ThaitoUSA

Renewing a Thai Passport would entail receiving a new one. The process can be expedited. My wife received a new Thai Passport in less than four hours.

Once in America, it can be renewed at the Thai Embassy in Washington DC or at one of the consulates.

Nevermind I don't need it, I got it. Thanks!

As a side job, my wife translates videos and audio recordings for a D.C. company. This reminded me of most of the conversations, though sometimes they can get a bit strange or wild.

We use www.voipdiscount.com For about $15(10 Euros), one gets nearly unlimited calls for four months.

It works by going on to the website and setting up the 'caller' and 'receiver.' I use the iPhone App to do this. Press "Call" and the 'caller' in the US receives an incoming local call. At the same time the 'receiver' in Thailand also receives an incoming local call. It uses similar technology as Skype, but uses regular home or cell phones. The internet connection is only needed to establish the call (which smartphones can do from anywhere).

It costs 5 cents to connect each call, which is deducted from the original 10 Euro balance. So that would be up to 200 calls in the 120 day free period. After the 120 days are up, you maintain whatever remaining balance and pay 10 cents to establish a call and 2 cents a minute. Or you could purchase another 10 Euro for another 120 free days and be able to call even more than 200 times.

We've been using the service for about 2 and a half years and likely shall continue to.

We were together for four years before becoming engaged.

We are both 31 and met nearly 7 years ago.

Mentioned by the second poster is that you have six months from the time K-1 visa is issued to travel to USA and use it. So if the visa were issued May 20, 2011, the intending immigrant could arrive in September, marry in Oct. and file in Nov. with 30 days or more until the I-94 expires.

Such is the nature of life itself and nothing at all in life is ever stressful, rather one's attitude toward it.

By changing the way that you see the world, the world that you see changes.

Where did you get your data from?

The implications of the response to this question are profound. Context is vital must be defined. For example, it is important to note that IGOR list is just a sampling of the total number of I-129F petitions filed. From the State Dept. website ( http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY2010NIVWorkloadbyVisaCategory.pdf ) it can be seen that they processed a total of 32,288 K-1 visa petitions during FY 2010. It could be inferred that even more I-129F petitions had been submitted to USCIS, but were withdrawn, rejected, etc.

The latest "Immigration Timelines" data reveals 1786 petitions being filed in the past 360 days ( http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php?cfl=$cfl ) while

the latest IGOR data reveals 24011 records of petitions being filed in the past 53 weeks ( http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/igor/vjdata/stats.aspx ) .

Of all VJ records, there is a percentage of which do not update their statuses as being accepted, rejected, withdrawn, etc.

From the above context, it would appear that the sample size from Timelines and/or IGOR would be large enough for 99% confidence level with a 3% margin of error.

May be cutting it close to the six month mark. However, I'm confident that if the interview's this year there shouldn't be a problem.

All the best

Hello,

My fiancé and I are preparing to send our K-1 petition, and wanted to have as many items attended to as possible. I am told by a visa consultant that the Bangkok embassy will require an Affidavit of Single Status, which my fiancé is preparing now. Does anyone have any information on how far back an Affidavit of Single Status will be acceptable? 3 months old, 6 months old? Unlimited?

Thanks in advance for any information.

Generally the embassy accepts documents six months old or less. Wife says that the document is dated at the time it is requested

The sooner your fiancée and you gather the required documents, the sooner her interview. You can read Packet 3 on the embassy's website fora complete list of documents she will need to gather and/or fill out.

On average visa in hand takes about 2-4 months from now depending on how quickly you send in the paperwork as well as how busy the embassy is.

Been to Angkor and Lao twice each. Always did it independently. Road trip between the boarder and Siam Reap can now be done in record time; less than three hours compared to 5+ when large stretches were unpaved. Poverty and scamming are quite widespread in both countries, so be prepared.

Message me if you have any questions or want to know about some cool digs.

I want to as well. ( go back to Thailand that is ) I miss my beer Leo, my hammock, my faithful jungle dog Moowan, som tom balat, moo dang and crispy pork at MK.

Kit tung mak mak loy!

Tell me about it. I lived there for four years and there was a greater culture shock returning than going over there. At the same time, I appreciate home much more after the experience. She wouldn't mind living there at all, but I want her to receive citizenship first, in case we decide to return to US again for an extended time.

An ideal situation would be part of the year in both places.

Should be just fine.

We're heading back to Thailand this summer after nearly two years for her and three for me. Really looking forward to it.

Just noticed your parenthetical comment.

Did you actually make the cashiers check out to "USDHS?"

Make the check or money order payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security unless...

Note: Please spell out U.S. Department of Homeland Security; do not use the initials "USDHS" or "DHS."

As I recall, 6 months is the recommended time limit. We were in a similar timeframe as you and had no problem at all.

According to their email, it may be best to apply for CRBA and get him a passport. Since his biological father is a US citizen, he may not be eligible for K-2 visa.

A little more patience would help.

Sort of.

The K-1 visa is for single entry so it is CANCELLED upon entry. It is replaced by the I-94 which has a 90 day validity. The SSN must be issued with more than 14 days left on the I-94. You must get the SSN before the 76th day after arrival. I suggest you get it the next morning. VJ guides say to wait two weeks. There is no need for that.

Gary has stated this numerous times, yet anecdoatal evidence has suggested that not everyone has been able to successfully apply for a SSN immediately after entering. We tried approximately four days after entry and were told to try again later. I know that Gary's experience was different. However there is a strong reason for VJ Guide suggesting that people wait and that is it ensures that one shall not wait three hours in a SS Office lobby only to be told to come back later to try again.

You can try the next day, but there is no need for that. I suggest you wait about two weeks.

They are trained to respond to the totality of circumstances from the way the beneficiary speaks and dresses to having all of ones paperwork in order. Not all Consulate Officers are equally adept at this skill, yet it is their task to determine eligibility based on innumerable factors including intangible ones.

If you are honest, eligible, and careful, it is quite likely you should be granted the visa. Just have a look at all of us who have.

Follow the newer directions and send it all in.

Hey everyone,

I've searched around to try and find an answer but I couldn't...

Anyway, we are in the stage of preparing the Packet 3 to send to the consulate in Bangkok so that we can receive our interview date. My question is, what exactly do we include in the Packet 3? I have received 2 different links from the consulate website with directions (one seems older than the other) but one mentions that we just need to send the DS-230, photos, and the signed checklist.... while the newer directions state that we need to send everything (DS-230, DS-156, DS-156-K, DS-157, police records, photos, signed checklist etc..)

Can someone who has recently mailed in their Packet 3 to the embassy in Bangkok let me know exactly what you included in the packet?

Thanks, I'd really appreciate the help!

Also, here are the 2 links with the conflicting directions. One was from the US Embassy Website, and the other was given to us in the Letter from the Embassy:

Older: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/k_visa_packet3.pdf

Newer: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/k_instructions_package_may09.pdf

There have been cases that received RFE for using N/A instead of None and vice-versa. However, they are far and few between probably originating from an adjudicator who was either a bean counter or English teacher in a previous life.

I would not be concerned at all, but still have the corrected forms on standby in case there is an issue.

Excellent point that I overlooked. I presumed it would be a J-1 exchange professor visa, while the H1B visa would allow for change of status to permanent resident. It seems that the next logical step would be to contact the university to find out.

Depends upon intent to immigrate whether you should continue with K-1 or wait for a work visa. If she intends to come and work as a non-immigrant resident then return to her home country, the work visa is best. If she intends to immigrate to America, then the K-1 is best.

Always possible to withdraw the petition for K-1 visa, but am unsure of whether its submission would complicate a concurrent petition for work visa.