e_b_d

There's always one more little thing to worry about... the day before my husband went to get his police certificate, we noticed that his passport was expiring soon. So, he went for the police certificate, and the next day applied for a new passport. The new passport came in the mail a week later and we noticed that it has a new number that does not match the old passport number. (I never knew this as I've only had one passport.) Then, today I got his police certificate and realized its says "Mr. so and so, passport number xxxx". So it identifies him by his old passport number. He can still show the old (cancelled) passport to prove it's the same person, but I'm worried. Has anyone had this situation before? Do you think we need to get a new police certificate? It's free but it requires a 12-hour each-way train trip to Bangkok! Thanks!

Hi, I'm not clear on what kind of certification you need, but if all you need is a US public notary, I think the only place for that is the US Consulate or Embassy. I had a form notarized at the US Consulate in Chiang Mai last year for about $30. If you need "certified" translations into English, then there are a lot of businesses that do that, but I've never done it myself. If you only need a certified copy of documents (but still in Thai), she should be able to get those from the offices that issued the original. My Thai husband has about 4 certified copies of his birth certificate. Hope that helps a little.

Hi, I've searched the forums and sent 3 emails to the Bangkok embassy and can't find an answer to this question.

Packet 3 says that if either the petitioner or beneficiary has changed their name, we need to submit a name change certificate. I (the USC petitioner/wife) changed my last name after we got married. But I didn't get any name change certficate, just a new Social Security card. I've never even heard of a name change certificate in the US, although I know they have those in Thailand. Do I just show my Social Security card with the new name or do I need something else?

It's probably no big deal, but as you all know, we just want to be completely sure we are not missing anything!

A couple of things I forgot to mention. Here is a USCIS page with BKK office info including tel. number and email address:

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of...r.statecode=abk

They accept credit/bank cards for payment of the $355 fee even though the website does not say this. I read this webpage, and was thinking I would have to pay in baht cash or by cashier's check, but I called them about something else and just happened to mention, "I can pay by cashier's check right?" and the officer said, "I don't know but most people use a credit card." I was really relieved. By the way if you pay in credit card or US cash it's cheaper for you. They send you to pay at the US Embassy across the street, and the Embassy exchange rate is not often updated. When I went to pay, they were using a 34 baht to 1 dollar rate, when the real exchange rate was about 31 or 32. So I would have paid a good bit more money if I had paid in baht.

My (Thai) husband and I are moving to the US soon... I appreciated all your comments, especially about the TV, because my husband loves to watch TV and I know he'll get tired of so much English practice all the time. I have been practicing making Thai food here in Thailand, so that when we get there I can cook it for us, and I'll be taking some supplies with me and looking forward to seeing what I can buy in North Carolina. I don't even know if there are many Thais in NC, but I hope we'll find them...

Best wishes to all.

Hello all, I just went through the first step of DCF in Bangkok, Thailand, and I thought I would post for those who are interested. For Bangkok DCF, you don't actually apply to the Consulate, you file your I-130 petition at the US Citizen and Immigration Services office in Bangkok. USCIS only provides this service to American citizens who actually live in Thailand. It was pretty simple and fast, so I recommend it to anyone who does live here.

In order to apply there, you must have lived in Thailand 6 months (some people say) or 1 year (others say). I've lived here for 4 years so the difference didn't matter to me. (You can email or call them about this, they are accessible both ways.) I had to make copies of my current and previous one-year visa extensions in my passport to prove I had lived here long enough. While I was there I watched them turn away a man who was on a tourist visa and evidently did not do any research, because he was amazed and very angry that they would not allow him to apply.

The approval of the I-130 was actually not as fast as I hoped, since I had read that some people get it approved in 2 weeks or something. I applied on April 28, and the approval notice was dated May 28, arriving in the mail a few days later. I wondered how long I would have to wait for Packet 3 from the Embassy after that, but I didn't have to wonder for long... it came the very next day! Apparently, the approval went to the Embassy one day and they sent out Packet 3 the next. (The two offices are across the street from one another.)

One advantage to DCF (if you are eligible) is that you apply in person, so the officer can tell you right away if you are missing something. The lady at USCIS BKK did not want anything I turned in that was not the size of the other sheets of paper. So, she told me if I wanted to submit my picture albums or newspaper articles to go make copies of them onto regular paper. There was only one lady dealing with customers, she was Thai, and she was polite.

So now we're working on our papers to return to the Embassy. If anyone out there wants to know more about Bangkok DCF, send me a message.

Dear all,

My fiance got his K-1 approved today and will pick it up tomorrow! Thanks to everyone for your help along the way.

In case anyone is interested I'll tell what questions he was asked. There were more questions than we expected from what I had read, but none of them were difficult.

How long have you known each other?

Where did you meet your fiance?

What was your fiance doing there (where you met)?

What does your fiance do for a living? (This was the wording he used, glad my fiance knew that this means "What kind of work does your fiance do?")

What are you doing now? (that is, work or study, etc)

Where is your fiance now?

So you've met her parents? (The interviewer knew this from the pictures.)

When are you getting married?

He also was asked one question that I won't quote directly in order to guard his privacy, it was about a "yes" answer to one of the questions in number 38 of the DS-156. We had attached a signed statement to explain the "yes" answer, and the consular officer probably just asked him about it in order to confirm that his answer matched the written statement.

Then he was asked to raise his hand and swear that the information in his documents was true. Then he was told to come back for the visa at 3pm tomorrow!

thank you george/matt, that was helpful!!! it is very stressful. the i-797 indicated that i will here from them w/in 30 days, is that from the notice of approval? separately does it matter if he was denied a tourist visa before? (he has had visas to the the u.s. before but his last was denied, any bearing on the k-1?)

thanks again for being so helpful.

Kang Lang,

My fiance who just got his K-1 approved also had a denied tourist visa from about one year ago. He saw at the K-1 interview today that they had his whole packet of papers from his denied tourist visa attached to his K-1 papers, so they definitely look that stuff up. Whether it has any impact on the K-1 would depend on why he got denied the tourist visa, but if your fiance is like my fiance and most Thai tourist visa applicants, he got denied because he did not have sufficient proof that he would come back to Thailand. If that is indeed the case, the tourist visa denial will not hurt him on the K-1, since the K-1 visa holder has permission to stay in the US and apply for a green card, thus the K-1 applicant is not required to prove that he will come back to Thailand. In fact, the consular officer who interviewed my fiance for the K-1 today told him right out, "This is the correct way", meaning that the K-1 is the correct way to get into the US for someone who is dating/planning to marry an American, instead of the tourist visa. (When he applied for the tourist visa before, we were not planning to get married on that trip, but I now realize that him having an American girlfriend was less than helpful for getting a tourist visa, since some people might try to get married on a tourist visa.)

Good luck to you!

Goontar,

I have been able to get email replies from the embassy regarding my case, by following the advice of others on this forum:

Email to: visasbkk@state.gov

Subject: 2nd IV Inquiry BNKXXXXXXXXX (Applicant: Name)

The embassy says your email should give them the details of your case first before your specific problem is stated. For example, this is what I wrote in the email body:

'Re: I-129-F (K-1 Visa) petition

Case Number: BNKXXXXXX

Petitioner: Name (Date of Birth xxxxxx)

Applicant (Thai national): Name (Date of Birth xxxxxx)

Please notify me at (email address) whether the Embassy has received our K-1 petition and whether Packet 3 has been mailed to the applicant yet.

Thank you'

If you don't receive a reply within one or two days, email again, with the subject line saying 3rd or 4th Inquiry. My "2nd inquiry" got no reply but my "3rd inquiry" got a reply in one business day.

And, for anyone who is waiting on packet 3, I'll post here the embassy's reply when I asked if I could go ahead and send my fiance's checklist, DS-230, etc, without having received packet 3. (This was after the embassy confirmed by email that they had sent packet 3 to us weeks ago.)

'Dear Madam,

The address of the applicant is changed according as requested. For your conveniences, the Packet 3 materials and forms and the checklist can also be obtained through this link; http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/services/visa...20Checklist.htm

You can mail

1. Signed checklist

2. 2 photos of the immigrant visa photograph requirements; http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/services/visa...requirement.htm

3. a photocopy of the passport photo page

4. DS-230 part I (unsigned)

to the IV Unit using this mailing address right away.

U.S. Embassy

Consular Section

Immigrant Visa Unit

95 Wireless Road

Bangkok

10330

Normally, when the returned Packet 3 materials are received by the IV Unit by mail, the interview appointment can be scheduled in 10-12 weeks later. By that time, the applicant will be notified by mail.

Regards,

Correspondence Unit'

Also, I'd like to make a note about the medical exam in case it might help someone. There is a required form DS-2053 that is not listed on the BKK embassy's website as a packet 3 form (http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/services/visa/K1%20for%20Thai.htm), but I knew about it from Bill's posting of his packet 3 forms, and I downloaded it from http://travel.state.gov/Publications/DS-2053.pdf. Of course the hospital asked us to bring the forms, but in the end, the doctor used some of his own forms, which I think we exactly the same except his were printed front and back. We went to Dr. Kitti at Ram 1 in Chiang Mai. It took a couple of hours, but there were no problems. My fiance had to go back to pick up the results and forms the next day.

I hope I've helped someone a little. Good luck to you all!

Congratulations Dan and Ton on the green card and Bill and Pao on the visa approval!

I got my NOA-2 and am working hard on all the paperwork for the BKK embassy.

Yes, the originals and the copies are needed to be presented to the consular at Window 5. I recommend you to place the original on top of the copy....you know...like... BC, then the copy of BC...Thai ID, then the copy of it.....

I was told from the other visa webboard (in Thai) to have all documents in order like this....

set 1 (beneficiary’s doc)

1. DS-156

2. DS-156K (unsigned)

3. DS-157

4. Passport + a copy

5. Thai ID + a copy

6. census registration + a copy

7. birth certificate + a copy

8. name change certificate + a copy (if applicable)

9. divorce decree + a copy (if applicable)

10. medical examination

11. receipt of visa fee from post office

set 2 (petition’s doc)

1. I-134

2. the letter of employment

3. bank statement

4. most recent year tax return + W2

5. divorce decree + a copy (if applicable)

set 3 (proof of relationship)

- E- mail , E-Card

- photos

- a copy of plane tickets

- phone bills

- etc.

Good luck on your interview on 30th!!!!!

Hi James,

Can you direct me to this visa webboard in Thai that you mentioned?

Also, to all, I'm a little confused about whether I need tax forms for the I-134. It's mentioned by James above, and I've heard it elsewhere, but neither the I-134 itself nor the VJ Affadavit of Support tips mention tax forms. Am I missing something?

Thanks

Hello all,

You don't see many posts from me, but I'm always around reading your stories and learning from you. I have one question but first a story you all might appreciate (if that's the right word)...

My fiance needs to present his military record (only men need this) to get the police certificate. He knew where that record is and that he needed to request it in person and then wait a week or so to have it mailed. So last Tuesday night he took the night train from Chiang Mai down to his hometown Saraburi. On Wednesday he went to the district office, and this is what he was told: We can't give you your records because you are now registered as living in Chiang Mai. You have to go to the Chiang Mai district office and tell them to move your records from Saraburi to there, and then you can request it from them. We were pretty frustrated, since he wasted time and money to go down there, but I told him, well at least now you know exactly what you need to do. Then Friday he went to the office in Chiang Mai, and you guessed it... they told him that the office in Saraburi is wrong. It has nothing to do with where he has his house registration, the military records are there in Saraburi and he has to request them from there. Agghhhh!! So this would mean another trip down there, hoping the officials would give it to him, and then still waiting a week or so for them to mail it even if successful. Then another trip to BKK for the police certificate. But then, fortunately, my fiance saw that on the police certificate info there are two types of military record acceptable, and he called a different office to see if the second type was difficult to get. They said, no problem, you can get it in one day. Good news, so with much prayer we are going to try to get the military record and apply for the police certificate on the same trip down to central Thailand in a few weeks. We'll see.....

My question is, since we are waiting on NOA2 and expecting it in Jan or Feb, is it okay to go ahead and get the bank and employer letters and the notarzed I-134 ready, or can too-early dates be a problem? Thanks!

Hello all,

Sent my I-129F on Oct. 13!! Now thinking of how to prepare for the next part. I want to ask two questions about the police certificate. One, can you get it ahead of time or do you have to wait and request it when you have received Packet 3? Two, how long did it take to get it? The BKK embassy's info says 2-3 weeks for processing the police certificate, but it looks from some of your timelines like you got it quickly. Is there any chance of getting it on the day you request it? My fiance and I live in Chiang Mai, so we want to make as few trips to BKK as possible, but we also want to be well-prepared.

Thanks!

Erin

Thanks to Bill for the BKK embassy website links, I had been on there but somehow missed those very important pages. Thanks to Yodrak also for good information.

I have another question and am glad we have this community where I can ask Thailand-specific questions. Where it asks on various forms (G325A etc) for address (number and street), we can use the house number and neighborhood (Moo) number right? That's what we use for mail and we don't know the names of some streets, especially for the former residences and former employers. For example:

Number and street: 55/129 Moo 12, Tambon Sansai Noi

City: A. Sansai

State/province: Chiang Mai

Country: Thailand

I just want to be sure there's no problems on the forms, I'm sure you all understand that!

Thanks

Erin

Hi all,

I also want to add my condolences to the Bryan and his friend... I've been through the tourist visa rejection with my fiance (before we were engaged and we just wanted to visit my family). The fact is, they just don't have to give those tourist visas to anyone unless they're sure you'll come back, and to make them sure enough can be impossible depending on your life circumstances.

I have a question for anyone who has been through the K-1 process with a Thai fiance: Can you tell me whether the Bangkok embassy will request the I-134 or the I-864? I'm just working on the I-129 right now, but I want to be ready for when the affadavit of support is needed.

Also, am I right in noticing that everyone in Thailand goes through the BKK embassy for the K-1 process? My fiance and I live in Chiang Mai, but I've noticed on this site that there are no reports of interviews at the Chiang Mai consulate.

Thanks

No, we're not trying to live in the US "for however long it takes to get the GC" . We're trying to live there long enough for him to get to know my family and home culture a little, if possible. In fact, if we didn't have to apply for a green card in order to have a long visit, I'd be happy. And no, I didn't mean that the US goverment was going to be flexible for me, I meant that our ideas and plans are flexible since we don't know what will be possible and what will be best for us.

I'm just beginning to learn and hoped to get some support here... Thanks to those who offered it.

Thanks so much to all 3 of you for your ideas, especially for the Bangkok DCF thread. I wasn't sure that was an option.

Well, as you can see, my boyfriend and I are not sure of what exactly we'll do, just exploring options. We do plan to get married--no sooner than a year from now--and we definitely want to spend some time in the US so that he can get to know my family and culture, but how long we'll stay and when we'll go is flexible. I realize that going to stay for a year might not work out on the visa side, that's why I wrote to see if anyone had any ideas. And no, we don't have a large stash of money, I was planning to work (and him too depending on his status), but all this is just preliminary thoughts so far.

Replying to Yodrak's other question, my boyfriend's visitor's visa was denied because he could not sufficiently prove non-intent to immigrate. It's pretty hard for young single Thais without much money to prove that they would just visit the US and not try to stay. The consular officer said, hey just apply for a fiance visa, you'll get that. Well, that's fine if you're planning to get married on your trip to the US, but we weren't.

Thanks again to all. I'll be around VJ learning from you all for a while.

My boyfriend is Thai and we both live in Thailand. What we would really like to do is travel together to the US next year, get married there, and stay for about a year, then return to live in Thailand. But to apply for AOS when his fiance visa runs out is so expensive and so much work, since he might not even stay long enough to finish the process. Does anyone know of any other options for us? He definitely can't get a tourist (visitor's) visa, we already tried that once and got denied. I'd appreciate any ideas.