Bangkok embassy not accepting K1 application

[steve-phuket 8]

i just called the US embassy in Bangkok and amazingly got a human on the phone, but unfortunately found out they are not accepting K1 applications right now.

 

they are accepting IR/CR1 application however

 

 

Edited August 24, 2020 by steve-phuket

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

There practically aren’t any embassies accepting k1s at the moment.

[Raychelle 29]

20 hours ago, steve-phuket said:

i just called the US embassy in Bangkok and amazingly got a human on the phone, but unfortunately found out they are not accepting K1 applications right now.

 

they are accepting IR/CR1 application however

 

 

And I think even if they would be accepting right now, it would not matter right away because your petition has to be approved in the US first. 

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from K1 Process & Procedures to Thailand regional forum.

[kappy66 15]

Mine has been at NVC since April. This whole thing is a mess.

[R. Wolfe 24]

Since Trump's executive order goes through the end of the year, I don't think the BKK embassy is going to consider K-1 applications or interviews until at least January (though I assume the order will just be extended again at that point). Though I realize, technically, K-1's may be exempt from the order, it is clear that the folks in Bangkok are using it as a reason to make CR-1's their only priority. With their reduced processing rate, I expect new CR-1's are coming in faster than they're being processed, so even the old K-1's even from March (like mine) are not going to be addressed in the foreseeable future. If they had a plan to start looking at K-1's I think they would have said so in response to one of my numerous e-mails. Instead they just say they're not considering them - with no indication that is going to change.

 

[KnoxThai 44]

2 hours ago, x3n said:

Since Trump's executive order goes through the end of the year, I don't think the BKK embassy is going to consider K-1 applications or interviews until at least January (though I assume the order will just be extended again at that point). Though I realize, technically, K-1's may be exempt from the order, it is clear that the folks in Bangkok are using it as a reason to make CR-1's their only priority. With their reduced processing rate, I expect new CR-1's are coming in faster than they're being processed, so even the old K-1's even from March (like mine) are not going to be addressed in the foreseeable future. If they had a plan to start looking at K-1's I think they would have said so in response to one of my numerous e-mails. Instead they just say they're not considering them - with no indication that is going to change.

 

I read messages like this and I try to understand the logic in blaming an executive order for what is happening in Thailand. The fact is that each embassy is free to decide when they will resume K1 interviews and processing based on local conditions. As we all know Thailand has been very strict in their control of the spread of the virus and that fact has more to do with the pause than any executive order. There are other embassies in the world that are processing K1 visas so we know the reason for the pause in Thailand has nothing to do with any executive order and at no time has the embassy stated that they are pausing because of any executive order and no executive order has mentioned anything to do with Thailand.

 

Thailand is locked down right now because of their local government and the embassy is following suit. We all know travel in and out of the country is either restricted or quite limited. That is the hold up, not any executive order. I'm told that Thailand will begin allowing visitors from certain countries beginning in October but unfortunately the US is not one of those countries. 

 

I understand that some people are looking for someone to blame or an easy answer to our waiting but the answer is not easy and in this case there is not one person to blame. 

 

Find peace. Be well.

[zachp 3]

As someone that is currently in Thailand with my Fiance. I don't understand why they are delaying any appointments at this time, Thailand is nearly at 100 days without a community born virus case and life here has more or less returned to pre-covid normal except now you have to wear a mask at 7-11. 

 

I really hope the embassy begins scheduling K1 interviews soon primarily because it just doesn't make sense to say you can't interview Thai nationals that have not had a case in over 3 months. 

 

It's also worth noting, there are no restrictions on departing Thailand at this time. I have a flight to return to the US at the end of September (my Thai visa/amnesty is running out) and there are plenty of seats out. Yes, there are limited options compared to before however, it's really not that hard to leave.

[KnoxThai 44]

48 minutes ago, zachp said:

It's also worth noting, there are no restrictions on departing Thailand at this time. I have a flight to return to the US at the end of September (my Thai visa/amnesty is running out) and there are plenty of seats out. Yes, there are limited options compared to before however, it's really not that hard to leave.

The problem with leaving and returning. I was going to fly to an Asian country to meet up with my Fiancé but she would have to quarantine when she returned to Thailand.

 

This is what I was referring to when I mentioned limited traveling out of the country. I should have been more clear.

[Dr. Bob 48]

Hopefully with the very recent U.S. Dept. of State announcement that K visas are now considered high priority, we will soon see an update from the Bangkok embassy.  Fingers crossed!

Edited September 1, 2020 by Dr. Bob

[R. Wolfe 24]

That is awesome news. My fiance' says that on her Thai Facebook group someone was told the consulate plans to start K-1 interviews again in the second half of September. Granted it's second (or third?) hand info - but in combination with the Notice above, I think it's a good sign.  Of course, the medical exam paperwork is expiring this week so we have that to look forward too (and pay for) again 😕

 

[Dankanok 3]

Why wait for 2nd or 3rd week?  They could resume immediately if they wanted.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Dankanok

[Steve and Nicha 35]

The posting from the Department of State is the first positive sign that embassies will start considering the K visas as a high priority.  This notice would not have been published if these visas were categorized in the presidents proclamation.  It is probably because of an outcrying of people like us that want information.   If anyone is fortunate enough to reach a human being at the BKK embassy and the person says they are not processing K visas, they should be asked why their consulate is not following the direction provided by the Department of State.  Their statistics for June and July show that they have some ability to process a fair number of visas.

[kappy66 15]

5 hours ago, Steve and Nicha said:

The posting from the Department of State is the first positive sign that embassies will start considering the K visas as a high priority.  This notice would not have been published if these visas were categorized in the presidents proclamation.  It is probably because of an outcrying of people like us that want information.   If anyone is fortunate enough to reach a human being at the BKK embassy and the person says they are not processing K visas, they should be asked why their consulate is not following the direction provided by the Department of State.  Their statistics for June and July show that they have some ability to process a fair number of visas.

Can you share the location of the stats

[Steve and Nicha 35]

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/important-notice-for-k-visa-applicants-affected-by-covid-19.html
 

Also, I just saw today that the US Embassy in Singapore is now processing fiancé visas and have a big announcement on the home page of their website.  BKK has not US travel restrictions so hopefully they will follow soon.

 

https://sg.usembassy.gov