goontar

The certificate of being single! Funny you mention this because I told my fiance that there was a 1 in 100 that they would ask for it. But she has been insisting on going home and getting this anyway. She is making a special trip on monday just to get this form from Ampher in her home town.

I don't know if that is the average or not, but from reading on VJ about other people's interview experiences, it does sound common.

If you've filed all the right paperwork then you'll be fine. We had to file an 'extra' report that wasn't listed in Pkt 4 to verify that my fiancee was indeed single. She's been a single mom all her life (never married), so that required an extra form from the local police station...in our case.

One more interesting thing: I had prepared a TON of evidence supporting our continuted relationship from the time of KI petition filing to the date of the interview. I presented that to the lady at Window #5 when she collected all our paperwork. However, the CO didn't even look at it. He just immediately handed it right back to me!

Peace,

Mark-N-AAm

Thats interesting. Five minutes. I wonder if that is an average per interview.

What doc did you forget? I feel terribly under prepared for this. But likely I have covered all the bases and just feeling paranoid. Thanks.

Hey Goontar,

Here is one more interesting thing that the CO did tell us when we are there in BKK for the interview. He told me/us that he is 'allowed' only 5 minutes for each interview! I thought that was short...but he said they have so many applications to process that he has to limit his time for each interview in order to complete them all.

Perhaps that is one reason that he didn't ask us too many questions!

Peace!

Mark-N-AAm

That does help. I was wondering if there is anything else that needs to be done if I only plan on bring her son over later. I have his name on the petition and DS157 or 156. I don't recall. And also on the afadavit of support. This way when we feel its a good time to bring him over it should be easier to file the petition.

Hey, what kinda of questions did they ask your fiance? Was it easy, hard?

Thanks.

goontar,

a little background .... from the beginning of the process, we included my fiance's daughter in all of the paperwork and somewhere along the line (i believe in packet 3) we stated that she would follow at a later date. maybe this will help you though.

we had the same question as you regarding if the fiance's children must attend the interview. the packet 4 interview paper states that all family members must attend. so .... we wrote the embassy and i asked them if her daughter needs to be present since she intends to follow at a later date. here is the response -

Dear Sir,

If the applicant's daughter will follow to join the applicant later,

provided that it is within one year, the daughter is not required to

appear on the interview date. The K-1 interview will be conducted with the principal applicant only.

Regards,

Correspondence Unit

hope this helps you. good luck next week.

dvd

goontar,

What do you mean "did not file for him"? Did not file what?

If the boy is not applying for a visa at the same time as his mother then his presence should not be required at her visa interview.

At what "later date" do you think he might be applying for a visa? Be more specific than "till we get ourselves sorted out". Keep in mind that Thai women have very strong mother instincts. Leaving a child upcountry with the grandparents while working in Bangkok is significantly different from sitting around the house in the USA keeping company with the TV while the child is halfway around the world.

Yodrak

I think I made a mistake. My fiance has a 5 year old son and I listed him on all the applications but did not file for him. Our plan is to petition for him in about a year or so till we get ourselves sorted out here. Do I need him at the interview for my fiance. Or can his visa be applied for at a later date? thanks.

I agree, but this was a judgement call on both our parts. We decided it might be too much for everyone involved to have her, our 1.5 year old daughter and her 5 year old son come to stay with me in Miami. I am here until I finish my work. Maybe a year or two then back to Chicago or somewhere else. And I really don't think I want him going to public school around here. He has been raised largely by his grandparents and is very comfortable and happy.

To the point, I would like to have him over here within 2 years. I listed him on all the forms for the I129 and that he will follow later on the packet 3-4 stuff but I am wondering if that is all I have to do for now. What are my options, or can he simply come with as soon as she is approved? Sorry, I am confused and we have our interview next week so I am a little nervous about the whole thing. Thanks for any info.

I think I made a mistake. My fiance has a 5 year old son and I listed him on all the applications but did not file for him. Our plan is to petition for him in about a year or so till we get ourselves sorted out here. Do I need him at the interview for my fiance. Or can his visa be applied for at a later date? thanks.

hello all

this website has been invaluable. some great news; my fiance had her interview yesterday and was approved. thanks to all who have contributed here. i can't imagine going through this process without it. there are so many small questions that pop up and i don't know what we would have done without it. most likely we would have gone much crazier, but thanks to this site we only went crazy. ha. thankyou thankyou thankyou

dvd

Congrats dvd. How long before they let you pick up the visa. I already booked the airfare and don't really have a full week to wait.

Does anyone know anything about the "Certificate of Being Single"? Is this necessary for everyone? Thanks.

goontar,

You don't know what government the documents are going to be submitted to? Are the translations from English to Thai or from Thai to English?

If the documents are translations from Thai to English, to be submitted to the US government, they do not have to be 'legalized'. Translation services often tell people that they do, and they also offer to have that done for you, for a fee, for your convenience. They're just trying to pad the bill.

If the documents are translations from English to Thai, to be submitted to the Thai government - for example if you're planning to marry your fiancee in Thailand - then they do need to be 'legalized' by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Yodrak

I don't know. My fiance told me that the translation "lady" told her the documents needed to be stamped. She does have a foriegn police certificate from Germany. Would that be it? Thanks.

Ok. I understand. I think they padded the bill for me. Thanks.

I don't know. My fiance told me that the translation "lady" told her the documents needed to be stamped. She does have a foriegn police certificate from Germany. Would that be it? Thanks.

Does every translated document need to go to the Legalization department. ?

goontar,

You don't have to do anything. As long as your fiancee has responded to the consulate's mailing - and obviously she has since an interview has been set up - the consulate will extend the validity oeriod of the petition approval.

Yodrak

Here's a good one. The visa petition expires 2 days before the interview. Un friggin real.

Does anyone know what I can do about this? Thanks.

Thank you. That takes one more item off the list.

Here's a good one. The visa petition expires 2 days before the interview. Un friggin real.

Does anyone know what I can do about this? Thanks.

goontar,

Maybe it was someone else.....

It depends on if the visa application gets approved at the interview. They don't always.

If the application is approved at the interview the visa is generally available to be picked up on the afternoon of the following business day. (consular business day)

Yodrak

goontar,

Didn't you ask this question once before?

Yodrak

I am trying to arrange airline tickets. Does anyone know how long it takes from the interview to actually having the visa in hand. Is it the same day or does this take a while? Thanks.

Probably? But I don't remember.

Do they normally approve at the time? Thanks.

n2ojones,

The consulate in Bangkok is known to be 'user friendly' with regard to family-based visas.

It's way too early to contact the consulate about an immigrant visa when there's been no contact from the NVC. Check the timelines, but I think you should expect to get something from the NVC soon now.

She's not going to get a packet 3, not in the traditional sense, with respect to the I-130. You and she are each going to receive mailings from the NVC, not just 1 packet to her. See the NVC's pages on the DoS web site for a description of what to expect from them.

It's interesting that the I-130 has been approved for a month now and no approval yet for the I-129f. When the I-129f petition is approved it will take 1-2 weeks to pass through the NVC, then 2-4 weeks to get to the consulate and have the consulate send out the K-visa application package.

Wait for the police and medical reports until the case file - be it the I-130 file or the I-129f file - is sent from the NVC to the consulate.

Interviews are typically 2-3 months from the date that DS-230 and the signed checklist are submitted to the consulate for K visas. I don't know how long from the time that an I-130 arrives from the NVC.

Yodrak

.....

My questions:

What do you savvy posters think of our chance for approval?

Is it too early (1 month) for me to contact the embassy (BKK) or the NVC in NH?

Should I download the forms and ready them prior to her getting packet 3?

How long are the police and med reports good...in the event we have a long wait for the interview?

Any thoughts on how long io takes to get the interview once the forms are submitted?

I know I am long winded and I apologise for that. As you all know, this is incredibly stressful. I promise to return some info when I am able.

Thank you in advance and I wish you all well.

goontar,

Didn't you ask this question once before?

Yodrak

I am trying to arrange airline tickets. Does anyone know how long it takes from the interview to actually having the visa in hand. Is it the same day or does this take a while? Thanks.

Probably? But I don't remember.

I am trying to arrange airline tickets. Does anyone know how long it takes from the interview to actually having the visa in hand. Is it the same day or does this take a while? Thanks.

goontar,

How long did it take for her to receive her visa application packet?

The consulate may consider the packet mailed when it is put in the outbox to go to the mailroom. So there may be a day or two before the packet gets to the Thai postal system.

Yodrak

..... feb28 and appointment for may 17th. She did not recieve Packet 4 yet. Is thai post very slow?

I think that is probably the case. I will give it a few more days and see if she recieves it.

Can't remember how long it took to recieve packet 3 because I was'nt paying attention at the time.

I would really like to bump up the interview date a couple of weeks but doubt if they will give it to us.

The US Embassy, Bangkok, emailed me to say they had received Packet 3 and mailed Packet 4. Should be in tomorrow's post. They also said in the email that the interview had been scheduled for May 16. Does anyone know if we can schedule something earlier?? Looking at the Embassy website, the latest interviews are mid April. I am hoping that there will be information in Packet 4 pertaining to purchasing a pin and scheduling an earlier date.

Any thoughts????

Thanks!

How did you get them to email you and inform that they recieved packet 3 and then sent packet 4? I am really struggling with this right now. We sent packet three mid-late feb. No word from the embassy and I can't get anyone to tell me what is going on. Can you help please. Thanks.

Ok. Disregard that. I got a response from BKK. Same thing, mailed on feb28 and appointment for may 17th. She did not recieve Packet 4 yet. Is thai post very slow?

The US Embassy, Bangkok, emailed me to say they had received Packet 3 and mailed Packet 4. Should be in tomorrow's post. They also said in the email that the interview had been scheduled for May 16. Does anyone know if we can schedule something earlier?? Looking at the Embassy website, the latest interviews are mid April. I am hoping that there will be information in Packet 4 pertaining to purchasing a pin and scheduling an earlier date.

Any thoughts????

Thanks!

How did you get them to email you and inform that they recieved packet 3 and then sent packet 4? I am really struggling with this right now. We sent packet three mid-late feb. No word from the embassy and I can't get anyone to tell me what is going on. Can you help please. Thanks.

AHHHH! This is driving me crazy.

My fiance sent in her 230 part 1 right away as per the instructions. Then she later sent in her Photos, The signed Checklist and copy of her passport.

I only want to know that the Embassy has recieved this and all is in proper order. I can't get anyone at the Embassy to confirm or deny. I don't want to wait 2 months or more just to find out that we screwed something up.

How do I get a human, who can answer this question. I am perfectly happy to generously tip or bribe. What do I do.

Could someone advise me on how to get an interview as soon as possible. They are telling my fiance that it could take several more months to get an appointment. She sent packet 3 back a couple of weeks ago. She already has everything she needs. Is there anything I can do to speed this up? Thanks.

Could someone advise me on how to get an interview as soon as possible. They are telling my fiance that it could take several more months to get an appointment. She sent packet 3 back a couple of weeks ago. She already has everything she needs. Is there anything I can do to speed this up? Thanks.

I am lost and my fiance does not seem to know what to do either. She has packet 3 now. But we don't know what to do from here. Does she just fill in the DS230, only part 1?, and send it back to the embassy? When does she pay the fee, what else gets sent in?

I would be enormously grateful if someone could outline this process for us. Thanks.

RELAX! hehe - Just carefully follow the instructions. I think the instrucitons change from time to time, but the instructions we got in our packet 3 were scanned and a link is posted somewhere around page 100 of this thread.

I think you have to return the passport photos and a photo copy of the Thai passport photo page and the checklist too before you get your Packet 4 with the appointment date. The rest of the stuff your fiance will take to the interview as described in Packet 4.

The instructions could have changed again, our packet had inserts with the 'new proceedures' that were not on the webpage for download, so be careful not to trust 100% what anyone tells you here because the proceedures can and do chage. Your own packet will have the current instructions and proceedures.

Bill

Thanks for responding Bill. Do I send in the DS230 alone. Then follow up with the Checklist, Photos, Passport Photo ect...

She had her doctor yesterday and she will have her Thai Police Cert March 6th. Should I tell her to fill out the checklist and send it in. I am just trying to get an interview as soon as possible. She has almost everything she needs. Just needs to get a lot translated.

Once she sends the checklist, pictures, how long does it take to get the interview packet?

Also, What address should she send it to? The Wireless road address?

I appreciate the advice.

I am lost and my fiance does not seem to know what to do either. She has packet 3 now. But we don't know what to do from here. Does she just fill in the DS230, only part 1?, and send it back to the embassy? When does she pay the fee, what else gets sent in?

I would be enormously grateful if someone could outline this process for us. Thanks.

Ok, So she fills out the DS2301. Then sends it to the embassy at wireless road. When does she pay the fee?

I am lost and my fiance does not seem to know what to do either. She has packet 3 now. But we don't know what to do from here. Does she just fill in the DS230, only part 1?, and send it back to the embassy? When does she pay the fee, what else gets sent in?

I would be enormously grateful if someone could outline this process for us. Thanks.

I am lost and my fiance does not seem to know what to do either. She has packet 3 now. But we don't know what to do from here. Does she just fill in the DS230, only part 1?, and send it back to the embassy? When does she pay the fee, what else gets sent in?

I would be enormously grateful if someone could outline this process for us. Thanks.