daboyz

Thanks for the help and advice guys. I guess I have to start over again and collect all the necessary documents.

Did they outright deny you? Or did they give you a piece of paper that says 221g on it asking for more info?

Not sure about Canada, but Thailand could care less about passport stamps. I had like 60 of them because I lived there. They just said that proves you live in Thailand. Doesn't prove that you live with her. They wanted pictures. Passport stamps to Canada doesn't really prove anything about the relationship, especially since you are from Canada.

My case still shows pending on the USCIS website and my wife has been approved over 2 years. So I wouldn't put a lot of stock in that website.

Oh...how can I develop a timeline? Since I just discovered I have not received my NOA1 is it to early to develop a timeline, I guess I am really early in this process. I am so happy that I made plans to return to Nigeria in March because it is now breaking my heart to find out my petition will sit with USCIS for 5 months before any movements are made

Add your timeline here:

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/myentry.php

What is the difference, if any, between:

1) getting a document "legalized" at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, and

2) getting a document notarized (in a way that USCIS will accept)?

1. You have to have that if you want some kind of Thai visa. Non-O for example. MFA is out on Chaeng Watthana. You will need to go to a Thai Embassy outside of Thailand to get this.

2. Not sure about that. USCIS and NVC will accept certified translations of documents.

Hi all, I have been posting on the June filers page and just found this page. I filed for a I-129F fiance visa on July 7th 2010 and finally got touched on Dec. 8th. It said "On December 7, 2010, we mailed a notice requesting additional evidence or information in this case I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)." I live in Chiang Mai Thailand so I expected it to take at least a week but I haven't received it yet. Does anyone know if I can call the 1-800-375-5283 number for help, what hours they are open and what time zone it is in so I can figure out what time to call them from Thailand.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome to VJ. Calling that number is pretty much a waste of time. You'll have to wait and see what the RFE is about via post. Once the case gets to NVC it gets better.

You might be better off getting married in Thailand and filing DCF there. It will go quicker.

I was hoping to get the NOA2 before Christmas. The case hasn't even been touched since it was received on 9th August.

I'm kinda down about this. I should be able to bring her to the States already. I miss her.

I feel your pain. Hang in there. USCIS sucks. Took me a year, but you'll get there.

Merry Chirstmas all

only once?

Probably more than once. When I got hit with 221g, she was pretty cool.

only once?

Probably more than once. When I got hit with 221g, she was pretty cool.

We missed you too. Push is still around. Send him a pm.

Cool I thought you split.

Are you the same from a long time ago? The one that called me an ashole once? Your id is not the same?

Thanks for filling me in.

I must have missed the racist comment. I hope I didn't post it. I wish rebeccajo would come so people would have a good reason to hit the report button.

Hi everybody. I send my I 129F for K1 Visa July 12.I got my NOA 1 July 17.Today is my 158 th day.And today i call USCIS for second time. First time i call December 17.I was very happy then, because they told me in 2 days i must hear from them. But 5 days after, i hear NOTHING, so i decided to call again. A very kind lady was trying to help me. She was really nice. I spend more than 30 minutes talking to her.She start asking many questions, and she said, she is going to give me ,a Referral Number, for my Service request. At the end she told me that i have to call again after 15-30 days, because I AM NOT OUTSITE THE NORMAL PROSSEDING TIME OF 5 MONTHS. I try to explain to her that i am over the 5 months[ 6 days over]. She was saying to me, that the computer do not accept my service request, and she can not give me a referral Number, because i am under 5 months.Call back after 15-30 days, it was the only thing she advice me to do. What i do now? Did anybody got the same respond? Good luck to all of us. Thank you.

I understand your frustration. It took me about 6 months to get NOA2. Not alot you can do about it. Hang in there, you'll get it soon.

Lol it was actually Lao Tzu who said that not Jesus.

I guess Lao Tzu has never been on the roads around here.

The nice thing about it is that they are H1B.

Not only do they take jobs, you get killed or crippled on the way. Gotta love that.

On a pretty regular basis I see them skating through red lights, brakes locked up. I'm moving to Carrollton, Tx then I can at least deal with people (Mexico) that I can understand.

I guess Jesus said give a man a fish and feed him for a day.

Teach him how to fish and feed him for life.

The U.S. says give him an H1B visa and let them kill everyone on the road because we can screw them over for cheap wages.

Disclosure: I lived and drove in Thailand, and other countries in SE Asia. These f*cks are nuts. I understand Verizon and their ilk need cheap labour, I just dont want to die on the side of the highway because of it.

What does his 2010 income look like? He should get his W-2s/1099s next month. He can file his taxes and then use that income if it is enough.

Laughing my a s s off. The wife got a ticket in chiang mai for no helmet. I'm reading the ticket and she gave the cop her sisters name. She didn't have I'd. Sister owes them 200 thb.

authorized by the U.S. Embassy in Thailand to visit?

Two choices in Chiang Mai

Two choices in Bangkok.

As Yu and Dan pointed out.

You're gonna have a rough go with this process on your own if you don't do a little research. You might consider Siam Legal or one of the other lawyers on wireless road if you dont want to deal with it.

Responsible for their actions? Sure, of course. But in this case, I have a strong suspicion he had very little to say about what he got involved in.

Arranged marriage is not nearly as common in Vietnam as it used to be, especially in the bigger cities, but it's still very common in the smaller villages and rural areas. People in those circumstances don't get married because they love each other. They get married because the parents can't support their kids for the rest of their lives, and they need a large extended family in order to support the elderly family members when they can no longer work. The family is like a living organism. If some parts die off and aren't replaced then the other parts wither and die, as well. Each new generation is needed to help the generations that preceded them to survive.

This goes way beyond practical. It's also strongly spiritual. They believe the spirits of deceased relatives remain on the earthly plain for two generations, and the living relatives have a responsibility to continue to take care of them until they move on. When they have an important family gathering, they prepare a lot of food. Before eating the food, they place it on a table outside the front door of the home, along with tea, beer, whatever. The spirits of their relatives, as well as any "homeless" spirits who don't have relatives to care for them, are invited to 'dine' on the food before the family sits down to eat. They honor the birthdays of the deceased with this sort of feast. There is nothing worse than passing away in Vietnam and not having any family to honor you, to feast on your birthday, and to place your picture behind the family altar.

Vietnamese continue these traditions when you go abroad. I've been to many of these family gatherings, and I've gotten a pretty good sense for how important family is to them, and especially the important of the family pecking order. There are certain elders in the extended family who are so important that their word is practically law. By a weird quirk of fate, I now have an "uncle" who is younger than me by eight years, but he's far above me in the family hierarchy. He's even above my wife, who is the same age as him. I married into this hierarchy, so I have to accept it. I'm given a lot of leeway because I'm not Vietnamese, but if Uncle Van asks me for a favor then I better have a damn good reason for saying no.

Anyway, back to the OP's problem... I suspect he comes from a very strictly traditional family. His parents told him to get married, and he did what he was told, in spite of any misgivings he might have had.

People have said that he should "man up" and take responsibility for his actions. I believe that's what he's trying to do. He believes he made a big mistake, and he wants to fix it even if it means going against his parents wishes. People say that in western culture you wouldn't marry a foreign bride and then drop her like a hot potato because you didn't really love her. Well, in western culture you wouldn't marry someone because your parents told you to. I think he's caught between western culture, which is telling him to follow his heart and look for happiness, and Vietnamese culture, which is telling him to obey his parents.

I don't envy the position he's in.

Good post. I think that clears it up. I think Thailand is very similar to this, but for some reason my wife's family isn't like this at all. I think they are the exception, not the rule.

As I understand it,prior to applying for a marriage registration in a Thai amphur, since I have never been married, I need to show the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs a statutory statement of non-attachment notarized by the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and that the Embassy may require proof of that.

Can anyone tell me what proof they're likely to ask for? Do I need to set up an appointment on-line and if so, where on the Embassy's web site will I find it? Also, can I pay at the Embassy by credit card?

I just went to the US citizens section at the embassy in BKK, raised my right hand and swore that I was legal to be married. If I recall it was 2000 baht. Then I think I had that translated into Thai and took it to the Amphur when we got married. I don't think I had to give it to MFA, but I did have to go there with the paperwork from the Amphur to register the marriage.

Wife has been in Thailand for a month. She gets back Tuesday. Guess I'd better clear out all the hookers and pick up all the empty beer cans.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/209871/a-birthday-to-remember

God help Thailand when that loser takes over with his 18 wives etc.

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.

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