Is It Difficult To Get A Tourist Visa To U.s For Recently Married Thai Wife?

[telldem]

I am a U.S citizen, 43 yrs old and I married a 29 year old Thai citizen 2 weeks ago and just returned to the U.S. I plan on living in Thailand with my new wife permanently in the next 3 or 5 years and only want my wife to visit my family and do some touring in the States for 3 months once a year until I move to Thailand. I've known her about 16 months and have traveled to Thailand 6 times to see her during that time period a month at a time. How easy will it be for her to get the visa? She has a 7 year old son from a previous marriage, a decent job, car, land up country, which will be willed to her, not much money in the bank, but I will sponsor her. From reading past posts, it seems that a legal marriage does not guarantee a tourist visa...Your replies will be greatly appreciated.

Edited February 21, 2010 by telldem

[dudeinthailand]

Long answer...it depends. It depends on what region you live in the states because different regions have different processing centers. So, a region with a high number of requests will naturally take longer. It depends on your employment status, as far as how much money you make and what type of visa you are requesting. I would advise doing a search on people getting visas for Filipinas. Those sites seem to have more info.

[meandwi]

It is VERY difficult to get a tourist visa from Thailand to the US, especially since you are now married. I have tried and tried for many of my wifes family to get a tourist visa and all but one, were rejected for failure to show proof that they will return. Her oldest sister was granted one because she has a high paying job with a japanese firm, a large home paid in full, and alot of money in the bank. I have tried everything and wasted alot of time and money trying to get those tourist Visas. Trust me when I say everything!

There is a site called visajourney.com. It was where I found help to bring my wife to the US. We got a fiance visa, from start to finish it took 6 months. We come and go to the US as we please.

Now that you are married, it might take a little while longer. I suggest you start right away. I think it is a k3 spousal visa on form I-130. Try this link.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k3guide

As far as I know, this will be your best way to bring her back and forth.

good luck,

meandwi

[thaihome]

I agree that as you do not yet live in Thailand and have no ties to Thailand, it will be difficult to prove her that her intention is that once she goes to the US she will return and not file for change of status there. Difficult, but not necessarily impossible. Sounds like she has good ties, so it might be worth applying. The US does not have any sort of “sponsorship” when applying for tourist visas. Having sufficient money for the trip is not a criterion; they are entirely focused on intention to return.

Seems to be some confusion with some replies so far. Visa Journey is a great website, but it deals with immigration issues, not tourist visas. Also, tourist visas are issued by the US embassy and not in the US.

TH

[gosompoi]

My wife works for the Thai government in a high position for more than decade. I tried two times for a tourist visa to visit family in the USA with no luck. Nothing seemed to matter. Until I moved to Thailand, got a job here, had a child in Thailand that is a USA/Thai Citizen and had our own home here. I went to the USA embassy with my wife. During the interview my wife told the interviewing officer I had a job in Thailand. He asked to see my work permit for Thailand. He looked at my work permit and said OK that was all he needed. Granted he saw we had set up a life in Thailand, with a home, job and children which shows a reason to return. I have had other Thai friends get tourist visa's to visit the USA, one was a married Thai teacher sponsored by an American family in the USA she left her husband and son at home in Thailand. Both her and her daughter got visas to visit the USA first time. Second person I know was a single 24 year old girl that worked for The Peace Corps she was approved no questions asked. Everyone I know that has a Thai girlfriend or wife has taken two or three years of trying to succeed. Good Luck!

[mizzi39]

As others have stated it depends. my wife had no problem getting her tourist visa (10 years) on her first attempt. I am 41 and she is 29, but i also have been living here (Thailand) for 3 years, and we were legally married for 2 years before she even applied. We also have a son together.

You will hear conflicting reports about finances and ho much money she needs to show. My wife's finances were not even looked at by the IO.

As you probably already know the US wants to be convinced that she will return to Thailand, and her ties will show this. Your ties to her and her ties to you play a very important role in showing this.

My wife had a 3 minute interview with no more than 5 questions asked. 4 of those questions pertained to me and our son.

You may want to think about a longer term visa if your plan to live here is still 3-5 years away.

Chok dee!

Edited February 22, 2010 by mizzi39

[richm7]

There is a very simple reason it is difficult. As a US citizen if your wife enters the US legally (i.e. on some sort of visa, in this case I guess a B1/B2) you can submit an I130 and immediately submit a change of status application (normally a formality) which grants her the right to remain in the US while her immigration application (I130 etc.) is processed. That is why they don't like giving a visa to a citizen's wife. Now if you work in Thailand and show YOU will return it is different, again for what I think are fairly obvious reasons. She can of course, as your wife, go through the same I130 process in Thailand and all things being equal (what does that really mean!) she will automatically get an immigration visa, though it will take some months. The problem with that is she can't then just stay for three months or they'll likely consider she has abandoned her permanent resident status. I have great sympathy for folks in your situation because your damned if you do and damned if you don't, if you see what I mean. BTW where you live in the US is irrelevant. She will have to file in Bangkok, so US location has no bearing. Indeed, as far as I can tell in my considerable research on the subject, your location is irrelevant in any situation.

Having said that it is not impossible to get a visa IF you can successfully convince them that she will not be staying in the US. There are lots of pieces of advice on this forum on how to go about doing that but I can tell you that one HUGE flag is she will stay for 3 months. That kind of negates the job and family thing so in your application I would definitely NOT state she wants to be there that long. Two or three weeks at the most. Another is that you've only been married a short time. Of course if you really intend to file for permanent status once she's there they'll pick up on that in a heartbeat. They're good at it!

Why not just get her and her son over for the few years you intend staying? After 3 years she could then become a citizen giving you both lots of options. Just file in Thailand and she should be in the US before Christmas.

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

There is a very simple reason it is difficult. As a US citizen if your wife enters the US legally (i.e. on some sort of visa, in this case I guess a B1/B2) you can submit an I130 and immediately submit a change of status application (normally a formality) which grants her the right to remain in the US while her immigration application (I130 etc.) is processed. That is why they don't like giving a visa to a citizen's wife. Now if you work in Thailand and show YOU will return it is different, again for what I think are fairly obvious reasons. She can of course, as your wife, go through the same I130 process in Thailand and all things being equal (what does that really mean!) she will automatically get an immigration visa, though it will take some months. The problem with that is she can't then just stay for three months or they'll likely consider she has abandoned her permanent resident status. I have great sympathy for folks in your situation because your damned if you do and damned if you don't, if you see what I mean. BTW where you live in the US is irrelevant. She will have to file in Bangkok, so US location has no bearing. Indeed, as far as I can tell in my considerable research on the subject, your location is irrelevant in any situation.

Having said that it is not impossible to get a visa IF you can successfully convince them that she will not be staying in the US. There are lots of pieces of advice on this forum on how to go about doing that but I can tell you that one HUGE flag is she will stay for 3 months. That kind of negates the job and family thing so in your application I would definitely NOT state she wants to be there that long. Two or three weeks at the most. Another is that you've only been married a short time. Of course if you really intend to file for permanent status once she's there they'll pick up on that in a heartbeat. They're good at it!

Why not just get her and her son over for the few years you intend staying? After 3 years she could then become a citizen giving you both lots of options. Just file in Thailand and she should be in the US before Christmas.

I just want to dispel some very common misconceptions about this process. When an individual enters the US on a tourist visa and marries a US Citizen, the US Citizen can file a combined I-130/I-485 application for an Immigrant visa and adjustment of status. The adjudication of this application is neither automatic nor a formality as officers at USCIS will adjudicate the merits of the petition. In fact, it is quite common for serious issues to arise where a couple uses a tourist visa for entry when they have undisclosed immigrant intent. If adjustment of status was the intention all along, then procurement of a tourist visa could be viewed as visa fraud. Before the foreign national's arrival, there could also be issues as Customs and Border Protection has the authority to expeditiously remove those whom they believe to be intending immigrants without proper documentation. If a foreign national is subjected to expedited removal, then they will be subject to a 5 year reentry preclusion (unless an I-212 advance permission to reenter application is approved).

As to filing an I-130 application: if you are resident in the US, then you need to file in the United States. Filing in Thailand is relatively difficult, in my experience, as the local USCIS office requires local filers to have been in lawful Thai visa status for at least 1 unbroken year before the local office will take jurisdiction over the case. If a local filing is accepted then you can expect the process to take about 4 months from initial filing to visa decision at the US Embassy in Bangkok.

As to abandonment of permanent residence: if the permanent resident is outside of the US for less than 6 months, then a presumption of residential abandonment is unlikely to be raised. If between 6-12 months then I believe there is something of a "grey area" where there is no legal presumption, but the permanent resident may be wise to obtain a reentry permit. After the 12 month mark, if the permanent resident has not previously obtained a reentry permit, then the presumption of residential abandonment would likely be raised. That being said, if overseas, the permanent resident could apply for an SB-1 returning resident visa and deal with the issue that way or simply obtain a reentry permit before leaving which would allow the permanent resident to remain outside of the USA for 2 years without raising the presumption of residential abandonment.

As to stating the duration of her stay in the USA: Tell The Truth. Do not lie to the Consulate, this could be viewed as a material misrepresentation of fact and could result in the applicant being found inadmissible to the United States and the only way to remedy this type of inadmissibility would be through use of an I-601 waiver. If you are planning on having her in the US with you for a few months, then tell them. That being said, it is highly likely that a Consular Officer will reject a Tourist visa application in the situation described by the OP as this applicant would need to overcome the legal presumption of immigrant intent under section 214b of the US Immigration and Nationality Act and with a US Citizen as the applicant's primary relationship, it is highly likely that the officer will find that the applicant cannot overcome the legal presumption.

I must agree with the above quoted poster about US Citizenship, it may be wise to bring her to the US on a fiance visa or an Immigrant visa and then eventually file for her naturalization. This would provide a major benefit in the form of relaxed travel restrictions. However, the entire process will likely take a total of 4-5 years if everything goes smoothly.

I hope this was helpful.

All the Best!

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

Edited February 23, 2010 by DirectorIntegrityLegal

[telldem]

Thanks for all the replies. It looks like she stands a high chance of rejection. I already purchased her round trip airline ticket leaving on March 15th ,returning June 15th and I recently deposited 800,000 baht into her bank account; will these help her chances any?

[shawndoc]

No, and no.

You should never buy a ticket before you get the visa. I've seen a number of people do this and get burned in the K1/K3 process (Visa application denied, application delayed for several months while they performed a background check, delayed due to "administrative processing", etc). The embassy interviewer isn't going to care that you already bought a ticket, that's your problem, no theirs.

And as to the money in the bank, if they decide to look at that, they normally want to see bank books showing a pattern of deposits and withdrawals showing she has a job and is getting regular pay from a job. Remember, the number one thing they are looking for is proof of ties to Thailand to show she will return and not overstay her tourist visa, not that she has enough money to buy a return ticket. If they are checking her bank records, its usually to verify that she actually has the job she claims she has.

[gotlost]

I took my wife to the US on a tourist visa (10 year) 8 months after we were married. Yes I'm retired and live in Thailand but that said my wife had a job, owns a business, has parents in Thailand, has a son in Thailand, owns a car, owns a house and some money in the bank. What the embassy/consult is looking for reasons for her to return to Thailand. The property that her parents have is no good because it is not in her name. Her parents, her son. her job, her bank account may just may be enough. The US does not except sponsors ships or letters of sponsor ship. They will want to know purpose of visit and your relationship along with your finical means. From my experience a thank she has a solid 50/50 chance, also if you can I would advise you to use the US Consult in Chiang Mai not the embassy in Bangkok. I do not recommend that you use any visa service in Bangkok for they are over the moon on fees as i say that I did use a service in Chiang Mai that's just a few doors down from the US Consult, the charge 6000 baht, 4000 baht went to the US Consult for processing and the visa service retained 2000 baht for their effort. This was worth every penny. Wish you luck

GL

[telldem]

The plane ticket is refundable. The 800,000 baht is to renovate her parent's shack in Khao Khor Phetchebun. I thought it was worth a shot to show this at the interview. I guess not. We're going to try anyway, the interview is sheduled for next week. If it's denied, I'll start the K3 visa process and she'll be in New York by Christmas, I hope.

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

The plane ticket is refundable. The 800,000 baht is to renovate her parent's shack in Khao Khor Phetchebun. I thought it was worth a shot to show this at the interview. I guess not. We're going to try anyway, the interview is sheduled for next week. If it's denied, I'll start the K3 visa process and she'll be in New York by Christmas, I hope.

Bear in mind, the K-3 Visa has been virtually terminated by the National Visa Center. To learn more, click here. If married, it would probably be a better use of time and resources to seek either the IR-1 or CR-1 visa.

[Gonsalviz]

There is a very simple reason it is difficult. As a US citizen if your wife enters the US legally (i.e. on some sort of visa, in this case I guess a B1/B2) you can submit an I130 and immediately submit a change of status application (normally a formality) which grants her the right to remain in the US while her immigration application (I130 etc.) is processed. That is why they don't like giving a visa to a citizen's wife. Now if you work in Thailand and show YOU will return it is different, again for what I think are fairly obvious reasons. She can of course, as your wife, go through the same I130 process in Thailand and all things being equal (what does that really mean!) she will automatically get an immigration visa, though it will take some months. The problem with that is she can't then just stay for three months or they'll likely consider she has abandoned her permanent resident status. I have great sympathy for folks in your situation because your damned if you do and damned if you don't, if you see what I mean. BTW where you live in the US is irrelevant. She will have to file in Bangkok, so US location has no bearing. Indeed, as far as I can tell in my considerable research on the subject, your location is irrelevant in any situation.

Having said that it is not impossible to get a visa IF you can successfully convince them that she will not be staying in the US. There are lots of pieces of advice on this forum on how to go about doing that but I can tell you that one HUGE flag is she will stay for 3 months. That kind of negates the job and family thing so in your application I would definitely NOT state she wants to be there that long. Two or three weeks at the most. Another is that you've only been married a short time. Of course if you really intend to file for permanent status once she's there they'll pick up on that in a heartbeat. They're good at it!

Why not just get her and her son over for the few years you intend staying? After 3 years she could then become a citizen giving you both lots of options. Just file in Thailand and she should be in the US before Christmas.

Yep, the old guilty until proven innocent is alive and well in the USA.

[fredlaw]

if you're filing the I-129 (K-1 or K-3) it's taking about 5 months for completion. That is from beginning to end. The I-130 is also taking about the same time. It is much faster now that USCIS has pretty well caught up on their backlog of cases.

The key point is to review the BKK Embassy web site and find out exatly what documents you willl be required to submit to the US State Department in Portsmouth NH where the visa is isssued. (Birth cert, police clearance, name change etc.).

If you have all the documents in order, everything will go according to plan. You will need original documents for State Department. This has recently changed, before you took everything to the embassy in BKK.

The above requirements are for the I-129 and/or I-130

To obtain a B/1-2, as stated above, you must prove you will be coming back to Thailand. If that cannot be proven, you will be denied. DO NOT LIE OR EVEN STRETCH THE TRUTH!!! If you lie, and they will catch you, then your chance of ever getting as tourist visa will be nil.

I have helped over 50 people bring friends to the United States and only two of those were denied. Those denials were due to them having applied before they contacted me. In their initial application they had omitted a couple of things. Again, DO NOT LIE or you will never get the visa