa would be best.

If you are planning on moving to Thailand within the coming year or less. I suggest getting married here in Thailand and establish your ties to Thailand (retirement extension, house/condo and etc.). Then if you want to get her a tourist visa to the US it will be much easier.

For your gf to get a tourist visa to the US it will not be easy unless she is working, has a company or some other type of strong reason for her to return to Thailand on her own without your involvement. You cannot guarantee that she will return and if you get involved that makes it more difficult because then they will assume you will get married while she is in states in an attempt to shortcut the system.

You can do it all by yourself without getting a lawyers help.

Link to visa page on embassy website: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-services.html

[bobbysan124]

Hi,

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Uk-Visa-t239215.html

If you read this post, it's very similar to yours but for the UK and is currently active.

Hope this helps a bit,

- Shug

Thanks, Shug. Appreciate it.

[bobbysan124]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

It seems to me you have more than one question.

If you plan on living long term in the US with your fiance then the K1 fiance visa would be best.

If you are planning on moving to Thailand within the coming year or less. I suggest getting married here in Thailand and establish your ties to Thailand (retirement extension, house/condo and etc.). Then if you want to get her a tourist visa to the US it will be much easier.

For your gf to get a tourist visa to the US it will not be easy unless she is working, has a company or some other type of strong reason for her to return to Thailand on her own without your involvement. You cannot guarantee that she will return and if you get involved that makes it more difficult because then they will assume you will get married while she is in states in an attempt to shortcut the system.

You can do it all by yourself without getting a lawyers help.

Link to visa page on embassy website: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-services.html

Thanks for advice, ubonjoe.

You're right. Actually, my gf has a daughter, 7. Was considering bringing gf to States for about 4 years to make sure SSA has her covered. She wants daughter to stay in Thailand w/ mother and sister. We would go back on visits until daughter is finished with school. At that time we would bring daughter over to live with us in U.S. unless we decided to return to Thailand to reside.

Gf is a farmer in Isaan. Since her daughter will remain in Thailand, would that make it any easier for her to obtain tourist visa? Just wondering, since at this time K1 fiance or me marrying in Thailand would seem to be the paths of least resistance.

[bobbysan124]

Hi,

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Uk-Visa-t239215.html

If you read this post, it's very similar to yours but for the UK and is currently active.

Hope this helps a bit,

- Shug

Check the forum posts but basically don't use attorneys or agents. They can do no more than you could do yourself . And they have a habit of " guessing" some of the answers to questions on forms!! Saves them time in asking you but can be fatally dangerous for the applicant when challlenged by the thai authorities, the lawyer will by then be nowhere to be found ( the thai disappearing trick for which they are all famous!!"

Good points, dinthailand. Thanks.

[ScienceGuy]

The Fiancee visa will take you about a year to get and costs around $1000 now. An attorney will tack on another $1000 and basically just fill out the forms for you, saving you a couple days of reading/writing. I ultimately wound up going to Thailand so I could be with my wife while waiting for the visa. Here we are 2 years later and no visa yet.

Basically, if you want to see your girlfriend at any time in the next year, you'll need to travel to Thailand. If for some reason she can't get a spouse visa, just hire a coyote at the Mexican border and she can enter illegally for a few hundred dollars.

[flying]

There is another alternative.

I know most here will say no way but I did it.

I helped my girl friend ( now my wife ) get a tourist visa.

That way she can come & visit & meet your family etc.

Before going the longer route of K1/K3

Who knows she may come & say I hate this place.....many do you know

As you can see there is this in the manual as for valid reason to allow it.

(N11.1-1 of the Foreign Affairs Manual):

(1) Simply to meet the family of his and/or her fiance;

(2) To become engaged;

(3) To make arrangements for the wedding; or

(4) To renew a relationship with the prospective spouse

Of course she must meet criteria that shows she has compelling reason to return to Thailand.

Things like family

residence

business

All help & of course cash in the bank.

She must show she will be no burden to the USA you can give her a letter on invitation.

Anyway thats the start.

PS: As to your original question.....

You can in fact do most things better on your own if your the type.

Do you do your own taxes?

Edited February 1, 2009 by flying

[wellicu812]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

My Thai wife and I recently accomplished almost exactly what you are asking using a K-1 Visa. No attorney at all. Why waste the money? It is a very long and drawn out process either way you go. I have heard that the K-1 Visa is a bit faster than marrying in Thailand and then getting the Visa to come back to the states. But then, they were not talking about a tourist Visa either. We brought her two daughters over as well. Thinking that if you go the K-1 Visa way (daughters came on a K-2 Visa), and plan on leaving her child in Thailand, they just might deny her a Visa because of the child staying. Not saying that they will deny it or approve it. Don't take my word for it but I did read somewhere about that same thing. Also, if you go the K-1 Visa (Fiancée Visa, Form I-129F, you must get married within 90 days of her arrival in the US. I can say is document everything between you and your g/f. Email, pictures, plane tickets to go to Thailand, telephone bills with calls to her, instant messages, cell phone records, you name it, if it is a contact between you and her, save it. I guarantee you will need it. Make sure you can afford it too. It's not cheap. You can get the forms (FREE) at www.uscis.gov this is the official site for what you are asking. You can get answers and the appropriate forms as well. Don't let someone sell you any forms for this. They are free! You can also find forums on the internet using almost any search engine such as Google. There you can read about other people's experiences, get answers, ask questions, all kinds of things. Or, you could write me to. Good luck!

[wellicu812]

The Fiancee visa will take you about a year to get and costs around $1000 now. An attorney will tack on another $1000 and basically just fill out the forms for you, saving you a couple days of reading/writing. I ultimately wound up going to Thailand so I could be with my wife while waiting for the visa. Here we are 2 years later and no visa yet.

Basically, if you want to see your girlfriend at any time in the next year, you'll need to travel to Thailand. If for some reason she can't get a spouse visa, just hire a coyote at the Mexican border and she can enter illegally for a few hundred dollars.

ScienceGuy, that's funny! I was thinking the same thing when I brought my wife over but it didn't take us a year. Not far from it though and I did go back to Thailand while we were waiting as well.

[Polarbear1276]

Many people are going off in many direction you may not want to consider.

Mexico crossing the border, if caught can be excluded for ten years.

Tourist VISA is very hard to get and if they know you have American BF impossible almost.

My wife and three children can to US last May. I did all the paper work myself. Many on line self help areas as well as the USCIS web site has aboult all the form you can download. You have to be accurate, and somewhat legal minded to fill these outs, read and reread to be accurate. and $$$

Many services in thailand offer help, many are rip offs and I found talking with them I knew more then they did, They were wrong and that really concerned me.

The married VISA route is cheapest and they can have conditional card when they arrive, but it can take two years or more. I went with getting married in Thailand, all the legal hoops there, buddhist wedding was fun. I then applied for a I130 immigrant petition with that the process would be completed in the US. Once you have proof application is pending, you can file a fiance's F129 ( as a K-3, K-4 for child) . You then complete the entry under the K-3.

Once in US you can apply for work card and then SS card once it arrives, and ITIN numbers for taxes. The K-3 is good for about 2 years, with reentry, so you have time to filing the adjustment of status. The fee for that is now $1010. On the child,(adjustment $600) she must enter the US and begin process before she reaches 18.

Beware it is hard for a Thai to get all the paper work together, you have to push them. I flew over to help, but my wife went to first interview short one daughter ( she had test at school ) they do not understand deadlines. So it can be a challenge.

Here is some places to check out: stickmans guide is a web page with a lot of information on when you have made a mistake and married a Thai. I consider myself one of the lucky ones as my wife is so not a bar girl type. But it helpped as I met her from a friend who was an editor for BKK post.

Check the USCIS cite and see what all the fee are. You can also access the US emabssy in Thailand. They even emailed me back when my wife was having her interview. They have forms and links their as well.

Be sure what you are getting into and if all this seems to much then hire someone recommended to complete the paperwork. Costly but maybe worth. But again BE SURE first. If you met in the entertainment zone go slow , real slow and check out anything that is funny, most horror stores come from that type of meeting.

Then you have support, parents, sinsod, and more. Email me directly and I can give advice, yours to follow or not.

[bobbysan124]

The Fiancee visa will take you about a year to get and costs around $1000 now. An attorney will tack on another $1000 and basically just fill out the forms for you, saving you a couple days of reading/writing. I ultimately wound up going to Thailand so I could be with my wife while waiting for the visa. Here we are 2 years later and no visa yet.

Basically, if you want to see your girlfriend at any time in the next year, you'll need to travel to Thailand. If for some reason she can't get a spouse visa, just hire a coyote at the Mexican border and she can enter illegally for a few hundred dollars.

Thanks, ScienceGuy.

[bobbysan124]

There is another alternative.

I know most here will say no way but I did it.

I helped my girl friend ( now my wife ) get a tourist visa.

That way she can come & visit & meet your family etc.

Before going the longer route of K1/K3

Who knows she may come & say I hate this place.....many do you know

As you can see there is this in the manual as for valid reason to allow it.

(N11.1-1 of the Foreign Affairs Manual):

(1) Simply to meet the family of his and/or her fiance;

(2) To become engaged;

(3) To make arrangements for the wedding; or

(4) To renew a relationship with the prospective spouse

Of course she must meet criteria that shows she has compelling reason to return to Thailand.

Things like family

residence

business

All help & of course cash in the bank.

She must show she will be no burden to the USA you can give her a letter on invitation.

Anyway thats the start.

PS: As to your original question.....

You can in fact do most things better on your own if your the type.

Do you do your own taxes?

Appreciate info. I am a self-starter and ,yes, I do my own taxes.

[bobbysan124]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

My Thai wife and I recently accomplished almost exactly what you are asking using a K-1 Visa. No attorney at all. Why waste the money? It is a very long and drawn out process either way you go. I have heard that the K-1 Visa is a bit faster than marrying in Thailand and then getting the Visa to come back to the states. But then, they were not talking about a tourist Visa either. We brought her two daughters over as well. Thinking that if you go the K-1 Visa way (daughters came on a K-2 Visa), and plan on leaving her child in Thailand, they just might deny her a Visa because of the child staying. Not saying that they will deny it or approve it. Don't take my word for it but I did read somewhere about that same thing. Also, if you go the K-1 Visa (Fiancée Visa, Form I-129F, you must get married within 90 days of her arrival in the US. I can say is document everything between you and your g/f. Email, pictures, plane tickets to go to Thailand, telephone bills with calls to her, instant messages, cell phone records, you name it, if it is a contact between you and her, save it. I guarantee you will need it. Make sure you can afford it too. It's not cheap. You can get the forms (FREE) at www.uscis.gov this is the official site for what you are asking. You can get answers and the appropriate forms as well. Don't let someone sell you any forms for this. They are free! You can also find forums on the internet using almost any search engine such as Google. There you can read about other people's experiences, get answers, ask questions, all kinds of things. Or, you could write me to. Good luck!

Thanks, wellicu812. You make a lot of good points.

[bobbysan124]

Many people are going off in many direction you may not want to consider.

Mexico crossing the border, if caught can be excluded for ten years.

Tourist VISA is very hard to get and if they know you have American BF impossible almost.

My wife and three children can to US last May. I did all the paper work myself. Many on line self help areas as well as the USCIS web site has aboult all the form you can download. You have to be accurate, and somewhat legal minded to fill these outs, read and reread to be accurate. and $$$

Many services in thailand offer help, many are rip offs and I found talking with them I knew more then they did, They were wrong and that really concerned me.

The married VISA route is cheapest and they can have conditional card when they arrive, but it can take two years or more. I went with getting married in Thailand, all the legal hoops there, buddhist wedding was fun. I then applied for a I130 immigrant petition with that the process would be completed in the US. Once you have proof application is pending, you can file a fiance's F129 ( as a K-3, K-4 for child) . You then complete the entry under the K-3.

Once in US you can apply for work card and then SS card once it arrives, and ITIN numbers for taxes. The K-3 is good for about 2 years, with reentry, so you have time to filing the adjustment of status. The fee for that is now $1010. On the child,(adjustment $600) she must enter the US and begin process before she reaches 18.

Beware it is hard for a Thai to get all the paper work together, you have to push them. I flew over to help, but my wife went to first interview short one daughter ( she had test at school ) they do not understand deadlines. So it can be a challenge.

Here is some places to check out: stickmans guide is a web page with a lot of information on when you have made a mistake and married a Thai. I consider myself one of the lucky ones as my wife is so not a bar girl type. But it helpped as I met her from a friend who was an editor for BKK post.

Check the USCIS cite and see what all the fee are. You can also access the US emabssy in Thailand. They even emailed me back when my wife was having her interview. They have forms and links their as well.

Be sure what you are getting into and if all this seems to much then hire someone recommended to complete the paperwork. Costly but maybe worth. But again BE SURE first. If you met in the entertainment zone go slow , real slow and check out anything that is funny, most horror stores come from that type of meeting.

Then you have support, parents, sinsod, and more. Email me directly and I can give advice, yours to follow or not.

Thanks, Polarbear1276. Appreciate your time and insight. And I, too, did not meet my lady in the "entertainment zone." No "red flags" and I am going slowly and sensibly.

[Thaicowboy]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

Hi Bobbysan,

I agree with most here and would like to put in my 2 cents. I'd go for the K1 and apply for the child all at once. You've got to be patient and plan on the government making you jump through all the hoops possible but the process does work. Slowly, but it does work. It will cost more than $1000. and you should plan on going back there a few times to visit while the application is in. I wouldn't (and didn't) hire an attorney and you really don't have to go with her to Consolate interviews because they don't let you at the window with her anyway. Having said that it's very intimidating for the ladys so moral support is helpful.

We applied in Nov 07 and she finally was able to come July 08. We married in August. We've had a couple of appoinments now for adjustment of status and have what I "think" is one more March 09. I read a lot and used Visa Journey's posting's as a reference and it seemed to work.

It's crazy to suggest sneaking in through Mexico as you'll compromise her safety and will be consorting with less than ethical types whos only concern is to get as much money as they can from you.

Good luck, be patient and don't try to cut corners.

[Thaicowboy]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

One more thing I'd like to mention. I too married an Isaan farm girl and she didn't have a birth certificate. While there were alternatives to meet K1 requirements while in Thailand I regret not getting one while she was there. It has bitten us now while in the States a few times and when she is allowed to go back to Thailand she will get one for any future requirements.

TC

[bobbysan124]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

Hi Bobbysan,

I agree with most here and would like to put in my 2 cents. I'd go for the K1 and apply for the child all at once. You've got to be patient and plan on the government making you jump through all the hoops possible but the process does work. Slowly, but it does work. It will cost more than $1000. and you should plan on going back there a few times to visit while the application is in. I wouldn't (and didn't) hire an attorney and you really don't have to go with her to Consolate interviews because they don't let you at the window with her anyway. Having said that it's very intimidating for the ladys so moral support is helpful.

We applied in Nov 07 and she finally was able to come July 08. We married in August. We've had a couple of appoinments now for adjustment of status and have what I "think" is one more March 09. I read a lot and used Visa Journey's posting's as a reference and it seemed to work.

It's crazy to suggest sneaking in through Mexico as you'll compromise her safety and will be consorting with less than ethical types whos only concern is to get as much money as they can from you.

Good luck, be patient and don't try to cut corners.

Thanks, Thaicowboy. I agree with all the points you make. And wouldn't think of compromising her safety or my own. And, I am prepared to be patient with the process.

[bobbysan124]

Am an American citizen in Atlanta, GA., 62, and trying to decide whether or not to have my gf come to U.S. on a fiance visa or go to Thailand and marry and get the appropriate visa for the situation (living in Thailand) at that time. As I know you folks have covered all the various bases amongst you, is any or all of this too complicated to do it yourself? Or is it quite necessary to hire an attorney?

Any serious input appreciated.

One more thing I'd like to mention. I too married an Isaan farm girl and she didn't have a birth certificate. While there were alternatives to meet K1 requirements while in Thailand I regret not getting one while she was there. It has bitten us now while in the States a few times and when she is allowed to go back to Thailand she will get one for any future requirements.

TC

Good point! I'll ask her about that and help her do what's necessary if she doesn't have one. I had to get a copy of my own a few years back.

Edited February 5, 2009 by bobbysan124