55 replies to this topic

[ExpatDave]

Hi,


I am starting the K-3 visa process for my Wife. I am still in Thailand for another 5 months, so I am guessing I am going to have to do a lot of change of address crap on the forms.


Anyway, it say the first step is fill out an I-130.  I have it filled out and tomorrow I am going to call the UCIS to see if I can set up an appointment. Normally, you can not file it there, but since I have been living here over 6 months, I should be able to.  I will ask them how much money I should bring (I believe it has just gone up to 420.00 US). I also want to make sure what other documents they will need on this this visit.

[ExpatDave]

So, today I tried to get a hold of the Embassy and the USCIS office with no luck. A lot of run around. Srcrew em'. I was abble to find out what I needed.

First step- File a I-130 at the USCIS. The building is next to the Bangkok Embassy. Now, I want to say now that doing this real time will mean there will be mistakes. But, you will get an idea of the process.

I found a great website that has been a real help visajourney.com

A lot of what I am doing is based off the information there.

here is what I will need:

1.             Payment                    as required by USCIS.                 Use a money order so you can track the payment.                    If a personal check is allowed, use that instead.                                                2.             Cover Letter.                    Should include a description of what your are petitioning for                    (I-130), a table of contents (list everything in the packet).                    If you need additional room to explain your case, attach a separate                    sheet (list the attachment on the cover sheet). Make sure to                    sign and date the cover sheet.                                                3.             Form I-130: Petition for Alien Relative                                                4.             Copy of                    the Full Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen                    or a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's                    passport. This is used to establish citizenship.                                                5.             A copy                    of petitioner's proof of naturalization. (If applicable)                                                 6.             A copy                    of petitioner's proof of permanent residency. (If applicable)                                                                    7.             A copy                    of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport                    along with English translation. (If in any language other than                    English)                                                 8.             A certified                    copy of your certified marriage certificate (again, translated                    if not in English)                                                9.             A certified                    official copy of the petitioner's and/or intending immigrant's                    divorce documents. (If one or both of you have been divorced                    before)                                                 10.             A copy                    of a prior spouse's death certificate. (If filing for a                    spouse, and one or both have you were married before, and the                    prior spouse died)                                                 11.             G-325A filled out by the US Citizen, signed and dated.                                                12.             One passport-type                    photo                 of the US Citizen. Write the full name on the back. Place in                    a plastic bag and label the bag "Photo of <Insert Name>". Attach the bag                    to a sheet of paper and place behind the corresponding G-325a.                                                13.             G-325A                    filled out by the foreign spouse signed and                    dated.                                                14.             One passport-type                    photo                 of the foreign spouse. Write the full name of the beneficiary                    on the back. Place in a plastic bag and label the bag "Photo                    of (insert name) ". Attach                    the bag to a sheet of paper and place behind the corresponding                    G-325a.                                           15.             Evidence of  a bonafide  marriage (see note below for what to include)                                               
                            
       Note: Evidence of a bona fide Marriage
                The USCIS now requires that when filing  an I-130 for a spouse that you include evidence of a bona fide marriage.  They list examples of acceptable evidence as:                                                         1.             Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or                                           2.             A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or                                           3.             Documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources; or                                           4.             Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, the petitioner, and your spouse together; or                                           5.             Affidavits  sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the  bona fides of the marital relationship (Each affidavit must contain the  full name and address, date and place of birth of the person making the  affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner of beneficiary, if  any, and complete information and details explaining how the person  acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage); or                                           6.             Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.

[Gringo_In_Dubai]

I just filled out my I-130 last night for my wife.  I will follow your post and add our journey as well.  We have been married for almost three years (in Las Vegas during Christmas vacation).

[ExpatDave]

Gringo_In_Dubai, on 24 June 2011 - 07:22 PM, said:

I just filled out my I-130 last night for my wife.  I will follow your post and add our journey as well.  We have been married for almost three years (in Las Vegas during Christmas vacation).

Sounds Great! I have been so busy that I haven't had time to post. I just have two documents left to translate that I should be good to go.

[ExpatDave]

I thought I would show everyone the Cover page. It gives you an idea of the forms I needed:

  

Visa for Mrs. Jones

  

  

  To Whom It May Concern:

  Enclosed please find my Form I-130F, Petition for Visa for Jane Jones, and supporting documents.

  

  

  

• Cover      letter
• Receipt      for 13.020 Baht
• I-130      petition
• ExpatDave's Birth Certificate
• Copies      of ExpatDave's Passport (you only need or the other, but I see later on they will want both so I stuck them both in)
• Marriage      Certificate
• Translation      of Marriage Certificate
• Copies      of the Divorce
• Copy      of G325-A  for ExpatDave
• Copy      of G325-A for Jane Jones
• Passport      Picture of ExpatDave
• Passport      Picture of ExpatDave
• Jane Jones' Birth certificate/ translation
• Jane Jones' name change/ translation
• ExpatDave's Non Immigrant B Visa
• Emails      , Pics, etc. of Jane Jones and ExpatDave

  A. Breif Summary of Relationship

             B. Proof ExpatDave owned the Condo                    C. Proof Jan Jones Owned the Condo (long story, but this will help prove relationship)


                 D. Emails

                 E. Pictures

  
Copies of documents submitted are exact photocopies of unaltered documents and I understand that I may be required to submit original documents to an Immigration or Consular officer at a later date.

Edited by ExpatDave, 25 June 2011 - 09:35 AM.

[ExpatDave]

Sorry, when I went back to edit it it thew the letter out of alignment, but you can get the idea.

By the way, it is one thick envelop!

[ExpatDave]

So, Off to Bangkok I went!

With all the translation done, I headed to immigration.. By the way, I would kill for their hours:


Hours of Operation
The office is open to the public Monday  through Friday from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Please note that the office is  closed on Thai and American holidays.




I was concerned because of the late start ( had to do something at work first)  and the traffic. I didn't get there until 10:15 AM. Luckily, it was not very busy. I went to the 15th floor of the  Sindhorn Building and rang the buzzer. A nice woman looked through my paperwork and sent me across the street (Embassy) to pay 13, 020 Baht. I came back with the receipt and she said I would be contacted less than 90 days. All in all, it took about 45 minutes.

I know that there is still a long road ahead.

[ExpatDave]

My wife got the letter from the Embassy that the I-130 was approved and now we start step 2.

This is the website the gave us for the packet prep.

Immigration Package


Now since this 1-130 is already approved, I have decided not to go the K-3 route. We are just going for the CRI route.

This will give you an idea what we need to do next.

• Cover      letter
• Notification      of Applicant Readiness
• NOA of      I-130
• Passport
• Previous      passport
• Birth Certificate
• Name      change document
• Both      marriage certificates/ Translation
• Divorce      papers
• Form      DS-230 Part 1 and 2
• 2 Photos
• Evidence      of financial support
• Form      I-864
• Copy      of tax form
• Notarized      Job offer of sponsor
• Form      I-134
• Thai      police record for Applicant
• Thai      Police record For Sponsor
• U.S.      Criminal Record for Sponsor
• Evidence      of Relationship
• Medical      Examination for Applicant

The hardest part will be getting my criminal record from the U.S.

[furryman]

Wow! What a mess of paperwork! I hope it all works out for you man!

[ExpatDave]

furryman, on 29 July 2011 - 04:29 AM, said:

Wow! What a mess of paperwork! I hope it all works out for you man!

Thanks!

It's complicated because all the paperwork is designed around guy's who are living in the U.S. They really should have a seperate process for people who are living in Thailand and want to go back to the U.S. with their wife.

[superconsult]

It's really difficult to understand :-

1.  why your I-130 Petition took only 1 month and 4 days to be approved (25th June filled out the form and 29th July your wife got the letter from Embassy) when you need to send the papers over to USCIS by DHL (I believe) from Thailand (take about 4-5 days) .  You must have broken the record because it will take at least 3 months to get it approved.

2.  It's your Wife who received a letter from your Embassy when you should be the one who received the notification from the State Department's National Visa Center informing you that within a week the petition will be forwarded to the appropriate visa-issuing post where your visa interview will take place.  My latest experience is that the letter from National Visa Center was dated 7th June 2011 when up to date my client still hasn't received any letter from the Embassy. Of course, I won't wait for the letter & package from the Embassy before I advise my client to apply for the Police Clearance Certificate and send the Form Ds-2001 with the required documents to the Embassy.

Perhaps you can give us a hint as to how you can get this approval notice from NVC and the letter from the Embassy so quickly.

[superconsult]

Sorry !  Just one point to clarify.  The first notification of approval of Petition should be a Notice of Action I-797 from the USCIS to the Petitioner i.e. the farang husband before the letter from NVC was sent to the Petitioner at a later stage with the unique number for your case and the name and address of the US Embassy where your petition has been sent.  So, you must have received the I-797 Notice and the letter from NVC before your wife received the letter from the US Embassy.  Do you mind telling me what are the dates of the I-797 Notice and the letter from NVC ?

[ExpatDave]

superconsult, on 29 July 2011 - 12:22 PM, said:

Sorry !  Just one point to clarify.  The first notification of approval of Petition should be a Notice of Action I-797 from the USCIS to the Petitioner i.e. the farang husband before the letter from NVC was sent to the Petitioner at a later stage with the unique number for your case and the name and address of the US Embassy where your petition has been sent.  So, you must have received the I-797 Notice and the letter from NVC before your wife received the letter from the US Embassy.  Do you mind telling me what are the dates of the I-797 Notice and the letter from NVC ?

I can't tell you why it went so so fast.

Possibilities:

1. I made sure everything was in order.
2. I turned it in myself at the USCIS in Bangkok and we went though every document.
3. I have a work visa in Thailand
4. We have been together for almost 2 years.

Regardless, I filed June 30th and I received the NOA  that is dated is July 11th.

That being said, the next step will take a lot longer to get ready do to the hassle of getting all the paperwork togeather.

Edited by ExpatDave, 01 August 2011 - 03:31 AM.

[ExpatDave]

So I started getting the paperwork together for the second stage. The biggest time challenge will be getting my Criminal Record from the U.S.

I am going to the Royal Thai Headquarters in Bangkok  to get fingerprinted. I need to get both Thai criminal record and U.S. record.

Has anyone else gotten their U.S. criminal record from Thailand?

[superconsult]

To: ExpatDave

I would say it's impossible to get the approval notice (NOA) within 12 days (as per your reply dated 1st Aug - I filed June 30th and I NOA date is July 11th).  It is also impossible to get a letter from US Embassy within one month (as per your reply dated 29th July - My wife got the letter from the Embassy that the I-130 was approved and now we start step 2)as you alleged.

It's interesting to note that you are now talking about Notice of Action rather than letter from Embassy.  

I attach a copy of NOA showing the receipt date 6 Jan and the Notice Date 20 May but not the personal particulars of the petitioner and the beneficiary.  Do you mind showing your NOA (in the same as I did to the attachment) so as to support your allegation the approval can be obtained within 12 days.



If you can show that NOA to prove your case, I would openly apologize to you.

Edited by superconsult, 01 August 2011 - 04:13 AM.

[ExpatDave]

Since you are calling me a liar, If I can show proof, how about you do all my translations for free?

Edited by ExpatDave, 01 August 2011 - 08:46 AM.

[superconsult]

To: ExpatDave

I just feel that something strange.  In the beginning, you talked about receiving a letter from the Embassy within one month.  When I asked you about that letter from Embassy, you changed to talk about NOA by USCIS.  But you didn't mention about the notification from the NVC.  

It seems to be unbelievable that (i) the processes at USCIS and NVC could be completed and (ii) the letter from the Embassy was issued to you within one month. That's why I don't believe despite of the fact that your case is different because

(as quoted)
Possibilities:

1. I made sure everything was in order.
2. I turned it in myself at the USCIS in Bangkok and we went though every document.
3. I have a work visa in Thailand
4. We have been together for almost 2 years.

When I first raised the doubt about the timing in getting the approval notice from the Embassy within one month, I had no information that you submitted I-130 at USCIS office in Bangkok and have a work visa in Thailand.  Obviously, this will reduce the processing time.

You said on 29th July "My wife got the letter from the Embassy that the I-130 was approved".  Are you prepared to produce this letter ? I don't believe that you would have received a letter from US Embassy notifying the approval of I-130 Petition within one month.

You said on 1st Aug "Regardless, I filed June 30th and I received the NOA that is dated is July 11th".  You didn't say that this notice is an approval notice.  But I am sure this is not an approval notice.  If it is only a notice of acknowledgement of receipt of your petition, I believe.  Do you mind confirming whether it's an approval notice or just an acknowledgment of receipt of petition ? If it's an approval notice, are you also prepared to produce that NOA dated 11th July ?  I don't need to see that NOA if it's just an acknowledgment of receipt of petition.

If you produce these 2 documents which are genuine, I shall make a donation of 1,000 Baht to this website in your name because I don't think I should have any money dealing with you.  

Surely, I have nothing personal against you.  I just don't need people giving false or misleading information to others for business reasons.

I am sorry if you think I am calling you a liar which I didn't.

[ExpatDave]

superconsult, on 01 August 2011 - 09:23 AM, said:

If you produce these 2 documents which are genuine, I shall make a donation of 1,000 Baht to this website in your name because I don't think I should have any money dealing with you.  

Surely, I have nothing personal against you.  I just don't need people giving false or misleading information to others for business reasons.

I am sorry if you think I am calling you a liar which I didn't.

Sent it private message.


This really is not that unusual for Direct Consular Filing (DCF).  It expedites the CR-1 process. That's why I listed that working here was part of the reason it went so fast. Also, by bringing it to them in person, allowed me to go over it the UCIS personnel and double check that everything was in order.

For more information, you can look here:
Direct Consular Filing (DCF)

By the way, The form my wife received was  form I-171.

I am sure Bryan will appreciate the donation.

Edited by ExpatDave, 02 August 2011 - 03:20 AM.

[ExpatDave]

Great News!

I can mark # 19 off my list! I thought I had to produce my criminal record (I have none) from the States. I just need to get my Thai record. This will really expedite things.

[forqalso]

ExpatDave, Good luck with the visa process.  Hopefully, the US government won't be as suspicious as you know who.  With all of his nitpicking, I thought I'd stumbled onto ThaiVisa.  My wife and I completed the fiancee visa 2008 - 2009, and now have started on her ten year green card.  It went pretty smoothly for us, and I hope you have a similar experience.

[ExpatDave]

forqalso, on 02 August 2011 - 03:32 AM, said:

ExpatDave, Good luck with the visa process.  Hopefully, the US government won't be as suspicious as you know who.  With all of his nitpicking, I thought I'd stumbled onto ThaiVisa.  My wife and I completed the fiancee visa 2008 - 2009, and now have started on her ten year green card.  It went pretty smoothly for us, and I hope you have a similar experience.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

I am pushing hard to get the visa by the end of year. It's going to be close, but it would nice to spend the new year with my wife.

[superconsult]

I have to clarify that I didn't know that the I-130 Petition was submitted at USCIS office in Bangkok.  That's why I queried in my first post about the timing by mentioning the service of DHL would take at least 4 days from Thailand to USA.  

I made a mistake when I disbelieved that the USCIS office in Bangkok would approve the Petition within 12 days.  Their efficiency here is a lot better than that in US (which is normally 3 months).  

I confirm that I have received through private message NOA which confirmed approval of petition.  I accept that it's genuine.

As the US Embassy's letter dated 29th July was not sent to me through private message, I still find it hard to understand why the US Embassy has been so efficient in sending your wife a letter when it normally takes nearly 2 months from the date of NOA to get a letter from the US Embassy.

Despite of the above, I have already confirmed through private message that I shall donate 1,000 Baht to this Forum after I know how to do it.

The point I want to make is that I came across a visa consultant company advertising in newspapers in 2008 that it has been serving thousands of customers over the past 10 years when that company was set up (in 2005) one year after my company was set up in 2004 in order to impress the potential customers.  I think that advertisement is still there although the size of it has been reduced significantly.  Unfortunately there is no consumer protection law in Thailand forbidding misleading or false information given in the advertisement.

Finally, I would like to wish from my heart that Dave's wife will get her CR1 visa much earlier than Christmas.

[ExpatDave]

superconsult, on 02 August 2011 - 04:25 AM, said:

Despite of the above, I have already confirmed through private message that I shall donate 1,000 Baht to this Forum after I know how to do it.

[ExpatDave]

ExpatDave, on 02 August 2011 - 05:10 AM, said:

images.jpeg

I'd settle for a beer

[superconsult]

We all have to learn from experience.  I know what went wrong.  I jumped to a conclusion too early when some important information had not been given (i.e. the I-130 petition was submitted in Bangkok, he has a work visa and has been living with his Thai wife for nearly 2 years).  I should have asked further information before I made the first post.

I am happy to pay 1,000 Baht to learn an experience.  Now, I know that the USCIS office in Bangkok is a lot more efficient than that in USA (12 days to approve an I-130 Petition) and that the US Embassy will be more efficient in sending a letter to the Thai visa applicant (within 10 days from the NOA) if the Petition was approved by USCIS office in Bangkok.

Congratulations to your winning !