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bangui

Some thoughts on US visas

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+1 from me for all the great intel and the time it took you to write this all down for our benefit. thanks.

 

i was married to a GG years ago and went through hell at the interview in 2000 when we were denied, despite all the photos and letters (pre email) showing we had been together as a couple for a long time, my work permit from a Thai Hotel Chain, my passport that showed i had resided in TH for 8 years at that time, a letter from my Senator (head of the foreign relations committee) requesting the visa be granted, a letter from my employer stating that i had a good job and was welcome back after the holiday in the states, and wife being able to speak English fairly well the embassy staff told me we were denied because it was my country's duty to protect me from myself, and what he perceived to be a passing fancy and infatuation. there is actually a rule that was implemented during the Korean War for this because so many guys wanted to bring Korean women home.

 

my wife had a child by another farang (an asshole who left her when she was 5 months pregnant) and the closing comment from the dick at the embassy was, i also think you are going there to leave the child with your family to be raised and go to an american school. despite the fact that the kid was going to a reputable international school in Pattaya at the time and we had told them during the interview that the reason we were going home was because my father was gravely ill, hospitalized, and we wanted the family to see the my wife and child before he passed away.

 

knowing that i was never going to get them the visas i ended the conversation by telling the ass that i had no intention of leaving my child and that all though the schools in america may be good, i did not want my child to be at risk of getting shot at school. he then told me to leave, the interview was over, and he went to lunch.

 

maybe his farang wife burnt his toast at breakfast, who knows.

 

the point is, that no matter what you do or what you show them, its all up to some low level public servant who may have an attitude.

 

SO FOLLOW THE OPs ADVICE AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE DONE ALL THAT YOU CAN TO PREPARE, YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE. and if its better to wait, wait.

 

EDIT: i might add that my wife felt that she had lost so much face at that interview that she suffered self-doubt for a very long time and got depressed for months. she felt that she was responsible for us not getting the visas and that she had ruined the whole idea of going on the trip, and that she was a bad girl in the eyes of my family. i also forgot to tell you that we had a DNA test done on the kid and myself so that when we told them the child was not mine, thinking that would show even more commitment, that they would ask for the DNA test, and we would already have it.

 

i hope this is not seen as hijacking, i really wanted to reinforce what you said about being prepared, and basically getting one chance.

Edited by bkkladyboy

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Hi mate and thanks very much for this great thread that will affect many at somepoint someday.

 

As for the UK, I think the tourist visa is relatively easy, for as long as you have return ticket, some cash in your bank and place to stay on arrival.

 

I think the key point you made is 'TAKE YOUR TIME TO FILL OUT THE FORMS'.

 

Likewise in the UK, once they have refused your application (any type of visa application) it is THE MOST BUREAUCRATIC office ever. They have clearly made the refusal for the right reason (ie the form was filled out wrongly, or the readers comprehension of what they were looking for was wrong - I'll come to that in a moment), then the only right to appeal against the decision is basically:

 

1) Their decision was prejudiced

2) Their decision was not lawful

3) The decision breached your human rights

 

So if you fill out the form wrongly, then as they say in Thailand......som nam na ! (harsh but true).

 

So do you go down the Immigration lawyer route / agency for checking your forms ??? Perhaps, but I'd say just do research and use the Border Agency, Govt Immigration offices etc for advice if you are stuck. These private agencies can be a major rip off.

 

The other thing in the UK is that UK Immigration law changes every year, sometimes twice a year. When if comes to showing funds, everyone should read the Pankina case judgement and that the UK have now enforced those rules as LAW, not 'Immigration guidelines' (I won't go into it here, but if you are filling out UK forms, READ THE PANKINA case and new law judgement). It became law on 23 July 2010.

 

The next BIG law being battled just now is that the new UK Govt are trying to rush through amendments in Immigration rules are that Students who graduate in a UK University will not be given a 2 year post study work visa (if they choose to apply for one). They will be required to go home, unless they are given a sponsored highly skilled job in the UK (ask how many uber-qualified Starbucks trainee Barista's there are in the UK if they have highly skilled job offers coming out their ears or not !). This is in its consulation phase though, but the findings are due out soon.

 

In the UK, the fiance visa will not give your partner rights to work. That can be a huge issue if you cannot support a decent life for the both of you.

 

I suppose laws have been set up to stop the scamsters and lay-abouts, but unfortunately, the barbed wire borders seem to snare the honest ones who come for the right reasons simply because they do not know how to fill out the bureacratic and at times non-sensical forms, which I believe the scamsters are well-schooled how to do properly.

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Great post BKKLadyboy,

serves as a further warning that the reality has nothing to do with love, emotion and perfect intentions. Bureacracy and small mindedness can rule your destiny at times with Immigration matters.

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Good thread and very informative posts gents. I was thinking this one would better serve the forum if moved to the Visa information section. Would be much more useful there rather than sinking into oblivion in the chit chat section.

 

Mod Edit : Good point ! Moved to Visa Info

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Kudos to the posters for some excellent info. My experience is rather dated at this point, but for what it's worth:

 

You might have better luck, for Americans at least, at the consulate in Chiang Mai, being a little further from the party zone, though I suppose you'd have to justify being there somehow.

 

We had a joint bank account with a decent sum in it for a while, which seemed to make a difference.

 

My GF had traveled within Asia, and her "experienced" passport might have helped us as well.

 

Like the original poster, we also made a point of appearing comfortable as a couple. We made sure that the interviewer understood that I spoke Thai, as well as her speaking English.

 

She made it perfectly clear to the interviewer that she was a proud middle-class Thai, and had very little interest in the U.S. beyond tourism. I suppose they hear that all the time, but she was like "you've got to be kidding - why wouldn't I want to come home?".

 

A pair of glasses and the right clothes won't hurt.

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