daboyz

The visa process is completed by two different organizations, the USCIS and the Department of State (DOS). USCIS does the original approving of the visa petition. Once the petition is approved it is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) and then to the US Embassy which are both under the DOS. If your visa is approved and granted, when you enter the US the USCIS is in control again. The USCIS issues Green Cards, Work permits, Advance Parole, etc.

In short, you must get the visa petition approved by the USCIS and then the Visa approved and issued by the DOS. Getting these two parties to work together is like getting Democrats and Republicans to work together for the greater good of the people.

how exactly does it work if someone's in a situation like this, and does not have any way to pay for AOS? are there charitable organizations that will help with that? i know catholic charities does a lot of immigration stuff for impoverished people, providing attorneys, etc. but how is she ever going to get the money necessary to adjust her status? it's certainly not cheap.

She has already adjusted status and has a 2 year green card that expires 11/2011. She is worried about ROC.

As long as your income is over the limit for the I-134, the house doesn't mean anything. Based on your post, you're all set.

.......as stated above a person need not be born in the US to become a US Citizen. The child of any US Citizen born overseas is automatically considered a US citizen. That's how it worked with me - I was born in Lima, Peru in March 1983 and registered as a "US citizen born overseas" in June 1983...the parent just has to go to the US embassy and take care of the paperwork.

Yep. The paper is called CRBA (Certified Record of Birth Abroad)

kinda surprised this didn't get locked. Mods are going nuts with that now. I'd personally like to see the debate.

noob :devil:

F off

In addition, as a US citizen, he should have been filing taxes for his internet business.

Yeah, they nailed me for every $ I made while living in Thailand. The nice thing was I went back and amended all my tax returns back to 2006 and changed them from single to married filing jointly as soon as the wife got her SS#. I got 10k USD out of that from Uncle Sam.

I think it's best for K-1s to forget about co sponsors in Thailand and PHP.

I cant seem to do this? Any ideas?

Had a layover in Incheon once and liked the airport, much better than the dirt air strip I landed on in a C-141 in Phohang in '89!!

It's a nice airport. Easy for Thais. Narita is a pain in the a$$. My experience at HK (Cathay) was ok I guess. Not sure where you live, but 2 stops is awesome on Korea.

Try Eva Air................BKK > TPE > SFO or LAX

BKK-ICN-LAX is also nice.

My photos weren't labeled and the tickets are from March of 2010. I filed in August of 2010. I hope that's good enough. I sent them receipts of money and calling cards during the period between visit and petition.

There will be more as I'm going back to see her soon. I plan to keep all receipts this time and take more photos with labels.

Also... I have the money transfers to her I kept receipts of and calling cards receipts. I was worried that I did not have emails or letters between the two of us. It's just not something I do. I want to hear her voice every day so I call. That and internet for her is expensive where she lives. In my opinion, the fact that the calling cards cost much more than an email should show proof of relationship.

I hope I'm just being paranoid and what I sent was good enough for the approval to move forward to the interview.

You should be paranoid. Look here:

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=4078

I travelled pretty much every week I lived there. I would change plans all the time. I would walk across soi 22 and this old lady always figured it out. Cost me 1000 thb which is cheap these days for a change fee.

Agreed. But bkk and mtl accepting a co sponsor are two different worlds. Especially on a K visa.

Jesus I sound like push.

Yep. Decided and got are really different. Kinda funny how the difference in those 2 words can make a difference.

Doubt it. Thailand has nothing to do with it. It's secondary. 95 percent of the time when dollar falls against the euro, it falls against the baht. I could show you graphs, but I'm at the bar getting ready to watch A and Ms demise. Go LSU!

Let me make this easier. Do you have a pretty red folder with 2 pieces of paper inside? Both papers identical? If you have that, you're married and k-1 is not an option.

Getting married thailand by the monks and having a party, is not being married. Getting married in thailand and going to the Amphur and registering it IS being married.

That's why I asked if they went to the amphur.

i had been living in thailand with my fiance for the last three years. we decided to get married back in may and come back to america ASAP. we got all of our paper work sent in for a k-1 on july 27th, NOA1 on july 31st. i had my own internet business that was generating income, but i had no proof of it. pretty much i was spending what i was making, not really saving any money. after doing research on this site, i found out that thailand does not allow co sponsors and that i needed proof of income to get her back to the states. so, i just arrived back in the states two days ago (on the 5th of january) and i have been looking for work so i can send her the documents to show the immigration officers in bangkok that i am working and have income to support. i have no proof of income from the last three years because i was in thailand, doing my own business. no w2's, tax returns, nothing. i have a little bit of money in a few banks in america, but much less than 10k.

i have a few questions:

once i find a job and can provide a letter from my employer stating that i make "x" amount along with pay stubs, will that be enough for them to approve a visa for her?

i dont have many bank statements. i have money in two bank accounts, but it does not amount to much. will this affect the decision?

on special occasions, will the embassy in bangkok allow a co sponsor if we write to them, explaining our situation? my father would be the co-sponsor. my father has pictures of my fiance and him together so there is proof that they have met before and have a friendship.

thank you in advance to everyone who replies!

Did you go to the Amphur and get married?

pun intended?

The vast majority of those jobs are sub 10k baht/month though. I doubt there are many westerners willing/able to live on that.

Exactly.

Got a question for the Thai regulars.

How hard is it for Americans to locate long term employment opportunities in Thailand?

I don't speak Thai now... but I am working with the Rosetta Stone and would gladly amp that up if it would help or seal the deal on a job opp.

Give a little back ground. I'm a power plant operator by trade and it's what I've been doing for the last decade.

I am also an information technology specialist for the Army Reserve (4 years). I am closing in on completing my degree in computer systems security at a well known college in my state.

I would love to spend some time working in Thailand and completely immersing myself in the culture and the land (with my fiancee of course).

Is this a "just forget about it" idea? I don't want to be an English teacher either... cause I've always had problems with those courses myself! HaHA.

Thanks for any input.

Not easy. I was lucky both of the companies I worked for there were US based so I was paid a US salary in USD. Starting salary for a Thai with a 4 year degree is around 20k THB a month. I've looked at multiple ways to get back there. The best I can come up with so far is to go live on the family farm and do the rice thing. I'm looking to go back as well, and the options are pretty limited.

When my last contract expired over there, we did the best we could living off of her 7k THB monthly salary. Wasn't fun especially trying to live in BKK on that salary.

I didn't think they required an interview for the two year green card...

Not a certain thing. Sometimes they'll even do it for the removal of conditions when you get the 10 year.