The Ordeal of Obtaining US Visitor Visa for Thai Wife

[EPICFAIL]

This post is made in an attempt to help others who will be appling for a U.S. visa at the Chiang Mai consulate.

Last week my wife finally received a visitor (B2) visa for the U.S. from the Chiang Mai consulate. It wasn't easy. It took three applications/interviews over the course of four years for her to succeed with each application costing $160 USD and several hours of time.

She was not married to me at the time of the first two applications and for her third interview she had my U.S. passport with my six retirement extensions marked in the passport to show I am a long-time retiree in Thailand. She also had our marriage certificate and my annual retirement statements showing my income. The interviewing consulate officer was very interested in both my passport and my income statements.

At the conclusion of her interview she was told that she qualified for a visa and would be receiving her passport in the mail with her new one year visa. They double-checked her address and sent her on her way. After ten days and no passport/visa in the mail we started trying to locate her passport.

Reaching a person at the Chiang Mai consulate by phone or email is just not possible. None of the numbers they post on their website are anything but recordings with the exception being the emergency number for U.S. citizens. When that number is called they just say they cannot help and please call the other (useless) numbers. They say they don't have the staff to respond to calls and this also goes for emails. Every email I sent was met with an automated response referring me to their website. Absolutely useless.

We checked several times at our post office (Postal Code 50300) to see if they were holding the passport and they were not. Finally a kind man from our post office called the post office near the train station (Postal Code 50000) and the passport was located. We made the trip to the 50000 post office and picked up the passport which was in an envelope addressed not to my wife but to general delivery at the 50000 post office. In the end we had to get lucky to track down her passport which the consulate said they were mailing to our home.

The consulate website says that passports cannot be picked up at the consulate for "security reasons" I don't know how they can justify that statement. How difficult would it be to approach outside security (behind buillet-proof glass), show I.D. and pick up a passport? More consulate foolishness.

Lessons learned:

1. Be prepared for visa interview

2. Forget trying to contact the consulate to resolve problems

3. Make sure to check with the 50000 post office (near train station) when your passport is not mailed to you as promised.

A few of the frustrating issues along the way:

1. Unlike other consular services, fees for visas cannot be paid at the consulate. You must go through the hassle of visiting a Bank of Ayudya, making a deposit to the consulate account and obtaining a document certifying such deposit.

2.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Glad to see that she got the U.S. tourist visa this time. A Q here: A one-time visa or a 10-year one?

Also glad to see that the interviewing ConOff spent time looking through your passport for your extensions, does indicate that this is an important item for wives and girl friends to pull out at the beginning of the interview.

Another Q: You said she was denied two times previously, did she also have your passport to show at those interviews?

Other items perhaps to take along to such an interview might be:

-- very short cover letter stating you status in Thailand

-- Thai government items in your name, such as driving license

-- U.S. mailings to you in Thailand, for example, my IRS & SocSec mail comes here.

All goes to show that I/you are pretty well established in Thailand, and the presumption will (may?) be that your wife or G/F will return with you after the visit.

Sad to say, tho, another TV member had his G/F rejected for a tourist visa recently. It happens.

Mac

[EPICFAIL]

My wife was given a one year visa with one entry. Her latest entry date cannot be after the visa expiration. Length of stay in the U.S. is determined by Immigration at the point of entry. We were hoping for a ten year visa but it looks like that's another application and interview after she has travelled to and returned from the U.S. The ten year visa is especially helpful if there is a family emergency in the U.S. In that case my wife could accompany me on a moments notice.

My wife had NOT taken my passport with it's multiple retirement extensions to the two previous interviews in which she failed to obtain a visa. She said the consular officer scrutinized every single retirement extension stamp which I had tabbed in my passport with yellow stickies. She is convinced that this made the difference between getting a visa and not getting a visa.

Edited November 21, 2014 by EPICFAIL

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My now wife had two of those one-shot visas then got a 10-year one on her third application. That last one expired and she then got another 10-year visa, nine years ago, we were married by that time. However, while I've traveled to the U.S. three times since she got the visa, she's not accompanied me on any of them. Next year will apply for another 10-year visa, partially as you mention, just good insurance if need to go quickly as a team....

Thanks for the input on your wife's prior visa applications.

Mac

[yankee99]

US embassy in bkk gives a tracking number when they took my wifes passport. Application to receipt of 10 year tourist visa was 8 days. The interviewer only looked at the cover letter which i wrote and none of the supporting documents. Imho answering the questions properly is more important then the paperwork.

BTW we went through the us citizen queue ar jfk and thai queue when returning.

[mikebell]

The BKK US Embassy is equally clueless regarding civility; waiting times; general hospitality. It took weeks of frustration trying to fill-in the on-line form; more weeks of checking for appointment times; finally to realise these times were merely a ticket to a cattle-market and meant a further four hour queue.

I am a UK citizen living with my Thai wife in Thailand. I wanted to swell the US coffers with my tourist $s. I won't be doing it again. I will see how easy a Schengen visa is.

[yankee99]

The BKK US Embassy is equally clueless regarding civility; waiting times; general hospitality. It took weeks of frustration trying to fill-in the on-line form; more weeks of checking for appointment times; finally to realise these times were merely a ticket to a cattle-market and meant a further four hour queue.

I am a UK citizen living with my Thai wife in Thailand. I wanted to swell the US coffers with my tourist $s. I won't be doing it again. I will see how easy a Schengen visa is.

Weeks to fill in the online form I doubt it. Appointment can be made 24 hours after the visa fee is paid so seems your computer skills might need some attention. The appointment queue was 3 days last month.

My understanding it takes 30 days to get a uk visa approved as opposed to a usa visa approved at the interview.