USA visa

[markinaruba]

I have just read a great post from moon71 about a detailed report on obtaining a short stay visa to the UK.

 

Can anyone tell me what about a tourist visa to the USA, for a Thai girl........Can it even be done????

[Scumbag]

I am sure someone will come along who has investigated it and will give a better answer. However, everything I have seen posted indicates that it is near on impossible to get a TG (that you are likely to meet) a tourist visa for the US

[maloy]

Impossible even with the affidavit of full support.Better chance with the fiancee visa.

[Thai Visa Express]

My office girl Ying has visited the USA but to be honest it was hard work .

[McFly]

You're probably going to have to show some bank accounts. But if you get married... check this site out! http://visajourney.com/forums/

[Micheal]

I have taken my Thai GF once before to the states and will be going back in March to get married. We have been together for 3 year. I work here and when we went in 2009 for a visa, the guy told me "There is no way I am supposed to give her a visa. She doesn't have enough money in the bank etc etc etc..." BUT, he was a really nice guy. He said "It's obvious you live here, work here, and will be coming back, so I will give her a visa...". I own a condo and have been teaching in Pattaya for 3 years. My GF got a 10 year tourist visa for our trip back to get married.

IT CAN BE DONE....

Edited February 16, 2011 by Micheal

[Ducar]

Can anyone tell me what about a tourist visa to the USA, for a Thai girl........Can it even be done????

 

 

My friend that lives in Las Vegas just did a fiancee visa but it took 12 months and cost a fortune. She was not a Bar Girl and they were still turned down at the last minute and he had to hire a lawyer in Bangkok to FIX IT.

I suggest using a service from the get go. You have almost no chance doing it yourself.

If your girl was ever arrested for anything in Thailand just forget it.

 

A tourist visa is next to impossible to get unless she is basically wealthy and is not a flight risk.

 

The other and main thing to seriously consider is the girls know how hard it is and may just play along to get you to send them money when they never really wanted to go.

[travelling_man]

 

A tourist visa is next to impossible to get unless she is basically wealthy and is not a flight risk.

 

The other and main thing to seriously consider is the girls know how hard it is and may just play along to get you to send them money when they never really wanted to go.

 

TWO THINGS WRONG HERE:

 

1. It is not impossible. "Next to impossible" is a good indicator, but depending on the circumstances, it can be done.

 

2. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER let the girls do the paperwork, go the embassy without you, or do anything you haven't coached them on when it comes to visa applications.

 

 

My situation:

I lived in Pattaya for 4 years and had not married my wife yet. Each year for three years, we applied for a tourist visa because I wanted her to meet my family.

 

We hired an attorney to assist us with the paperwork. He knew a few "tricks" that forced some documents to be inserted into the application that normally were rejected when submitted separately. He helped with paperwork only - never going to the embassy. In the third year, she was approved for a 15-day (!) visit to the US and we made the trip.

 

Shortly thereafter, I had to return to the US for three years. We got married and she moved to the US.

 

We now live outside Pattaya and she is a US Citizen.

 

 

The point of this is ... it can be done. But you must be the one to handle the documents, KEEP COPIES!!!, and coach the girl on what she has to say. Each application you submit must be IDENTICAL to the previous application or she will be banned. Make sure you ask if anyone has ever submitted an application for her before -- if they have, consider washing your hands of the process.

 

The embassy staff will try hard to trick her into saying the wrong thing to speed the decline. My wife's first interview for a declined tourist visa took all but 12 seconds.

 

You REALLY have to want this. I would *NEVER* attempt this for anyone you weren't serious about. IT is too much hassle.

 

BTW - girls with children in Thailand that were over 30 were often approved without the issues I faced. But the embassy is always hit or miss - we watched married couples (+50yrs old) apply for tourist visas, and only the husband or wife would be approved.

[B5Jimmy]

You can try for a tourist visa....and you can buy a lottery ticket too, either way you are wasting your time and money.

 

Fiancée visa is possible to the USA, I did one...it took about 6 months to get her here.

 

You're alot better off visiting her in Thailand, at worst you get to be in Thailand instead of the USA, that's a win win.

[Ducar]

I think that the Department of Homeland Security should be brought into this discussion.

Because ever since DHS took over Immigration and Naturalization it is a complete and total CLUSTER FUCK and it was really bad before that.

So how things were before that have almost no relevance anymore except to note that - it was really bad before that.

 

I should mention that I am currently fully involved in the process and one of my best friends as mentioned earlier is almost finished after 12 months.

 

Use a professional service with a money back guarantee or forget it.

The service will interview your girl.

If the service tells you to forget it for 'your' girl take their advise and find a new girl. They do want your money and do not want to waste your time or theirs.

There is a background check involved for both of you.

Your financial records are also open for scrutiny.

 

Yes they will try to trick her into saying the wrong thing.

 

Yes the scrunity is much less for an older woman than for some 60+ year old guy trying to take home a 22 year old.

That is not a judgement just the way it is. I am 51 my girl is 36. My buddy is 64 his girl is 22.

[maggicman]

I think that the Department of Homeland Security should be brought into this discussion.

Because ever since DHS took over Immigration and Naturalization it is a complete and total CLUSTER FUCK and it was really bad before that.

So how things were before that have almost no relevance anymore except to note that - it was really bad before that.

 

I should mention that I am currently fully involved in the process and one of my best friends as mentioned earlier is almost finished after 12 months.

 

Use a professional service with a money back guarantee or forget it.

The service will interview your girl.

If the service tells you to forget it for 'your' girl take their advise and find a new girl. They do want your money and do not want to waste your time or theirs.

There is a background check involved for both of you.

Your financial records are also open for scrutiny.

 

Yes they will try to trick her into saying the wrong thing.

 

Yes the scrunity is much less for an older woman than for some 60+ year old guy trying to take home a 22 year old.

That is not a judgement just the way it is. I am 51 my girl is 36. My buddy is 64 his girl is 22.

If anyone can do the process successfully this lawyer in Bangkok can..had a really good success rate...Bill White of White and Hart..e-mail @[email protected]#02-2316466...it won't be cheap,aprox 2,500 US...waiting on my girl to learn more english before dropping the bucks ..MM

[Ducar]

My friend that lives in Las Vegas just did a fiancee visa but it took 12 months and cost a fortune. She was not a Bar Girl and they were still turned down at the last minute and he had to hire a lawyer in Bangkok to FIX IT.

Up date 3 months after hiring the lawyer the Visa for his girl has finally gone through. He is 64 she is 22 it must be true love.

 

I am using the same service company and have four and a half months to go for a promised 6 month result.

I am keeping my fingers crossed.

It cost 54,000BHT for the service plus I have to pay the American Government 12,000BHT in fees. Then the cost of getting her a passport 26,000BHT (see warning below). Then I have to fly her here.

Why Oh Why did I break the THREE DAY RULE.

 

Warning note = If your girl owes money to the Thai government they will not issue or renew a passport unless it is paid off in full. Do not be the SUCKER that pays this for her unless you are 100% sure you want to do this. She may just be getting you to pay it off for her so she can go somewhere else once she has a passport.

[Micheal]

I took my GF (now Wife) back to the US twice. The first time in 2009 on a tourist visa and then this year on a 10 year tourist visa where we got married. I had more problems from the assholes at immigration in the States than getting the visa from the embassy. Did it myself and didn't spend any fees to a "Visa Company".

[travelling_man]

If anyone can do the process successfully this lawyer in Bangkok can..had a really good success rate...Bill White of White and Hart..e-mail @[email protected]#02-2316466...it won't be cheap,aprox 2,500 US...waiting on my girl to learn more english before dropping the bucks ..MM

 

 

Yes, I agree. We used Bill White also for the assistance with the Tourist visa and on our marriage visa filings. He is good. His support staff is questionable ... but that is normal. He, however, is good and knowledgeable.

[little_me]

Tourist visa is highly unlikely unless you have some odd circumstance that makes the embassy believe the girl will definitely return to Thailand.

 

You should be able to get a fiance visa, and that's good for 90 days if you decide not to get married after all ;) The embassy apparently doesn't really care if you get married or not, as long as she either doesn't overstay her visa or gets married and applies for residence.

 

My wife and I did all the paperwork ourselves. I had no problems doing any of the stuff I did, it was just time consuming to research and get all the details. And there is about 100 questions that you have to ask her that you're probably going to get blank stares for, or crazy responses cause it's likely she doesn't know the answer.

 

Simple thing, how do you spell your mom's name? (or dad's name) chances are neither's ever had a passport and never tried to spell there names in the roman alphabet. Their birth dates? Address? crazy simple stuff that we just take for granted that people know, Thai people don't know.

 

They are awful with dates. Completing things like work history is like pulling teeth.

 

And, this is assuming the girl knows English pretty well, and can read and write. Remember there compulsory education ends at like 8th grade.

 

Once you get all this information and complete a petition for a fiance visa, if it's approved, they send HER a visa application. She will need to include a police record showing all arrests (which better say there are none), go to Bumrungrad for a checkup / chest Xray / AIDS test, and get her birth certificate and all name changes, etc. This is when you find out if she really wants to visit you. Nobody really likes doing this kinda stuff, imagine trying to do it all with instructions and forms to complete in a foreign language (written so that many native speakers have a hard time understanding). This is where the agencies earn there money.

 

After all that, there's the interview. It probably won't occur to her to dress professionally (not that kinda profession). Take her to the Dept. store and when she looks at you like she doesn't know what to where, tell her she needs to dress like the sales lady.

 

And, don't start thinking somehow your really important in all this. After they've got evidence you are a US citizen and are single (and yes, you do have to be legally eligible to be married), they don't care about you, and won't even let you witness her interview (you'll be allowed to stay in the waiting room, they apparently don't really care if your there or not).

[Scumbag]

Tourist visa is highly unlikely unless you have some odd circumstance that makes the embassy believe the girl will definitely return to Thailand.

 

You should be able to get a fiance visa, and that's good for 90 days if you decide not to get married after all ;) The embassy apparently doesn't really care if you get married or not, as long as she either doesn't overstay her visa or gets married and applies for residence.

I was talking to someone going through the process recently. He told me that the US government would only give so many of these to any US citizen. I think it was 3, maybe. It is probably not a good idea to use one of these opportunities if you are not serious about the girl. He may have also said that any girl would only get one. Also it is easier to get a fiancé visa then getting married and then applying for a visa.

[AceFromNJ]

I was talking to someone going through the process recently. He told me that the US government would only give so many of these to any US citizen. I think it was 3, maybe. It is probably not a good idea to use one of these opportunities if you are not serious about the girl. He may have also said that any girl would only get one. Also it is easier to get a fiancé visa then getting married and then applying for a visa.

 

Finally someone on this thread who knows what they're talking about lol! Everything about this post is correct except the lifetime limit on fiancee visas is two, not three for any one petitioner (farang). I've already burned one of mine on the bitch ex-wife, sadly, so I've only got one left. Not sure if using both fiancee visas disqualifies you from a family visa if you get married in thailand after using both, but even if it doesn't I'll bet they'll scrutinize the hell out of that application.

 

The key factor here is that if the girl applies for a tourist visa, she is presumed to be an immigrant unless she proves otherwise. In other worse, she needs to convince the embassy that she is going to go home. They're looking for things like property in her name back home, a well-paying job, a kid she might be leaving behind, stuff like that. She needs to convince them she'll go home to get a tourist visa. My ex-wife's mother got one no problem, easy for her. What the hell would a 70 year old lady who has her own house stay in the USA for? For a bargirl with no property, no money, no "real" job as far as the embassy is concerned... young enough to just skip off and get a job in the USA... no way. The important thing to remember is, and please excuse the caps, SHE APPLIES, INTERVIEWS, AND IS GRANTED THE VISA ON HER OWN MERITS. The process has absolutely nothing to do with you. During the interview, she may mention that she is coming to visit you, and that will perhaps influence their decision, but officially the US government could care less who she knows in the USA. It's a tourist visa, not a "going to visit someone" visa. There is no process or legal mechanism that allows you to take responsibility or "vouch" for her. She applies just like a tourist and is either accepted or denied on that basis. They could care less what she is doing or who she is visiting while in the USA, they just need to know that she is going to go home, and that decision is based on HER and has nothing to do with you.

 

Fiancee visas are easy, primarily as she doesn't have to prove she'll go home. She's not expected to. Also there is no need to prove the existence of a legitimate marriage. As long as you've met in the last two years, are both legally free to marry (of legal age and not currently married), she can obtain a certificate saying she has no police record, you haven't done this twice already (and it's been at least two years since the first one), you can support your new family at 125% of federal poverty line, and she is smart enough to answer "No" to questions like, "Have you ever engaged in terrorist acts?" they pretty much have to give it to her. They can stall the process by requesting additional information, but they can't really deny her. This visa is a right more than a privilege, so they'll never deny you if you meet the conditions. Honestly, if they keep asking for more information, it's not the embassy holding it up, it's the girl. I have a friend who is a consular officer in another country and she says girls who are "applying" for fiancee visas come in and some of them ASK to be denied. As they can't really legally deny her, they just keep asking for more information until the petitioner gives up.

 

If she is a bargirl, the odds of her getting a tourist visa are pretty slim. A lot of the visa shops probably are able to get the girls visas by making up fake jobs, bank records, stuff like that. I don't know this for a fact, but I imagine it's fairly common. If she applies for a fiancee visa later, and the details don't match up... well, you get the idea. I wouldn't try to get a BG to the USA on a tourist visa. Chances of her getting it legitimately are too small, and risks to future prospects for a fiancee visa are too high if she gets it through non-legit channels.

[little_me]

I was talking to someone going through the process recently. He told me that the US government would only give so many of these to any US citizen. I think it was 3, maybe. It is probably not a good idea to use one of these opportunities if you are not serious about the girl. He may have also said that any girl would only get one. Also it is easier to get a fiancé visa then getting married and then applying for a visa.

 

The story I was told was the same couple getting multiple visas. Each time they apparently got cold feet, or claimed to get cold feet, and she went back before the visa expired. They started over, and according to the story I was told (which may have been a bit of BS) they got another once with no issues.

 

I guess I could see it being much different if you've had 3 different fiances. The embassy probably would start to scrutinize a second or third fiance more closely, or maybe just start rejecting. Especially for the girls, 2 different American fiances is probably not going to be looked on favorably by the embassy.

 

I've also met a couple of Thai girls here on student visas, but they were au pairs, which probably takes a lot of work to get into that program.

 

As AceFromNJ pointed out, the merits of a tourist visa are all upon her, and the likely hood that she's going to go there, site see, visit some friends, and leave. Not getting a job at a Thai restaurant or doing massages advertised on craigslist, etc. But if you're all straight and honest on the application I don't think there's anything to loose trying, if rejected it shouldn't reflect much against her on a fiance visa, provided any evidence of employment, assets, etc have been steady and are still verifiable. My girlfriend did apply for a tourist visa and was pretty quickly rejected and discouraged from another attempt, but was able to get a fiance visa soon afterwards (soon being relative to US CIS and state dept. processing times).

 

But it's a whole bunch of work, costs hundreds of dollars in processing fees and will probably take over 6 months of waiting to finally get anything. So if it just sounds like fun but you aren't really that serious, it's not likely to be worth it for you.

[AceFromNJ]

The story I was told was the same couple getting multiple visas. Each time they apparently got cold feet, or claimed to get cold feet, and she went back before the visa expired. They started over, and according to the story I was told (which may have been a bit of BS) they got another once with no issues.

 

I guess I could see it being much different if you've had 3 different fiances. The embassy probably would start to scrutinize a second or third fiance more closely, or maybe just start rejecting. Especially for the girls, 2 different American fiances is probably not going to be looked on favorably by the embassy.

 

I've also met a couple of Thai girls here on student visas, but they were au pairs, which probably takes a lot of work to get into that program.

 

As AceFromNJ pointed out, the merits of a tourist visa are all upon her, and the likely hood that she's going to go there, site see, visit some friends, and leave. Not getting a job at a Thai restaurant or doing massages advertised on craigslist, etc. But if you're all straight and honest on the application I don't think there's anything to loose trying, if rejected it shouldn't reflect much against her on a fiance visa, provided any evidence of employment, assets, etc have been steady and are still verifiable. My girlfriend did apply for a tourist visa and was pretty quickly rejected and discouraged from another attempt, but was able to get a fiance visa soon afterwards (soon being relative to US CIS and state dept. processing times).

 

But it's a whole bunch of work, costs hundreds of dollars in processing fees and will probably take over 6 months of waiting to finally get anything. So if it just sounds like fun but you aren't really that serious, it's not likely to be worth it for you.

 

It's not a matter of a third application being scrutinized more closely. It's actually written into the IMBRA act that a waiver is required to get a third fiancee visa. In other words, if it's your third, they couldn't give her the visa no matter what unless you get the waiver. It's simply against the law. From what I understand such waivers are highly difficult to obtain, although that limit (along with the fiancee visa itself) is fairly recent and it may be too soon to speculate on long term trends.

 

Your girlfriend got the fiancee visa because that visa has no requirement that she establish an intent to return to Thailand. For a tourist visa, they want to know if she is going to go home. For a fiancee visa they're looking at whether you have genuine relationship and whether she is a terrorist, criminal, etc.

 

I wouldn't bother trying to bring a girl to the USA unless it was to marry her. It's far to difficult to bring her here for a visit unless she is a high-so girl. My ex-wife's friend came here on a tourist visa, but then again she has a university education, a good job, and is the daughter of a general in the Thai army. Those kinds of people get tourist visas, not bargirls. Unless the OP is looking at marrying the girl, in which case he should be applying for a fiancee visa, attempting to bring her here for a visit will probably just be a waste of time and money.

 

Edit: For my ex-wife I did the fiancee visa process myself, just like you did. It's really not that hard. Helped that my wife was university educated and spoke very good English, had done two years in the US as an exchange student (that's how we met). She said when she went for the interview the guy started talking to her in horribly mangled Thai, and she asked him if she could please have the interview done in English instead. It's almost a shame she spoke it as well as she does, I came out of my marriage having picked up absolutely no Thai language skills.

Edited July 10, 2011 by AceFromNJ

[little_me]

It's not a matter of a third application being scrutinized more closely. It's actually written into the IMBRA act that a waiver is required to get a third fiancee visa. In other words, if it's your third, they couldn't give her the visa no matter what unless you get the waiver. It's simply against the law. From what I understand such waivers are highly difficult to obtain, although that limit (along with the fiancee visa itself) is fairly recent and it may be too soon to speculate on long term trends.

 

Your girlfriend got the fiancee visa because that visa has no requirement that she establish an intent to return to Thailand. For a tourist visa, they want to know if she is going to go home. For a fiancee visa they're looking at whether you have genuine relationship and whether she is a terrorist, criminal, etc.

 

I wouldn't bother trying to bring a girl to the USA unless it was to marry her. It's far to difficult to bring her here for a visit unless she is a high-so girl. My ex-wife's friend came here on a tourist visa, but then again she has a university education, a good job, and is the daughter of a general in the Thai army. Those kinds of people get tourist visas, not bargirls. Unless the OP is looking at marrying the girl, in which case he should be applying for a fiancee visa, attempting to bring her here for a visit will probably just be a waste of time and money.

 

Edit: For my ex-wife I did the fiancee visa process myself, just like you did. It's really not that hard. Helped that my wife was university educated and spoke very good English, had done two years in the US as an exchange student (that's how we met). She said when she went for the interview the guy started talking to her in horribly mangled Thai, and she asked him if she could please have the interview done in English instead. It's almost a shame she spoke it as well as she does, I came out of my marriage having picked up absolutely no Thai language skills.

 

I see that now... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Marriage_Broker_Regulation_Act

 

So much of the stuff I hear about this is rumors and hearsay, but, yep, that's law (sort or recent too). And I voted for one of the tard's that sponsored it. I'll keep that in mind.

 

Doing all the stuff yourself isn't all that hard if your have some basic office skills. But I've found a lot of people lack the basic skills to fill out a form on a piece of paper and not fold the damned thing up or crumple it, leave coffee cup stains on it, etc. Make copies of a passport and verify that you can freaking read them. Ya, I'd say it's all easy, no problem, but I see some of the stuff other people do, I bite my tongue...

 

I actually was there for my wife's interview, I was kinda aware that I wasn't supposed to be, but I followed her up when she was called and no one stopped me. Apparently they decided the day before that day was going to be a holiday, even the US embassy can't seem to keep track of Thai national holidays, but had a bunch of appointments scheduled and decided to keep them. So it was a somewhat odd day at the embassy from what I could reckon, and no one was there to shoo me away when they started.

 

It was all in English, and the girl doing the interview couldn't understand half of what my wife said and had her repeat everything several times. In her defense, it does take some time to understand and remember what a lestalaant is. I can imagine that she just approves many of these cause she gets frustrated and can't understand what the girl's saying.

[AceFromNJ]

I see that now... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Marriage_Broker_Regulation_Act

 

So much of the stuff I hear about this is rumors and hearsay, but, yep, that's law (sort or recent too). And I voted for one of the tard's that sponsored it. I'll keep that in mind.

 

IMBRA is crap. It was put forth after some guy killed his Russian mail-order bride (or wherever she was from), turns out the guy had a criminal background or some such. That's tragic, don't get me wrong, and I feel for the girl. However, it's silly to inconvenience thousands of people over it. I mean, sure, little kids get run over by cars all the time, but we don't ban cars because of it. We accept a few dead kids as the price to pay to not have to ride around on the back of an animal to get where we're going. The law is ludicrous, essentially it places folks like us into a "guilty until proven innocent" position. I think the lifetime limit is the worst part of this act. If you had two genuine marriages, and they both went south for reasons beyond your control, why shouldn't they give you a third? You didn't do anything wrong or break the law, so why the punishment? The act hasn't really been around long enough for this to happen yet, but I feel for the poor bastard who screwed up and married the wrong girl twice, and then finds the right one but will never be able to marry her because of this stupid-ass law. I suppose he could marry her in the country she is from and attempt to bring her over as a wife, but that would be EXTREMELY difficult for someone who is not an ex-pat. It's pretty hard to convince the government it's a genuine marriage if you live around the world from each other. I'd say this, if you're an American, be damn careful who you use those fiancee visas on. I'm down one, and I hate it because I need to be so careful about the next. I know it will be a foreign girl, I just don't like American chicks (I already have a pretty good idea of who it is, bu that's another story). I don't know what the hell I'd do if the second doesn't work out.

[Briankaplan]

You're probably going to have to show some bank accounts. But if you get married... check this site out! http://visajourney.com/forums/

looks like a great website. Thanks

[Briankaplan]

TWO THINGS WRONG HERE:

 

1. It is not impossible. "Next to impossible" is a good indicator, but depending on the circumstances, it can be done.

 

2. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER let the girls do the paperwork, go the embassy without you, or do anything you haven't coached them on when it comes to visa applications.

 

 

My situation:

I lived in Pattaya for 4 years and had not married my wife yet. Each year for three years, we applied for a tourist visa because I wanted her to meet my family.

 

We hired an attorney to assist us with the paperwork. He knew a few "tricks" that forced some documents to be inserted into the application that normally were rejected when submitted separately. He helped with paperwork only - never going to the embassy. In the third year, she was approved for a 15-day (!) visit to the US and we made the trip.

 

Shortly thereafter, I had to return to the US for three years. We got married and she moved to the US.

 

We now live outside Pattaya and she is a US Citizen.

 

 

The point of this is ... it can be done. But you must be the one to handle the documents, KEEP COPIES!!!, and coach the girl on what she has to say. Each application you submit must be IDENTICAL to the previous application or she will be banned. Make sure you ask if anyone has ever submitted an application for her before -- if they have, consider washing your hands of the process.

 

The embassy staff will try hard to trick her into saying the wrong thing to speed the decline. My wife's first interview for a declined tourist visa took all but 12 seconds.

 

You REALLY have to want this. I would *NEVER* attempt this for anyone you weren't serious about. IT is too much hassle.

 

BTW - girls with children in Thailand that were over 30 were often approved without the issues I faced. But the embassy is always hit or miss - we watched married couples (+50yrs old) apply for tourist visas, and only the husband or wife would be approved.

so your saying age really does help the older you are