Assistance With Us Visit Visa

[NanLaew]

My buddy, a long-time retired US citizen in Thailand is looking at getting a visa for his wife. Since he is in Pattaya, are their any friendly and knowledgeable Pattaya visa agencies that are familiar with US immigration processes? He was quoted US$4k by a Pattaya agent that doesn't handle US immigration stuff and decided that was a joke to start with!

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I guess no one's replied as it's not really necessary to pay an agent to fill out the forms and compile a package. Plus the guy can read up on all the info here on TV.

Mac

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Why hire some one ? Down load the forms, fill them out, get and appointment, and go to the interveiw with documents in hand.

If "the friend" is unsure, do a little reading on line or here in TV first

[NanLaew]

Yes Mac, but some people aren't computer savvy enough or don't have the time or patience or have a tight budget to do the online research or sit for ages compiling info or need to save money. Some people are simply overwhelmed with the bureaucratic mountain that looms ahead without it being online. Plus there's no real telling what's valid and salient on this forum when people chip in with anecdotal tales of what a mate managed to do.... maybe 12 years ago! Some people are happy to spend a bit extra to get a helping hand and do the legwork but maybe there isn't a Pattaya agent after all. Certainly enough for Brits though!

And seriously Jeffrey, it IS for a friend; he's called Jim. I am happily married here already and coincidentally banned from the US anyway so it sure as sh!t aint for me!

[VisasPlus]

$4,000 ?? I can't actually believe that this is a genuine quote ( not that I am saying it wasn't quoted !). Before you tarnish all agents with this kind of accusation ( I know you didn't, but mud sticks ), your friend can look at the websites for the Pattaya agencies ( including our own ), and compare the costs. I can assure you that you will not find anything like the figure you have given. Maybe your friend should tell us who quoted such a figure ? I would certainly be interested to know.

To be quite honest with you, visit visas for the USA are not the most popular applications for agents. The majority are refused by the US Embassy, no matter how good the application is. The first thing we do is warn the applicant ( or sponsor) that the chances are that they are possibly, or even probably, going to end up with a visa refusal. I'm not telling you anything that you don't know already, I'm sure. The US immigration laws have a very different presumption to the rest of the civilised world, in that all visa applicants are presumed to be immigrants to the USA until they prove to the visa officer that they aren't. This does make it very difficult to qualify, especially ( surprisingly) in visit applications for wives. The US Embassy takes the view that if you want to take your wife ( Thai or otherwise) to the USA for a visit, then why would she ever want to return to Thailand ( or wherever), and that what you are actually doing is trying to shortcut the lengthy application process for spouses ( now more than a year !). This is the starting point from the visa officer's perspective. Now, you have to prove, and I do mean prove, that she is not immigrating to the USA. For UK the required level of proof is on the balance of probabilities but for the US it appears to be even higher than beyond reasonable doubt !

My own view on dealing with applications for the USA is that it is not fair to raise the applicant's, or the sponsor's, hopes that a visa will be issued. If, after explaining everything ( as above) the applicant and sponsor still want to go ahead, then I feel that I have made them fully aware of the possible outcome. We do, of course, carry out the best job that we can, but the US Embassy seems to be a law unto itself !

[mizzi39]

The Con Off looks not only at your friends wife's ties to Thailand, but her husbands ties to Thailand as well. My wife received a 10 year visitors visa last January on her first attempt. The interview lasted no more than 3 minutes with most of the questions being about her ties to me and our son who has dual citizenship. I work here and was able to prove such, so I am sure that helped.

What documents are needed is sketchy at best. The more documentation provided showing ties to each other the better, but chances are most won't even be looked at since the Con Off's pretty much have their minds made up before the applicant gets to the window based on the few documents they scan over.

Good luck.

[CrabbyinKrabi]

The process can be a pain in the ass, but its doable. Most American guys on here have done it themselves, its not hard, just time consuming.

I am sitting on a base in Iraq and just did one for my wife. She goes in next month for her interview.

If your friend legally lives in Thailand, which it sounds like he does, he should have a really good shot at it.

I recommend he get started on it now, before he actually figures out any travel dates. So there is no pressure. They don't hold you to precise travel dates, so there is some flexibility if it gets approved.

Make sure she has a passport before you do anything else.

What I did was get on Google and find a copy of the DS-60, and printed it out. Then I could see all the information we needed for it before I started the online process. You need to get stuff like her passport numbers, expiration dates, parents names, birthdays, etc. It goes a lot smoother if you have all that collected.

There are also some videos on YouTube, some in Thai, telling you how to fill out the forms. My wife seemed to get a lot out of them.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

$4,000 ?? I can't actually believe that this is a genuine quote ( not that I am saying it wasn't quoted !). Before you tarnish all agents with this kind of accusation ( I know you didn't, but mud sticks ), your friend can look at the websites for the Pattaya agencies ( including our own ), and compare the costs. I can assure you that you will not find anything like the figure you have given. Maybe your friend should tell us who quoted such a figure ? I would certainly be interested to know.

To be quite honest with you, visit visas for the USA are not the most popular applications for agents. The majority are refused by the US Embassy, no matter how good the application is. The first thing we do is warn the applicant ( or sponsor) that the chances are that they are possibly, or even probably, going to end up with a visa refusal. I'm not telling you anything that you don't know already, I'm sure. The US immigration laws have a very different presumption to the rest of the civilised world, in that all visa applicants are presumed to be immigrants to the USA until they prove to the visa officer that they aren't. This does make it very difficult to qualify, especially ( surprisingly) in visit applications for wives. The US Embassy takes the view that if you want to take your wife ( Thai or otherwise) to the USA for a visit, then why would she ever want to return to Thailand ( or wherever), and that what you are actually doing is trying to shortcut the lengthy application process for spouses ( now more than a year !). This is the starting point from the visa officer's perspective. Now, you have to prove, and I do mean prove, that she is not immigrating to the USA. For UK the required level of proof is on the balance of probabilities but for the US it appears to be even higher than beyond reasonable doubt !

My own view on dealing with applications for the USA is that it is not fair to raise the applicant's, or the sponsor's, hopes that a visa will be issued. If, after explaining everything ( as above) the applicant and sponsor still want to go ahead, then I feel that I have made them fully aware of the possible outcome. We do, of course, carry out the best job that we can, but the US Embassy seems to be a law unto itself !

Well said Tony totally agree.