Integrity Legal

The United States Consulate at the American Embassy in Bangkok conducts most, if not all, of the immigrant and non-immigrant family based visa application interviews submitted by those resident in the Kingdom of Thailand. The Immigrant Visa Unit is a division of the United States Consulate which has been given the specific task of adjudicating Immigrant visa applications for travel documents such as the IR1 and the CR1 visa as well as the non-immigrant dual intent travel documents such as the K1 visa and the K3 visa.

The visa interview itself is viewed by many applicants with apprehension and fear as they are worried that it will be used in an attempt to undermine the applicant’s visa application. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. In cases where the applicant has been candid, told the truth on the application forms,  and provided proper documentation the interview is simply an exercise on the part of the Consular Officers to determine that the applicant is who they say they are and that they meet the legal and factual requirements for visa issuance. The interview is not conducted in an effort to somehow humiliate or degrade the applicant, it is truly an investigation into the facts of the case. This being said, those that lie on an application or falsify documentation will likely have an unpleasant experience at the US Embassy as an Administrative Processing interview with the Fraud Prevention Unit can be a less-than-pleasant undertaking. Although courteous, the Consular Officers will often conduct their due diligence zealously in order to uncover the truth regarding the facts of the application.

Honesty is always the best policy when it comes to US Immigration matters. Unfortunately, some so-called “visa agents” in Thailand encourage applicants to lie in order to cover up some perceived problem with the application.  Not only is this practice unethical, but in the case of visa interviews it is almost cruel to send a non-native English speaker into the Embassy to be interrogated by officers trained and experienced in conducting these kinds of due diligence.

After the visa interview, should the application be approved, the Consular Officer will usually take the applicant’s passport and provide them with a “Red Card.” Many who research US Immigration are quite familiar with the so-called “Green Card,” which is the Resident Alien Card provided to aliens in the US as proof of lawful permanent residence in America. A “Red Card,” is the appellation that some Immigration attorneys in Thailand as well as Thai visa applicants have applied to the the small index card that the US Embassy in Bangkok provides the applicant should their passport be taken for visa issuance. The reason that this card is referred to it as a “Red Card” is due to the fact that the stamp on the card, which denotes (in Thai and English) the date and time that an applicant can pick up the passport and visa, is red.

Red Cards are not necessarily a guarantee of visa issuance as in rare cases necessary documentation is overlooked and must still be presented by the applicant. However, in the vast majority of cases when a Red Card it issued it means that the visa will more than likely be issued and can be picked up a few days after the conclusion of the interview.

Please note that each US Embassy or US Consulate has different administrative procedures and rules. Therefore, the information regarding “Red Card” issuance at the US Embassy in Bangkok may be completely irrelevant when it comes to other posts such as the US Embassy in Myanmar or the US Consulate in HCMC. Therefore it is advisable to refer to each Embassy’s individual website for specific information about processing a visa application through that particular post.

Tags: Administrative Processing, American Embassy Bangkok, American Embassy Thailand, CR-1 Visa, CR1 Visa, Fraud Prevention Unit, Green Card, K-1 Visa, K-1 Visa Thailand, K-3 Visa, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, Red Card, US Consulate, US Embassy, us embassy bangkok, us embassy thailand, Visa Interview
Posted in CR1 Visa, Fiance Visa Thailand, IR1 Visa, K-3 Visa Thailand, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, US Consulate Chiang Mai, US Consulate HCMC, us embassy bangkok, US Embassy Burma, US Embassy Cambodia, US Embassy Hanoi, US Embassy Kuala Lumpur, US Embassy Malaysia, US Embassy Myanmar, US Embassy Phnom Phen, US Embassy Rangoon, US Embassy Thailand, US Embassy Vietnam, US Embassy Yangon, US Visa and Immigration, US Visa Thailand | 1 Comment »

One of the major questions invariably on the lips of prospective visa applicant’s and petitioners is: how long will the process take? This question is not as easily answered as some might think because the entire process is actually three processes in one. First there is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) adjudication phase, then there is the National Visa Center (NVC) processing phase, and finally there is the US Embassy interview and adjudication phase. In most cases, the interview phase is the final phase of the process as the visa application is either approved or denied at this point. However, if there is a legal grounds of inadmissibility or if the applicant has previously been subject to deportation or expedited removal in the US, then either an I-601 waiver or an I-212 waiver may be necessary. In routine cases, the interview is usually the last major phase of the visa obtainment process.

That being said, the first major phase of the process involves the submission of petitions to USCIS. As many petitions are filed with USCIS each year, this phase of the process is often the most time consuming as the US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident’s petition must wait in the queue for adjudication.

Recently, USCIS updated their processing time estimates, below please find the most recent processing time estimates for family based petitions for K-1 visas, K-3 visas, and Immigrant visas.

The California Service Center processing times are as follows:

The Vermont Service Center processing times are as follows:

One should not misunderstand the above information, these processing times do not reflect the entire time that it takes to complete the entire visa process as a US Family visa petition must also process through the National Visa Center as well as the Embassy in the country where the visa is to be issued. In Thailand, most visa applications for family members of US Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents are adjudicated at the US Embassy in Bangkok.

Tags: American Visa Thailand, K-1 Visa, K-3 Visa, K1 Visa, K1 visa processing time, K1 Visa Processing Times, K1 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, K3 Visa processing time, K3 Visa Thailand, us embassy bangkok, us embassy thailand, US Visa Thailand
Posted in CR1 Visa, Fiance Visa Thailand, IR1 Visa, K-3 Visa Thailand, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, us embassy bangkok, US Embassy Burma, US Embassy Cambodia, US Embassy Hanoi, US Embassy Kuala Lumpur, US Embassy Malaysia, US Embassy Myanmar, US Embassy Phnom Phen, US Embassy Rangoon, US Embassy Thailand, US Embassy Vietnam, US Embassy Yangon, US Visa and Immigration, US Visa Thailand, USCIS | No Comments »

For more information about how the IR-1 visa process works please see: IR1 visa Thailand. For further information about United States Immigration, United States Visas, and United States Immigration attorneys please see: US Visa Thailand.

The IR-1 visa in 2010

As with many of the other types of American visas, the IR-1 visa process seems poised to remain largely unchanged in the year 2010. However, the dawning of a new year, and a new decade, provides this author with an opportunity to discuss the IR-1 visa and how the IR1 visa process works.

For those who are not familiar with the IR1 visa, this is an immigrant visa, sought pursuant to a filing of an I-130 application, for those who wish to travel to the United States of America in order to take up lawful permanent residence. It is a travel document similar to the CR-1 visa. That being said, there is a major difference in the type of status each document confers upon entry in the United States. An IR-1 visa provides the bearer with unconditional lawful permanent residence upon entry. Whereas the CR-1 visa only provides the bearer with conditional lawful permanent residence upon admission to the USA. This can be a crucial difference as conditional residence requires that the couple file for a lift of conditions in order for the foreign spouse to be considered an unconditional lawful permanent resident. This is a critical difference because it means that a foreign spouse who enters in CR-1 status is considered a permanent resident only so long as her marriage remains intact. A divorce or death could lead to a situation where the foreign spouse is forced to depart the United States.

Fortunately for some couples, the conditionality of permanent residence is adjudicated at admission to the United States. Therefore, those who were married less than two years when they applied may be married more than 2 years at admission. In many cases, these couples will have the foreign spouse enter in IR-1 status rather than CR-1 status in order to facilitate later convenience.

CR-1 and IR-1 visas are currently taking approximately 5 months to process through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in the United States. This figure presupposes that the foreign beneficiary is a child or spouse of a United States Citizen. The process is very similar to the CR-1 visa process. That being said, there are those in Thailand who opt to submit a local filing at the USCIS office in Bangkok which can greatly reduce the processing time because USCIS: Bangkok has a much lower case load of such petitions when compared to the Service Centers in the United States of America. Also, a local filing does not process through the National Visa Center which can decrease the overall processing time as well.

In order to submit a local filing the couple must meet some fairly strict criteria, but should these requirements be met, the expedited processing time could be a virtual boon to those wishing to move quickly.

Tags: American Visa Thailand, I-130 application, IR-1 Visa, IR-1 Visa Thailand, IR1 Visa, IR1 Visa Thailand, Spouse visa Thailand, unconditional lawful permanent residence, US Visa Thailand
Posted in CR1 Visa, IR1 Visa, US Embassy Thailand, US Visa and Immigration, US Visa Thailand, USCIS | No Comments »

People often wonder about the role of the USCIS offices overseas. USCIS’s role in the United States is generally the adjudication of visa petitions. After the petition is adjudicated it is forwarded to the National Visa Center and then on to the US Embassy where the visa interview will take place. Outside of the United States, there are various USCIS District Offices. This post takes a look at the USCIS District office in Thailand and its functions with regard to US Immigration.

USCIS Bangkok District Office Jurisdiction and Functions

To quote the US Embassy website regarding USCIS:

“The District Director and Deputy District Director of USCIS Bangkok District Office oversee the Bangkok District office as well as USCIS sub-offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Manila, New Delhi, and Seoul.  The USCIS Bangkok District has jurisdiction over Hong Kong, B.C.C., and the adjacent islands, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand; all of continental Asia lying to the east of the western border of Afghanistan and eastern borders of Pakistan and India; Japan, Korea, Okinawa, and all other countries in the Pacific area.

The USCIS Bangkok Office itself, however, only reviews petitions from Australia, Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand.”

As can be seen the USCIS office in Bangkok is responsible for a large area of the world. The office’s main functions include adjudicating I-601 waivers, immigrant visa petitions, naturalization, parole, abandonment of lawful permanent resident status (Green Card), refugee services, and adoptions.

Filing a US Visa Application at the USCIS Office in Bangkok Thailand

One of the major functions of particular interests to Americans with Thai spouses is whether they can submit a visa petition to the USCIS office in Bangkok. The reason for submitting a petition in Bangkok rather than the United States stems from the fact that the processing time at the district office in Bangkok is much faster than the service center in the United States. The obvious reason for the speed differential is the fact that far fewer immigrant petitions are received at the Office in Bangkok compared to the USA.

An issue arises when someone wishing to submit a visa petition in Bangkok is barred from doing so because he or she does not meet the 1 year residence requirement of USCIS. According to USCIS District office policy, only residents in Thailand who have been living in Thailand for at least one year on a 1 year Thai visa are allowed to petition at the District office. Further, only a “resident” non-immigrant Thai visa holder will be allowed to submit a US visa application in Bangkok (non-immigrant visas categories include the Thai ED Visa, Thai Business Visa, and the Thai O Visa). Therefore, those present in Thailand long term on a Thai tourist visa are ineligible to submit a petition at USCIS Bangkok. USCIS defines those present in Thailand on a tourist visa as “non-residents.”

Direct Consular Filing

The difference between filing an immigration visa petition at a Service Center in the United States using a local USCIS office overseas and Direct Consular Filing is somewhat difficult for people to understand and this goes for laymen as well as attorneys.

In a previous article I wrote about Direct Consular Filing, I used the term somewhat loosely when discussing the ability to use the District Office of USCIS when filing for immigrant visas for Thai spouses. Strictly speaking a direct consular filing occurs only when a US visa petition is submitted directly to the consulate or the consular section of the US Embassy abroad. In Thailand, since there is a USCIS district office  in the Kingdom, the American Embassy Thailand rarely, if ever takes direct consular filings. However, as mentioned above, petitioning USCIS in Bangkok for an immigrant visa is a major component of the District Office’s mandate.

For more information about Bangkok USCIS at its role in American Immigration please see US Visa Thailand.

Tags: American Visa Thailand, US Marriage Visa Thailand, US Visa Thailand, USCIS Bangkok, USCIS Thailand
Posted in CR1 Visa, IR1 Visa, us embassy bangkok, US Visa and Immigration, USCIS | No Comments »