Which Us Visa Should My Wife Apply For?

[DecadeInSiam]

OK, The story is I am an American living in Thailand for about 10 years. My wife and I have been together for most of that, and legally registered our marriage about 4 years ago. We have no children due to medical issues. Recently, my wife lost her job at the same company I work for, and that has left us short on cash. She has not been able to find new employment. She has never been to the US. I haven't been back in 10 years.

The question is, given our current financial issues, would we want to consider moving to the US as an option? I don't know if either of us would fit in over there anymore. My wife speaks acceptable English. What I would like to do is go for a few weeks, introduce her to the culture, reacquaint myself with the culture, and decide if a long term move is in our best interests, or we should continue trying to stick it out here in Thailand. That is the truth behind the attempt at a visa.

Now, the question becomes, what is the best way to approach this with the US Embassy. I don't want to spend alot of money only to have the Visa application rejected. I'd like to plan this trip for sometime in July if we can complete the visa proceedings by that time.

My question to the group are:

Would you apply for a tourist visa in this instance? Technically, this is what we should get. We are not going with the intent of immigrating or staying long term. However, given our recent financial position, would the embassy official jump to conclusions and decide that maybe I will quit my job here and both of us just stay there? That of course won't happen. If we decide to move, I will come back, terminate my employment in the correct manner, sell our possessions, apply for an immigrant visa for her, and move in an orderly manner. But I am concerned about this prospect even coming up. The fact is we have discussed moving to the US, if somehow this subject manages to surface in the interview, would this poison the possibilities for a tourist visa?

Alternatively, is it safer to try to get an immigrant visa? This might be more believable given the financial hardships we are facing, however it really wouldn't be true, and it is almost certain even if we do make a permanent move it is at least 6 months away. And if she does obtain this, we decide that the move isn't for us, and then she gives it up, would that affect her ability to get a tourist visa later on?

Second, what is the average length of time it is currently taking the US embassy to grant interview appointments and process Visa applications? Does anyone have any recent experience with this?

Finally, what story is appropriate to tell the immigration official? They are going to ask about losing her job, guaranteed. What should she say? Just my salary alone, (which the official will correctly recognize as low), is not enough to support us.

Any advice on how to proceed is appreciated.

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

OK, The story is I am an American living in Thailand for about 10 years. My wife and I have been together for most of that, and legally registered our marriage about 4 years ago. We have no children due to medical issues. Recently, my wife lost her job at the same company I work for, and that has left us short on cash. She has not been able to find new employment. She has never been to the US. I haven't been back in 10 years.

The question is, given our current financial issues, would we want to consider moving to the US as an option? I don't know if either of us would fit in over there anymore. My wife speaks acceptable English. What I would like to do is go for a few weeks, introduce her to the culture, reacquaint myself with the culture, and decide if a long term move is in our best interests, or we should continue trying to stick it out here in Thailand. That is the truth behind the attempt at a visa.

Now, the question becomes, what is the best way to approach this with the US Embassy. I don't want to spend alot of money only to have the Visa application rejected. I'd like to plan this trip for sometime in July if we can complete the visa proceedings by that time.

My question to the group are:

Would you apply for a tourist visa in this instance? Technically, this is what we should get. We are not going with the intent of immigrating or staying long term. However, given our recent financial position, would the embassy official jump to conclusions and decide that maybe I will quit my job here and both of us just stay there? That of course won't happen. If we decide to move, I will come back, terminate my employment in the correct manner, sell our possessions, apply for an immigrant visa for her, and move in an orderly manner. But I am concerned about this prospect even coming up. The fact is we have discussed moving to the US, if somehow this subject manages to surface in the interview, would this poison the possibilities for a tourist visa?

Alternatively, is it safer to try to get an immigrant visa? This might be more believable given the financial hardships we are facing, however it really wouldn't be true, and it is almost certain even if we do make a permanent move it is at least 6 months away. And if she does obtain this, we decide that the move isn't for us, and then she gives it up, would that affect her ability to get a tourist visa later on?

Second, what is the average length of time it is currently taking the US embassy to grant interview appointments and process Visa applications? Does anyone have any recent experience with this?

Finally, what story is appropriate to tell the immigration official? They are going to ask about losing her job, guaranteed. What should she say? Just my salary alone, (which the official will correctly recognize as low), is not enough to support us.

Any advice on how to proceed is appreciated.

Dear Sir,

Currently USCIS in Bangkok is only taking Immigrant Visa applications if you have been resident in the Kingdom for more than 1 year continuously on a Non-Immigrant Visa. I'm assuming you have been here for those 10 years on some sort of Non-Immigrant Visa so you are probably eligible to file the petition at the District office here.

As for the intent issues, although you need to have the requisite intent at the time of the filing it is of course difficult to decipher intent. If one goes to the USA and later leaves, this does not mean (in and of itself) they went with that intent in the first place, but life is fluid and things change. That being said, it is always best to be honest with the US government and its agents.

As for leaving once in the USA on an IR-1 Visa (which is the immigrant visa your wife would be entitled to if she has been married to you for more than 2 years and not inadmissible to the USA). Re-entry permits can be obtained that allow a permanent resident to leave the USA without losing their lawful permanent resident status.

As for tourist visas, I'm sure people are tired of me talking about the discretionary nature of B1 and B2 Tourist Visas, but the presumption of immigrant intent must be overcome in order to obtain a US tourist visa and in your case there could be some question as to what her motives are with regard to remaining stateside.

One thing that really should be noted. Since you are likely eligible to file in Thailand you would enjoy an expedited Immigrant Visa processing because USCIS Bangkok does not have a heavy caseload of Visa applications. Should you leave and break your continuous residence here, you would no longer be entitled to file at USCIS in Bangkok and the process could take as long as 1 year as opposed to possibly taking as little as 6 weeks by filing at the Bangkok District Office of USCIS.

I hope this has been helpful and good luck.

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

1-877-231-7533

Edited April 6, 2009 by DirectorIntegrityLegal

[thaihome]

Go for the tourist visa. With your history of visa extensions and work permits and current employment you have significant ties to Thailand and having been married for 4 years your wife has ties to you. Her recent unemployment won’t be an issue., it comes down to your ties. In most cases, it will be pretty much automatically given. There are no financial questions on the application other then who is paying for the trip. At the interview make sure your wife says the intent is to just visit and there are no plans to stay.

If later you decide to move to the US, you can as explained above get the spousal visa fairly quickly while living in Thailand.

TH

[sirineou]

OK, The story is I am an American living in Thailand for about 10 years. My wife and I have been together for most of that, and legally registered our marriage about 4 years ago. We have no children due to medical issues. Recently, my wife lost her job at the same company I work for, and that has left us short on cash. She has not been able to find new employment. She has never been to the US. I haven't been back in 10 years.

The question is, given our current financial issues, would we want to consider moving to the US as an option? I don't know if either of us would fit in over there anymore. My wife speaks acceptable English. What I would like to do is go for a few weeks, introduce her to the culture, reacquaint myself with the culture, and decide if a long term move is in our best interests, or we should continue trying to stick it out here in Thailand. That is the truth behind the attempt at a visa.

Now, the question becomes, what is the best way to approach this with the US Embassy. I don't want to spend alot of money only to have the Visa application rejected. I'd like to plan this trip for sometime in July if we can complete the visa proceedings by that time.

My question to the group are:

Would you apply for a tourist visa in this instance? Technically, this is what we should get. We are not going with the intent of immigrating or staying long term. However, given our recent financial position, would the embassy official jump to conclusions and decide that maybe I will quit my job here and both of us just stay there? That of course won't happen. If we decide to move, I will come back, terminate my employment in the correct manner, sell our possessions, apply for an immigrant visa for her, and move in an orderly manner. But I am concerned about this prospect even coming up. The fact is we have discussed moving to the US, if somehow this subject manages to surface in the interview, would this poison the possibilities for a tourist visa?

Alternatively, is it safer to try to get an immigrant visa? This might be more believable given the financial hardships we are facing, however it really wouldn't be true, and it is almost certain even if we do make a permanent move it is at least 6 months away. And if she does obtain this, we decide that the move isn't for us, and then she gives it up, would that affect her ability to get a tourist visa later on?

Second, what is the average length of time it is currently taking the US embassy to grant interview appointments and process Visa applications? Does anyone have any recent experience with this?

Finally, what story is appropriate to tell the immigration official? They are going to ask about losing her job, guaranteed. What should she say? Just my salary alone, (which the official will correctly recognize as low), is not enough to support us.

Any advice on how to proceed is appreciated.

As Far as the Type of visa that you should apply for , the other replies have answered much more intelligently and informed than I would be able to.

But I can talk a little about the employment options when you get here.

I am sure you must have thought about all these things your self, but some times it helps to hear them from somebody else

First I don't know what type of work you and your wife does, and what your level of education is, so i will have to be very general.

The economy in the US right now is pretty Bad, as you know from reading the news. There are some areas of employment that are not as afected by the economy as others, Such as Health care, and education, but most other fields are have seeing so many layoffs , that when hiring is done , people with experience and connections on the field will get hired first.

Also your Age might be a factor in getting a job.

I am 51 years old, and after my real estate business failed, even though I have a very good education, and vast experience in many fields, found my self being rejected in every job I applied for, only after called calling on my extensive network of friends ,and social connections, that i was able to get a pretty good job.

So My advise is,if you have not maintained you social structure here in the USA, to start repairing it, calling some of your old friends and family, talk to them about your situation, and see what kind of advise they can give you,

also, if you can get some time off from work, and have the economic recourses, to come here by your self for a couple of weeks, it would be much easier to scout out the situation here , with out having your wife to worry about.

I wish you the best of Luck

[CWMcMurray]

If she goes to the US on a tourist visa and then later they decide to stay can't she change her status from within the US?

Granted I know that they do not like it when this happens as it looks like people are just trying to "cut in front of the immigration visa line", but as earlier stated life can be fluid. Is there any downside to doing this? Will it be harder to get permission to return to her home country, will immigration be "less helpful than normal"?

Also, wouldn't still be possible to come back and use USCIS Bangkok services for applying for Immigration visa? All he would need to do is renew is O-visa here in Thailand, get a re-entry permit and then they can go to US together.

If he finds a job and they plan to stay, come back under Non-o and go to USCIS Bangkok and apply. Since he still has an unbroken Non-Im visa they should still allow him to apply, correct?

Also, anyone know what they average processing time at USCIS Bangkok for processing immigrant visa applications?

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

If she goes to the US on a tourist visa and then later they decide to stay can't she change her status from within the US?

Granted I know that they do not like it when this happens as it looks like people are just trying to "cut in front of the immigration visa line", but as earlier stated life can be fluid. Is there any downside to doing this? Will it be harder to get permission to return to her home country, will immigration be "less helpful than normal"?

Also, wouldn't still be possible to come back and use USCIS Bangkok services for applying for Immigration visa? All he would need to do is renew is O-visa here in Thailand, get a re-entry permit and then they can go to US together.

If he finds a job and they plan to stay, come back under Non-o and go to USCIS Bangkok and apply. Since he still has an unbroken Non-Im visa they should still allow him to apply, correct?

Also, anyone know what they average processing time at USCIS Bangkok for processing immigrant visa applications?

The average processing time at USCIS Bangkok is 3-4 month for a locally filed US Immigration application. As to entering upon a tourist visa and then attempting to adjust status, this can be viewed (and has been) as immigration fraud if one enters the US on a tourist visa with anything other than non-immigrant intent.

It is an interesting question whether one could keep their local filing privilege alive by obtaining a visa extension and reentry permit from Thai immigration. I think it is likely that the local USCIS office would look to whether or not he maintains residence here. If he takes a vacation and reenters after a short time: likely no problem. If he returns to the US and comes back 9 months later I think they may not allow him to file because even though he has a valid visa that has remained valid, he has not been "in residence," in Thailand.

All of this is speculation, but Bangkok USCIS generally seems to err on the side of NOT allowing local filings.

Hope this was helpful

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

1-877-231-7533

+66 (0) 2-266-3698

[email protected]

[CWMcMurray]

Hey Ben,

If someone goes through the process of getting an Imigration Visa and is then approved, how long is it valid?

In other words how long can you wait before going back to the states without having to re-apply for a new immigrant visa at USCIS Bangkok?

If you have already been approved and for some reason it is put off and the visa expires is there an expedited process to get another visa (since you have already been approved the first time)?

[CWMcMurray]

One more question...

If you qualify to apply for immigrant visa at USCIS Bangkok and the average turn around time is 3-4 months, would it make sense to still apply for K-3 marraige visa or given the short turn around time would it be a waste of time and money?

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

One more question...

If you qualify to apply for immigrant visa at USCIS Bangkok and the average turn around time is 3-4 months, would it make sense to still apply for K-3 marraige visa or given the short turn around time would it be a waste of time and money?

Generally, if you apply for a CR-1 Visa locally at the Bangkok USCIS, then there is no point in applying for a K-3 because the underlying I-130 would probably be adjudicated before the Supplementary I-129f for the K-3. As a general rule, I am steering clients away from the K-3 because it is now taking almost as long to process the K3 as it is to process the Immigrant Visa applications. If you look at it strategically, you file the I-130, takes a week or so to get NOA-1 back, then file A WHOLE NEW PETITION for a K3. K3 usually takes 8 months to adjudicate and get forwarded for interview, while the I-130 takes about a year, but keep this in mind, the K3 does NOT confer permanent residence, it is a 2 year multiple entry visa, but the Thai spouse will need to adjust status in order to remain stateside. Therefore, I think that a K3 is not a great option (unless time is greatly of the essence). However, there are other strategic uses for the K3 Visa.

For a more in depth comparison between these two visas check out this link

An Immigrant Visa is valid for 6 months upon issuance. If it is an issue, it may be possible to push back the interview date rather than letting the visa expire and starting over.

I hope this was helpful,

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

[email protected]

1-877-231-7533

+66 (0) 2 266-3698

[thaihome]

From my experience, most of that 3-4 months turnaround time for a locally filed I-130 is waiting for the interview at the consulate. The I-130 is out of the Bangkok USCIS office and to the consulate in a week and sometime less.

Why would a K-3 even be considered?

TH

[CWMcMurray]

From my experience, most of that 3-4 months turnaround time for a locally filed I-130 is waiting for the interview at the consulate. The I-130 is out of the Bangkok USCIS office and to the consulate in a week and sometime less.

Why would a K-3 even be considered?

TH

Knowing the average processing time, I would guess that it wouldn't be considered. I was only asking because I had no idea about average processing times.

I have only heard anecdotal stories of 9mo to 1 yr to get a visa. It now appears that those folks are not eligable to apply at Bangkok USCIS. I guess if my wife and I ever decide to make the move back we will be better off going through the process here in BKK at USCIS office.

[CWMcMurray]

Ben...

How would an applicant prove support if he was working in Thailand and try to make the move back without already having a job lined up?

I took a look at your website and it advises that you need to show 125% above the poverty line or savings and assets 5 times the difference.

Could tax returns from his job in Thailand show "his ability to support" or would he need a job or assets needed to fulfill this amount be needed.

What if he had a co-sponsor to fill the gap, is this also an option?

If not it looks like it would be pretty challenging to qualify if someone has been living in Thailand for quite some time and does not have a job offer before applying.

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

Ben...

How would an applicant prove support if he was working in Thailand and try to make the move back without already having a job lined up?

I took a look at your website and it advises that you need to show 125% above the poverty line or savings and assets 5 times the difference.

Could tax returns from his job in Thailand show "his ability to support" or would he need a job or assets needed to fulfill this amount be needed.

What if he had a co-sponsor to fill the gap, is this also an option?

If not it looks like it would be pretty challenging to qualify if someone has been living in Thailand for quite some time and does not have a job offer before applying.

Tax returns are generally the best evidence used to prove an ability to support a fiancee or wife stateside. There is something of a "poison pill" attached to those who live overseas, because the adjudicators prefer to see employment and residence in the USA. However, as mentioned previously, one must have residence in Thailand in order to file here, so it can create something of a Catch 22.

A joint sponsor is sometimes an effective method of squaring this circle, but keep in mind that the joint sponsor must meet the financial requirements on their own, not just pick up the slack of the petitioner.

I hope this was helpful,

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

+66 (0) 2-266-3698

1-877-231-7533

Edited April 27, 2009 by DirectorIntegrityLegal

[CWMcMurray]

What would you think the chances were in the below situation....

Applicant'e husband has 2 years of tax returns showing income of over the 125% required, but working in Thailand. They also have a letter from employer in the US stating that they will hire the applicant's husband at a salary that also exceeds the 125% required.

Would this be sufficent?

-or-

Would you recomend the following or would it just be over kill... (is there even such a thing as over kill when it comes to these things, or is the strategy just to keep loading on the proof so that their is no room for doubt? )

In addition to the above they also have a letter from someone willing to be a "Joint Sponsor" and this person has yearly income of well over the 125% required. This person would also be willing to state in the letter that they would allow the applicant & family live with them as long as needed.

Would they also need to see tax returns for the last two years from the Joint sponsor? Is there any specific statements that the Embassy is looking for from a Joint Sponsor?

Edited April 27, 2009 by CWMcMurray