ThailandToIndiana

My wife is pregnant with our second child and we'd like her mother to come when the baby is due and stay for a while.  She's married, has other children in her home country, and has property in her home country, so I'm fairly certain there's reason to believe she will return to her home country once her visa is due to expire.  But, I have a few questions...

1.  Given that the baby is due in October, how far in advance should she apply for the B2 visa?

2.  How long will she be able to stay in the States on a B2 visa?

3.  If she wants to remain in the States past the visa expiration date, is there a way to request an extension?

4.  Is there a wait limit between B2 visas?  For example, if she comes here on a B2 visa and returns home, how long before she'll be allowed back again on a B2 visa?

5.  How much is a B2 visa going to cost us?

6.  Can I complete and submit the DS-160 for her?

That's about all for now.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hmmm...went to the link and it seems it's required for those who currently have applications in process, but since my wife already has a green card, I'm not sure it's required.

I went ahead and completed the form anyway.

Thanks Teeak!

Hope I'm posting this in the right section.

My wife came here on an IR-1 visa and now has her green card. We initially moved to Florida, but have since moved to Indiana. Do we need to notify someone at immigration about our move, or does that not matter? If we need to notify someone, who and at what number?

Thanks!

Thanks for the info, but my wife isn't planning on applying for citizenship. Our plans are to move to Thailand, purchase a house, and stay for many years. If, way down the road, we decide to return to the States, we will take the IR-1 route again. To be honest, neither of us are as happy in the States as we were when we lived in Thailand. The States aren't all they're cracked up to be, so we're going to head back to Thailand for a while. I'm glad we gave the States a shot, but the country isn't for everyone. Best of luck to the rest of you though.

Good to know…thanks for the info!

Ok, yes, sorry for the misinformation. My wife did receive her Green Card. So we should hang onto that for a year (in case there's an emergency…like the death of someone in my family), and then turn that into the U.S. Consulate in Bangkok. My guess is that voluntarily returning a Green Card will not be looked down upon if we later apply for a future tourist visa, or even another IR-1, correct?

My wife and I lived in Thailand for a number of years and decided we'd give living in the States a shot. After living in the States for a little over a year, we've decided to return to Thailand. My wife currently has an IR-1 visa. What happens to that when we leave the States. Is it still valid if we decide to come back to the States for a vacation? Or, once we return to Thailand, is the IR-1 visa voided and we'd have to get another visa for her to return to the States?

Thanks for the answers. Good point about going to a country other than the one of her nationality or the U.S. as a cruise passenger...will have to check on that depending on where we go.

My wife entered the U.S. in March of this year. Since we had been married longer than two years prior to her entering the United States, she now has a green card valid for ten years.

My question is this, will it matter when the U.S. visa that was placed in her passport expires? For example, if we were to return to Thailand for vacation sometime after the passport visa expires, will she still be able to get back into the U.S. by using her green card, or do we need to renew the visa in her passport?

Also, regarding traveling, we were thinking of taking a cruise, and a passport is needed to do so. Obviously I'll have my U.S. passport, but would she just take her Thai passport accompanied by her green card?

On a side note, one would think the government would send this type of information out with the green card, but no such information came with the card.

Like you, I had never been married before either. I married my wife at 38 (am now 41) and couldn't be happier. We have a son who's a 18 months old and he keeps us grounded. Our move to the States was mostly for his benefit as we felt he'd be better off and have more opportunities in the States than in Thailand. We plan on returning to Thailand once every three to four years for two or three months at a time because we don't want him to loose that part of his heritage.

555! Yes, the dishwasher is another appliance foreign to my wife. Took her a few tries to learn how to load it (would put glasses face up rather than down), but she has taken to it pretty well. A tiny appliance she was bemused by was the water/ice maker in the refrigerator door...she thought that was next to brilliant. :-)

My wife immigrated to the States in mid-March. Since we live in Florida, we didn't have to worry about the sweaters, and the weather is similar to that in Thailand, which is a plus.

Things that made transition easier for my wife:

- After just two days in the States, we went and stayed at a condo on the beach for 4 days. This gave my wife an "on vacation" feel while at the same time giving her a few days to get used to the different sights and sounds around her. It was a great few days and I believe it helped her transition quite a bit.

- My family was very welcoming. They all adore my wife and vice versa. My wife calls my parents "mom" and "dad," and it's all a very pleasant atmosphere. We get together at least once a week with various family members (parents, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc).

- She uses the iPhone I bought her to call her parents. There are two apps (Viber and Line) that use the Internet to place calls. I bought my in-laws an iPad prior to leaving Thailand, which supports those apps. At home, my wife's iPhone is connected to our wifi. Therefore, she uses that to call her parent's iPad at no extra charge. She can call back there every day if she wants at no extra cost to me.

- There are three Asian markets not too far from us. My wife raids the shelves there every few weeks and that keeps her happy in the food department. Some things there are a bit expensive, but it's a small price to pay for a happy wife.

- I bought my wife and iPad and she keeps up with her friends on that (Facebook & email). She also watches an array of Thai TV shows on that. It doubles as a nice picture/video taking device that she can then send to her friends and family in Thailand via email or on her Facebook page.

- She's been to see a doctor and a dentist. This could certainly have been put off, but having a doctor and dentist is important and it makes her feel more settled in.

- We shop...a lot. I took her out to the stores that she'll get the most use out of. It was trial and error for a while because she's not exactly a big woman, thus making it difficult to find clothes that fit her. Banana Republic has a petite section. Charlotte Russe (sp?) and Forever 21 are two other stores that have a lot of things she's able to wear. She also likes the MAC (make-up) store.

- We're currently looking for a house to buy, and that is something exciting for her to take part in. Once we have one, she'll enjoy furniture shopping.

- She goes to "school" a few nights a week. I have a bachelor's degree in ESL, so rather than paying someone else to teacher her English, I do that myself.

- There is a Cambodian-style Buddhist temple in our city, but neither of us want to go there (we're both Buddhists). The nearest Thai temple is a 3-hour drive away and we've yet to go there...will likely make that trip in two or three months. In the meantime, we do have some Buddhist ornaments around the home, and we'll be getting a spirit house when we purchase our new place. Our religion is important to us, but it's not something requiring us to go to a church once a week. We practice it the best we can given our location and the distance to a temple.

- Be prepared to teach her how to use various appliances (garbage disposal, washer, dryer, oven, etc).

There's likely nothing you are going to be able to do to keep her from getting homesick...it just happens. Best thing to do is be aware of it, and don't take offense if she gets frustrated at times and declares her desire to return to Thailand. My wife does this on occasion. It's not that she's unhappy in Florida, but rather because things are easier for her in Thailand, and she misses her family and the friends she has there. The feeling generally passes within 24 hours and doesn't pop up again for a few weeks. I'm not sure what we'd do if she was in a state of depression and was dead-set on going back to Thailand. I feel bad for people facing those kinds of things.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you all for the helpful answers!

After entering the U.S. on March 10, my wife received her IR1 permanent resident card in the mail yesterday. It's good for 10 years. My question is, now what? I take it there aren't any removal of conditions required and she's free to work or do whatever else (although we're still waiting for her Social Security Number). Do we just have to wait the mandatory three years and then she can apply for citizenship?

Thanks Hikergirl! I filled out the form, paid the money, and hopefully my wife will now get her Green Card and Social Security Card in the mail by the end of the month. So much left to do (bank account, ID card, driver's license, credit card, et cetera), but at least we're another step closer.

It’s on her visa somewhere.

Good luck!

I'm looking at my wife's visa in her passport now. I see the case number, but I don't see the "A" number. Or, at least I don't see a number with the letter "A" preceding it.

There is a "Registration Number"...is that the same an an "A" number?

Easy peasy...thanks!

Thanks! Went to the website and apparently now I have to dig up the Case Number and A Number. I know I can get the Case Number easy enough (it's on my wife's visa in her passport), but I don't know if we have any paperwork with the A Number on it...I'm not a hoarder and thus threw out paperwork we no longer needed once we entered the U.S....like the old RFEs and such. If I call the NVC, could they provide me with the A Number? I wish they would have just requested the fee when we entered the U.S....would have been much easier to pay it right then and there.

Does someone have a link to wherever it is I'm supposed to pay a $165 fee? My wife has entered the U.S. and now her GC is being held up because that fee has not been paid...something I didn't even know I had to pay. At any rate, I'd like to pay it as quickly as possible, but don't know what the website is to do so.

A white sauce I like on pasta is alfredo sauce, which my wife thought was good as well. However, I once made my wife a pasta dish using carbonara sauce and she LOVED it...score one point for me in the kitchen. So, if you're looking for a white pasta sauce, and you haven't tried carbonara sauce, give that one a try. I'd recommend using a flat noodle and adding chopped mushrooms, small pieces of ham, and a few shrimp (which is the way my wife likes it...personally I could do without the shrimp).

My wife entered on March 10th at JFK. Oddly enough, I was the only U.S. citizen on the flight, and I guess there were no other international flights arriving at that time because we were the only ones in the line for U.S. citizens. My passport was stamped, then my son's passport was stamped (dual citizenship), then my wife's was stamped. We were then escorted to a room where a woman took my wife's fingerprints, looked at the packet we gave her, changed "CR-1" to "IR-1" in the paperwork and on my wife's visa in her passport, and then let us go. The process took about 5 minutes.

From there we collected our suitcases (6 of them), and went through customs, who looked at our passports, and then waved us through without the slightest interest.

It was quick and easy...unlike the previous 11 months of this visa process.

On March 10th I flew my wife and our son to the States...FINALLY! It was quite a good feeling!

Initially she had a CR-1 visa. However, when going through immigration at JFK airport, I pointed out to the lady taking my wife's fingerprints that my wife and I have been married for over two years. She then put a line through "CR-1" in my wife's packet that we turned over and wrote "IR-1." She did the same thing on my wife's visa in her passport.

My wife will soon be going to the Social Security office to apply for her Social Security number, and I know we just have to sit and wait as far as the green card is received, but what now? Is there a way to check to see if the woman's handwritten "IR-1" took effect? Will it say "IR-1" on the green card when my wife receives that?

Thanks for all the answers!

get a grip, this is not real life in any Muslim country.things like this happen rarely and we only hear of them because the media picks and chooses what they report on. Before you make a ridiculous, sweeping comment like this do your homework and stop insulting an entire region of the world and religion based on your ignorance.

Wow...you are delusional if you don't think that's real life in Pakistan. It is written into their law. I'm currently in Afghanistan, where I've spent a total of 2.5 years. In addition, I've spent over 2 years in Iraq. I work counterintelligence for the government and am quite familiar with various countries in this "region of the world" as you refer to this geographic area. Yes, the media picks and chooses what they report on, but I can tell you they only report a fraction of the atrocities that occur in Pakistan.

I did not generalize any particular country or religion. I simply stated two facts...documented, proven facts. It is you who are ignorant.

To the initial poster, I think if he is so unhappy in the horrible United States with all its faults, and had such a great life in Pakistan (as he has claimed), he should move back there.