CJ&Jum

I'm a Sawasdee thread poster from years back. What happened to this thread? am I really the first poster in 2012? I thought I would bring it to the top.

Well, we have good news, Jum is officially a U.S. citizen. From first meeting in 2004, through the fun adventures of wading through the immigration process, we have come to the finish line. I wanted to thank Visa Journey for all of the great information and support from all the members. It is a long journey for everyone. Speaking from one who has seen it through to the end, I can provide one word of advice on the whole process: "PATIENCE"

Good luck to everyone, as always, I am happy to provide any advice.

So long as the documents were sent to the correct address, and everything requested was contained within, the point of origin of the documents should not matter. There are many instances like yours, or others where people may have law firms prepare such documents and send them in. So, not a problem for you. Good luck.

Cover letters like the one above are great. The process is much easier than most people think. We have helped several people go through this process successful. Our total I-129F petition was no more than 30 pages, most of which were bank statements and tax returns attached to the I-134 Aff. of support. 2 pictures, some emails, phone call logs, quick story about how you met, intent to marry within 30 days letter, etc. Review the guides on this forum, or post any specific question on this forum and I am sure that someone has the answer. I would never pay anything for an outside party to handle this type of process unless you had a more complex case such as visa overstays. Good luck!

Agreed, remember that proof of income is different than a filed tax return. As you pointed out, you had income obtained outside of the U.S. In the I-134 affidavit documents, they do not ask specifically for U.S. income. Just document your total income and you have well enough funds to support. There should be no issue.

Document your current income and savings, and you should qualify nicely on your own.

I enclosed 3 photos, printed on regular paper, two of us together in Thailand, and one with family. I wrote a brief caption on each photo. Never any problem and I never saw the pictures again so they probably went into the magic circular file at the embassy. There is no need to have anything fancy, just like others suggest, submit what is requested and you should be fine. We had no problems with our visa process several years ago. It was painless. Good luck!

Student loan debt is not a problem. As long as you, the "petitioner", have sufficient income to support your fiance upon him entering the country, you will have no issues from student loan debt owed on a student loan in Thailand.

In fact, the debt will never be brought up on any application or questiong since there are no financial questions asked of the person coming to the U.S., other than evidence that they have financial support for their trip.

If he chooses to continune making payments on the loan in Thailand (while in the U.S.) you can transfer funds from most U.S. banks to Thailand through bank wire (usually around $45 international fee though). If you use Bangkok Bank, they have an office in New York so you are also able to do a bank wire (domestic fee to Thailand) a lot cheaper, anywhere from $5-maximum $20, depending on amount. Or, do what I recommend, open a free U.S. bank checking account, get an ATM card and send it to a trusted family member/friend. That way, they can go to an ATM in Thailand to withdraw the funds from your U.S. account, and deposit/pay for the loan in Thailand. This transaction would probably be about a $5 fee from your bank, and a 50 Baht charge direct from the ATM.

Let me know if you need any other Thailand tips, I think we've been through them all....

I used this guide, organized everything, puunched three holes in every page, put those gold fasteners in each hole (like those gold things you used to put in your childhood papers). This way, the package was connected together, but easily taken apart as needed. We had no RFE, not stops along the way, and never one question about anything submitted. The index, I feel, is important to include. Take it from the perspective that you are the one reviewing the file for the first time. Make it easy for them, and hopefully they will make it easy for you.

I found this topic very useful. It explains in detail how to assemble the I129f package.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/228720-i-129f-package/

Enjoy the travel and glad you are keeping the Sawasdee thread alive, I remember many years ago it was always on the first page.

Bank statements, typically from the last 3 to 4 recent months should be sufficient. You will likely have difficulty getting any large commercial or regional bank to understand that you would like to have a bank letter that indicated your banking activity over a certain period. A local credit union (if they are your primary bank) should be more helpful. Remember that the bank is not making the decision for this case, so the easiest answer if to provide nothing more than you can obtain on your own. A simple bank statements should suffice, combined with an official letter indicating employment status and income/salary.

Since you indicate that you are self-employed, the complete tax returns for the last 3 tax years (2007, 2008, 2009) would be the best source of proof of finances since this is what you have reported to the government. If you have copies of all pages, send them. Better to send too much than too little. I was in a similar situation and had a large tax return and copied everything, with audit ready receipts for all items claimed. We had no issues during the entire process. GOOD LUCK!

Be patient, they will probably take a few weeks and will contact you via mail. Good luck.

They will cash it. They are the government, they are good at taking our money.

I would not worry about a thing, the student loan debt is a personal matter wholly separate from any immigration requirement and will likely never be questioned at all since she would be immigrating to the US. For the future, you might also consider adding her to your credit accounts for her to build up positive credit history in the U.S. Continue as you are and good luck on your journey!

We are planning a trip to Bali, Indonesia during the middle of October and are looking for some nice (not overpriced) hotels. Any suggestions of hotels to check out, or places to see/do? Thanks!

Looking to book air travel to Thailand soon. Any recommendations on travel agents. I have looked at a number of discount ticket sites, but sometimes there are agents or airlines that have even better deals. Any suggestions? Flight would be from Charlotte, NC to Bangkok, no preference on airlines or stops, prefer around 24-26 hour total travel time.

Thanks for any tips!

C.J. & Jum

A very good friend of ours will soon be moving back to Thailand.

I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion for shipping personal items back to Thailand. This would include things like clothes, gifts, souvenirs, etc. The items would be in several large boxes. I am guessing maybe enough to fill up a large SUV. While she is donating or passing on many items, I am trying to help out and find some shipping companies that might be worth checking into. Speed is not a problem so long as items will arrive safely. She is able to send stuff now, and will be in Thailand in a few months. Thanks for any tips or suggestions!

C.J.

Consider the www.ed2go.com ESL courses. These are online computer classes. Most community colleges have "distance learning" programs that they make you believe are local online courses but they direct to this site, cost is around $50 for each section, they have grammar, writing, speaking, and many other skills that have ESL based classes. Check your local community college for Ed2go or distance learning ESL classes. While they are not face to face, in classroom courses, with her experience, she may learn a thing or two.

Good luck!

C.J.

We call Ubon Ratchathani quite often. I have used www.idphonecard.com for the last 4 years, great service and excellent prices.

C.J.

I would like to find a high quality calling card. The one that I use now is not very good. I am calling a cell number in Ubon Ratchathani and sometimes the sound is so bad I have to call back. Sometimes I get the all circuits are busy try later message. When Chutima calls me the sound quality is much better so I know that higher quality networks exist. I have vonage and the calls to thailand with vonage are even worse than the calling card and more expensive.

The one I have now I purchased on www.ThaiTel.com. It is called HandyDirect and it says that the network is provided by LSR Telecom, USA.

What calling card do you use?

Are you satisfied with the quality?

Are you satisfied with the cost?

Merrill

Any idea where I can go to find additional information, or does anyone know the basic requirements for a Thai citizen with US Green card would need to go to France? My wife is planning a vacation there towards the end of the year and I'm not sure where to look. Any help is appreciated.

C.J.

Hello everyone, I'm hoping to find a job in Asia somewhere. I have experience with several large manufacturing organizations in a Financial/Tax Analyst role. I have an M.B.A. and am looking to build up some international experience. My # one country choice is Thailand, but Singapore, Malaysia, China, etc. are also candidates. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting a job overseas, or possibly places to look?

Thanks for the help in advance!

C.J.

You should still have time to save up. There are fees for everything.

C.J.

Still checking in.. I just took a look at the form to remove conditions for Dao. Ouch $545 now!

Nice to see some of the Senior member "regulars" still checking in from time to time. I see that Sawasdee is still going strong.

All is well here in NC!

C.J.

Wow that is amazing for only $10. How is the call quality? Gene long time since I have seen you on here! Of coarse I haven't been on here either.

Dan

Hi Dan,

It's great to see that everything is going well for you and your wife. Monday we'll be sending in the paper work to remove conditions on Ying's green card.

we've used Vonage for several years and the call quality has been very good. Ying tells me that the calls to Thailand sound the same.

Have you two been back to Thailand yet? We try to get back once a year for vacation. Last year Ying got back twice. She came with me during 1 of my trips for work. We already have tickets to return next March for a couple of weeks.

I remember one thing, make copies of EVERYTHING you send or receive!

Hi everyone, I'm back to reading the Sawasdee thread again, I have so much to catch up on. Jum and I are well and enjoying our lives together in the U.S. I'm glad to see so many new faces and to see the progresss of everyone's visa journey.

C.J.

Thank you for these suggestions, I will check them out and report back.

-C.J.

Some links that might get you started...

www.sevenseasworldwide.com

www.excess-baggage.com

www.upakweship.com

Hello all, I need to ship some car suspension parts (about 2-3 packages totaling about 125 pounds combined) to Australia (Sydney) from the U.S. There is not a hurry on the parts getting there, but I don't want it to cost a lot of money. Any recommendations on shipping companies to use? The typical FedEx and UPS rates are higher than I would like (about $6-800) Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks a lot!