Usa Visit Visa (B-2/Tourist) For Tgf?

[emcee]

Hi all,

My friend is planning to visit his family with a Thai GF in for two weeks in July.

She has an interview scheduled in a couple of weeks and he just wanted to get any advice/insight regarding the situation.

Here's the scoop: He lives in Thailand with her and they will be traveling together. He is 30, she's 26, been together three years. Main purpose of the trip is simply to visit fam in California and Colorado. She has been to the US for a three-month work/study/travel program on a J-1 visa in 2007, no overstay. She has a bachelor's degree from a Thai university.

Supporting docs ready for the interview:

- Letter from her work stating time off on booked dates, position and monthly income (23,000). She is a sales rep for a Korean/international steel company in a BKK high-rise

- Bank books, showing about 100,000 baht saved for the trip (not a lot I know, but not bad) and steady income each month

- Current lease for a condo in her name

- Confirmed round-trip itinerary from BKK to Los Angeles showing both his and her name

- Copy of his passport showing Non-O visa of BF (to show that he lives in Thailand and will also be returning, hence a reason for her to return as well)

- Letter from family inviting her and mentioning they will be hosting her during the stay and will provide financial support in case of an emergency

- Her old passport showing used US J-1 visa and return stamps into Thailand, this passport also has stamps in and out of several ASEAN countries (not sure if that helps).

- evidence of relationship

-app/passport and the other usual stuff

So, if anyone has any insight on the chances of approval/denial or advice regarding the interview, please chime in.

Thanks!

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Off hand I'd say 80%-90% good! I'd also move the boyfriend's passport up to the top of the stack and put little highlighting stickers on the page of his Non-O visa that shows a residence in Thailand for the last three years.

Mac

[wildoates]

Don't think she will have a problem. My wife got hers and the things you have addressed were what they asked from her....good luck

[thaihome]

BF should get a letter from his employer saying the trip is an annual vacation and he is expected to return to job.

Otherwise it seems there is a very good chance she will get the visa.

TH

[emcee]

Thanks for your insight guys - this is good news.

As far as the BF's passport, should he just give her the actual passport for the interview, as opposed to a copy?

I think that would be more effective in showing that he lives there and all the trouble he's gone through to be there so much, as well as showing a good deal of trust for the GF.

Or is there a regulation or something about giving someone your passport that might cause a problem?

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Thanks for your insight guys - this is good news.

As far as the BF's passport, should he just give her the actual passport for the interview, as opposed to a copy?

I think that would be more effective in showing that he lives there and all the trouble he's gone through to be there so much, as well as showing a good deal of trust for the GF.

Or is there a regulation or something about giving someone your passport that might cause a problem?

Definitely giver her his ORIGINAL passport, not a copy. There's no regulation against it. Plus copies of passport visa and stamp pages do not indicate what passport they came from so real easy to substitute someone else's.

Mac

[emcee]

BF should get a letter from his employer saying the trip is an annual vacation and he is expected to return to job.

Otherwise it seems there is a very good chance she will get the visa.

TH

And in the case he is not employed in Thailand?

Also, thanks for the help, Mac.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

BF should get a letter from his employer saying the trip is an annual vacation and he is expected to return to job.

Otherwise it seems there is a very good chance she will get the visa.

TH

And in the case he is not employed in Thailand?

Also, thanks for the help, Mac.

De nada. I'm not employed, retired, and my now-wife still gets her U.S. tourist visas, and yes, she takes along my passport(s) that show continued presence here on this go-round since 1989, and earlier years, too at various times.

He independently wealthy, even better. Or mainly a frequent traveler to Thailand for various lengths of time, reckon that's OK, too.

You mention that he "lives" here, perhaps on the 90-day shuffle to the border? "Copy of his passport showing Non-O visa of BF (to show that he lives in Thailand and will also be returning, hence a reason for her to return as well)"

That's OK, that's exactly what I was on from 1991-'98 when my now wife got her first three U.S. visas, the last being a 10-year one, when she was in G/F status, and with no job, no particular bank account, and no property until '96 when we/she bought our house. Important thing, it seemed at the interviews, was that she was semi tied to my travels, and my travels led back to initially Sukumvit and later to Pathum Thani....

Mac

[emcee]

BF should get a letter from his employer saying the trip is an annual vacation and he is expected to return to job.

Otherwise it seems there is a very good chance she will get the visa.

TH

And in the case he is not employed in Thailand?

Also, thanks for the help, Mac.

De nada. I'm not employed, retired, and my now-wife still gets her U.S. tourist visas, and yes, she takes along my passport(s) that show continued presence here on this go-round since 1989, and earlier years, too at various times.

He independently wealthy, even better. Or mainly a frequent traveler to Thailand for various lengths of time, reckon that's OK, too.

You mention that he "lives" here, perhaps on the 90-day shuffle to the border? "Copy of his passport showing Non-O visa of BF (to show that he lives in Thailand and will also be returning, hence a reason for her to return as well)"

That's OK, that's exactly what I was on from 1991-'98 when my now wife got her first three U.S. visas, the last being a 10-year one, when she was in G/F status, and with no job, no particular bank account, and no property until '96 when we/she bought our house. Important thing, it seemed at the interviews, was that she was semi tied to my travels, and my travels led back to initially Sukumvit and later to Pathum Thani....

Mac

The 90 game is correct in his case. Looks like they should be fine, fingers crossed.

Thanks again for your help.

[emcee]

Hi all, one more question about this, if anyone knows:

Her condo lease is in Thai, but he has heard this is not an issue because they have bi-lingual staff on hand. She chose English as the language for the interview. Can anyone confirm this?

Or should he have it translated?

Thanks!

Edited May 27, 2011 by emcee

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Hi all, one more question about this, if anyone knows:

Her condo lease is in Thai, but he has heard this is not an issue because they have bi-lingual staff on hand. She chose English as the language for the interview. Can anyone confirm this?

Or should he have it translated?

Thanks!

I'd not say that the Consular folks at the U.S. Embassy are "bilingual" but they have had Thai language training and are pretty good at it. Interview language, up to your GF, Thai would be fine, and still able to toss in English if need be. Translate the lease? Not necessary, if they even get that far in the interview.

Mac

[Myaimistrue]

She should be fine.........my TGF just got a ten year, basically with my passport and work permit, though she did have a one year, last year, which probably helped!

[stingray]

She should be fine.........my TGF just got a ten year, basically with my passport and work permit, though she did have a one year, last year, which probably helped!

My Thaiwife got turned down. Married with me (Swiss citizen) since 3,5 years, has business licenses for our running carsale and rental business, turning over several million bahts a year, and she got denied. BTW i have company and work permit here in LOS as well. I had planned for holiday to Hawaii for a month or so. I myself was there several times, several times in LA and Vegas and i never had a overstay either. I would never even think to living permenantly in the US, not to mention that come from Switzerland, the country with the highest living standard on earth. She got deied, because they said she had not enought ties to Thailand, even we have a running car sale dealership and rental business.

So i was a little bit disapointement with the decicion of US Embassy. I think peaple who try to do things the legal way, always get penalized, specially in a country where the have much over 10 million ilegals and noone realy do something against. Anyway, Hawaii is over now. But it is not a "MUST" to spend my holiday there. I can spend my money in other countries. She got now a Schengen Visa and we will enjoy our holiday i Switzerland, travel with my car to France, Spain and Portugal. I'm sure it will be a nice trip as well. It doesn't need to be Hawaii.

[jfchandler]

Sorry for that Stingray... It's hard to understand how/why the U.S. Consulate does what they do sometimes...

As for the OP, I'd say definitely have the BF give his U.S. passport to the GF for her interview at the Consulate... Because one of the main things they will be interested to check/see will be his visa history/status of staying in Thailand (the more settled here the better). And the Consulate won't even let him inside the building when she goes for the interview...

When my GF applied for a visitor visa, she had color copies of all my passport and visa pages, current and prior... But apparently the officer looked at a copy of an older visa that had already expired... But somehow didn't see/find the latest/then current one that was there in the packet... And at that point, the officer asked my GF if she could show him my passport, which she didn't have, since I was carrying it cooling my heels waiting outside... I thought, no reason to include it since our packet had all the correct copies...

Well, so much for that idea... Her application was denied.

[RedQualia]

Something that could potentially help with the visa, but I'd do it whether it helps or not: get the gf "traveler's health insurance" for the USA. Healthcare in the states is horribly expensive. My own policy here in Thailand includes an exclusion for the USA. If this sort of insurance is purchased, include clear proof in the stack of paper given to the embassy. All government offices thrive on paper... There can never be too much.

[emcee]

Update: Visa granted!

Just a one-year I'm told, but that's good enough and no one is complaining.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Update: Visa granted!

Just a one-year I'm told, but that's good enough and no one is complaining.

Good to see that the system works, now and then at least.

When you get a chance, ask them/her how the interview went. Was there any emphasis on his passport, as in his ties to Thailand, more so than her's??

Anyway, that's how my now wife's visas started, two singles then a 10-year, before we got married, she's on her 2nd 10-year now, obtained after marriage, but still with an emphasis on my status in Thailand, retired for a long time now.

Mac