Hello! :)

[Thane 8]

Hello everyone,

My name is Thane and I'm a US citizen living and working in Macau SAR, China. My Visa Journey with my lovely Thai wife is just about to begin. We got married not too long ago in Bangkok and we are currently planning to visit the United States to see the rest of my family. I've been researching visas for quite awhile, and both my wife and I have decided that it's probably best to just get a B-2 Visa, as neither of us have any plans on living in the United States any time soon as I have quite a stable job here in Macau.

I guess to begin since I have not received any helpful feedback regarding this on some of the other forums I've posted on, I wanted to see whether or not it is possible to apply in Hong Kong rather than in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. Unfortunately I've heard conflicting answers, such as my wife needing a visa for Macau that's at least 6 months, then others have stated she has to live here for at least 6 months first before applying in Hong Kong, otherwise she'll be required to apply in Thailand. We are currently in the process of getting her a derivative visa here in Macau based off of my Work Visa (which first seemed like an easy process, however it's turned into quite the mess so far ).

With that said, I guess my first question is, is it possible for us to apply in Hong Kong if my wife has a visa for Macau, if so are there any special requirements such as the visa needing to be at least 6 months in duration, or her having to live her for 6 months?

.

-Thane

[Ning 619]

After marrying a USC I tried 3 times to get a tourist visa. My husband attended the interviews. At the final interview when I was again denied my husband asked the officer to explain why they wouldnt issue the visa.

He said " Your documents are perfect, I believe what you say but we can not issue tourist visas to a spouse of a USC or we will be fired that same day". He said they never ever do it. He also said if I got a visa I would be turned away at the LAX POE as soon as they realised I was married to a USC.

I doubt you will get a tourist visa for her in BKK. Remember she is viewed as an intending immigrant when using any visa to enter the USA.

My husband said on one of his trips back to the USA he witnessed an officer turning away a women with a tourist visa. She went crazy & was locked in a room after being told she was being sent back.

Edited November 6, 2010 by Ning

[Thane 8]

Thank you Ning. We really have absolutely no plans to live in the states at all, which is why we want to go the B-2 route. I understand that it's quite difficult to prove her ties back to Thailand or at least back here to Macau, however we do believe that we have enough evidence to overcome that burden, whether or not the embassy sees it that way is another story.

Also, I've heard very few good stories regarding the embassy in BKK, which is the main reason I want to go through Hong Kong.

[Ning 619]

Thank you Ning. We really have absolutely no plans to live in the states at all, which is why we want to go the B-2 route. I understand that it's quite difficult to prove her ties back to Thailand or at least back here to Macau, however we do believe that we have enough evidence to overcome that burden, whether or not the embassy sees it that way is another story.

Also, I've heard very few good stories regarding the embassy in BKK, which is the main reason I want to go through Hong Kong.

We had no plans to live in the USA either. After trying to get the tourist visas my husband changed his mind & decided to get us immigrant visas so we wouldnt need to have the approval of anyone to come & go as we pleased. It would have been cheaper & smarter to do that from the start as it turned out. We spent months & hundreds of dollars for nothing. We were simply ignorant about immigration matters & like you thought they would believe us. As I said they indicated they did believe us but it doesnt matter when you understand all people entering the USA are seen as intending immigrants.

However each case has its own merits. Yours just might be one that they approve. The problem that you have is she is your wife. I assume you know as does USCIS that once inside the USA you could do an AOS to get her a green card. Thousands that preceeded you have done just that to create a history that you must overcome.

Your connection to Macau is unique & may make a difference in getting a tourist visa. She will then face the need to gain actual entry into the USA at the POE.

It will be interesting & informative to see how your case goes. Good luck.

[Thane 8]

Again, thank you Ning, I certainly do appreciate your responses.