Us Tourist Visa Success

[ChiangMaiThai]

I just wanted to post an update here after so many people helped with advice leading up to the interview of my Thai girlfriend for a US Tourist Visa. She was granted a 10 year multi entry visa. So we are both very happy that she will be able to go visit the US for the first time.

Some details.

I am 32. She is 31.

Been together for 9 years.

I have lived here for nearly all of that time.

She took with her to the interview a 3 ring binder with many different documents broken up in to sections.

The first page in the binder was a letter from me explaining our relationship of 9 years and that I would like her to accompany me to the US for a three week holiday.

Other info that was included:

1. Letter from her employer showing employment for the past 3 years and permission to leave for 3 weeks. Also verifying her salary of 25,000 Baht a month.

2. PayPal statements going back 6 months verifying her online income of 30,000 Baht/month.

3. Copy of university degree (doubt it matters, but why not)

4. Letter from Moo Bahn where she has purchased a house (making monthly payments)

5. Original home purchase contract

6. Original bank statements going back 6 months showing 700,000 Baht in bank and regular income

7. Original bank books

8. Copy of car purchase contract in her name

9. My passport (I think this is key) showing my non im B visa and continuous presence here for the last 4 years and much of the past 9 years.

10. Copy of my work permit

11. Letter from my work confirming employment for 3 years and confirming permission to holiday for 3 weeks

12. My credit card statements and her statements going back a couple years showing her address and my address are the same

13. Letters from relatives (signed - not just emails) expressing hope that they will get to meet her and me as they are not able to travel to Thailand and I live here

14. Two pages of pictures of her and I taken each year since 2002

15. A copy of my Thai driver's license

16. Copy of my lease on an apartment in Bangkok showing that it has been paid in advance through mid 2012

The interview lasted 3 minutes. They flipped through the binder, but their questions centered around me. Where did I work? How long have we been together? And then they examined my passport. They also asked for the name of the Moo Bahn where she purchased the house.

And that was it. Received the visa 3 days later.

I think if you can demonstrate strong ties to Thailand and convince them that your relationship is real, then she is likely to get the visa. Remember to give her your actual passport if it proves that you spend most of your time here.

Best of luck!

Edited July 2, 2011 by ChiangMaiThai

[kunash]

Congratualations

[jdinasia]

Congrats.

My BF went on his own with only a couple of personal docs and got his. He never even mentioned me. He's upper mid-level management for a major company (next step is to be made one of the many VP's) owns his car and condo outright and has a decent salary. He showed his pay stubs and a bank book, his title for his car and condo and that was all it took. He can go to the US as often as he wants for some years still ...

I am guessing but I think he would have had a harder time had he tried to use a vacation with me as a reason

[Asianrider]

Well done to the OP. I have secured 2 tourist visa's to the UK for my girlfriend. A lot of the evidence was that i live in Thailand, proved by my passport, and have verifiable means of support, as well obviously an ongoing relationship.

[theoldgit]

Well done 'ChiangMaiThai', are you a US Citizen?

[ChiangMaiThai]

Well done 'ChiangMaiThai', are you a US Citizen?

Sorry for leaving that out. Yes, I am a US Citizen.

Regarding the other posts about not mentioning the other person in the relationship, I think it all depends on the situation. If she had an executive level job and owned her house and car outright, maybe her relationship with me and my status here would not be so important. But in this case, I'm not sure if she would have been approved if my information hadn't been presented. The interviewer seemed to focus on me more than anything else.

[danfred]

I am a US citizen. My Thai partner just applied for his second US visitor's visa today (for second trip to the US). All they looked at was my invitation letter and our passports (mostly mine) and asked a few questions to establish the length of our relationship (5 years), the length of my residency in Thailand (5 years) and our source of money (I work from Thailand over the internet for a US company) . All of that was explained in the invitation letter I wrote and I guess they wanted to hear it from my partner's mouth as well. They did not ask to see any other documents (bank books/statements, proof of assets in Thailand, etc.). He was granted a second 2-year visa. We were hoping for a 10-year... perhaps next time!

[scottydel]

Congratulations, very happy for you. I have a situation that didn't turn out as well.

Yesterday my girlfriend was denied a tourist visa for a 3-week visit. We have been together since 2006, and have a 4-year-old son together. I have been in Thailand around 50% of the time since then, with 2 back-to-back 1-year non-imm "O" visas, and a string of 2-month visas. I go back to the US to work as an IT Consultant. Our son is a US citizen and has spent 10 months in the US with me. My girlfriend has had the same job for over 10 years. However she does not come from money, and though I opened her up a small bank account, she clearly doesn't have much money of her own. We don't own any land/house together. She only owns a motorbike. She is quite shy, though we went through several practice interviews. She's 34 and I'm 37.

She takes care of her eldery parents, and we had a letter from a health clinic and affidavits from her parents. They consular office did not look at any of this. He asked about her job, how we met, the fact that I go back and forth from Thailand to the US, why she's going to America and who she's staying with. He recommended we go the Immigrant Visa route. It took 2-3 minutes. This is fine with me, it just takes longer and I thought it would be nice for her to come over for 3 weeks and meet everyone before taking a plunge into all of the paperwork and time required for an Immigrant Visa.

Here's what we brought:

• Letter from Health Clinic regarding health of her parents
• Letters from her parents regarding their health
• Letter from her employer of 10+ years
• Proof of ownership of Yamaha Spark motorbike
• 6-month history of bank account (150,000 baht balance)
• Her other son's birth certificate
• Photos and travel receipts from recent trips to Bali and Langkawi

• Invitation letter from my sister
• Copy of my passport and visa
• My recent bank statement, investment portfolio and last year's W2
• Her round-trip airfare ticket receipt
• Copy of our son's birth certificates and passports

Of all those things above, then only thing the consular officer looked at was the letter from her employer. Her appointment was at 7:15am, we were there at 6:30am to stand behind an already very long line of people. Once she got inside, she waited 5 HOURS before they actually interviewed her. Not sure what's up with that. This was her second time applying. The first time we were not as prepared, and I thought we had a slim chance of getting through this time. Oh well. I'll post another thread, but if anyone has any info regarding Immigrant Visas, drop me a PM. We could go the fiance route, or my cousin owns a restaurant and my girlfriend has been a cook for nearly 20 years, so we could go employment too. I don't know which is easier.

Red tape, bureaucrocay, it is what it is. Wish it could be changed easier. Our son and I leave for the US in October and it would have been so cool for Mom to accompany us. It's amazing to me how certain people are granted the authority to make decisions that can affect other people's lives in ways that they can't even comprehend. How do you explain to a 4-year-old that his Mom has "insufficent social, economic and family ties outside fo the U.S."? I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but I think this consular office made a very bad decision.

Anyway, congratulations again to the OP on a job well done!

[elgato]

At the US Embassy in Vientiane, the sponsor/bf/husband/whatever is NOT allowed at the interview.

[lovetotravel]

At the US Embassy in Vientiane, the sponsor/bf/husband/whatever is NOT allowed at the interview.

I was not allowed at the interview at the embassy in Bangkok. I was in the room, but they told me to go have a seat while they talked with her.

I have a friend who has tried several times to get his GF a tourist visa. I think the lack of home ownership and him being in the US might have been the problem?

Congrats to the OP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[johnbits]

Congratulations, very happy for you. I have a situation that didn't turn out as well.

Yesterday my girlfriend was denied a tourist visa for a 3-week visit. We have been together since 2006, and have a 4-year-old son together. I have been in Thailand around 50% of the time since then, with 2 back-to-back 1-year non-imm "O" visas, and a string of 2-month visas. I go back to the US to work as an IT Consultant. Our son is a US citizen and has spent 10 months in the US with me. My girlfriend has had the same job for over 10 years. However she does not come from money, and though I opened her up a small bank account, she clearly doesn't have much money of her own. We don't own any land/house together. She only owns a motorbike. She is quite shy, though we went through several practice interviews. She's 34 and I'm 37.

She takes care of her eldery parents, and we had a letter from a health clinic and affidavits from her parents. They consular office did not look at any of this. He asked about her job, how we met, the fact that I go back and forth from Thailand to the US, why she's going to America and who she's staying with. He recommended we go the Immigrant Visa route. It took 2-3 minutes. This is fine with me, it just takes longer and I thought it would be nice for her to come over for 3 weeks and meet everyone before taking a plunge into all of the paperwork and time required for an Immigrant Visa.

Here's what we brought:

• Letter from Health Clinic regarding health of her parents
• Letters from her parents regarding their health
• Letter from her employer of 10+ years
• Proof of ownership of Yamaha Spark motorbike
• 6-month history of bank account (150,000 baht balance)
• Her other son's birth certificate
• Photos and travel receipts from recent trips to Bali and Langkawi

• Invitation letter from my sister
• Copy of my passport and visa
• My recent bank statement, investment portfolio and last year's W2
• Her round-trip airfare ticket receipt
• Copy of our son's birth certificates and passports

Of all those things above, then only thing the consular officer looked at was the letter from her employer. Her appointment was at 7:15am, we were there at 6:30am to stand behind an already very long line of people. Once she got inside, she waited 5 HOURS before they actually interviewed her. Not sure what's up with that. This was her second time applying. The first time we were not as prepared, and I thought we had a slim chance of getting through this time. Oh well. I'll post another thread, but if anyone has any info regarding Immigrant Visas, drop me a PM. We could go the fiance route, or my cousin owns a restaurant and my girlfriend has been a cook for nearly 20 years, so we could go employment too. I don't know which is easier.

Red tape, bureaucrocay, it is what it is. Wish it could be changed easier. Our son and I leave for the US in October and it would have been so cool for Mom to accompany us. It's amazing to me how certain people are granted the authority to make decisions that can affect other people's lives in ways that they can't even comprehend. How do you explain to a 4-year-old that his Mom has "insufficent social, economic and family ties outside fo the U.S."? I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but I think this consular office made a very bad decision.

Anyway, congratulations again to the OP on a job well done!

What struck me was that with her son living in the USA, why would she not want to stay in the USA with her family? I think that the boy is a USA citizen and stayed almost a year living in the USA without his mother, while you expect his mother to only be a visitor in the USA is a bid deal.

Edited September 11, 2011 by johnbits