HarryWho

I brought my Thai wife to the USA as a permanent resident, now she is a US Citizen!  Yeah!  Long journey, as you all know.

We plan to go to Thailand over Christmas for a visit.  She will show her US passport when she departs the US and show her Thai Passport when she re-enters Thailand.  But her Thai passport is expired!

So, the question is should she get her Thai passport renewed via the Thai embassy is Los Angeles before returning, or just try to re-enter Thailand with her expired passport?

I am worried if we send her Thai passport to the Thai embassy in Los Angeles for renewal that renewal will change the passport number.

So?

1) Should we renew her Thai passport before returning?

2) If we do renew it, will they change the passport # or remove the exit stamp?

TIA for any help with these questions!

John and Kamonkarn

My wife had her interview on Dec 16th and she passed!

She is flying to the US tomorrow on Dec 21st. Her first flight longer than a few minutes.

I am very worried about her 20 hour international flight with a stop in Hong Kong, but she is brave and smart, so she should do fine.

The last step of the long arduous journey!

Good luck to those still waiting to hear some good news!

She made her laugh?!?!

Congrats btw!! Same story with us pretty much but we were on K-1!

Thanks everyone for the congrats! I appreciate it!

Yes, in our emails that we submitted there was one email where we talked about eating bugs.

The officer doing the interview said "do you really eat bugs", and my wife said "yes, don't you?". The officer laughed and said "yes, sometimes".

I am more adventerous than my Thai wife when it comes to eating bugs. I once ate a fried scorpion to the amusement of many Thai's watching me.

Congrats on your success! And good luck to the rest of you still on the journey!

My wife had her interview today in Bangkok, and she passed!

Thanks God and all who prayed for us and kept us in their thoughts!

The long hard journey is winding down.

She got the infamous woman at window #5, and she made her laugh, and she got her Visa.

I hope to have her in my arms by Christmas!

Hang in there if you are still waiting, one small step at a time, and then finally it's over.

I JUST got an email that we have an Interview Appointment in December!

Dec. 16 2011, 7am, Bangkok

With a little more luck, (I AM A LUCKY BOY!), I might get to hold her in my arms on Christmas!

Sometimes dreams do come true! I just got an email that the interview appointment for my wife in Bangkok is on Dec 16th at 7am!

It is doubtful she will be able to get her Visa and travel by the December 25th, but just knowing we actually have an interview appointment is reason to celebrate!

I got the email about 10 minutes ago, and once I stopped crying, I came here to post the good news. A couple more giant hoops to jump through, and we will be together again!

It looks like I might be able to get a flight out of Bangkok to the US for Nong before Christmas, but she might not have passport in hand by then, but I am hopeful!

Good luck to all of you that are waiting for their interview appointments!

Thanks for the responses and the links! We appreciate it.

I have been poking around and building up a file with links, phone numbers, etc.

This is a useful link, a page with the list of current Bangkok interview dates sorted by NVC case #. Very useful. I hope they contact us

soon with an interview date, but if not, I'll have an idea of how to get a status update.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/immigrant_visas/scheduled-appointments.html

Decided to update my signature with most recent events....

We are trying get a CR-1 visa to bring my wife from Thailand to the USA. We are getting close to the finish line, but we have a couple of questions for the VJ experts.

When I call the NVC, they tell me the "case is complete". The last step we completed was sending in the DS-230, the police check cerficate, and other documents to the NVC.

The NVC received the documents and processed them and updated our status to "case complete" and told us not to contact them for 8 weeks unless if we don't get anything in the mail.

I assume that means our case is being sent back to Bangkok for final processing.

I would like to check on our case status, the link for online status updates in the pinned CR-1 process is a 404, page not found.

I don't think they have the correct postal mail address for my wife in Thailand, and we want to make sure we don't miss anything important, like the interview date!

So, we anxiously await news about an interview date!

One last question. Is the Immigration Office in Bangkok in or out of the flooded areas of the city?

TIA for any insight!

HarryWho

Later this month, I will have been in Thailand for 6 months continuously. I am married and living with my Thai wife in a condo here. We have been together for 5+ months and married for 3 months. I want to bring her to the US.

I saw an interview on the web with an official from the Bangkok USCIS saying that the time requirement for a DCF filing in Thailand is living in Thailand for six months. I have also seen a one year requirement posted on other sites, but this interviewee from the Bangkok USCIS knows the correct requirements.

See the URL below for an interesting interview with a USCIS official and some great questions from the online audience.

http://www.ctrlegal.com/general-us-legal-news/immigrant-visa-questions-consulate-bangkok-part-2/

Some questions I have for the experts here if you don't mind...

How do you prove you are a legal resident for 6 months? I have an Education visa, and a condo rental agreement for the last 5 months, and another rental receipt for the first month I was here, so I should be OK.

I have already filed an I-130 in the US and I got the NOA1 receipt about 1 month ago, so I already have a CR-1 "in process". Will I need to cancel that I-130 if I proceed with the DCF? How?

I am unemployed at the moment, but I could go back and find work if needed. My brother is willing to be my co-sponsor and file an I-864 if I need it. But he lives in Florida and I live in California. Does that matter?

But my main question is...Will a DCF of an I-130 make a big difference in the end to end timeline compared to an already filed I-130 that is currently in process?

Will the DCF take months off the overall process? Or should I just hang in there and wait for the I-130 already in the pipeline and go from there?

Lots of questions, sorry.

Thanks for any feedback! I appreciate it!

I have a CR-1 in process, the forms were recently sent to Chicago from Bangkok. I am trying to bring my new Thai wife to the USA. I just found out about the DCF process, and I think that might help me get home to the USA with my new wife sooner, taking a few months off the CR-1 timeline. I understand I would have to put a stop on the CR-1 process if I try to use the DCF. I am just about to hit the 6-month threshold listed as a qualifier for the DCF process.

I am using my Ex's address as my place of residence. She is OK with it, and she is being very helpful being my support person in the US while I am here in Thailand. My passport, license, credit cards, tax returns, etc all use that address as my US residence. I still get mail there, and she lets me know when anything important arrives in postal mail. She is a good woman to still help me while I have a new wife here in Thailand. We were never married, just living together for a few years at her condo. Her name is on all the paperwork for the condo.

So, my basic question, am I OK continuing to list my Ex's address as my place of residence, right up until the time I arrive in the US, when I will obviously have to get a new apartment?

TIA for any advice, great forums, good luck to all the people in the pipeline waiting for visas!