gvt

Find the closest Thai Buddhist Temple even if it is a few hours away. It is a great opportunity to meet other Thais and make friends, volunteer, celebrate Thai festivals, etc. The more Thai friends she has here then easier it will be and the happier she will be and the less home sick she will be. They will have a lot in common off the bat and the Thais here can help her adjust. Connecting with the Thai expat community on Facebook is helpful too.

Cheap phone calls like Voipdiscount, Skype, is a great way to keep in touch with home. And an occasional trips back to Thailand also help (find Frequent flyer promotions to rack up miles). Most Thai's I know in the USA go back once a year or once every two years. Some don't want to ever go back as their life is here now and some have their mother's living here on Greencards.

That said, what my wife has noticed is that Thais, both men and women, who haven't traveled much outside their home towns tend to get the most home sick. Those that have traveled or even lived in different parts of Thailand adjust quicker.

The Fiancee just did her Police Cert. on the 10th Jan. and all that was needed was a copy of NOA 2 along with all pages from my passport(asked why my passport pages were needed and they explained it was in case something was to happen they had the Foriegners info on file for contacting him/her). And just 40 Baht to have it mailed to you which takes about 2 weeks.

I just spoke to my wife and she said the fee was under 100 baht at the time so maybe it was closer to 40 baht. Either way it cost money even though I believe packet 3 at the time said it shouldn't cost anything.

I also wonder if the letter of intent option is still available to those who still don't have their NOA2. For those who are interested, it doesn't hurt to ask if who want to get a jump start even before NOA2.

For you guys who have recently submitted your Packet 3, were you able to obtain your police report before you received packet 3 from the Embassy. My lawyer told me today that there is a new guy down there and we had to actually wait until we received packet 3 in order to request the police report. Also said there was no more expediting the PR for a little tea money. Any recent reports? I would like to save the 2 week delay and get the report so I can turn packet 3 around as quickly as possible.

Have your wife call the police station in Bangkok and ask this question. In the fall of 2009, when my wife called the station and they told her that if she brought in a letter from me stating my intent to marry her (I used the wording my original letter of intent sent with petition and changed the address to the police station) plus a copy of the first page of my passport, plus some fee, then they would begin to process the police report.

Again this was in October 2009.

So anyway, just have your wife call the station in Bangkok and ask what her options are.

IWe were told they would never issue a tourist visa to anyone married to a USC.

There are cases where this is NOT true. Every case is evaluated individually.

OP see this post from "mizz39"

:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/431771-usa-visa-for-thai-wife/

Regarding Narita - to explain it for those who have never been, international travelers who change planes in Narita (Tokyo) get treated as if they were never screened in the first place, thus you have to stand in one of three incredibly long queues for passenger screening. On top of that, if you survive the wait and eventually make it to the screening area, you are then greeted by an official sign explaining that Narita prohibits ALL LIQUIDS, right above a trash can which is to be used for, among other things, those very expensive bottles of wine that you thought you could safely keep in your carry-on. I'm betting that Narita gate agents have, far & away, the best office parties in Japan!

It is becoming more common place in International Airports for transit passengers to be screened again through a security checkpoint. It is the same procedure in Hong Kong where transit passengers are recreened though security. (http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/passenger/transfer-transit/all/transit_procedures.html).

I don't remember the re-screening being more than 5-10min for NRT but it may have to do with the time of day I was transiting. YMMV

After some searching, it appears it is easier to ensure the same flight and easier on the bank account to just book two round trip tickets to start with.

This route... I can have two seats side by side for a some-what comfy ride to Thailand since I'm not the size person they used to design the seating and on the return flight... I KNOW we're seated together!

Some airlines will cancel the return leg if you failed to use the first leg of a round trip. Make sure you check with the airline you are planning on flying with regarding their policy. Some airlines don't cancel but others do to discourage people from doing exactly what you are trying to do.

Hi,

I'm preparing to send my fiancee copies of my I-129F application, I-134, and tax transcripts, etc. in preparation for her embassy interview. These applications contain my social security number in numerous places. I'm concerned that if my papers were to get lost, or into the wrong hands, someone could use my personal information to steal my identity.

Is it okay to black out my SSN from all forms containing it (I-129F, G-325A, tax transcripts, employer verification), just to be on the safe side?

Thanks.

If you worried about someone stealing your identity/SSN, you can put a freeze on your credit line with all three major credit bureaus. In that way even if someone steals your SSN they cannot open lines of credit with your SSN number. But it doesn't stop someone from using your SSN for other identity purposes, etc.

More info on how to do this is here:

http://www.consumers...03484indiv.html

A Freeze also means you also then cannot open up new lines of credit like a credit card or loans but you can release the freeze when you want usually in writing.

I had a friend who had her identity stolen 10 years ago. It took her 5 years to clear things up and caused lots of headaches.

What they were doing for the last five months was working on other people's petitions for a wide variety of different kinds of immigration benefits, most of which were probably filed before yours.

When they say they are working on petitions from a specific date, all that means is that's the date on the last box of petitions that was pulled from the shelf. If your petition was in a box dated before that then an adjudicator probably already has your petition. Does that mean they've already looked at it? No. It just means it's in the box with the other petitions that adjudicator is currently working on. If that adjudicator happens to be loaded down with difficult petitions, or gets distracted to process RFE's sent for previously processed petitions, or gets temporarily assigned to do something more pressing then K1 visa petitions, or takes a scheduled vacation, then your petition is going to wait. When that adjudicator finally gets to working on your petition then it usually doesn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes to adjudicate it, UNLESS there's a problem. Maybe there is a problem with a background check, causing your petition to be placed in a holding bin awaiting results of the background check. Maybe they need to send an RFE for something. Any number of things could cause your petition to be set aside until everything needed to adjudicate it is available.

The point is that the petitions arrive in chronological order, and get scheduled into the system in boxed sets which are roughly in chronological order. Once that box is pulled by an adjudicator then almost anything can happen to slow down processing on your petition, and many other petitions received after yours could end up getting processed first. It never hurts to check and make sure they haven't lost your paperwork. If it goes beyond the stated processing time then you can contact your congressman or senator and see if they can get some status information for you.

Other than that, be patient. You're going to be dealing with these bureaucrats for a few more years.

To add to some of Jim comments, those that are waiting can get some insight of what goes on behind USCIS doors, the process, congressional inquires, etc as well as some tips:

Question and Answer Session with a former USCIS Adjudicator

http://www.visajourney.com/content/adjudicator-q-and-a

I'm back with yet another question.

So it's rather easy to locate a round trip (or even one way) FROM the US to Thailand. I usually go to Expedia or even Travelocity.

I decided to do a little recon for the time when she would have her visa in hand and can accompany me back to the US.

On the above mentioned sites (and others alike) I am having difficulty finding a round trip ticket (for me) and a one way FROM Thailand to the states for my fiancee.

Are there other sites I should be checking here... or when the time comes, should I just pony up the dough for TWO round trip tickets so as to guarantee that we are on the same flight, seated together?

You guys are awesome BTW! Wish I would have found this site BEFORE I filed.

Good Thailand based online travel agency I have used for one ways out of Thailand (good customer service too):

http://www.worldexplorer.co.th/

You can search for flights, etc.

Good aggregate of air ticket search engines:

http://www.kayak.com/

Also you can book straight on most of the Airlines websites sometimes at cheaper rates and sometimes promotional rates.

I have also traveled through NRT several times with no problems so guess I have been lucky. Great also if you want to layover if you want to visit Tokyo. Your fiance would need to get a visa for Japan ahead of time though if she wanted to visit Japan . Otherwise no transit visa is required since you never leave the transit area.

Good luck!

I tried like 5 different times using my BoA card online and on the phone. No dice.

Weird. I know the first time I used Capital One with AirAsia I got rejected but found out that Capital One was rejecting it because it was an international transaction and I had to put a "flag" on the card to allow international had a time limit. So even if you have told them before doesn't mean the flag as been turned off again. A ignorant agent in Thailand may interrupt the rejection as meaning only Thai CC cards are accepted.

BTW, You are probably aware BoA tacks on 3-4% foreign transactions fees whereas other cards like Capital One does not. There is a list here of all the fees per credit card and debit cards in case you are interested:

http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange

FYI Thai Air Asia doesn't accept U.S. based credit cards. 2 hours on the phone with them. What a pain in the a$. Nok Air takes them though. They only take SCB, Bankgok Bank and one other one. Wife is on the motorbike going to the airport in Chiang Mai to pay for her ticket.

Still the stone ages over there on some levels.

AirAsia takes credit cards from almost any country online for Thailand departures with no problems from my experience. You can book online in less than 5 min. I can only speak for online transactions, not phone transactions. The only reason to book over the phone is if the flight is in less than 12 hours which I assume is your case.

For phone bookings it may be also worth trying the Malaysian, Australian, Singapore, etc customer service line and they probably could of done the booking over the phone with a US credit card.

Hello,

My fiance is a K-1 Visa holder and she's is filling out her I-485. She had her medical exam done prior arrival to US (the exam was done 4 months ago). When she went to a civil surgeon here, in NY, to complete her vaccinations for I-693, the doctor said she has to have her medical exam done again along with vaccinations, but I-693 clearly states that K-1 Visa holders don't need to have another medical exam in I-485 is filed within one year from the date of exam. So, as I see it, the doctor just wants money, right?

What should I do in this case?

And another question is, which vaccinations exactly she has to have? Could you please list them?

Thank you.

Are you in NYC? We just needed my wife's vaccinations transcribed over to the I-693 as many people do. We went to a doctor in Edgewater, NJ who did it for $50 which is across the river from NYC.

Regarding what vaccinations you need, check out the guides and also this link:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5753-Immunization.pdf

You can also have your spouse add you as an authorized user to their credit card accounts, but not all banks will report payments for anyone other than the primary account holder. Again, you can call them and ask them.

Quote from this article;

A good article talking about adding authorized users to establish credit scores. It seems to have changed twice, once in 2007 and again in 2008. Not sure if it has changed since.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20080812-authorized-users-a1.asp

"It remains to be seen how people with otherwise low scores will benefit from their authorized-user accounts after FICO 08 is in place."

Hi All , I was wondering if anyone has advice or know how of how to help me with this , I have my 2 year GC and started working two months ago , but I am running into problems with trying to obtain credit. I dont know how to start a credit record or a line of credit here if nobody will give one. I have a SSN as well. I did get a Capital One secured card but this seems to not be the way to go as the credit limit takes forever to change, can anyone tell me how they got credit or started a credit record here in the USA please . Thank you

You can have someone cosign for you which will also allow you to establish a credit history without going the secured credit card route. See this article (although targeted at students it still is worth a read) for more info on which banks allow co-signers:

http://www.bankrate....co-signers.aspx

Also, although won't probably work for you since you are not Japanese but maybe worth a try, I came across this Japan Airlines MasterCard CC that is targeted at Japanese citizens in the USA with no credit history:

http://www.premio.co...emio/index.html

.

You might want to look into Voipdiscount as a backup to Vonage for times like these. My wife and I average less than $1/month for the service.

If you are not familiar with it, it is another Voip service by Betamax. You put a deposit of 10 euros and you call Thai mobiles/landlines for free for 120 consecutive up to 300 min/week then it is 1.4 cents/min to mobiles after that which is deducted from your 10 euro credit The quality is OK, not great, and probably not as good as vonage. And you need to use a computer, SIP device, or do a phone to phone bridge. However the price is right for calling mobiles and you could have it as a backup in case Vonage as problems.

My wife has found it acceptable enough (she likes the price) that we haven't felt the need to invest in other services like vonage (we did have Skype unlimited Thailand for a while). We have been using it since June and so far and still have $7 euro credit. So we spend less than a $1/month to call Thailand as much as my wife has desired.

I think this has been discussed in the forum several times but it would be good to hear the latest of what everyone is using to call Thailand, commenting on price vs quality.

I just gave those a shot and the second one is incredibly unreliable and confusing. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone. Looking at the questions they ask you and the possible choices, it is inherently flawed. The first one gave me the same info I found on the germany embassy's website, so it sounds like she will not need a transit visa. I will call the embassy anyway just to be sure.

I have only used the first one from Sky Team Alliance. Interestingly, the one from Sky Team Alliance is based on the same database and is why I sought out the link for the IATA search engine/database. Quote from the bottom of the site, "This search engine and database is provided and managed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). You may wish to double-check foreign entry requirements by contacting your local Embassy or Consulate"

So it appears that Sky Alliance has made the database more user friendly.

Sky team Airline alliance has a tool to determine if transit visa and/or tourist visas are required :

http://www.skyteam.c...travelinfo.html

Also a good site by International Air Transport Association provides a similar tool but asks more details (maybe more reliable)

http://www.iatatrave...information.php

For either one just put in her details and read the results.

They are talking about the American fiance's name. They would not have an A# because they are not an immigrant.

Poor wording on my part using "fiancee". What I meant to say was that while most K1 visas from other consulates have the USC -petitioners- name in the annotation area, some of the visas coming out of London have been putting the A# for the immigrant/beneficiary in the annotation area instead of the USC petitioner's name.

Sorry for the confusion.

A few people who went through London embassy have mentioned that they do not have their fiancee's name in the annotation area for the K1. But they have the fiancee's A# instead.

The non-immigrant visa number is the 8-9 digit red number printed on the bottom right side of his K-1 visa in the annotation area.

Backing up what others have said with the actual wording on the I-864 form that she signed:

Source: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864.pdf

-------Quote-----------

What If I Do Not Fulfill My Obligations?

If you do not provide sufficient support to the person who becomes a permanent resident based on the Form I-864 that you signed, that person may sue you for this support.

If you are sued, and the court enters a judgment against you, the person or agency that sued you may use any legally permitted procedures for enforcing or collecting the judgment. You may also be required to pay the costs of collection,including attorney fees.

If a Federal, State or local agency, or a private agency provides any covered means-tested public benefit to the person who becomes a permanent resident based on the Form I-864 that you signed, the agency may ask you to reimburse them for the amount of the benefits they provided. If you do not make the reimbursement, the agency may sue you for the amount that the agency believes you owe.

When Will These Obligations End?

Your obligations under a Form I-864 will end if the person who becomes a permanent resident based on a Form I-864 that you signed:

• Becomes a U.S. citizen;
  
• Has worked, or can be credited with, 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act;
  
• No longer has lawful permanent resident status, and has departed the United States;
  
• Becomes subject to removal, but applies for and obtains in removal proceedings a new grant of adjustment of status,based on a new affidavit of support, if one is required; or
  
• Dies.
  

Note that divorce does not terminate your obligations under this Form I-864.

So as long as i have the Annotatin Number and the red visa number its all ok?? as i have both of these

If it was me I wouldn't worry about it. You have the visa with no errors or misspellings and you are going to be carrying a packet which will have everything the border officer needs to know about you and your case if he has any questions. The packet contains all your info and as far as I can tell all the info that was submitted with the original petition. Just make sure you enter the U.S before the visa expiration date.

If you want to feel more assured then you can call the US embassy in London and ask them if you should be concerned.

Safe travels!

thanks for response, all mine says is Entries 1....issue date....expiration date...Annotation A#********...nothing about petition approved or any other letters (obviously it has my name and the type of visa

You A# is your Alien Registration number also refereed to as your Alien number, or file number. It is an identification number for your case. The border officer will look up all your info anyway when looks up your visa. The Border officer actually wrote my wife's A# in her passport and drew a line from the Visa entry number "1".

Also look for a red visa number. It will be 8 or more number long and should be stamped to the right side under the Annotation section. You will need that when filing for AOS in the I-485 form.

idk. On my fiancée's there were two lines under annotations. The first said "petitioner: *wrong name*" and i don't remember what the second said! Isn't an A# for a naturalized citizen or something like that???

A# is the "Alien Registration Number", an identification number assigned by USCIS for each immigrant and some non-immigrants like your fiancee who applied for a visa, etc. It should be on your NOA2 above her name and you will need it when filling out forms for AOS, etc. It is also referred to as a "File Number"

Have you ever flown with Spirit Airlines? ...hehe

I could try but we won't know until Tuesday. Realistically, we should have the visa by then, but I would rather not gamble so much on the people who entered the erronous data in the first place.

I'm trying to channel the frustration, friend, but I'm not sure how it works exactly...

You can change the tickets with Spirit for $100 or $110 each ticket (depending on how you booked the tickets) "within 24 hours of departure time, provided that they can travel within 2 calendar days of their originally scheduled flight".

Call Spirit Airlines and you might be able to get the fee waived based on your circumstance.

From:

http://www.spiritair.com/DRS.aspx

----CHANGES / MODIFICATIONS ----

Changes and or modifications conducted within 45 minutes of the original booking being made will not incur any fees or charges (except in the case that there is a fare difference required) for the change or modification.

Changes and modifications to GDS generated PNRs can be made at www.spiritair.com for a fee of $100.00, whereas changes and modifications made via the GDS or via the Spirit Airlines reservation or sales support desk will incur a $110.00 change fee. Changes / modifications done to GDS PNRs at www.spiritair.com will NOT send back the change message to the GDS PNR via the system.

Effective, October 30, 2007, customers will be able to request changes to their reservation within 24 hours of departure time, provided that they can travel within 2 calendar days of their originally scheduled flight. The customer or agency MUST cancel or change the reservation prior to departure or the reservation will lose all value.

Travel agents must contact Spirit Airlines directly if the change request is made within 24 hours of flight departure at 800-772-7117. Outside of 24 hours travel agents can make changes and/or modifications via their GDS or at www.spiritair.com.

A new SSR payment message is required each time a new or additional segment is added, changed or modified on an existing reservation.

Any remaining balance of the unused ticket will be put on a Reservation Credit, which can be used within a one year period for future travel.

Changes within 24 hours of departure time:

Non-Refundable Reservations

Customers with non-refundable reservations must pay the $110 change fee via Reservations/Airports/Travel Agents or $100 for online bookings, plus any fare difference. The customer must choose an available flight within two (2) calendar days of the originally-booked flight. If all flights are full during that time period, Spirit reserves the right to decline any further accommodation.

Refundable Reservations

Customers will continue to have flexibility when modifying their reservations as there is no time requirement for modifying. Customers can make changes at any time to their refundable reservation without the $110/$100 change fee. If applicable, the customer will need to pay the fare difference.

The revision to the 24 hour policy is for customers making modifications to their reservation. Situations out of the customers’ control such as irregular flight operations (cancellations, mechanical delays, etc.) and misconnects are still handled separately under different criteria and policy.

All changes must be made with a Credit Card. Please review the Form of Payment section for the proper SSR messaging for your specific GDS.