Thai fiance rejected for US Tourist visa

[jeepsterman]

So pissed off...just venting here...well, if you have any advice too.

I had planned to pick up my fiance in Bangkok this weekend on my way home from Angola. We had hired a Visa company to process her paperwork and get it 'easier' for her to get a visa. Today she called me crying and sobbing after her interview. She was rejected at the interview saying that the embassy worker only asked her about me and not her. It seems they were worried that she would run off to the US, get married and not come back. I didn't have her apply for a fiance visa because it takes too long, so I had her do a tourist visa thinking it would be a no-brainer since her and I have a business together.

She submitted my sponsor letter which the Visa company said was 'excellent'. She submitted her bank statement with $10,000USD of baht, our company registered charter, company contracts, police report (DUI on it) and her old passport that was full of stamps from her business travel back and forth to Europe. We have two rented properties here in TH and she has two younger kids.. Man..I thought this would pass no problem. What do you have to do to get a visa to the US? Was I missing the part about putting $100 USD in the passport?

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Was the word "fiancee" mentioned in any of your paperwork? Sponsor letter? I reckon the thought of the interviewing consular officer was that you were prepared to get married in the U.S. and file for an Adjustment of Status to that of a green card holder.

Don't know, of course, what you had in your letter but for "girl friend/fiancee" type visas, it's common for the ConOff to focus on the guy, his status in Thailand, work, visa, work permit, retirement, whatever. Or, in your case, working outside of Thailand. Long term? Prospects for continual work?

Mac

[bubba1]

Seems you got scammed by the 'visa company' with poor advice. Renting a few places and peanuts in the bank wont cut it.

[tomwct]

Do it properly and file for a Fiance Visa!

[jeepsterman]

Yes, fiancé was listed in the sponsor letter. I thought this might raise a red-flag, but I thought with our business and other ties back in TH that this would not be as big an issue. I guess I will read the posts here on how to get a fiancé visa now. My fiancé is still crying. What a disappointment, but I am not completely surprised from reading previous experiences posted here.

Thank you for the advice.

[bobbymack]

The paradox is the same for the UK.

I am applying for a settlement visa because in my current situation I am returning to work in England, having been here in Thailand for past few years. My Thai partner is coming with me so the Home office will probably reject a tourist visa as there is little evidence she will return after 6 months. However, they will probably accept a settlement visa which is for initially 2 and a half years.

Stupid really as they will let her in for 2 and half years but not six months.

[rasg]

Stupid really as they will let her in for 2 and half years but not six months.

Not really. You have said yourself that for six months you can't show a good reason to return. With a settlement visa you don't need one.

[phoenixdoglover]

Based on my experience with my Thai wife:

1) You should have applied for the fiancee visa, if you intend to marry her in the US within a short period of time. WHen you say she is your fiancee, but you apply for a tourist visa, it raises a red flag.

2) A bank balance of US $10,000 is not much, and not an especially strong indicator of deep ties to Thailand (not in the eyes of the US interviewers)

3) You should accompany her to the interview, and make sure the interviewer knows you are available to provide supplementary information

4) You should provide proof of your longstanding relationship; photos, shared assets if any, shared leases if any, Facebook history, etc. Basically, the onus is on you to prove you are not participating in a scam

Try again. It took us 3 times to get my wife a tourist visa (from the embassy in Oman). After the 2nd try, with an interview that lasted no more than 2 minutes, I wrote the embassy a letter asking for better adherence to their stated interview criteria. I was present for the 3rd try, and I did get invited in to answer basic questions (I assumed the interviewer was looking for inconsistencies between my wife and me). 3rd time was the charm...10 year visa.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Re #3, you cannot accompany the interviewee to the interview, indeed, not even allowed inside the consulate to wait. Believe this has been the case for perhaps 8 years or so.

Mac

[theoldgit]

Post in breach of Forum Rules removed.

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[bitcoinforever]

is your legal address in the U.S.? where does the IRS have you domiciled at? If you are legally living in the U.S. it is not her fault the U.S. see your address and assumes she will visot and never leave, once she is on U.S. soil whole different games, that is what they are trying to stop . what ever service you used should have told you that before taking your money, they would have know it was a waste of time and cash. that company you used is bad publish their name here they are bad this is common knowledge they took advantage of you. what you need to do to get a visa is live outside America everything goes to that address the two of you are tourist visiting family and coming back to your home outside of america

[realenglish1]

Yes, fiancé was listed in the sponsor letter. I thought this might raise a red-flag, but I thought with our business and other ties back in TH that this would not be as big an issue. I guess I will read the posts here on how to get a fiancé visa now. My fiancé is still crying. What a disappointment, but I am not completely surprised from reading previous experiences posted here.

Thank you for the advice.

This is why it was rejected her application 100%

I have been with my girlfriend for 9 years First time made application they gave her a 1 year visa. The next year she applied for a one and received a 10 year visa.

The reason was nothing changed in her work or home life and she came back from the USA the first time no problem

And I did not mention she was my fiance in any application or letter.

So I am sure that is the problem

Sorry about that

[SOTIRIOS]

....is this only your first lesson....???

[craigt3365]

When I went through this, in 2004, I was told to go the fiance visa route. But from what I hear, the marriage visa is faster now. Official marriage here.

What they are worried about is she'll go there as a tourist, get married and stay. That, in reality, is her immigrating to the US. Not going as a tourist, then going back in a few months. They don't like that. And from what I've read, if you do get married in the US and try to convert her visa, it's really hard. Because you lied to them.

This site is all you need. It's got everything to help you through the process. A lot of work on your end, but it's a great site.

http://www.visajourney.com/

Edited May 12, 2016 by craigt3365

[Suitcase]

Yes, fiancé was listed in the sponsor letter. I thought this might raise a red-flag, but I thought with our business and other ties back in TH that this would not be as big an issue. I guess I will read the posts here on how to get a fiancé visa now. My fiancé is still crying. What a disappointment, but I am not completely surprised from reading previous experiences posted here.

Thank you for the advice.

"Still crying"

Tell her to man up!

We have enough cry-babies here in the US already!

[akentryan]

I have two instances that happened to me and mine.

My wife, a lawyer, had a house in her name, money in the bank no problem with a visa

My wife's sister owns a shop at Central Pattaya, money in the bank, and an American boyfriend. Denied a visa

Went back later with a house in her name, more money in the bank. Visa approved.

You basically have to convince them you are most likely coming back

[nongsangcity]

i can only speak from a UK position....they dont like giving out tourist visas to partners or couples...as we know they fear the person wont comeback to Thailand..they are looking for more commintment ....took me 3 attempts to get my wife over.......and whilst we were in England we tried to get my wifes son over for a 4 week holiday during his school holiday....we were both working in the uk at the time....he was refused a tourist visa ???? reason given...They freared for his safety IN THE UK......unbelieavable but 100% true....

[sanukjim]

When the American Embassy personnel were visiting the Expats Club of Pattaya some years ago we were told "BY THE STAFF" that on a first application for a girl friend or wife visa 80% will be turned down and 60% on the second application.They said that if you are persistent (at $125 an application) then you just might succeed.Axx holes all.

[razer]

??? My partner (Thai) applied for a simple tourist visa and after her interview she got a multiple entry tourist visa good for 10 years. Wish Thailand would reciprocate.

[johnnytuc]

Feel for you pal, last year i took my Thai girlfriend to Uk for the 2nd time, had no problem getting UK visa, but decided beforehand would take her and my

UK daughter and Granddaughter to Florida, after getting UK Visa and obviously before I booked flights to USA applied for USA visa which she got with no

hassle at all valid until 2025! Is a tourist visa the way to go?

[Phaeton]

My two cents about what didn't work. We hired a tour company who was arranging a trip to the U.S. The idea was that my GF would be going on a trip to the U.S. The trip included NY, and other highlights in the upper north east of the states. Hotel, return ticket airfare, everything paid for. We had a letter from her boss saying she had worked there a long time, and she would be back on such and such a date. We had not $10,000 U.S, but I think 30,000 baht in her bank account, I forget. We did NOT have anything to say she owned land or a condo. Because she does not.

Our idea was that she would go on this trip. And see NY etc. And return. Proving she was a good bet for longer tourist visas.

Side info: Absolutely no one can go in but the applicant to the U.S. Embassy.

My GF was rejected. The interviewing person asked her when she "lost her passport." Which we now know is a big red flag. But my GF was completely confused by this question, as she has never lost her passport.

Otherwise, my GF got no idea from embassy person about why she was rejected. They do not tell you. So! Good luck.

My conclusion was that this tour company guy was pretty much worse than useless. Somehow we feel that it was he who gave the embassy the idea that my GF had lost her passport. Perhaps mixing up two of his customers? Not sure. But for sure he did not help us get approved and may have hurt.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Phaeton

[bcrglobal]

The US Embassy does not like visa companies--there is a feeling that if you're using one you have a problem, and so they really look for problems. It is possible to get a tourist visa, but you really need to KILL the paperwork. Provide everything they ask for, and provide it in spades. When my wife applied for a tourist visa WHILE her immigrant visa was in process, her application pack weighed over 1 kg! Her interview took about 2 minutes (They tried a trick question on her and she shut it down)

If you're going to go the marriage or Fiancee route you need to go through a website called Visajourney.com It's a huge community of people going through the immigrant visa process, and there will be lots of people who have been in exactly your boat previously. It's completely free, and better than any immigration attorney I've ever come across.

Good luck!

[1FinickyOne]

The criteria used to be, in the old days, that you [she] needed to be earning more in Thailand than she could in USA, which would insure her return, and which pretty much meant that nobody qualified... and then they made exceptions after that.

It is not an easy process and for things like fiancee visa, there is a lot of paperwork. And to think people complain about the simple requirements needed to live as a retiree in Thailand and NO requirements to visit... 30 days free at the airport - wouldn't that be amazing if done in USA? But so many would take advantage and overstay...

[ggt]

Meanwhile...the good people of the US have gone from sanctuary cities to sanctuary states...just get her a visa to Mexico and walk across the border...

[ross163103]

Don't feel too bad, my wife was rejected the first time we applied. We had all the paperwork and had been married approx 15 years. I went with her thinking it would smooth things out, got a female clerk and I knew within about a minute my wife wouldn't get it. She applied about a year later on her own without me and got the visa. Not sure what criteria they use as both times she presented the same paperwork. Only difference was she got a male clerk the second time around. Ever since then I've never liked going to the US embassy in Bangkok; I've had many issues with them.

[craigt3365]

Meanwhile...the good people of the US have gone from sanctuary cities to sanctuary states...just get her a visa to Mexico and walk across the border...

Just don't get caught with an overstay. Like a I guy I met last year. Many months in prison then deported. He was from Europe.

[arjunadawn]

There are other posts on TV about this. Sorry for you, and her, but you should have checked. It would have saved some pain. I will re-post my experience here.

My GF of a number of years flew in and out of US all the time on an Airline Visa. But she wanted the longer US visa to visit the US. Not even to visit me. We both lived in Dubai, though she is Thai. She gathered her application and supporting bank and other papers and went to the interview. It was not a fiance visa. The first thing they asked her was "Do you know anyone in the US?"

She replied that she did, but that I was overseas, and that...

"What is his name?" How long do you... how old is he... and you are? are you intimate...where have you been together intimately (bkk, DXB, JFK) etc.

She was reduced to tears in a short while as he never asked her any questions about herself, unless it was in relation to me. Her bank statements were never even considered and this was the most telling aspect. My GF then was filthy rich. Yes, she flew for EK but she was rich. Millionaire rich and I mean USD rich. College grad, family owns 45 bushiness and she has many condos in her own name, etc, etc. They never checked any once she said she knew someone in the US.

She was rejected for VISA, even though she already had a visa for the US and flew in at least once a month. Any pretext that she might go to the US and remain is abused by the fact that she travels to the US at least a dozen times a year. She reapplied in DXB at the consulate thinking that she had a now more presentable submission but was denied based on her previous denial in BKK.

I contacted my US senator. You see, while consular affairs officers have wide berth, they do not have the liberty to violate the law. Not just any agency is permitted to collect information/intelligence on US citizens abroad. Really! I explained the circumstances of the meeting, her status, my status etc and what irritated the people that were helping me the most was that this was a repeating pattern at the US embassy BKK. untoward, detailed, and repeated details of sex were sought and insisted upon. She was not sponsored by me and numerous questions and details of an American citizen were collected by a consular agent abroad.

Within 3 months I was contacted with an apology from the chief consular affairs section, BKK. I was told to tell her to come in again for an interview and they would reconsider. She went in, reluctantly 2 weeks later, and they never even opened the folder or looked at a single document. She was just given the visa.

I think the clean up actions, while desirable, are just further inflammation of the first problem. You do this crap to someone who applies for a visa under the premise of doing your job but then later do not do your job and award the visa. They never once looked at her financials and ties-that-bind information. Personally, the sense I had was of sick, old fat sobs living vicariously through another lives and then punishing. I absolutely have this take after listening to the details of what my GF told me.

Never say you know someone unless a sponsor application type.

The information that is collected likely constitutes intel collection of a US citizen under the UScode. I know this facet of the law well from prior profession. This is a big no no.

(GF=Ex)

[connda]

Too bad she isn't Hispanic. If my wife was Hispanic, a visa would be simple too. She isn't. It isn't. Lesson learned. Why bother going back? The US isn't the country I grew up in. It's something way different. I've no plans on going back, wife has no interest. There is a lot of 'world' outside of the 'exceptional nation'. I'll leave it to the illegals - they can have the whole country as far as I care.

Edited May 12, 2016 by connda

[rasg]

i can only speak from a UK position....they dont like giving out tourist visas to partners or couples...as we know they fear the person wont comeback to Thailand..they are looking for more commintment ....took me 3 attempts to get my wife over.......

This is simply not true. Three visas last year. Two visit visas. One for six months and one for two years. The GF is now here on a settlement visa and we marry at the end of June. We had only known each other for four months when she was granted her first six month visit visa and I described her as my partner. It entirely depends on the strength of the application. I can understand why they might have an issue for an application for a tourist visa for a wife though, as the reason to return has to be cast iron.

[theoldgit]

Please lets stick to the topic of the rejected US Visa, not UK Visas.