US immigrant visa for wife K-3 I-130

[stevehaigh]

i've just started looking into getting a visa for my wife (married 10 years in Thailand) to move to USA. i understand i can apply here at the embassy in BKK or via post in USA

are there any pro and cons of one v. other? we are not in a hurry, we plan to move in 3 years when kid goes to university. looking for lowest cost, least hassle method.

i think i have enough income to sponsor her by my self but if not, my son can do it and he has easily enough income.

any general comments about the process would be much appreciated

thx

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Steve

Take a wander through this www site for lots of great info: www.visajourney.com

Only Pros for doing the I-130 here in Bangkok at the USCIS office, no Cons.

It's the other way around for doing the filing via the U.S.

K-3? Don't think that's really very viable anymore. But, check it out, I could be out of date.

Three years hence? Well, lots of time to do your research, then do the filing locally in about 2 - 2.5 years.

Mac

[HeijoshinCool]

You'll be going for an IR-1, starting it with USCIS in Bangkok. Currently takes about two months if you stay on top of it. Once you start the process, you have a year to complete it. Once the visa is awarded, she'll have to use it within six months, or start all over again.

From the sounds of it, she could apply for a tourist visa in the meantime. If she got one, you could visit in the meantime and start the process of your re-establishing domicile in the States, which is a requirement for the IR-1.

You can search the State Dept website for info, but be aware that they barely mention your eligibility (due to your living in Thailand) to file directly with USCIS in BKK, thereby bypassing the NVC (National Visa Center). Your process will have nothing to do with the NVC.

[stevehaigh]

sorry, my bad, i mean Spousal Visa (IR1 / CR1)

USD $903 Visa holder automatically becomes a Legal Permanent Resident after entering the US. Can work and travel freely.

she has a tourist visa now (had it for 8 years already, expires in 2) but we are not ready to move yet

so you think doing it in BKK is better then sending to the US office, for the I-130 i mean, to get started

the direct consular filing does look a lot quicker

DCF
(IR-1 / CR-1) Married 3 Months No No (see note) No (see note) 3 Months USD $945 US consulates typically only do this for US citizens who live overseas. DCF results in a IR-1 / CR-1 Visa.

i'm on a non-B with retirement extension for last 10 years. is that sufficient proof of residency for DCF?

Edited March 8, 2015 by stevehaigh

[AaronLV]

sorry, my bad, i mean Spousal Visa (IR1 / CR1)

USD $903 Visa holder automatically becomes a Legal Permanent Resident after entering the US. Can work and travel freely.

she has a tourist visa now (had it for 8 years already, expires in 2) but we are not ready to move yet

so you think doing it in BKK is better then sending to the US office, for the I-130 i mean, to get started

the direct consular filing does look a lot quicker

DCF

(IR-1 / CR-1) Married 3 Months No No (see note) No (see note) 3 Months USD $945 US consulates typically only do this for US citizens who live overseas. DCF results in a IR-1 / CR-1 Visa.

i'm on a non-B with retirement extension for last 10 years. is that sufficient proof to quality for DCF?

Yes it will be faster filing for IR1 in Thailand, 2 to 4 months vs 8-12 months filing in the US.

Your extension will be sufficient proof to qualify to file at the Bangkok USCIS office.

Also being married more than two years, your wife will get a 10 year green card when she arrives.

[stevehaigh]

sorry, my bad, i mean Spousal Visa (IR1 / CR1)

USD $903 Visa holder automatically becomes a Legal Permanent Resident after entering the US. Can work and travel freely.

she has a tourist visa now (had it for 8 years already, expires in 2) but we are not ready to move yet

so you think doing it in BKK is better then sending to the US office, for the I-130 i mean, to get started

the direct consular filing does look a lot quicker

DCF

(IR-1 / CR-1) Married 3 Months No No (see note) No (see note) 3 Months USD $945 US consulates typically only do this for US citizens who live overseas. DCF results in a IR-1 / CR-1 Visa.

i'm on a non-B with retirement extension for last 10 years. is that sufficient proof to quality for DCF?

Yes it will be faster filing for IR1 in Thailand, 2 to 4 months vs 8-12 months filing in the US.

Your extension will be sufficient proof to qualify to file at the Bangkok USCIS office.

Also being married more than two years, your wife will get a 10 year green card when she arrives.

ok, ths good to know

so talking to wife and daughter today, we are thinking the daughter can go live with family for school year starting May 2016, so we would like to get the visa squared away early 2016, plan to move in April

so i guess the choice is file in the US now or bkk in September ish. since i live in phuket, maybe easier to do n US via post starting now

UPDATE

so thinking about it. filing in the US sounds a bit unpredictable time wise since we really want to travel at the end of this coming school year which is end of March.

so i'm thinking apply in bkk in July/August, get visa Oct-Dec, fly April

so to apply, besides filling in the forms and paying the fees, what do i need to do? is it necessary to go to the embassy or can i do it all by mail?

Edited March 8, 2015 by stevehaigh

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Steve

It's be worth a quickie trip to Bangkok and the USCIS office to do the filing (NOT at the Consulate, that's later) just to make sure there's no mistakes.

http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/thailand-bangkok-field-office

www,visajourney.com has more info on the DCF process, Direct Consular Filing, which applies to people in Thailand as the USCIS has an office here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/dcf

In addition to the USCIS paperwork, there's a lot of info on the Consulate's visa page:

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/immigrant_visas.html

Mac

[stevehaigh]

thanks again

the amphur took my wife's previous divorce docs when we got married. i guess we can find a copy somewhere but not the original, is that likely to be a problem?

i'm wondering about the interview too. assuming she's not a criminal and has sufficient sponsorship and we can find all the necessary docs, what is the interview about? i know when she applied for tourist visa, we had to convince them she didn;t want to stay in America. i guess now the trick is convincing them we do. is that right?

[AaronLV]

thanks again

the amphur took my wife's previous divorce docs when we got married. i guess we can find a copy somewhere but not the original, is that likely to be a problem?

i'm wondering about the interview too. assuming she's not a criminal and has sufficient sponsorship and we can find all the necessary docs, what is the interview about? i know when she applied for tourist visa, we had to convince them she didn;t want to stay in America. i guess now the trick is convincing them we do. is that right?

For immigrant visa's, the interview is about determining whether you have a bonafide relationship. You will be presenting documents to support that fact, joint accounts, pictures, etc. The interview is normally straight forward and depending on the documentation you have submitted (which is reviewed in advance), they will ask a few questions or a lot of questions. I know people who had 2 questions asked and I know people who were grilled for 1/2 to 45 minutes. It varies.

You will want to go to the visajourney website and check out some of the Visa guides, particularly the IR1 guide and that will give you all the information you need to complete the process, the only difference will be that you are filing at the USCIS office in Bangkok and not the USCIS office in the US. There is a also a Thailand specific forum over there that is active with people who have gone through or are currently going through the process.

[stevehaigh]

cool, i didn't realize there was a Thailand forum in there

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/151-thailand/