Dual Citizen got married in BKK

[doontp]

I'm Thai-American with both passports and ID cards. Mom's Thai. Dad's American. Born in Isaan. Raised in the US.

I've been living in Thailand for the past 5+ years as a US Citizen on a Non-Immigrant B Visa. I'm a TEFLer, same school entire time, and I have a valid work permit. I check in every 90 days.

I've been encouraged to stay quiet about having Thai citizenship for various reasons. "Treat it like an Ace card" someone once told me.

As a result, I've never used my status as a Thai for anything, except for getting married. I never went to the Embassy to get an Affirmation of Marriage Certificate. Instead, my wife and I simply presented our Thai ID Cards at the amphur.

I'll soon be applying for an IR-1 Visa for my wife.

My questions are........Will me marrying her as a Thai, rather than a US citizen, have a negative effect on the application process?

The backside of our marriage certificate has my Thai ID Card number.

Will the USCIS want my US Passport number displayed on the backside?

The US does honor dual citizenship. My US Passport has Thailand listed as my place of birth.

My plan is to simply make and submit a photocopy of my US Passport and Thai ID Card side-by-side with the IR-1 application to the USCIS.

[Mario2008]

You married your wife as a person, not as a nationality. As a result it does not have any consequences.

The US honours dual nationality, just as Thailand does.

[samran]

Congrats on being married. Though I think you are being paranoid. Using your Thai passport is fine, even better than a non-Thai one. I speak from much experience.

[doontp]

Thanks for the replies and the congrats.

I'm getting all of this paperwork together for the USCIS without the services of a lawyer and I don't want any snags. I'm making sure all of my i's are dotted and t's crossed. I'm going over all of these forms with a fine-tooth comb looking for any mistake or discrepancy that might result in a denial.

Thanks again.

[Donutz]

Why don't you live as a Thai citizen in Thailand, after all it's perfectly legit (Thailand respects dual nationalities though for some odd reason some immigration officers seem to react negatively to presenting a Thai passport... ) and should make things muchb easier in general... :S

[doontp]

Why don't you live as a Thai citizen in Thailand, after all it's perfectly legit (Thailand respects dual nationalities though for some odd reason some immigration officers seem to react negatively to presenting a Thai passport... ) and should make things muchb easier in general... :S

In general, I don't think anything here in difficult.

I was told teaching/living here as a Thai citizen might result in me getting a lower salary.

Thai teachers get about 10k baht/month

foreign teachers (TEFLers) get 30-40k baht/month at my school

It's worthy for my school to compensate me as a foreign teacher rather than a Thai.

I consider myself a benevolent person, but I wouldn't/couldn't do this job for 10k baht/month.

I consider myself a paid volunteer at 30-40k baht/month.

[samran]

Why don't you live as a Thai citizen in Thailand, after all it's perfectly legit (Thailand respects dual nationalities though for some odd reason some immigration officers seem to react negatively to presenting a Thai passport... ) and should make things muchb easier in general... :S

In general, I don't think anything here in difficult.

I was told teaching/living here as a Thai citizen might result in me getting a lower salary.

Thai teachers get about 10k baht/month

foreign teachers (TEFLers) get 30-40k baht/month at my school

It's worthy for my school to compensate me as a foreign teacher rather than a Thai.

I consider myself a benevolent person, but I wouldn't/couldn't do this job for 10k baht/month.

I consider myself a paid volunteer at 30-40k baht/month.

That's just silly to think that cause you've entered on your us passport instead of the thai one you'll be paid more. Your CV doesn't change if you swap passports does it? The reason you are being paid more is you are a native English speaker who has the option of going back to a country which pays much more for washing dishes. I've always used my thai passport and have always gotten above the Thai norm salary.

[doontp]

Why don't you live as a Thai citizen in Thailand, after all it's perfectly legit (Thailand respects dual nationalities though for some odd reason some immigration officers seem to react negatively to presenting a Thai passport... ) and should make things muchb easier in general... :S

In general, I don't think anything here in difficult.

I was told teaching/living here as a Thai citizen might result in me getting a lower salary.

Thai teachers get about 10k baht/month

foreign teachers (TEFLers) get 30-40k baht/month at my school

It's worthy for my school to compensate me as a foreign teacher rather than a Thai.

I consider myself a benevolent person, but I wouldn't/couldn't do this job for 10k baht/month.

I consider myself a paid volunteer at 30-40k baht/month.

That's just silly to think that cause you've entered on your us passport instead of the thai one you'll be paid more. Your CV doesn't change if you swap passports does it? The reason you are being paid more is you are a native English speaker who has the option of going back to a country which pays much more for washing dishes. I've always used my thai passport and have always gotten above the Thai norm salary.

Samran,

I totally agree with you. Some Thais, you should already know, have a twisted way of thinking.

There is a school in Bkk that doesn't agree with us.

I applied for a position and presented my US Passport and Thai ID Card, thinking this would be a positive thing to do. The interviewer, an Australian, told me that his boss, a Thai, would not allow him to pay me as a foreign teacher. I told him that it's ridiculous because I'm a NES no matter what passport I use to enter LOS.

The interviewer shredded the photocopy of my Thai ID Card and offered me the position. I turned it down because I was afraid his boss would see me and regard me as a Thai, because physically my appearance is 100% Thai.