Visa Help

[snapper82]

Hey everyone, new on the forum and looking for a bit of help. I am travelling on holiday back to the LoS in August and plan to bring my Thai gf back to America with me for a quick visit. Trying to obtain an appointment for her to get the visa is next to impossible as the Embassy's website has them fully booked through July. Are there any of the Travel Center/ Visa Shops there in Pattaya that anyone has used to obtain tourist visas for Thai's to travel with them back to their home country, or more specifically; back to America to visit. I would like to expedite this process as I have enough on my mind starting university again this month and working in the Middle East. I would like to get this sorted, so she and I can work on the next big challenge that lays ahead...what shoes and hair products she will need to bring and how much of her clothes will I be carrying in my luggage Cheers!

[7-Eleven]

IMO you take a real gamble when you have to pay for something like this... there are honest visa agents out there but finding one can be difficult.

 

Personally I think you are better off reading up on everything and doing the whole thing yourself. Doing it this way will also save you a lot of money.

[Scumbag]

No agent or other person will be able to expedite a visa application.

 

Everything I have seen posted about getting a tourist visa for the USA for a TG suggests that it is extremely difficult. It is a long process.

 

BTW I have moved this to the visa section.

[kanoguy63]

unless she comes from a wealthy Thai family with a lot of property (i.e. has something to come back to), the odds of her getting a tourist visa are literally less than a million to one. There are plenty of shyster agencies that will promise the moon but none of them have any chance of getting a legitimate application through by August as it is a long and thorough process for anyone from an underdeveloped country. Be very careful using an agent (unless it is an immigration attorney) because many of them will either just promise you a bunch of unrealistic crap then take your money and run or they will try and push through a fraudulent application in the hopes of scamming a visa. If a fraudulent application gets caught, it will be your girl and not the agent that will pay the price and could result in her getting banned from entering the US for life.

[snapper82]

Good info to know and realizing that this obviously isnt the kind of spur of the moment activity to think up for future reference, her mom has used a Visa Agency before to travel to numerous European countries; so I will look into their service as a possible option. I have already submitted the visa application online, paid the MRV Fee, registered on the visa appointment website, obtain a PIN to use, and have booked roundtrip tickets. I realize I may be in for a few g's that might get flushed down the crapper, but I am somewhat familiar with the US Govt BS Process and how having all your ducks in a row can at times help...we will simply have to see how this all plays out.

[kanoguy63]

Good info to know and realizing that this obviously isnt the kind of spur of the moment activity to think up for future reference, her mom has used a Visa Agency before to travel to numerous European countries; so I will look into their service as a possible option. I have already submitted the visa application online, paid the MRV Fee, registered on the visa appointment website, obtain a PIN to use, and have booked roundtrip tickets. I realize I may be in for a few g's that might get flushed down the crapper, but I am somewhat familiar with the US Govt BS Process and how having all your ducks in a row can at times help...we will simply have to see how this all plays out.

 

Good luck...I hope you guys turn out to be the exception that gets the visa. As a general rule it seems easier for Thais to get a tourist visa to Europe than it is to the US. As you probably know, the current climate regarding illegal immigration in the US has the visa folks very skittish about anyone they think might come to the US and not leave. Sadly for that reason they presume that almost anyone from a developed country is on the up and up but that everyone from an underdeveloped country is a future illegal worker.

[snapper82]

Yea so more shit news on that whole thing, I called the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles to see if they had any insight on the matter; and the guy on the phone told me he had been trying to get his in-laws out for a visit since December...REALLY? Thanks America, I can fight an bleed for you; but just dont bring my TGF home with me and everything is ok... Ok so moving on in the process has ANYONE that brought a thai national to the US used a Visa Agency, and if so; which one? My gf thinks her mom used Champion Tour in Pattaya and they quoted me 25,000 THB for the process and it would take approx 7 business days. They also advised me to provide proof of my employment, bank statements (me and her), her rental agreement, my property ownership documents for either in the US (which i dont own anything there) and/ or my deed for my condo in Pattaya to show my intent of return. WTF would i wanna stay one day longer in the overpriced States one microsecond longer than I would have to...a flight risk, what? should I purchase a bail bond for my gf as well...so much for the innocent til proven otherwise...Thanks a lot Bin Laden

[Mike Asia]

Like it was said your chances are slim to zero unless she is rich

[AceFromNJ]

Yea so more shit news on that whole thing, I called the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles to see if they had any insight on the matter; and the guy on the phone told me he had been trying to get his in-laws out for a visit since December...REALLY? Thanks America, I can fight an bleed for you; but just dont bring my TGF home with me and everything is ok... Ok so moving on in the process has ANYONE that brought a thai national to the US used a Visa Agency, and if so; which one? My gf thinks her mom used Champion Tour in Pattaya and they quoted me 25,000 THB for the process and it would take approx 7 business days. They also advised me to provide proof of my employment, bank statements (me and her), her rental agreement, my property ownership documents for either in the US (which i dont own anything there) and/ or my deed for my condo in Pattaya to show my intent of return. WTF would i wanna stay one day longer in the overpriced States one microsecond longer than I would have to...a flight risk, what? should I purchase a bail bond for my gf as well...so much for the innocent til proven otherwise...Thanks a lot Bin Laden

 

Well, there IS a way... K-1 fiancee visa. Easiest visa in the world to get, because you don't have to convince the government she's going to leave. She's not intended to. Of course, that carries complications of its own... one of them being that you only get two in your life (you, not her, that is). I've already used one of mine, so if I decide to marry another TG and that doesn't work out, I'm cut off lol!

 

And I am NOT suggesting that you use a K-1 visa to bring someone here for a visit, it's only for a marriage that has to happen within 90 days of her butt hitting US soil. I'm just saying they're the most hassle-free visa to the US, only requirements are that neither of you can be married, you've met personally within the last two years, she has no police record, and you show proof that you can support the new family (you + your dependents + her + her dependents) above the federal poverty level. My friend brought his wife over on a K-1 (she was a bargirl) and they were totally honest regarding the circumstances of their meeting, she even listed the bar as her employer on the application. She went to the interview in BKK, they asked her a few questions about how they met and told her leave her passport and to come back the next day to pick it up with her visa in it. Visa is single entry, has to be used within 180 days. Easy.

[snapper82]

well i got her an appointment for her B2 visa at the BKK Embassy im putting together a 3-ring binder with all the paperwork that we have compiled for her application...im keeping my fingers crossed and well see how it goes...i would prolly wanna wait a bit more before i chose to use one of my two Ace in the holes lol

[AceFromNJ]

well i got her an appointment for her B2 visa at the BKK Embassy im putting together a 3-ring binder with all the paperwork that we have compiled for her application...im keeping my fingers crossed and well see how it goes...i would prolly wanna wait a bit more before i chose to use one of my two Ace in the holes lol

 

Don't blame you on that buddy. Good luck. Essentially what she has to do during this process for a B-class visa is make a convincing argument to the US government that she has a good reason to go home. If she has a child she's leaving in Thailand, that would help. They're looking for things like a decent job to return to, ownership of property, things like that. US law states that she will be presumed to be an immigrant unless otherwise proven. In other words, the burden of proof is on HER to show them that she's gonna leave when her visa's up, and document it. That's really what they're looking for here. They could give a rats ass about anything else. When I was married, I got my mother-in-law over here on a tourist visa, no problem, despite her being from a poor village in the middle of nowhere. She owns the house, and what the hell would she want to stay in the USA for anyway I guess was their reasoning. She actually got a 10-year, multiple-entry visa, which means she can come and go to the US at will for 10 years with the only restriction being that she can't spend more than 180 days here out of any one-year period, and she can't work.