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Why the K1 Visa is a Better Option for Thai Girlfriends or Fiancées than the Tourist Visa

By Benjamin Hart

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Published: 28Oct2008
Word count: 484
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So you've met the woman of your dreams here in the Land of Smiles and you want to take her back to the US. A lot of erroneous information floats around about the US Immigration process particularly with regard to the tourist visa and hopefully this little article will clear up some of the confusion.

The Tourist Visa for your Thai Fiancee

I hear many people discuss the tourist visa in various forums and blogs and mostly I hear about how easy they are to obtain for Thai girls. It is true that the Bangkok Embassy is a bit more lenient than other legations in Southeast Asia about issuing Tourist Visas. That being said, they are still difficult to obtain. I usually tell people that the rejection rate is about 95% and I usually receive and incredulous response because they know someone who got one for their Thai girlfriend, fiancee, or wife. That's probably true, but the US Embassy in Bangkok rejects loads of Tourist Visas every day and they aren't looking at changing this practice. The overall rejection rate for Thais wishing to obtain a tourist visa is very high. The reason for this high rejection rate is the fact that a Thai applicant must overcome the presumption that they are merely using the tourist visa as a means for going to the US in an effort to permanently remain.

This presumption can be rebutted by showing "strong ties" to the Kingdom of Thailand, in short: money talks. More than anything "strong ties" means strong economic ties, i.e. a good job or assets here in Thailand (house, condo, property, or business) that would necessitate a return to the Kingdom. Many US Citizen boyfriends, fiances, and husbands looking to assist Thais coming to America inadvertently may be hurting the Thais chances of getting a tourist visa.

Say you take your Thai girlfriend or fiance to the US Embassy in Bangkok and tell them you want to get a tourist visa to show her around America. Immediately you have given more evidence in favor of denying the tourist visa because it looks as though you may use this visa to get married which would reinforce the presumption that she is simply using the visa to go to the US to remain. Also, if by chance you two get this visa and go to the US to subsequently get married then US Immigration can (and many times does) construe this as an attempt to defraud the US government.

With such a high rejection rate and the other risks involved if marriage is even a remote possibility and the US Citizen boyfriend or fiancé lives in the US, then it is a better option to file for a K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa with USCIS in order to bring the Thai loved one back to the US.

Thanks for Reading,

Benjamin W. Hart, Esq.

Benjamin Hart is a licensed American attorney and member of AILA. He currently lives in Bangkok, Thailand where he works for Integrity Legal, an Immigration Law Firm with offices in the United States and Thailand. To find out more visit US Immigration for a Thai Girl and K1 Visas from Thailand.

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