US tourist visa declined for Thai citizen

[OMGImInPattaya]

Just pick another holiday destination. Plenty of nice tropical islands locally (Bali springs to mind). Why go to all this trouble...spend money in a country that actually wants you to visit.

[Sheryl]

Are you certain she provided documentation of all the factors you cite? The comment to "come back with more paperwork" suggest that perhaps she did not. It does not sound to me like they suspected she would not return so much as that she verbally provided information not all of which was substantiated by documentation....

[Guitar God]

I think the main reason was failure to include a copy of the visa page of my passport and to make it clear that I've moved here. Next time I'm not going to include a copy if my US drivers license and make it clear I haven't lived there for many years.

[Guitar God]

She went back this morning with more paperwork primarily showing that I'd been there, done that as far as living in the U.S. goes and they had her speak with the same guy who declined her application last time. He was still hemming and hawing but didn't seem to have any good reason for his hesitation to approve it.

He asked her what she'd do if he declined it again and she said he'd see her again next week.

He said "Ok, have fun in Hawaii".

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Well, good, congrats!!

And to some extent this just reinforces the view that for a G/F visa, a lot depends on the status of the guy here in Thailand, presumption being that if he has good ties to Thailand, he'll return, thus the G/F will too.

Have fun....

Mac

[fifthcolumn]

I'm happy for you. It is done. For what it's worth, I think you here are weak links in the story. Her paperwork sounds ok. It seems to me that his hesitation was built on intuition. My hunch is that he thought she was going to Hawaii to possibly engage in prostitution or live with you. Hawaii, weather wise is Thailand. So, why? Even its mass tourism industry is nearly identical. It makes no sense in my mind that a Thai of all places in the US and even the world could go, it would be Hawaii. I think the CO felt the same. Unless...you are going back home and she is staying on with you.

Seriously, why? Hawaii??

Your part in this was weak. She should have stated she was paying for all or most of the trip (not beholden to you), but that's a huge problem because you are going to Hawaii <deleted>. Finally, you should have furnished your visa history, original passport and a short letter of introduction explaining your plans, your 1+ year relationship and your intentions of returning to Thailand.

[drx13]

Friend recently applied for his MIL with equally good (apparently) reasons amd sureties, After first refusal, engaged Thai lawyer, refused.

Engaged a second Thai Lawyer, again refused. Cost him Baht40,000

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Re the Mother In Law case, the interviewing ConOff might just have been worried that she intended to stay in the U.S. with her married daughter. It's a bit of a toss up in such a case.

Anyway, lots different than the OP's case where he's working in Thailand and just going on vacation with his G/F and returning.

Mac

[4evermaat]

How long is the tourist visa for?

"You dont need to learn to love yourself; you just need to UNLEARN all the reasons you reject yourself..." -sent from TV app (Note 2).

[4evermaat]

....

More is better though probably.

The problem was the officer never mentioned anything, he only said she could apply again and supply more documents. She asked "what kind of documents" and he said "more".

....

I think that is the source of the confusion right there. Not just you, but every applicant that is declined. You are then forced to come to forums like these and "guess" at the missing docs.

Not much different than what a confidence trickster would do to part you from your cash. You think you are doing everything legitimately until its too late. It's ok when the state does it, though.

Anyway, glad to see it was finally approved. What do you think was the deciding factor? The missing docs or persistence? The people who make it the first time, what did they do different?

"You dont need to learn to love yourself; you just need to UNLEARN all the reasons you reject yourself..." -sent from TV app (Note 2).

[Guitar God]

It will either be a 3 or 6 month visa. We'll know in a couple days. Her sister , with no job here, no school to finish, no real or personal property, no ties here except parents and siblings, but probably most important, no farang bf/husband, got a six month, multiple entry visa to visit her Thai aunt there.

If I were a CO, between the two of them, I would have been more suspicious of her sister going there to work illegally or not come back.

Here's some of the paperwork we brought the second time:

Letter from me stating I hadn't lived there for decades and had no residence there.

Proof of foreign residence with copies of old permits going back over a decade, Thai visa stamp, letter from my Thai immigration lawyer, marriage license, Thai MC and car driver's license, Thai house purchase agreement, copy of check for house, incorporation paperwork for the Thai company we own, papers of ownership of my foreign, non U.S. business, a bullet-point letter from her listing all the reasons she has to come back to Thailand and pages of copies with matching passport stamps from my passport of every stamp in her passport to prove we've traveled together on every trip she's made.

Why Hawaii? Nice temperature, nice weather, beautiful scenery, clean ( except for some trash alongside some roads) and the air smells like flowers. She's never been to the US and possibly, we might want to have a place there in 5-10 years. I've got some shopping to do and I'm going to see a few old friends in the music/entertainment industry who live there.

We are coming back though....