Tourist Visa Interview Tips

[scottydel]

Hi,

I thought it would be nice to post some Do's, Don't and General Tips for Thais interviewing for visas. Girlfriends, boyfriends, wives, husbands, friends, whatever - interviewing for a visa to another country can be intimidating and it helps to go in there with some knowledge.

I'll start it off with one "Do" and hopefully more will come:

DO: Look the interviewer in the eyes, and give consice, confident, clear responses to their questions.

[alyx]

Tell the truth

[bridge]

Tell the truth

You beat me to it.

[LindsayBKK]

Fill in your Forms neatly

Always act like its your first time, like you don't know where to go.

Always leave 1 question empty, for them to correct you.

Reason: I went to an embassy and all the paperwork was filled in, money ready, no errors at all.

But that was just too difficult for some clerk to comprehend, so they made me wait while they went over the paperwork another 5 or 6 times.

Next time I went to the "same embassy" I left one box empty eg.like date of birth, they asked me to add then they took my money no problems.

Cause like any Government Dept. you don't want to make your job look easy.

Can Depend on which Embassy you go so difficult to answer 100% on your question.

But I think you will find most questions answered in old Thaivisa Posts.

Just search which Embassy/Consulate you are going to for old listings, tips etc.

Every Embassy has it's own, what they call "procedures", so there is no standard for all.

Edited May 13, 2011 by LindsayBKK

[bridge]

With respect leaving a question empty is just silly.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

And just out of interest how many interviews have you attended ?

[Shurup]

LindsayBKK - Leave 2 or 3 questions empty, they will appreciate it even more.... Or maybe one whole page?

DO: applicant should remember basic info of the peson who inviting them, info like the address and phone number (in the country they are going to).

DO: wear a minimum make-up.

DON'T: dress like a slut.

[theoldgit]

Very few applicants for a UK Tourist Visa are interviewed.

UK Visa applications have to be submitted online, all you take to the VFS is a printout of the online app (plus all the documentary evidence) so if you don't answer a question you cannot go onto the next one.

[kunash]

provide full, and concise supporting documents then you will probably never need an interview. ( for any type of visa )

[LindsayBKK]

Bridge Whatever..maybe, but that's the way they want you to play sometimes.

At least I contributed not "you beat me to it" doesn't do it for me.

Like I said depends on the Embassy, I don't do it for all.

Edited May 13, 2011 by LindsayBKK

[bridge]

Lindsay, yes indeed you overwhelmingly contributed to the forum with your sound advice to leave a question unanswered on an application form.

[scottydel]

Not sure if I would leave a question blank purposely on an application that is supposed to be filled in ahead of time, however I do agree with LindsayBKK that many government/embassy/consulate workers are on power trips. Any way you can strategically feed their egos without threatening their control could be one less reason for them to show off their power in other ways, like making you wait indefinitely or even denying your application. If you are crafty enough to pull that off by leaving something blank and needing their "expertise", more power to you.

[theoldgit]

^^^^^

Yes that's all well and good, but if you leave out an answer, on a non online application, and the staff at the application centre miss it, the application would probably be automatically refused.

[Shurup]

Bridge Whatever..maybe, but that's the way they want you to play sometimes.

At least I contributed not "you beat me to it" doesn't do it for me.

Like I said depends on the Embassy, I don't do it for all.

Unless you're applying for a visa to some banana republic when there is only one person in the embassy doing ALL the job, maybe you comment would make some sense.

In civilized countries' embassies a person receiving the application IS NOT the person processing it and making a decision.

Here is a quote from application to Canada

If your application is incomplete it will be returned to you and this will delay the processing of your application.

So all your silly suggestion do is get you delayed.

[maybefitz]

From experience of my wife visiting UK for 4 months; the one essential is proof that you intend to return. If employed, a letter from the employer

stating that the job is still open on return, is 100% sure. However, this may not be possible in every case, so devise some way of proving that

you have to return - even a medical/dentist appointment may be helpful.

[challenger99]

With respect leaving a question empty is just silly.

It's not SILLY it's work also with other matters eg custom clearance etc.! If all is clear it give time to ask you other things then request in paper, consider fill a form should be as a team work and so the office clerk is satisfied. If there is no question, she can feel bored as she don't do enough in her job!

[richthai]

I would like to share a few pointers from my recent experience with the US Immigration Interview. My Thai girlfriend was in the interview - no one else is permitted.

Do - schedule your interview for 7AM and get there plenty early. We had it at 9AM. By the time the interview happened it was 11:45 and everyone was going to lunch. Not only did we have to wait extra long, but I suspect being behind schedule doesn't help put things into the best situation.

Do - schedule during a week without a holiday. It gets extra busy during holiday weeks. This was probably a factor into why the interview was nearly 3 hours late.

Don't - say anything you can't prove. She mentioned her trip to UK as evidence of going out and back. But, the passport stamp was not available because the earlier passport was missing.

We had an interviewer that was looking for specific items. These were a full time career job and a million baht in the bank. If you're a student you need to provide the signed grade report. My GFs grade report wasn't returned from the MOE yet, so she could only produce her diploma and a certificate of excellence which turned out to be worthless. She is also registering into a university to complete her BS degree, but the registration can't be completed until the grade report is released by the MOE. The interviewer didn't like that.

Her interview was over in 3 minutes without even glancing at over 80% of the material we had prepared. The material provided affidavits, proof of relationship, existing assets in Thailand and reasons for her to return (including her son's continuing education at a private school). During the 'interview' she noticed that we were engaged. The representative asked why didn't we apply for a spouse visa? This is incorrect advice because I live in Thailand and the purpose of the trip wasn't to complete the marriage ceremony in the USA. Needless to say, we were disappointed by the lack of professionalism of the embassy representative.

Better luck next year when I have my next trip to the USA.

[Shurup]

With respect leaving a question empty is just silly.

It's not SILLY it's work also with other matters eg custom clearance etc.! If all is clear it give time to ask you other things then request in paper, consider fill a form should be as a team work and so the office clerk is satisfied. If there is no question, she can feel bored as she don't do enough in her job!

I mentioned it already. The clerk receiving the douments IS NOT the one that process them and makes a decision. I am sure it would be true for the most civialized countries. In Canadian embassy they don't even look at papers when accepting them. It is your responsibility to submit completed application, if not, it will be returnet to you.

Her interview was over in 3 minutes without even glancing at over 80% of the material we had prepared.

They look through the documents way before they set an interview. If they are satisfied, there won't be any interview at all, you will get your documents + passport back with a visa already in it. I assume they are familiar with all the paperwork while doing the interview.

[richthai]

Sorry, but the documents I'm referring to are the support documents that you bring to the interview. The DS 160 form is completed online and was accepted before the interview. But, it doesn't allow much for demonstrating the compelling reasons for the candidate to return to Thailand. I have spoken to a number of people about this and all have agreed that this interview was over far too quickly. She did not look at these documents. Once she didn't get the 100% safe information like a career job and previous visa trips, she made a decision quickly.

With respect leaving a question empty is just silly.

It's not SILLY it's work also with other matters eg custom clearance etc.! If all is clear it give time to ask you other things then request in paper, consider fill a form should be as a team work and so the office clerk is satisfied. If there is no question, she can feel bored as she don't do enough in her job!

I mentioned it already. The clerk receiving the douments IS NOT the one that process them and makes a decision. I am sure it would be true for the most civialized countries. In Canadian embassy they don't even look at papers when accepting them. It is your responsibility to submit completed application, if not, it will be returnet to you.

Her interview was over in 3 minutes without even glancing at over 80% of the material we had prepared.

They look through the documents way before they set an interview. If they are satisfied, there won't be any interview at all, you will get your documents + passport back with a visa already in it. I assume they are familiar with all the paperwork while doing the interview.

[richthai]

Sorry, 1 more try. The system in the USA Visa process starts with a standard DS 160 form. If the candidate wants to show someone is supporting them financially, the candidate brings a DS 134 form to the interview. The only document the embassy sees before the interview is the DS 160. The candidate is advised to bring information/evidence to support the argument that he/she will not stay in Thailand. These documents are not seen before the interview. The decision is not made before the interview since the DS-160 is a generic form concentrating mostly on identifying the candidate and not about proving the compelling reason for return.

Bottom line, the interview was not handled well. Her responses were abrupt. In our case, the best evidence for her to return was never allowed to enter the interview. She wanted certain things that only a career person or a very wealthy person could show. I have taken the case up with my congressman to investigate. So far the embassy response has been a generic reply without substance. She was tired, late for lunch and way behind schedule when she finally got to interview my GF. She looked at the DS 160 form and my DS 134 affidavit of support and then ended the interview when she couldn't see 1 million baht in the bank (never mind the fixed assets and cash totaling over 800,000 baht), or the UK Visa stamp (remember the former passport is missing and not available). Yet, in 5 minutes they could've checked with the British council down the street.

We are seriously considering hiring a visa service. I spent a good deal of money already getting documents prepared, notarized, etc. that were recommended on the Visa application site.

[Shurup]

Sorry to hear about your experience, sounds like it's quite different from Canadian visa application procedures where you submit all the supporting documents at the same time with application and IF you go to an interview, you don't bring any extras with you.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Sorry, 1 more try. The system in the USA Visa process starts with a standard DS 160 form. If the candidate wants to show someone is supporting them financially, the candidate brings a DS 134 form to the interview. The only document the embassy sees before the interview is the DS 160. The candidate is advised to bring information/evidence to support the argument that he/she will not stay in Thailand. These documents are not seen before the interview. The decision is not made before the interview since the DS-160 is a generic form concentrating mostly on identifying the candidate and not about proving the compelling reason for return.

Bottom line, the interview was not handled well. Her responses were abrupt. In our case, the best evidence for her to return was never allowed to enter the interview. She wanted certain things that only a career person or a very wealthy person could show. I have taken the case up with my congressman to investigate. So far the embassy response has been a generic reply without substance. She was tired, late for lunch and way behind schedule when she finally got to interview my GF. She looked at the DS 160 form and my DS 134 affidavit of support and then ended the interview when she couldn't see 1 million baht in the bank (never mind the fixed assets and cash totaling over 800,000 baht), or the UK Visa stamp (remember the former passport is missing and not available). Yet, in 5 minutes they could've checked with the British council down the street.

We are seriously considering hiring a visa service. I spent a good deal of money already getting documents prepared, notarized, etc. that were recommended on the Visa application site.

They have all the power, I'd be surprised if petitioning your Congressman to help will do anything but make the process take longer.

My wife was also neither rich nor a white-collar "career girl", and it took three application/interview cycles over 20 months to get her to the US to visit with my elderly mother. The second time we had been married for four months, and it was eight months after the first interview, so obviously a genuine relationship but still no go.

The fact is that it's actually impossible to prove a negative - "prove" she won't run away from me and try to stay illegally in the States - but that's the requirement, so the system leaves it to the arbitrary discretion of the interviewer - they are allowed to rely on their intuition.

The third time in we'd been married for over a year and went in with our two-month old baby, my listed on the birth certificate, all the dates worked out and at that time I was full-time employed with letters from my employer that I was going on a three-week holiday - and the interviewer took less than two minutes and gave her a ten-year multiple re-entry!

So my recommendation is to just accept that the process takes multiple attempts over a long period, possibly years.

Unless she is the registered owner of apartment buildings, corporations etc, where there would be no financial incentive for her to go underground in the US.

[7by7]

1) Complete the application form fully and supply all the necessary documents. The UK very rarely, if ever, interview for visit visas these days and not answering a question or leaving something out is more likely to get a refusal than an interview. Other countries? Not sure about their procedures, but leaving a question blank is an indication of sloppiness that is far more likely to get a negative response than a positive one.

2) Make sure that everything you put into the written application, form and supporting documents, is true and complete (the declaration you sign says that this is so). That is the only way to ensure that you don't contradict yourself if by some chance you are interviewed.

3) If interviewed, be on time and dress appropriately.

4) Answer all questions truthfully. Don't try to bluff; if the answer is "I don't know" then this is what you say. At her UK settlement interview my wife was asked for the names of my parents. She replied "Mr. and Mrs. xxxxx." The interviewer then said "Yes, but what are their first names?" My wife replied "I don't know, he calls them 'Mum' and 'Dad'!" She got her visa.

5) Don't be intimidated. If you don't understand a question, ask the interviewer to repeat it. Don't be afraid to accept the offer of an interpreter.

[richthai]

Some good advice coming in, although some of you are confirming the process for the USA boils down to the opinion of a single person. It's unfortunate they make it so difficult for people trying to be legitimate. I wouldn't be surprised to find that for every one person that overstays on a visa there are several hundred illegal immigrants.

We'll change some things on our support document for sure, but it's good advice to prepare the applicant for the interview questions. It's much more than dressing appropriately and being polite. They need to convince the interviewer they are serious about returning. The Thai people are so polite and often defer to people in authority, while in this case that may be just the behavior that hurts them.

[bangkokburning]

For the US Embassy - Can anyone provide specific questions that your gf had issues with or meeting some criterion?

Sort of sounds like anything but most basic documents need not bother.

Here's her short list -

Letter Guarantee from job five years

Bank Book w/ letter

Old Passport w/ prior US visa and photocopy

University degree (this will get tossed, but I think it's a show of character personally)

1 page of photos showing her International trips (12) and our trips together last 18 mos (12) -Intl/Dom.

*My passport, I am living here, not in US waiting for her.

Richthai kinda has me freaked out with the 1m baht or don't bother thing. I don't think this is all true, many, many of my gf's friends have ten year visas. I have personally met half dozen. I'd only say two are honest professionals (doctor). Another a decent success in real estate. Two others just office workers and two others (boy/girlfriend) business owner(s).

Thanks, I can't log in for a few weeks - traveling.

[RedQualia]

provide full, and concise supporting documents then you will probably never need an interview. ( for any type of visa )

Indeed, and I would say bury them with paper and for any kind of visa (especially in the case of the USA). All government workers, everywhere, seem to love paper. Print out 100 or so emails to take along with you. Tabien baan (owning property here is a big plus for the states), photos of family and children here, photos with friends from the country you'll visit, in invitation letters, letters from congressional representatives, pre-purchased traveler's health insurance. Any and all paper you can think of to add to the pile -- do so. For the USA, at least, it's best not to get turned down and so getting it right the first time is a bit important. So I say again - the more paper, the better.

Other thoughts:

- Keep in mind that what the USA (at least) most wants to be sure of with regard to issuing tourist visas is that the applicant will go back home when their visit has finished. So all that paperwork should help establish that you =will= go back to Thailand when your visit has finished.

- You don't need to be rich, really, but should have a bit of money in a Thai bank in your own name. 100,000 Baht is plenty if you present yourself in the right way (I've seen that be enough). A million Baht won't be enough if you present yourself in the wrong way (and I've seen this not be enough for someone with the wrong attitude, too much makeup, etc.).

- Someone said "don't lie" or "tell the truth." I certainly wouldn't want to tell anyone to lie, either. On the other hand, Thai applicants to the states should have a reasonably solid employment history of reasonably decent jobs. "Bar girl" probably won't cut it. Working with the family on the farm upcountry would be better. You should also be able to provide references for any past jobs you list. A letter from your current employer giving you permission to be away from your job and visiting another country for some period of time would also be a handy thing to add to any pile of paper you submit.

- MUCH BETTER if you know someone in the USA whom you will be visiting. They'll need to fill out a form saying that they take economic responsibility for you if you go. And don't forget to have that traveler's health insurance receipt in hand to show the embassy as well. USA healthcare is outrageously expensive.

And yes, I have known people (multiple) who have successfully gotten tourist visas to the USA in the past using the approach listed above.

Choke dee...

[richthai]

From my experience include the official grade report with the degree to substantiate character. The interviewer asked for it.

By the way, the 1M baht statement was made, but I don't think it is used unless the interviewer has already decided no. When we apply next year we won't show 1M baht, but I will prepare her if the question comes up.

If you are providing support, you should complete a DS 134 Affidavit of support along with supporting documentation. The DS134 must be signed by the embassy in advance of the interview.

If you are visiting family in the USA, a letter from them can also help show purpose and support for the trip.

Good luck, and be sure to get one of the 7AM interview slots!