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How soon can a Thai leave Thailand after marrying an American?? |
Travel Info I know that question sounds like the set-up to a punch line (!) but it's actually a serious question. My Thai GF & I are planning to get married and I am curious how soon after we get married can she legally leave Thailand and come to America with me? Travel Tips It took 4 months for my wife to get her K-1 (fiancee) visa. This may vary and if the documentation is not well done it can be a disaster. It is faster to get a fiancee visa than a spouse visa. We had a wedding ceremony in Thailand with all of the family but there were no legal documents signed. This was a public commitment and satisfied her family but left open the fiancee visa path. We paid Brian White of www.mythaifiancee.com to help her with the documentation and translations. It wasn't cheap ($1,500) but even if I could have stayed in Thailand with her, I could not have done everything required. Be sure to keep all of your correspondence, paper and electronic, as well as hotel receipts, boarding passes and photos of you together. These are important supporting documents that you must provide. The first link below goes to the official USCIS.gov form I-129F form download and instructions. The second link is for Nolo Publications book, "Fiance and Marriage Visas: A Couple's Guide to US Immigration". I used this book extensively, even after we were married in the US. There is a lot of subsequent paperwork that we did without a lawyer with the help of this book. Make sure to get latest revision as the laws change. This is the timeline for my wife and me. Dec - marriage ceremony in Thailand, Jan - I returned to US, sent in I-129F application Feb - I-129F approved Mar - last of my wife's documents submitted to US Embassy early May - consular interview and visa granted late May - wife arrived in US June - married in US July - submitted I-485, I-864, etc. to apply for permanent residency Source(s): http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/m... http://www.nolo.com/product.cfm/objectid... Other Travel Tips Are you getting married in Thailand? or America? The reason for asking is that when I married my wife, in Cambodia, it took almost 3 years before the Dept of Immigration would let her come to America. Hope you don't have to wait that long man. Don't get married yet! You'll end up totally screwed over by immigration if you do. Trust me on this one. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/m... That's the official USCIS website- You'll want to file for the fiance visa before you even start planning the wedding. If you wait till after you get married, it can be months to years. I married a Canadian without knowing about that and it was two years before we could live together! Don't put yourself through that. Agree with JenniferinNY.I am Thai that married my wife 7 years ago in thailand.After married i went back and fround out that better not marry in Thiland.You better do "Fiancee Visa" must faster .When your wife approved you just have to marry her in 90 days.. You see after i married my wife all the paper work was done in Thailand ...My wife have to go back to Thailand again for Green card... As soon as you have aquired the proper paper work from the US Embassy. The time varies but is much faster now than it use to be. Congratulations to you both! Thais can leave Thailand any time they want to. I mean if they do not have and criminal record against them that is. The issue would be about the Visa to enter into the US and that you must consult with the US Embassy here in Bangkok for tracing of whether she has any records that bar her from entering the US. About the marriage registration, you can do it in Thailand and have them translated and certify by the Consular Department, foreign ministry at Chang Wattana, the same place that the Thais are applying for passport. After you have them certified, you will need to go to the US Embassy, consular section to counter certify to make it a legal document for the US. This means that your registration of marriage is legal in both countries with the certified copy of the marriage certificate as prove. But, if you must, you can also register for marriage again in the US. The procedure of registering for marriage by other government other than that of a citizen of that territory generally is that the alien must visit their own Embassy to request for a legal paper certify that they had never register for marriage with other person (otherwise makes the person ineligible to register for marriage as it will be a duplicate marriage. But, I think if you want to register for marriage with the same person in another country that can be done. This process is to ensure that your marriage will enjoy the full legal aspects of marriage in both countries, and that your offsprings will enjoy all rights and duties as citizen of both countries. Check the American laws, as the Thai laws only allow children to carry two citizenship until the age of 20, when he or she must give up citizenship of other country within six months time, otherwise he or she looses Thai nationality. Dual citizenship only allowed during Anand Panyarachun鈥檚 administration that the law was interpreted in such a way that Thai women can gain additional nationality through marriage and hold other nationality without loosing Thai nationality. There鈥檚 also question about inherit the legacy for your offsprings so better make it legally completed at the beginning by register for marriage again once you are in the US. Hope that helps, and sorry I don鈥檛 know the process of obtaining US Visa for foreign spouses, but in my experiences, the American Embassy sometime give indefinite Visa for Thai people. My brother has one, while mine was only given as long as passport lasts, and I was the one requested the US Visa for my brother. The criteria remains a puzzle to me. |
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