DCF Thailand, CR-1 or K3

[J_P 0]

Greetings,

 

Hello fellow VJ'rs!  As a US Citizen, I recently moved to Thailand to marry my fiancé who is a Thai citizen - officially married in Sept 2017.

 

While we intended to live in Thailand for many years to come, family issues have caused us to plan to move back to the States.

 

I arrived in Thailand on 3 Sept 2017, so I have not lived abroad for 6 months, which I understand to be a requirement to go the DCF route.

 

My wife has lived in the United States for several years previously, most recently in 2011 under a 2 year student visa, where she received a US social security card.

 

I'm unsure if we should even attempt to go the DCF route, given my short time residing in Thailand.

 

Our goal is to fly back to the United States as soon as possible. 

 

Would it make sense to try the DCF Thailand route, or for us both to fly back to the States and apply for the CR-1 or K3 Visa while living in the States?

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

[J_P 0]

Greetings,

 

Hello fellow VJ'rs!  As a US Citizen, I recently moved to Thailand to marry my fiancé who is a Thai citizen - officially married in Sept 2017, however, the actual wedding ceremony took place in Feb 2015 here in Thailand.

 

While we intended to live in Thailand for many years to come, family issues have caused us to plan to move back to the States.

 

I arrived in Thailand on 3 Sept 2017, so I have not lived abroad for 6 months, which I understand to be a requirement to go the DCF route.

 

My wife has lived in the United States for several years previously, most recently in 2011 under a 2 year student visa, where she received a US social security card.

 

I'm unsure if we should even attempt to go the DCF route, given my short time residing in Thailand, or if we should go the CR-1 or K3 visa route.

 

Our goal is to fly back to the United States together as soon as possible. 

 

Would it make sense for us both to fly back to the States and apply for the CR-1 or K3 Visa while living in the States, while my wife is on a tourist visa?  Or does she have to stay in Thailand during the visa application process?  (As I read here on the forums, my wife is allowed to visit the US on a tourist visa while our application is pending)

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

[JFH 12,189]

Your wife cannot enter the USA with the intention to live unless she has an immigrant visa. You don't apply for a CR-1 after the foreigner has arrived - the CR-1 is what they need to get into the country. The K-3 is as good as obsolete now so no need to even look into that option. 

 

You have two otipns - contact the Bangkok embassy and see if you qualify for DCF processing. If you do, great. If not, you follow the same CR-1 process that everyone else (all the non-DCF cases) follow and your wife will receive her visa in 12-14 months from filing date. That's when she can move to the USA. If she has a valid tourist visa, she can visit during the process. 

[EandH0904 1,184]

Your wife can visit the US but cannot live or work there. To visit you under a covert attempt to stay is immigration fraud. She must be honest about her intentions in applying for visitor visa or upon entry,  if she lies it could result in further problems or a loss of the visitor visa. 

 

Either stay your time to do DVD or cone back and do CR1, it's 12-14 months right now. You can visit each other during the process. 

[J_P 0]

Thank you so much for the response JFH, this is very helpful info.

 

The US Embassy in Bangkok is closed today due to a holiday, but we will be calling them first thing in the morning to inquire about DCF eligibility. 

 

Does the CR-1 visa need to be initiated in the US, or can we apply for a CR-1 while currently residing in Thailand?

 

We'll abandon the K3 route, as it sounds like a fruitless endeavor.

 

We are very studious and choose to abide by all laws, so my wife will not be entering the US under any false pretense.  However, she does have a recently renewed tourist visa and we do not want to be apart unnecessarily - costs involved flying back and forth is not an issue.

 

Thank you once again!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

[J_P 0]

Thank you so much for the response EandH0904, this is very helpful info.

 

We will be calling the US Embassy in Bangkok first thing in the morning to inquire about DCF eligibility.  If we can go this route, we will - if not, we intend to go the CR-1 visa route. 

 

Does the CR-1 visa need to be initiated in the US, or can we apply for a CR-1 while currently residing in Thailand?

 

We are very studious and choose to abide by all laws, so my wife will not be entering the US under any false pretense.  However, she does have a recently renewed tourist visa and we do not want to be apart unnecessarily - costs involved flying back and forth is not an issue.  So we would like to apply for the DCF or CR-1 visa as soon as possible, and then have my wife fly back to the States under her tourist visa to live with me while we wait - she would fly to the States on a round trip ticket, with a return date to Thailand in 6 months, as I understand this to be the max stay on a tourist visa.  We have no problem flying back and forth to get the necessary passport stamps to abide by all visa laws. 

 

Thank you once again!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

[BuiQuang 95]

13 minutes ago, tropical_jim said:

Thank you so much for the response JFH, this is very helpful info.

 

The US Embassy in Bangkok is closed today due to a holiday, but we will be calling them first thing in the morning to inquire about DCF eligibility. 

 

Does the CR-1 visa need to be initiated in the US, or can we apply for a CR-1 while currently residing in Thailand?

 

We'll abandon the K3 route, as it sounds like a fruitless endeavor.

 

We are very studious and choose to abide by all laws, so my wife will not be entering the US under any false pretense.  However, she does have a recently renewed tourist visa and we do not want to be apart unnecessarily - costs involved flying back and forth is not an issue.

 

Thank you once again!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

u will need proof ur wife visit on visitor visa only and she have plan to leave US after visit.  she no can use visitor visa to immigrate with us husband.  that illegal.  she come to visit or come to live?  big difference.  u got big problem is plan for u to come back and her use visitor visa to come live with u.

Edited October 26, 2017 by BuiQuang

[J_P 0]

Hi BuiQuang and thank you so much for the response.

 

To be clear, we are seeking to legally apply for a DCF/CR-1 visa and to use my wife's tourist visa for her to visit the United States & stay with me and my family in NY for several months at a time and on a round trip plane ticket, so that she has a return date back to Thailand - this is only so we are not separated while I'm in the States and she is in Thailand.  She would fly back Thailand and come back to the States every few months (6?) to get an updated stamp in her passport. 

 

As I understand the process, my wife can visit the US on her tourist visa while our DCF/CR-1 visa application is pending - this is the route we would like to take.  There is no point in spending 12-14 months apart while the visa application is being processed, while my wife has a tourist visa.

 

Am I missing something here or is this approach legal?  We certainly want to abide by all laws and regulations.

 

Thank you very much once again and have a good one!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

Edited October 26, 2017 by tropical_jim

[Penguin_ie 5,985]

******  two threads merged, please only post once on an issue/ question ****

 

It is perfectly legal for her to visit you in the USA on her tourist visa, as long as she does not live or work there.  However, some people have difficulty entering the USA when their US spouse lives there, as immigration fears they will stay illegally.  However, you starting the visa process will show a good faith effort to do things legally, and we have a whole thread about people visiting during the process:   http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/479894-yes-you-can-visit-ir1-cr1-version/

[geowrian 22,335]

Yes, she can visit during the process fine. Just don't spend too much time in the US between visits...if it looks like she is living in the US, she can be denied entry. The general rule of thumb is to spend more time outside the US as in it (with twice as long preferred). And she should always carry her ties showing that she intends to return home on that trip.

 

You can file for the I-130 at any time. Check if DCF is possible for you. If so, you can file with the embassy directly. If not, you will send the I-130 to the US lockbox. You can send the form while abroad.

 

Just note that once the I-130 is approved and your case moves on to the NVC stage, you will need to provide an I-864 (Affidavit of Support) to show that you can financially support her in the US. This form has 2 major requirements:

1) US domicile or sufficient intent to establish US domicile

2) 125% of the federal poverty level for your household size in income (or assets at 3x multiplier for your wife). The income has to be from a source that will continue once you come back to the US. If you don't meet this, you will need a joint sponsor to also complete an I-864.

Edited October 26, 2017 by geowrian

[Nitas_man 3,100]

17 hours ago, tropical_jim said:

Thank you so much for the response JFH, this is very helpful info.

 

The US Embassy in Bangkok is closed today due to a holiday, but we will be calling them first thing in the morning to inquire about DCF eligibility. 

 

Does the CR-1 visa need to be initiated in the US, or can we apply for a CR-1 while currently residing in Thailand?

 

We'll abandon the K3 route, as it sounds like a fruitless endeavor.

 

We are very studious and choose to abide by all laws, so my wife will not be entering the US under any false pretense.  However, she does have a recently renewed tourist visa and we do not want to be apart unnecessarily - costs involved flying back and forth is not an issue.

 

Thank you once again!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

DCF is relatively straightforward however you need to have legal residency in the country you are filing from.  Residency rules differ from country to country.  It is the best and quickest way to get a CR1 for couples.

 

IF you have established residency in Thailand you can file DCF through the embassy and then you can leave while they process the visa.  Filing the DCF is on you not her.  My experience in DCF was this:  They processed the I-130 on the spot, and within 2-3 weeks the packets were issued and we were gathering the police certificate, medical, and other items for the visa to be processed.  We were shocked at the speed things were processed and delayed a little bit on the police certificate etc to time it so the medical did not expire before we actually wanted to leave.

Once they process the I-130, again you can go but she needs to stay long enough to get the documents together to prepare for the actual interview. 

If you have to lockbox file then nothing to add to the above comments. 

Edited October 27, 2017 by Nitas_man

[J_P 0]

Thank you kindly for the responses Nitas_man, geowrian and Penguin_ie - this certainly puts things into perspective for us.

 

My Thai wife has a few Thai (girl) friends that have married a US Citizen (guy), where they both flew from Thailand back to the States on her tourist visa.  While in the States, they got married and were able to stay together in the States while they applied for the appropriate visa - long story short, the Thai girl never went back to Thailand and was able to get married, apply for & receive her green card while staying in the States all on her tourist visa.

 

This seems like a loophole that wouldn't remain open for long and to be honest, I'm surprised to hear this even worked.

 

Would it be possible for my wife to fly to the States on her B1 tourist visa and either re-marry once in the States (we were legally married in Thailand in Sept 2017) and/or apply for her visa while staying at my house using a translated copy of our Thai marriage certificate?

 

Also, would it be easier/quicker to work with an immigration attorney/company in Bangkok to assist us with this process?  Or would it be better for us to apply and jump through the hoops ourselves?

 

In either case, we have begun filling out the I-130 and I-130a forms and expect to submit our application next week at the US Embassy in Bangkok -- either by ourselves, or through an immigration attorney/company.

 

Thank you much for the advice folks, we dearly appreciate it!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

 

 

 

[geowrian 22,335]

1 hour ago, tropical_jim said:

My Thai wife has a few Thai (girl) friends that have married a US Citizen (guy), where they both flew from Thailand back to the States on her tourist visa.  While in the States, they got married and were able to stay together in the States while they applied for the appropriate visa - long story short, the Thai girl never went back to Thailand and was able to get married, apply for & receive her green card while staying in the States all on her tourist visa.

They either met somebody after they came to the US and decided to stay at that point, or they committed fraud by coming to the US on a tourist visa with intent to stay.

 

1 hour ago, tropical_jim said:

Would it be possible for my wife to fly to the States on her B1 tourist visa and either re-marry once in the States (we were legally married in Thailand in Sept 2017) and/or apply for her visa while staying at my house using a translated copy of our Thai marriage certificate?

No - if you are already married then you cannot get married again. You can have a wedding celebration, but your legal marriage abroad is the only one that counts for immigration. Getting a new marriage license requires stating your current marriage status and/or how your past marriages were dissolved, which won't go so well if you're already married.

 

You can fill out the paperwork in the US. Personally, I'd prefer to spend the time together enjoying the trip and starting the process sooner, but doing it together while in the US is fine. She must still return home on-time and interview abroad. She cannot come to the US with the intent to stay....that would be fraud.

 

1 hour ago, tropical_jim said:

Also, would it be easier/quicker to work with an immigration attorney/company in Bangkok to assist us with this process?  Or would it be better for us to apply and jump through the hoops ourselves?

It's a personal preference, but unless there are unusual circumstances in your case (you haven't mentioned any), you can do it yourself fine and save the money for more trips...which will likely serve you much more than a middleman.

[J_P 0]

Many thanks for the response Geowrian -- most excellent information and sound advice! 

 

I spoke with the US Embassy here in Bangkok earlier this week, unfortunately they were unable to tell me over the phone whether we were eligible to take the DCF route -- instead, they told me to send an email to the Immigration Visa Unit to inquire.  Email sent and awaiting a response.

 

In either case, we are filling out the I-130 & I-130a forms now and intend on applying via DCF or Lockbox next week to get the process started.

 

As you pointed out, we're going to begin the process sooner rather than later and by ourselves -- the additional funds will be better spent on flying back and forth from Thailand and the States, as well as making the best of our time in Thailand.  It's such a beautiful country!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

[geowrian 22,335]

Best wishes! Sounds like you've got it in motion.