registered marriage in thailand - can i get k-1 for USA?

[nampik 0]

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

[bigcasino75 0]

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

yea if you regersterd your marrage in Thailand you can not do a K1 you have to go K3 or I think it is a CR1. some of the others on here can tell you the best way to go

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

You are legally married, so you cannot get a K1 (fiancee) visa. However, that doesn't stop you from having a church wedding in the USA.

The problem will be how to get her into the USA for the wedding; as she has a mother and daughter to take care of in Thailand, she might be able to get a tourist visa for the USA, especially with you having ties to Thailand too and not intending to move back to the USA anytime soon. The K3/ CR-1 would be another option, but it is meant for immigrants, and would take a lot of money and time for a little holiday.

[rin and john 71]

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

The K-1 is not possible. The best option would be a tourist visa if you intend to reside in Thailand. If you both have strong ties to Thailand (job, residence, etc) and can prove she is not intending to immigrate to the USA, then you would be best to get a visitor visa to the USA. However if your ties are closer to the USA (domicile in USA, employed in USA, etc), then it will be more difficult to convince the consulate that she would not stay in the USA.

Do you work in Thailand?

Does your wife work in Thailand?

Where is your primary residence (USA or Thailand)?

Do you or your wife own property (house, land, condo, etc) in Thailand?

What other ties, besides her family, exist to keep her in Thailand?

The answers to these will help determine your best course of action.

[Otto 83]

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

You may no longer qualify for a K-1 but I don't think you screwed up - A K-1 would have been a huge waste of time, effort and money if you/she had no intentions of living here in the US; certainly a long way to go for what sounds like, would simply be a visit.

Perhaps a tourist visa is all that is needed.

[Old Dominion 26]

If she can present convincing evidence that she MUST return to Thailand, it might possible to get a tourist visa and then have that church wedding in the US. Depending on the church, the wedding ceremony might be a bit different (blessing of a marriage?) than the usual. Since you are already married, there is no provision to enable registering the marriage in the U.S. and it's not necessary.

[thongd4me 69]

If she can present convincing evidence that she MUST return to Thailand, it might possible to get a tourist visa and then have that church wedding in the US. Depending on the church, the wedding ceremony might be a bit different (blessing of a marriage?) than the usual. Since you are already married, there is no provision to enable registering the marriage in the U.S. and it's not necessary.

MUST return to Thailand is the key.

They might look at the tourist visa application and say "why couldn't they get married in the US after the visa was approved,

as long as they have to wait anyway for the visa for her immigration as a spouse?"

If there was a compelling reason to return to Thailand, why is she marrying with intent to stay in the US?

It's kind of anticlimactic to have a wedding ceremony after which the bride has to disappear back to where she came from.

[Guitarlo 2]

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

If you got married in Thailand you can't go for a K1 - that's a fiancee VISA and she your wife now.

Good Luck

[sachinky 464]

You're no longer eligible for a K-1. From your post a B2 tourist visa sounds like your best bet.

[Ning 619]

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

The K-1 is not possible. The best option would be a tourist visa if you intend to reside in Thailand. If you both have strong ties to Thailand (job, residence, etc) and can prove she is not intending to immigrate to the USA, then you would be best to get a visitor visa to the USA. However if your ties are closer to the USA (domicile in USA, employed in USA, etc), then it will be more difficult to convince the consulate that she would not stay in the USA.

Do you work in Thailand?

Does your wife work in Thailand?

Where is your primary residence (USA or Thailand)?

Do you or your wife own property (house, land, condo, etc) in Thailand?

What other ties, besides her family, exist to keep her in Thailand?

The answers to these will help determine your best course of action.

John is correct but you still wont get a tourist visa.

We were in the exact situation you are. After 3 attempts to get the tourist visa an officer explained to me why.

He said " your documents are perfect & I believe you will return to Thailand but if I issue the visa I will be fired the same day". He said the policy was no matter what was presented that the " strongest ties " were to the husband. "This means because you are married she will remain in the USA because her husbands ties are to the USA". He also said that if we had a tourist visa we would probably be turned away at the POE anyway. He said they go by the history of the country rather than the evidence submitted.

At the same time I know people that have gotten tourist visas. I just dont know any that were married at the time.

I did not work in Thailand.

My wife did work.

My residence was USA. I was in Thailand for over a year.

My wife owned property.

She had all the typical ties to Thailand.

When they learn that you intend to marry again in the USA they will not issue the visa. Ridiculouse I know because I think people here on V J believe you will do what you say.

Its 131 bucks to give it a try & you wont know until she walks up to the window no matter what anyone says. Its possible that my experiance wont be yours. I hope not.

[rsn 135]

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

The K-1 is not possible. The best option would be a tourist visa if you intend to reside in Thailand. If you both have strong ties to Thailand (job, residence, etc) and can prove she is not intending to immigrate to the USA, then you would be best to get a visitor visa to the USA. However if your ties are closer to the USA (domicile in USA, employed in USA, etc), then it will be more difficult to convince the consulate that she would not stay in the USA.

Do you work in Thailand?

Does your wife work in Thailand?

Where is your primary residence (USA or Thailand)?

Do you or your wife own property (house, land, condo, etc) in Thailand?

What other ties, besides her family, exist to keep her in Thailand?

The answers to these will help determine your best course of action.

John is correct but you still wont get a tourist visa.

We were in the exact situation you are. After 3 attempts to get the tourist visa an officer explained to me why.

He said " your documents are perfect & I believe you will return to Thailand but if I issue the visa I will be fired the same day". He said the policy was no matter what was presented that the " strongest ties " were to the husband. "This means because you are married she will remain in the USA because her husbands ties are to the USA". He also said that if we had a tourist visa we would probably be turned away at the POE anyway. He said they go by the history of the country rather than the evidence submitted.

At the same time I know people that have gotten tourist visas. I just dont know any that were married at the time.

I did not work in Thailand.

My wife did work.

My residence was USA. I was in Thailand for over a year.

My wife owned property.

She had all the typical ties to Thailand.

When they learn that you intend to marry again in the USA they will not issue the visa. Ridiculouse I know because I think people here on V J believe you will do what you say.

Its 131 bucks to give it a try & you wont know until she walks up to the window no matter what anyone says. Its possible that my experiance wont be yours. I hope not.

I was sort of thinking the same thing myself. Tourist visas are not easy to get for Thai people. Like you said, it's only $131, but I wouldn't bet on getting one.

[thongd4me 69]

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

The K-1 is not possible. The best option would be a tourist visa if you intend to reside in Thailand. If you both have strong ties to Thailand (job, residence, etc) and can prove she is not intending to immigrate to the USA, then you would be best to get a visitor visa to the USA. However if your ties are closer to the USA (domicile in USA, employed in USA, etc), then it will be more difficult to convince the consulate that she would not stay in the USA.

Do you work in Thailand?

Does your wife work in Thailand?

Where is your primary residence (USA or Thailand)?

Do you or your wife own property (house, land, condo, etc) in Thailand?

What other ties, besides her family, exist to keep her in Thailand?

The answers to these will help determine your best course of action.

John is correct but you still wont get a tourist visa.

We were in the exact situation you are. After 3 attempts to get the tourist visa an officer explained to me why.

He said " your documents are perfect & I believe you will return to Thailand but if I issue the visa I will be fired the same day". He said the policy was no matter what was presented that the " strongest ties " were to the husband. "This means because you are married she will remain in the USA because her husbands ties are to the USA". He also said that if we had a tourist visa we would probably be turned away at the POE anyway. He said they go by the history of the country rather than the evidence submitted.

At the same time I know people that have gotten tourist visas. I just dont know any that were married at the time.

I did not work in Thailand.

My wife did work.

My residence was USA. I was in Thailand for over a year.

My wife owned property.

She had all the typical ties to Thailand.

When they learn that you intend to marry again in the USA they will not issue the visa. Ridiculouse I know because I think people here on V J believe you will do what you say.

Its 131 bucks to give it a try & you wont know until she walks up to the window no matter what anyone says. Its possible that my experiance wont be yours. I hope not.

[andy desai 3]

Why go thru so much headache?? Just apply for spouse visa and she will get approved maybe in 9-10 months. Enjoy life till then and work hard.

[daboyz 36]

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

The K-1 is not possible. The best option would be a tourist visa if you intend to reside in Thailand. If you both have strong ties to Thailand (job, residence, etc) and can prove she is not intending to immigrate to the USA, then you would be best to get a visitor visa to the USA. However if your ties are closer to the USA (domicile in USA, employed in USA, etc), then it will be more difficult to convince the consulate that she would not stay in the USA.

Do you work in Thailand?

Does your wife work in Thailand?

Where is your primary residence (USA or Thailand)?

Do you or your wife own property (house, land, condo, etc) in Thailand?

What other ties, besides her family, exist to keep her in Thailand?

The answers to these will help determine your best course of action.

John is correct but you still wont get a tourist visa.

We were in the exact situation you are. After 3 attempts to get the tourist visa an officer explained to me why.

He said " your documents are perfect & I believe you will return to Thailand but if I issue the visa I will be fired the same day". He said the policy was no matter what was presented that the " strongest ties " were to the husband. "This means because you are married she will remain in the USA because her husbands ties are to the USA". He also said that if we had a tourist visa we would probably be turned away at the POE anyway. He said they go by the history of the country rather than the evidence submitted.

At the same time I know people that have gotten tourist visas. I just dont know any that were married at the time.

I did not work in Thailand.

My wife did work.

My residence was USA. I was in Thailand for over a year.

My wife owned property.

She had all the typical ties to Thailand.

When they learn that you intend to marry again in the USA they will not issue the visa. Ridiculouse I know because I think people here on V J believe you will do what you say.

Its 131 bucks to give it a try & you wont know until she walks up to the window no matter what anyone says. Its possible that my experiance wont be yours. I hope not.

I was sort of thinking the same thing myself. Tourist visas are not easy to get for Thai people. Like you said, it's only $131, but I wouldn't bet on getting one.

I met with an American Airlines pilot and his Thai girlfriend here in Dallas. He said he had to fax all kinds of things to the embassy in Thailand for her to get her tourist visa. She got it. I'm still a little bewildered about that. I always thought it was 100% about the applicant. Like the previous posters, it only costs $131 to get shot down. It wont have any impact on a future K visa.

[thaikarl 0]

before i married, we tried for a tourist visa. i made the mistake of going to the interview with her. the interviewer ask who i was, said i was fiance... and it went totally cold from that instant on.... and she had all the reasons to return to thailand- property, family, etc. but the interviewer hardly looked at her papers. it's just weird and in my opion pretty dumb, but mai pen lai.

i'm american. me and my thai girl registered married(?) with the thai goverment, which i understand counts as a legal marriage in the states.

but we'd like to get married in the church here in the states, and register the marriage here in the states.

can i get a k-1 visa?

we don't want to live here anytime soon. she takes care of her mother and teen daughter- couldn't leave them behind. so we won't be needing k-3 and all that for a long time. but i do want her to meet the family here, and have my family enjoy the wedding.

did we screw up getting a k-1 by registering with thai goverment?

The K-1 is not possible. The best option would be a tourist visa if you intend to reside in Thailand. If you both have strong ties to Thailand (job, residence, etc) and can prove she is not intending to immigrate to the USA, then you would be best to get a visitor visa to the USA. However if your ties are closer to the USA (domicile in USA, employed in USA, etc), then it will be more difficult to convince the consulate that she would not stay in the USA.

Do you work in Thailand?

Does your wife work in Thailand?

Where is your primary residence (USA or Thailand)?

Do you or your wife own property (house, land, condo, etc) in Thailand?

What other ties, besides her family, exist to keep her in Thailand?

The answers to these will help determine your best course of action.

John is correct but you still wont get a tourist visa.

We were in the exact situation you are. After 3 attempts to get the tourist visa an officer explained to me why.

He said " your documents are perfect & I believe you will return to Thailand but if I issue the visa I will be fired the same day". He said the policy was no matter what was presented that the " strongest ties " were to the husband. "This means because you are married she will remain in the USA because her husbands ties are to the USA". He also said that if we had a tourist visa we would probably be turned away at the POE anyway. He said they go by the history of the country rather than the evidence submitted.

At the same time I know people that have gotten tourist visas. I just dont know any that were married at the time.

I did not work in Thailand.

My wife did work.

My residence was USA. I was in Thailand for over a year.

My wife owned property.

She had all the typical ties to Thailand.

When they learn that you intend to marry again in the USA they will not issue the visa. Ridiculouse I know because I think people here on V J believe you will do what you say.

Its 131 bucks to give it a try & you wont know until she walks up to the window no matter what anyone says. Its possible that my experiance wont be yours. I hope not.