Us Tourist Visa For My Filipino Wife

[jazzbo]

Gee ... You have so many friends.... Maybe they showed the US Embassy their ... links to Thailand, long term extensions, lease/deed, bank accounts, etc ... You don't actually say whether they all came back.

[tropo]

I don't thing there will a problem at all. In fact will be easier then if you applied in the PI. Just show your links to Thailand, long term extensions, lease/deed, bank accounts, etc along with her other trips overseas and it will be obvious to consulate officer she has no intentions of staying in the US.

I tend to agree, though if you wanna be on the safe side OP, take her to Australia or Japan, or an additional developed country before you apply. My gf gotta 10 year tourist visa, and I reside in the US permanently, but we had visited Japan and Canada, and got an unused NZ tourist visa, before we successfully applied for the US last christmas. I haven't read as many rejection stories on thaivisa lately, maybe the Obama admin has made things easier.

Actually I felt the reverse was true. It would be easier to get a tourist visa for the US than one for Australia. Considering we're married, Australian Immigration has to consider her as a potential permanent resident who can live off the social welfare system there. We eventually want to settle in Australia, so doing travel to other developed countries will make that hurdle easier.

It seems I'll have to just give it a go and see what happens. Thanks to all for your input.

[tropo]

Others should know better, but it seems to me a toursit visa could be applied for through the PI and be picked up on the way or her PI Passport stamped via mail.

However - question: Why live here, when PI gives any spouse of PI citizen free an unlimited rights to stay - a once a year visit to Immigration - basically to show you are still married..??

We live in Thailand. Because we live here we will apply for a US visitor's visa in Bangkok. Does that seem unreasonable? There's no way I'm flying to the Philippines to pick up her visa and I'm sure that won't be necessary. The visa application may or may not be processed in Bangkok. When she applied for a NZ visitor's visa in January we sumitted the application in Bangkok and they sent it on to the Manila Embassy for processing. I don't know the policy of the US Embassy in Bangkok on this. I better send them an email to find out for sure.

Regarding why we live in Thailand instead of the Philippines? Why should I live in the Philippine just because the visas are easier there? There are many reasons, but just the fact that we choose to live here is reason enough in the context of this thread. We don't have visa trouble here - once a year extension and reporting every 90 days. We can handle that.

Edited August 30, 2010 by tropo

[jazzbo]

Regarding why we live in Thailand instead of the Philippines? ... The short answer is that you take a huge drop in your standard of living when you go there ... anyone who wants to make the move to the Philippines must be prepared to rough it. I've done my time in the jungle.

[Hans Brix]

Wow man, PI must be a horrible place to live because Tropo is not the only guy who told me he'd rather live in Thailand with his 18 y/o philipino wife (Tropo, I know your wife is 22 or so). That guy I'm referring to is an American who was planning to marry this 18 y/0 of his dreams (he's 50). He found out that she was scamming him but that's another story for another thread (he was stunned when he found it out). He also said he would never ever take her to the US for fear she would get Americanized and also that she would get fat so his plan was to come to PI and marry her and after come live in Thailand with her. Those plans went by the way side after he found out about her scam. He still is obsessed with finding that under 23 Philipino and has several hundred in his yahoo contact list. This guy is a highly intelligent guy which is why I was surprised to hear his story

anyway, all that is off topic. sorry to waste bandwidth on it. What will happen with Tropo's plan for his wife's US visa? I just dont know although we have the one poster who stated that all foreign wives working with him get USA visas with the greatest of ease. I only read the one nightmare story about the poor guy married to the Thai lady who got refused 2 or 3 times applying in Bangkok. He's the guy who worked in Saudi and other places with her and couldn't get past the presumption the US embassy has that all applicants will emigrate to the USA (I guess because she couldn't show ties to Saudi, Thailand or whatever). Sorry I cant fint that link but it's in this visa section and I think is important for Tropo to read. But good luck no matter what

Edited August 31, 2010 by Hans Brix

[tropo]

Wow man, PI must be a horrible place to live because Tropo is not the only guy who told me he'd rather live in Thailand with his 18 y/o philipino wife (Tropo, I know your wife is 22 or so).

It's not so much that it is a horrible place to live. Its just that Thailand is the better option of the two places for us. There's good and bad in both with Thailand coming out ahead.