Integrity Legal

Among the Expatriate Community in Thailand, one of the popular websites for up-to-the-minute information about visas and immigration issues is: Thaivisa.com. At the time of this writing Thaivisa.com is reporting that the free Thai tourist visa program is coming to an end. To quote a posting on that site directly:

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok, who oversees the Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates worldwide, today confirms to Thaivisa.com that visa fees will be levied for all visa classes from March 5, 2010. Tourist visas are valid for a 60 days stay and may be extended at local Thai Immigration offices…Tourist visas has been issued free of charge since June 25, 2009 in an effort to revive the Thai travel and tourism industry.”

As stated above, the Tourist visa fee waiver program was initiated to help in reviving the beleaguered Thai tourism industry which suffered some setbacks after an airport closure and the worldwide economic downturn. It would seem that these measures have been successful in buoying the economy as the decision has been made to end the program.

This may come as a relief to the staff of Royal Thai Consulates and Embassies overseas as it has been rumored that the tourist visa fee waiver has caused an upsurge in tourist visa applications and caused a drain upon the resources of many Thai Diplomatic and Consular postings.

These authors hope that the rescission of the Thai visa fee waiver marks the beginning of an overall recovery in the Thai tourism sector as it is one of the most important facets of Thailand’s service economy. The impact that the re-imposition of the tourist visa application fee will have upon the “visa run” remains to be seen, but many believe that most visa runners will continue to opt for the tourist visa as it currently provides a significantly longer duration of status compared to land border visa exemptions which are currently only being granted for a maximum validity of 15 days.

Some have also noted that the end of the free tourist visa may result in the increased promulgation of dual entry tourist visas as Thai Consulates and Embassies are more willing to grant such travel documents because they are once again being compensated for the processing.

It should be noted that a 60 day Thai tourist visa can be extended by 30 more days if the bearer takes their passport and visa to a local Thai Immigration office and pays the extension fee. At present, the extension fee is approximately 1900 Thai baht.

For related information please see: Business Visa Thailand.

Tags: Thai Consulate, Thai Embassy, Thai Tourist Visa, Thai Visa, Thailand Consulate, Thailand Embassy, Thailand Tourist Visa, Thailand Visa
Posted in Thai Embassy Kuala Lumpur, Thailand Business, Thailand Embassy, Thailand Embassy Myanmar, Thailand Embassy Singapore, Thailand Visa, Upcoming Legislation | 8 Comments »

As with any large government agency, errors can occur in processing government documentation. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is not immune to human error and recently the Service issued some advance parole travel documents with incorrect dates. To quote a press release promulgated by the American Immigration Lawyers Association:

“U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) announced today that it will reissue Advance Parole documents (Form I-512) in response to documents that were mailed to applicants with an incorrect issue date of January 5, 1990. All affected documents have been identified and USCIS will automatically reissue documents to individuals who have received a document with the incorrect issue date.”

It is fortunate that USCIS caught this problem and took steps to remedy the situation. The aforementioned press release went on to say:

“All documents continue to be valid as the expiration dates remain accurate, therefore it is not necessary for applicants to contact USCIS regarding their pending application unless their application is outside the normal processing time of 90 days.”

Again, as USCIS took steps to quick deal with this problem the impact upon prospective immigrants or those with pending visa applications is likely to be blunted.  However, sometimes prospective immigrants or non-immigrants in the United States need to leave the country for an emergency, but do not wish to forfeit their immigration benefits by doing so, this press release went on to detail the steps that immigrants can take to obtain an emergency advance parole travel document:

“If you need to travel urgently and you have received a document with an invalid issue date, then you may travel using the incorrect document. U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has been alerted however, you may be questioned about the issuance date. Therefore, please print this explanation to share with CBP if necessary.”

For those unfamiliar with the subject of advance parole, it is the legal staus that a prospective immigrant or non-immigrant must obtain in order to leave the USA and return in status. This can be a particularly important issue for those present in the US on a K1 visa or a K3 Visa where the applicant has submitted an application for adjustment of status. Unlike an Immigrant Visa (CR1 or IR1), a K1 fiance visa or a K3 marriage visa requires that the applicant adjust status in order to obtain lawful permanent residence. Although this rarely comes up in the context of a K3 visa, the validity of a K1 visa is of such short duration that the underlying visa usually expires before the adjustment of status is approved. While the application is pending the K1 holder will be allowed to remain in the US, but if they leave before adjusting status they will fall out of status if they do not receive advance parole.

Tags: advance parole, Fiance Visa, Fiance Visa Thailand, Fiancee Visa, Fiancee Visa Thailand, K-1 Visa, K-1 Visa Thailand, K-3 Visa, K-3 Visa Thailand, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, K3 Visa Thailand, travel document, US Visa Thailand, USCIS
Posted in CR1 Visa, Fiance Visa Thailand, IR1 Visa, K-3 Visa Thailand, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, US Visa and Immigration, US Visa Thailand, USCIS | No Comments »

Recently, one of the administrators of this blog came across an article on the Telegraph’s website. The article reported on the recently announced future legalization of same-sex marriage in the country of Nepal. To quote the article directly:

“Nepal’s homosexual community, which is led by Asia’s only openly gay member of parliament, will next month host a tourism conference to explore how to attract wealthy gay visitors to boost the country’s war-ravaged economy. The country’s new constitution will legalise homosexual marriage in May this year, when “Pink Mountain” will begin offering luxury honeymoon and wedding packages.”

This is a rather stunning announcement as few countries in Asia have legalized marriage between individual’s of the same sex. The article went further:

“Sunil Babu Pant, a Communist legislator and leader of the country’s homosexual rights movement, has launched a travel company dedicated to promoting the former Hindu kingdom to gay tourists in an effort to tap the so-called “Pink Pound” and dollar…Mr Pant is hoping to build on the government’s new determination to maximise income from tourism by targeting all potential markets…’The government is hoping to increase the number of tourists from 400,000 to one million next year and has taken a positive attitude to welcoming gay and lesbian visitors to help meet their ambitious target,’ he told The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.”

This move should be applauded not only because many feel that it is the morally correct thing to do, but also because it will likely result in a major economic boon for Nepal.  A question on the minds of many who are interested in the issue of same-sex marriage and US Immigration is: how will this impact rights of gay couples who wish to immigrate to the United States of America?

In the short term, movements such as this will not have a direct impact on US Federal Immigration policy as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) still precludes the promulgation of US Immigration benefits based solely upon a same-sex marriage. However, as more countries begin to legalize marriage between people of the same sex it becomes more apparent that the movement has gained something of a critical mass internationally. Further, the legality of DOMA is likely to eventually be taken up by the United States Supreme Court as there is currently a pending Federal Court Case in Massachusetts as well as a challenge in California Federal District Court to the provisions of “Prop 8″ in California.

It would seem that if the US Supreme Court overturns DOMA, then a valid same sex marriage in a country such as Nepal could be used as a basis for applying for US Immigration benefits. That being said, if DOMA were repealed then same-sex partners could possibly be entitled to file for such US Immigration benefits as a K1 visa or a K3 Visa at a US diplomatic post abroad (such as the US Embassy in Nepal). However, these issues have not been fully resolved and current US same-sex family immigration policy remains as an insurmountable obstacle to re-uniting many same-sex couples in the USA.

Another issue to remember on this topic is the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) which would provide US Immigration benefits to the “Permanent Partners” of US Citizens or lawful permanent residents. A valid marriage would probably be seen as a strong piece of evidence supporting a claim of “permanent partnership.”

Tags: Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, K1 Visa, K1 visa gay marriage, K1 visa same sex marriage massachusetts, K3 Visa, K3 visa gay marriage, Same Sex Marriage, same sex us immigration, uafa, Uniting American Families Act, US visa gay marriage
Posted in CR1 Visa, Fiance Visa Thailand, IR1 Visa, K-3 Visa Thailand, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, Legal Opinion, Miscellaneous, US Embassy Kathmandu, US Embassy Nepal, US Visa and Immigration, US Visa Thailand | No Comments »

United States Diplomatic Missions are posted around the world. In many cases, a US Embassy will have a Consular Section for dealing with administrative matters for Americans overseas (i.e. notarial services, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, second passport, etc). A US Consulate is also tasked with adjudicating American visa applications.

In many cases, US Consulates and Embassies close on both US Federal holidays as well as those holidays recognized by the host country. Foreknowledge of an Embassy’s holiday closing schedule can be beneficial to both American expatriates and prospective US immigrants as this knowledge can help forestall an unproductive trip to the US Embassy. Below is a list of the holidays that the US Embassy in Singapore recognizes. The US Embassy will close in observance of the following American and Singaporean holidays:

Notwithstanding holiday closures, the Embassy could also close for internal administrative purposes, the following dates are noted on the Embassy’s website as times that the Embassy will not be open for transaction of regular business:

- February 15, 16 2010 (Monday & Tuesday)
Singapore Holiday - Chinese New Year’s Day
U.S. Holiday - Washington’s Birthday

- February 25, 2010 (Thursday)
Admin/Training Day*

- March 25, 2010 (Thursday)
Admin/Training Day*

* Admin/Training Days:  We will be closed for all Consular Services, including American Citizen passport renewal, extra passport pages and notarial services on these days.  Regular services will resume the following day.  For emergency services at any time during an Admin/Training day, please call 6476-9100 during normal business hours.

Please note that the above information was promulgated by the website of the US Embassy in Singapore. To view the Embassy’s website, please click on this link. It should be noted that the US Embassy could close for other reasons at other times so this information should not be viewed as definitive. For those wishing to deal with issues at the US Embassy in Singapore, we recommend contacting the post directly. Contact information can be found at the Embassy’s website by clicking on the above link.

For information about US Visas please see: K1 visa or K3 Visa.

Tags: American Visa Singapore, Holiday Closing US Embassy Singapore, K1 Visa, K3 Visa, US Consulate Singapore, US Embassy, US Embassy Singapore, US Visa Singapore, visa applications
Posted in CR1 Visa, IR1 Visa, K1 Visa, K3 Visa, US Consulate Singapore, US Embassy Singapore, US Tourist Visa, US Visa and Immigration | 17 Comments »