K3 Visa Questions

[JeffreyO 2]

Hello,

I am in the process of getting married and i had a few questions about the K3 visa process.

First, I am the US Citizen and my soon-to-be wife is Thai. We will be marrying in Thailand. I am currently here on a tourist visa and will be traveling to other countries with my fiance once a month when this expires to both travel with her and renew a visa exempt status. My questions are as follows...

First: I'm a little confused by the application process. Sometimes I see notes that say I need to be in the US to process some of the paperwork. Is this true or can all of the paperwork be processed from Thailand? I heard DCF could work but only if I was staying here on a more permanent visa. Can we apply for her K3 visa and file all the paperwork from here in Bangkok even though I'm only on a tourist visa?

Second: Same question as above but this time for an IR1/CR1. This would be the end goal even if we got her to the US on a K3. Is this something I can apply for while in Thailand on a tourist visa/visa exempt status?

Third: Some of these say that I need proof of a US domicile. Staying in Thailand I currently have no lease but do maintain a New York address at a friends place for tax purposes. Would I require a lease agreement for either a K3 or 1R1/CR1? Would having a friend who owns a house who could make some type of statement saying that we may claim his location as a domicile work? Any advise on this?

Thank you all for your time and understanding.

[Ning 619]

Hello,

I am in the process of getting married and i had a few questions about the K3 visa process.

First, I am the US Citizen and my soon-to-be wife is Thai. We will be marrying in Thailand. I am currently here on a tourist visa and will be traveling to other countries with my fiance once a month when this expires to both travel with her and renew a visa exempt status. My questions are as follows...

First: I'm a little confused by the application process. Sometimes I see notes that say I need to be in the US to process some of the paperwork. Is this true or can all of the paperwork be processed from Thailand? I heard DCF could work but only if I was staying here on a more permanent visa. Can we apply for her K3 visa and file all the paperwork from here in Bangkok even though I'm only on a tourist visa?

Second: Same question as above but this time for an IR1/CR1. This would be the end goal even if we got her to the US on a K3. Is this something I can apply for while in Thailand on a tourist visa/visa exempt status?

Third: Some of these say that I need proof of a US domicile. Staying in Thailand I currently have no lease but do maintain a New York address at a friends place for tax purposes. Would I require a lease agreement for either a K3 or 1R1/CR1? Would having a friend who owns a house who could make some type of statement saying that we may claim his location as a domicile work? Any advise on this?

Thank you all for your time and understanding.

The K 3 will convert to a CR 1.

You can not file DCF case in BKK.

Once you marry you can file the first petition by sending it to the correct address for your area in the USA. Your status in Thailand makes no difference.

Staying in Thailand doesn't replace your domicile address in N Y. Use the address you use right now for mail in the USA.

[JeffreyO 2]

Interesting, so I would mail the petition request to the proper address for my state of residence (New York). Can I stipulate a different response address as I'm not in New York to obtain mail sent there at the moment. For domicile purposes, I am still employed by my company in New York, receive paychecks twice a month and still pay federal and state taxes for the US/New York.

[AaronLV 12]

Interesting, so I would mail the petition request to the proper address for my state of residence (New York). Can I stipulate a different response address as I'm not in New York to obtain mail sent there at the moment. For domicile purposes, I am still employed by my company in New York, receive paychecks twice a month and still pay federal and state taxes for the US/New York.

You will file wherever your residential address is, you can put down a different mailing address, but I believe it still has to be a US address. You will file for a CR1 not a K3, the CR1 you can file for once you are married. You may want to think about doing a K1 opposed to a CR1 at this point depending on your timeline. The K1 will be faster to get the visa than the CR1, but the advantage of the CR1 is you won't need to file for adjustment of status in the US.

If you do go the route of the K1 you can file immediately, and have a religious wedding in Thailand (ie no paperwork, just the party), then when you get to US, do a quick marriage at the court house and you are all done. This would be the quickest route to going back to the states.

The domicile issue comes into play when you are filing via DCF, which you don't qualify for, so it is a non-issue.