bkksux

Same way in Manila Embassy also..

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Their have some Filipino/Filipina's who ask 3-4 questions each at a couple different window stations first before the interview itself takes place. They gather some basic information and "check for consistency" basically so the CO has a good idea when he looks briefly at the file before the interview itself. Sometimes they just ask questions... sometimes they ask for other documentation.. some embassies are a bit random on this process(Manila especially as they don't ask for a lot of your supporting evidence sometimes)

And when you book an interview at 8am..... so do like 20-30 other people.... Everyone goes at like 7am and then stands in line... It's just a generic "time slot". Pretty sure thats the same at all embassies.

As to the interview, thats strictly at the discretion of the CO... so if there was complications for your fiance when talking initially so some of the Thai staff, the CO could see the discrepancies immediately from them and what was in your original packet that they review right before hand.

Most of what you said is pretty much standard routine for most interview processes. Sorry that the staff seemed to be rude though, that is not very professional of them; but everything else seems pretty standard practice in US embassies.

Yah unfortunately Thailand and Philippines seem to have the most b.s. procedures due to saturation? Obama just pulled in record taxes, and U.S. citizens now can't even open a bank account in Thailand without filling our IRS forms, no joke... and yet what we are supposed to believe there is no budget to get interviews done in an accurate yet timely manner... ridiculous.

When a poorly educated Thai national can input 100% wrong data and screw over your interview and then force you to wait at least 1-2 more months... something is wrong with the picture eh!!

Are you sure that you met the self-employed income limits?

Are you also sure that the bank account information wasn't pertaining to domicile? Domicile info should not be difficult for you supply or re-supply.

100% certain. Bank info was requested on a 2nd document so not related to Domicile request.

One lady on Facebook told us maybe they are just "verifying" the bank statements are real (my self-employed income)... which is hilarious, cuz a letter from my bank would be way easier to forge than 9+ months of detailed statements.

I want to make sure this shows up in search results, cuz my fiance had a HORRIBLE experience at U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. So let me start by saying this is talking about the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand on Wireless Road and regarding the K1 (Fiance) Visa application and interview process, which has taken us over 6+ months of work so far and we still have not accomplished a visa yet... let the venting begin:

== K1 INTERVIEW A.K.A. PACKET 4 AT U.S. EMBASSY IN BANGKOK ==

Background:

First of all, I went to the BKK Embassy a few years back for another personal issue and the staff then were pretty friendly and helpful... apparently that has TOTALLY CHANGED... or the VISA people are a VERY different crowd.

Everyone was a huge jerk to my fiance. She was dressed politely, speaks English rather well, and was extremely well prepared (and is well educated). And no, she's not a bar girl...

Super slow + grumpy + incompetent + illegal:

Obviously the recent Chiang Mai Embassy closing for repairs has probably added stress and work to the BKK Embassy, but it doesn't excuse the disgusting level of snideness these people direct at hopeful families or students. It's their JOB, and you are legally representing the US GOVERNMENT. Typically in U.S. government offices I've been pleasantly surprised that, even when they are having a "grumpy" day, they still are generally professional and DO THEIR JOB. This gang at the BKK Embassy is NOT the same, I guess. It seemed very clear, not just from my fiance's 221G but from the several other Thai ladies next to her that also got 221G as well that they are purposefully using this "tool" right now as a new way to lessen their workload during the end of the year... and it's delaying the marriage and/or very sensitive plans of honest, hard-working people for not just a few days but even MONTHS (more on that explained below).

Despite getting there at 715am for her 8am appointment, she didn't actually start her interview until around 10:15am. It took nearly 4 HOURS for her to get fully in and out...

The most ridiculous part? Her "interview" was only around 30 seconds. And if you haven't heard, the "interview" is now just walking up to a glass window (standing there, i.e. like you are ordering from McDonald's) and answering a few b*tchy questions from the Officer you are unlucky enough to be given (they apparently limit the K1 cases to the same one Officer per each day, now). No private sit down, no discussion, no real "interview" at all.

On top of that, the Officers now have the Information Desk (low level Thai staff with poor English skills) do most of the "interview" for them. They ask your fiance questions during the check-in process and enter the answers in the computer. This is where my fiance's problems seem to have begun, as her profile then somehow ended up saying that her sponsor (me) was living permanently in Thailand and not the USA (100% not true, have been in US past 1+ year almost entirely). And for the record, this is surely completely illegal under U.S. law to be having Thai nationals not only interviewing, but formulating 221G evidence demands for visa applicants... (after the interview finished, this Thai "desk" girl also initially gave my fiance the totally wrong lady's K1 REJECTION LETTER because of the fact her English was so terrible, she couldn't even understand the document).

K1 interview now 100% pointless:

Literally the Officer just asked my fiance to "swear in" (very ironic, since his "desk" girl had already asked most of the questions, albeit inaccurately) and then asked her where I lived. "In ____ (city), (state), USA" was her answer. "But is he visiting you in Thailand now?" the Officer asked next, and she answers, "Yes, he came here the past few months to help with my K1 visa process."

Without another comment or question, he said "okay now go out and get the paper waiting for you at the Information Desk" ... she didn't even realize the "interview" was over, but it was! The desk girl handed my fiance a 221G document (which apparently had already been prepared by the desk girl during the 3-hour period my fiance was waiting for the Officer interview... derived from the girl's own faulty information about my country of residence; now I could be wrong on who prepared the 221G but unless the Officer somehow typed up the document and printed it out in the 30 seconds between pushing my fiance out the door and sending her to the desk, then NO... it was surely not composed by the Officer).

THE 221G REASON? They said we didn't provide DOMICILE evidence and that my bank account statements didn't mention the "date of account opening"... but I hadn't claimed any cash assets on the I-134 so that shouldn't even apply... the 9+ months of bank statements I provided were simply to back up the self-employed tax returns that I had submitted already (together with bank statements) in PACKET 1 + PACKET 3 as recommended by my visa agency and by dozens of other users across the web who had applied for K1 as a self-employed sponsor. Either the Officer failed to review I-134 documents properly, or was simply finding a purposefully illegitimate reason to quickly issue a 221G.

Did the Officer glance over some of the documents from Packet 3, Packet 4, and Packet 1? Yes, he did, it seemed, at least for a minute prior to interview. But his decision was apparently finalized on the data inputted by the desk girl, which is ludicrous (which said that I didn't live in the USA, etc). When my fiance realized it was a 221G she told the "girl" that WAIT, she did have DOMICILE information and that the I-134 included tax returns and bank statements... "NO! It doesn't matter! You must mail only... just give [221g] to your boyfriend!" was the girl's reply. My fiance says, "What, why is that? Isn't that the purpose of the Packet 4 and interview? How long with it take to put together more documents [that don't even apply to our situation] just to mail back to the Embassy again?" ... the girl then says angrily, "Yes that's because we are so busy now and ready for a long holiday... so don't hurry to send them, just wait until sometime in the new year!"

Now my Thai visa will expire soon, my fiance's apartment lease will expire soon, and we are (edited) out of luck. Plus, the "bank assets proof" they requested doesn't exist, because I don't have (nor claimed) tons of cash in the bank.

(Edited) BKK EMBASSY for lying about not only our profile data, but demanding docs that didn't apply to our case, and then confessing your true motivation was skirting your duty to avoid work.

SOUNDS JUST LIKE THE THAI GOVERNMENT AT THIS POINT...

post edited for language