Us Visa For Thai Wife

[paulfr]

I could use the advice of anyone with experience getting a US Visa for their Thai

wife; Non Immigrant Visa, that is.

My wife [Thai, age 39] and I [a US citizen] have been married and registered at the Ampur

since May 2005 and we have a 6 month old little girl. Our daughter now has

official recognition of US citizenship and a US passport. I have a full time job in Bangkok as a high school Math teacher.

We are scheduled for the interview at the USEmbassy for her Visa in a week or so.

I have been told

1/ Ask for a 10 year multiple entry Non Imm Visa

2/ It should be slam dunk because of our daughter's US Passport and citizenship

means the mother "must" be allowed to accompany the daughter on a trip to the

US.

True ??

Any advice about do's and not so obvious don'ts concerning this interview and

the whole process would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Edited December 16, 2006 by paulfr

[thaihome]

I could use the advice of anyone with experience getting a US Visa for their Thai

wife; Non Immigrant Visa, that is.

My wife [Thai, age 39] and I [a US citizen] have been married and registered at the Ampur

since May 2005 and we have a 6 month old little girl. Our daughter now has

official recognition of US citizenship and a US passport. I have a full time job in Bangkok as a high school Math teacher.

We are scheduled for the interview at the USEmbassy for her Visa in a week or so.

I have been told

1/ Ask for a 10 year multiple entry Non Imm Visa

2/ It should be slam dunk because of our daughter's US Passport and citizenship

means the mother "must" be allowed to accompany the daughter on a trip to the

US.

True ??

Any advice about do's and not so obvious don'ts concerning this interview and

the whole process would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

It is probably a slam dunk, but not because of the daughter, but because she is legally married to you and you have a permanent job in Thailand and therefore it is expected she will return with you. Take copies of the marriage certificate, your passport and visa extension, your work permit, and a letter from your employer saying you have long term job and are allowed yearly (or whatever) home leaves to the US. Also joint bank account book and copies of any land titles in her name are helpful.

Ten year multi entry is pretty standard these days; they will not ask what you want.

TH

[soic]

I've helped a couple of my friends and co-workers with this exact thing. Provided you have the proper forms filled out, it should be a slam dunk. I also wrote a letter for them, it actually recieved more attention than the forms. In the letters I wrote:

To Whom it May Concern,

Then I followed up with my wishes to travel with my wife (their wife's name) and gave the dates we wished to travel and when we expected to return. I told them where we intended to stay and where we were planning to visit. I promised to cover all of her expenses and said that she would be provided for. I told them that we only intended to visit and not stay in the states permanently.

I also said that we had several reasons that we were required to return to Kuwait for (Thailand in your instance). I listed their bank accounts and attached a statement, car lease and a copy, letter from employer, his, I wrote that myself, apartment lease and a copy and a letter from the wife's employer. This was definitely overkill, but my co-worker said that the consul leafed through the forms, read the letter, looked back at the attachments, back to the letter and so on.... Once he was finished, he said, "Here's what I'm going to do." He gave them a one year multi-entry visa and told them that once that was finished, he would give them a 10 year unlimited. This was a major coup, the couple in question were living and working in Kuwait. He is an American, and she is a Filipina. It's almost for a Filipina anywhere to get a visa. I did that for my ex-wife and her parents. In every case it was overkill, but I never recieved a single turn down. They liked it and issued the visa, no questions asked. You might consider that...

[mackayae]

They will interview your wife, not you. They want assurances she will return to Thailand. The previous two posts are excellent help. They will probably ask her how and when she travels, where she stays, the purpose for the trip and how is all this being paid for. Any assets she has, such as land titles, bank accounts, etc. are a plus. If she and/or you have a job bring a letter from the employer stating you are employed and have a job on your return. They can give a one time tourist visa, a 1, 5 or 10 year multiple visa. The US embassy has an excellent website, check it out. They also have an American Citizens Services section, give them a call. Should not be a problem. Have a nice trip.

[thaihome]

Wife was given 3 month single entry US visa in 2001 (pre 9/11) without an interview. Gave letter from company, my work permit, visa, and our joint bank account

About 6 months later got a 5 year multi entry in from embassy in China with a 30 second interview. Only document was letter from my company (I had talked to visa officer prior to interview, a great service that is (was?) available at US Consulates in China).

At least 3 of my work mates have gotten 10 year visas for their wives with not much more than a letter from company and copies of their work permits in the past year. None were asked anything on details of any trip. Most cases there wasn't even a specific trip in mind, just a good idea to keep a valid visa in passport. We will get a new 10 year for my wife when her 5 year expires next year.

Between our Thai staff and client something like 30 visas (including a number of young single females) has been issued this year. Everyone is 10 year multi entry.

One thing I do note that if a Thai (or Filipina.) is living overseas (i.e., outside their country) with a western husband, a visa to US is virtually a sure thing.

TH