Usa Interview Any Info It's Coming Up And We Are Getting Nervious

[jojo1]

Can anyone help me. I need some information on a USA K1 Visa Interview because it's coming up. Has anyone gone through this process? Anyone the good the bad, any information would be so much help.

[jojo1]

I heard no one gets a visa on the first try and I don't think I can do whole process again. I rented a little bar in one of the islands for six months when I first got here over 2 years ago with my fiancee. Is this a giant red flag? I didn't have ladies but did serve food. Her mother and father cooked and sister helped bartend. Am I screwed or what? Anyone have any info. I mean all the interviews they do each day and no one knows anything????

[Spaniel]

Well my Thai wife got her visa to the USA on her first try so what you heard obviouysly isn't true. I think the interview took all of 3 min. I dont remember what they asked her.

[phaethon]

I dont remember what they asked her.

"Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?"

[jbsears]

It was the easiest, quickest interview. It took about 3 minutes like the other poster said and then said you can come and pick up your visa in a couple days. We said we need it tomorrow b/c we already bought tickets for the weekend and they were nice enough to get her the visa by the next day. It was a very easy experience.

I don't really remember much about questions. It was like a really casual quick conversation. I'm sure the interviewer was paying much attention to what we were saying. I think if you are legit they can tell and just give you the visa. So don't worry too much about it.

I'm not sure about the bar thing. If I was you I would not have called it a bar but a restaurant since you said you served food. But with the whole family working there, it doesn't sound scandalous.

Good Luck!

[ubonjoe]

I heard no one gets a visa on the first try and I don't think I can do whole process again.

I think those comments were probably about tourist visas.

K1 and immigrant visas are not as bad. I think most people get them without a problem.

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

The K1 Interview can be daunting for both the Citizen and the Foreign Fiancee. One thing that might hang you up regards this bar. Only from what you have posted here: it sounds as though it was a legitimate establishment, but the term "bar" is such a broad term in Thailand, that there is a possibility that the consular officer could make the presumption that the bar was involved in activities that would constitute a legal ground of inadmissibility. Should they find a legal ground of inadmissibility the visa will be denied. In order to overcome a finding of a legal ground of inadmissibility one must file for an I-601 waiver. The evidentiary burden to obtain a waiver depends upon the ground of inadmissibility. For those interested in Legal grounds of inadmissibility, there is more information here

I caution anyone against lying in order to cover up facts that applicants think may be detrimental. Not only is this practice unethical, defrauding the Embassy could lead to severe penalties (including criminal liability and inadmissibility to the USA). That being said, diligently preparing for the interview generally facilitates a successful outcome.

I hope this was helpful

Ben Hart

American Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

+66 (0) 2 266 3698

1-877-231-7533

[gigiman]

I have done 3 (three) K1 fiance visas at the bkk embassy. I too , was scared about all the stories I heard about the brutal interview process etc etc. I contacted an American lawyer here in bkk who terrified us and said that there was no way we would get the visa on our own and wanted $2000 to get the job done . He said the interview would consist of 3 separate very experienced Thai women grilling my fiance on questions like " you were a bar girl were't you ,, come on admit it " ,, or " why you want to go to the usa , to work right ,, not to get married " hot lamps pointed at her face etc etc.

This was nonsense ,, the 3 interviews lasted 1 minute to a minute and a half and were conducted right at the counter with the embassy worker behind the glass. The questions were ,, where did you meet him , do you plan to marry when you are in the usa , what was your finace doing here when you met him ,, was he a tourist or working ,, just basic stuff .. they did not accuse her of anything like being a bar girl etc etc as the lawyer said they would and the interview was not held in a separate room.

The keys to getting the visa are as follows:

* Honesty, Honesty , Honesty ,,, do not lie about anything it will come back to haunt you not to mention the fact it is illegal and a serious crime.

* Documentation , documentation , documentation. They want to see everything in order ,, a clean file ,, ready to go. They want to make their job easier ,, and they hate it when you give the file missing something ,, or fill out forms that are not legible sloppy or generally out of order. Its more tedious and time consuming for them and they will use it to hold a grudge against you . Some of them are very moody and stressed out people and if you do anything to get on their bad side they will make things difficult. They are all about speeding these applications along as fast as possible and moving on to the next case .. So if your documents are not in order ,, as far as they see it you are gumming up the works ,, their impatience will drive them to put your case at the back of the pile and your case will be run over by all the others.

* Tell your fiance not to be iffy on any answers to questions.. They hate that and have seen thousands of people and know (or think they know when someone is being evasive or telling a lie ) .. Some , not all may have their little power trip thing going on in their head and know they have the power of god on this and can make or break you . Not answering questions quickly and directly ie: being iffy or " im not sure or I don't remember " to them you are a liar and from that point on everything else can be considered suspicious ,, and they will change their attitude in an instant and come down on you like a ton of bricks .

You and your fiance need to get your stories straight and rehearsed. Again ,,be honest ,, but be on target . Were did u meet, how did you meet, does he know your family etc. Also ,,, re-read all your documents before she goes for the interview ,, make sure her answers to their questions match whats on the documents . If any one question doesn't match ,, thats a big red flag to them and reason for denial , so watch out.

* Proof of support -- you really need to show them you can support this person financially . So overwhelm them with all your financials ,, ie: interest income ,,money in the bank. property you own (the value of it ) ,, stock ,, bonds etc. THIS ONE THING IS VERY IMPORTNAT TO THEM . This is probably the thing about YOU they look at the most .. Again be honest about your financials , if they so choose they can and will do a spot check .,,, get a letter from each bank you have money in showing the balance as of todays date ,, bank statements .. anything to show real proof

* They will ask her how she met you , under what circumstances ,, how long you know each other. Did you meet her family . In some cases they ask to see photos of the 2 of you ,, also maybe with the family . BRING PHOTOS TO THE INTERVIEW ,, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Anything you can show as proof of an ongoing relationship helps.. In my case I saved all the receipts of any money transfers I did to my fiance as proof of financail support and they liked that. If you met in a bar ,,,, it would not be a lie to say we met " socially " or in a " social setting " . Use diplomatic language when necessary without making false statements.

* DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID !!!! I am surprised that you bring up the fact that you owned a bar and you question as to if this will have any impact on getting the K1 visa. If you owned the bar (past tense ) and no longer own it , it is not important to them . Look at your K1 application form . The questions about you center around where you are currently employed, your biographic info, how you met her and the circumstances of the meeting etc, and your financial information .

Under her employment history ,, if she was a paid employee of your bar ( since you served food call it an eating establishment or restaurant ) then you should list that on the documents BUT ,, if she wasn't technically paid by you and was just helping out cause she was your girlfriend ,, maybe this really could not be considered paid employment and may not need to be listed . But if you do choose to mention it ,, say your fiance was a " waitress " at the so and so restaurant - pub .

No need to get into long explanations on the form of what kind of pub (DO NOT USE THE WORD BAR - BIG NO NO ) and " oh by the way we didn't have ladies "

Anyway ,, as long as your fiance keeps a cool head ,, and goes in with a firm but polite (not too polite-looks like your kissing their ass too much -- another red flag ) attitude ,, confident in her answers and concise and to the point she should be ok .

The only real reasons for denial normally are lack of financial income on the sponsors part ,, I think you currently have to have an income of around 20,000 per year ,, and if not ,, a large amount of cash in the bank ,,, or a big red flag such as being caught in a lie or something not matching up in your files or statements .

Good luck

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

Certain aspects of the above poster's experience in these cases should be given deference. However, a couple of things gave me pause, specifically:

"If you owned the bar (past tense ) and no longer own it , it is not important to them...if she wasn't technically paid by you and was just helping out cause she was your girlfriend ,, maybe this really could not be considered paid employment and may not need to be listed."

Title 8 Chapter 12 Subchapter II Part II § 1182 (a) (2) (d) (ii) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act States:

"Any alien who directly or indirectly procures or attempts to procure, or (within 10 years of the date of application for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status) procured or attempted to procure or to import, prostitutes or persons for the purpose of prostitution, or receives or (within such 10-year period) received, in whole or in part, the proceeds of prostitution, is inadmissible."

Ownership of a previous business on the part of the US Citizen may not be considered important in some cases, but if it was a bar that employed "ladies" then that is very important from a legal standpoint under the INA if his fiancee worked there within the 10 years prior to this visa application, admission to the USA OR adjustment of status.

I think that ownership of a bar (employing ladies, or otherwise) in the past that the alien fiancee was involved with is a material fact because it sounds as though she was employed by the establishment (whether drawing a regular salary or not). Holding back such information could lead to her being found inadmissible because under Title 8 Chapter 12 Subchapter II Part II § 1182 (a) (6) © (i):

"In general Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure (or has sought to procure or has procured) a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this chapter is inadmissible."

The employment vs. "helping your boyfriend" argument would appear incorrect particularly in a situation where prostitution really is an activity of the establishment because the statute does not say she must be employed, but states that anyone receiving the proceeds of prostitution is inadmissible. The proceeds of prostitution could be conveyed through a spouse or significant other who is directly involved in such activities even if the alien does not draw a regular salary or wages from the business.

To be clear, if the bar was not involved in "commercialized vice" by procuring women, then he likely has nothing to worry about. That being said, in US consular officers in Thailand can draw the logical inference that a bar is involved in such activity because in fact many bars throughout the country are involved in such activity. Therefore, if such activity was not occurring, then one may need to explain the situation to the consular section in order to forestall such an inference being made.

I hope this information was helpful

Good Luck!

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

+66 (0) 2-266-3698

1-877-231-7533

[gigiman]

Hum,,

You had alot of detailed information there on the laws ,,, subchapters etc..

But if I remember correctly ,,, didnt he say that it was just a normal bar ,, and they were not selling ladies or engaged in vice ie: prostitution etc. So perhaps many of those rules do not apply here.

Also ,, correct me if I am wrong but if the " establisment " (bar) served food could it not also casually be called an "eating establisment " ,, or restaurant ,, and if so would this constitute making a misleading statement thereby violating some rule or immigration law. ?

I am not trying come off as if I know better than someone as experienced in these matters as you are , I'm just tossing out the question to get some addtional feedback as to if it would really be that important an issue to the embassy staff what kind of eating establishment she was a waitress in (as long as sex was not being sold)

Any thoughts ?

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

My worry is that a consular officer will make the presumption via logical inference, that a "bar" in Thailand is involved in illicit activities. Failure to disclose this bar could reinforce this presumption should its existence be discovered (not to mention raise possible fraud implications). Therefore, the situation should be disclosed and explained so that there would not be any confusion regarding the situation. Consular Officers do have a great deal of discretion in making factual determinations and a determination such as this would be one for the consular officer. When explaining the nature of the establishment one could then go into more detail about how it is a restaurant, grill, sports pub, etc.

Th original poster did say it was a "normal," bar, but the fact that it is a bar means that it will probably be more heavily scrutinized by the consular officer. I'm not trying to imply that I believe this to be anything other than what the OP said, but regardless of what we think it is, the important thing is what the consular officer perceives it to be. More than anything, the use of the term "bar" encapsulates so much in Thailand that one probably ought to fully explain the situation in order to avoid a finding of inadmissibility. Again, should there be a finding of inadmissibility based upon a presumption of prostitution, then one can file for an I-601 waiver of inadmissibility.

This assessment is based upon the general information provided by the original poster and without more detail it is difficult to give individualized advice. Therefore everything stated here is for general use and should not be used in lieu of personal legal advice.

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

+66 (0) 2-266-3698

1-877-231-7533