Live in the US short-term

[e_b_d 0]

My boyfriend is Thai and we both live in Thailand. What we would really like to do is travel together to the US next year, get married there, and stay for about a year, then return to live in Thailand. But to apply for AOS when his fiance visa runs out is so expensive and so much work, since he might not even stay long enough to finish the process. Does anyone know of any other options for us? He definitely can't get a tourist (visitor's) visa, we already tried that once and got denied. I'd appreciate any ideas.

[Jaylen Brit 1]

I presume you are the USC, just currently living in Thailand?

I was thinking if you married in Thailand, and returned for a visit he would be less likely to get a visitor visa denial - but Im really not sure - and a year to stay wouldbe longer than a visa would run for.

Have you looked into the K3 or DCF option? I'm not sure if the two of you PLAN to marry or not or where you intend to live - its not really clear from your post - but a K3 visa requires residence in the US for the pair of you. DCF cannot be done at ALL foreign consulates.

This may be of SOME help http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=compare

[aussiewench 9]

You can do DCF in Thailand .....read this thread http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...topic=11821&hl= but dont know that it is a suitable option for living in the US short term....for that matter none of the fiance or spousal visa are if the OP's boyfriend will not stay around long enough to complete the AOS process. Someone else may have some ideas on viable options.

Edited May 8, 2006 by aussiewench

[Yodrak 7]

e_b_d,

I don't know if there is an appropriate visa for what you wish to do - B visas allow visits of up to 6 months, and visits can possibly be extended if appropriate reason, but you're looking for 12 months.

What do you plan to do in the USA for 1 year? How will you support yourselves, or do you have a large stash of money that you will live off of? And why was your boyfriend's B2 visa application denied, do you know for sure? (The answer to the 3rd question may lie in how he answered the 1st two questions in his visa application.)

Since you're both in Thailand I recommend having a talk with Bill White to discuss you circumstances and your plans. Perhaps he will have some suggestion based on the details that you haven't presented here but that he will extract from you.

White & White Ltd.

U.S. Immigration Consultancy

New ITF Tower, 17th Floor, #3

140/36 Silom Road, Bangrak

Bangkok 10500, Thailand

Telephone 66 (0) 2231-6466

Yodrak

My boyfriend is Thai and we both live in Thailand. What we would really like to do is travel together to the US next year, get married there, and stay for about a year, then return to live in Thailand. But to apply for AOS when his fiance visa runs out is so expensive and so much work, since he might not even stay long enough to finish the process. Does anyone know of any other options for us? He definitely can't get a tourist (visitor's) visa, we already tried that once and got denied. I'd appreciate any ideas.

Edited May 8, 2006 by Yodrak

[e_b_d 0]

Thanks so much to all 3 of you for your ideas, especially for the Bangkok DCF thread. I wasn't sure that was an option.

Well, as you can see, my boyfriend and I are not sure of what exactly we'll do, just exploring options. We do plan to get married--no sooner than a year from now--and we definitely want to spend some time in the US so that he can get to know my family and culture, but how long we'll stay and when we'll go is flexible. I realize that going to stay for a year might not work out on the visa side, that's why I wrote to see if anyone had any ideas. And no, we don't have a large stash of money, I was planning to work (and him too depending on his status), but all this is just preliminary thoughts so far.

Replying to Yodrak's other question, my boyfriend's visitor's visa was denied because he could not sufficiently prove non-intent to immigrate. It's pretty hard for young single Thais without much money to prove that they would just visit the US and not try to stay. The consular officer said, hey just apply for a fiance visa, you'll get that. Well, that's fine if you're planning to get married on your trip to the US, but we weren't.

Thanks again to all. I'll be around VJ learning from you all for a while.

[dmartmar 1]

My boyfriend is Thai and we currently live in Thailand. We would like to travel to the US next year, get married, stay about a year and then come back again to live in Thailand. But applying for an AOS when his fiance visa runs out is expensive and a lot of work, since he might not even stay long enough to finish the process. Does anyone know of any other options for us? He definitely can't get a tourist (visitor's) visa, we already tried that once and got denied. I'd appreciate any ideas.

How convenient! Not make the US their permanent place of residence but live here for however long it takes to get the GC .

[rebeccajo 14]

My boyfriend is Thai and we currently live in Thailand. We would like to travel to the US next year, get married, stay about a year and then come back again to live in Thailand. But applying for an AOS when his fiance visa runs out is expensive and a lot of work, since he might not even stay long enough to finish the process. Does anyone know of any other options for us? He definitely can't get a tourist (visitor's) visa, we already tried that once and got denied. I'd appreciate any ideas.

How convenient! Not make the US their permanent place of residence but live here for however long it takes to get the GC .

Stop being nasty to the OP. They seem sincere.

[TracyTN 237]

Well, as you can see, my boyfriend and I are not sure of what exactly we'll do, just exploring options. We do plan to get married--no sooner than a year from now--and we definitely want to spend some time in the US so that he can get to know my family and culture, but how long we'll stay and when we'll go is flexible.

That may be true from your point of view as far as planning, but the US govt is less flexible about when you spend time and leave (at least for non citizens/LPRs).

[Captain Ewok 1,923]

My boyfriend is Thai and we currently live in Thailand. We would like to travel to the US next year, get married, stay about a year and then come back again to live in Thailand. But applying for an AOS when his fiance visa runs out is expensive and a lot of work, since he might not even stay long enough to finish the process. Does anyone know of any other options for us? He definitely can't get a tourist (visitor's) visa, we already tried that once and got denied. I'd appreciate any ideas.

How convenient! Not make the US their permanent place of residence but live here for however long it takes to get the GC .

Yes please stop. This is not appropriate. thanks.

[e_b_d 0]

No, we're not trying to live in the US "for however long it takes to get the GC" . We're trying to live there long enough for him to get to know my family and home culture a little, if possible. In fact, if we didn't have to apply for a green card in order to have a long visit, I'd be happy. And no, I didn't mean that the US goverment was going to be flexible for me, I meant that our ideas and plans are flexible since we don't know what will be possible and what will be best for us.

I'm just beginning to learn and hoped to get some support here... Thanks to those who offered it.

Edited May 11, 2006 by e_b_d

[aussiewench 9]

e_b_d

Refer to Yodrak's post.

All the best to you.

[meauxna 15]

No, we're not trying to live in the US "for however long it takes to get the GC" . We're trying to live there long enough for him to get to know my family and home culture a little, if possible. In fact, if we didn't have to apply for a green card in order to have a long visit, I'd be happy. And no, I didn't mean that the US goverment was going to be flexible for me, I meant that our ideas and plans are flexible since we don't know what will be possible and what will be best for us.

I'm just beginning to learn and hoped to get some support here... Thanks to those who offered it.

Oh, don't focus on one bad answer.

Ditto to read Yodrak's answer again.

[TracyTN 237]

And no, I didn't mean that the US goverment was going to be flexible for me, I meant that our ideas and plans are flexible since we don't know what will be possible and what will be best for us.

Yep, which is why I said, "That may be true from your point of view as far as planning".

[desert_fox 32]

No need to go thru the AOS process in your case. If you receive a green card, the govt expects that you will live in the US and not in some foreign country. If you spend more time outside of the US than in the US, your green card will be considered abandoned.

[dmartmar 1]

We're trying to live there long enough for him to get to know my family and home culture a little, if possible.

Then there's no need to apply for a GC, just like the above post says.

Unless you expect to live outside of the US, while keeping a US address for residence purposes.

Edited May 13, 2006 by dmartmar