Integrity Legal

US Visa for a Thai Fiance or Spouse’s Child

An often asked question regarding US Immigration from Thailand is: how do I bring my Thai fiancee or wife’s Thai child with us to the USA. The answer to this question depends upon what type of visa is being sought. Each Family Visa category has a derivative visa counterpart. Therefore, the K1 Fiancee Visa has the K2 child Visa, the K3 has the K4 Child Visa, the Cr-1 has the Cr-2 for a Thai child, and the IR-1  has the IR-2 Child Visa. All derivative visa applications must be filed with the appropriate office of USCIS.

Conditions and Validity of a US Visa for a Thai Child

These derivative visas have the same conditions and validity as the underlying visa upon which they are based. Therefore in the case of the K-2 and K-4 Visa the visas are non-immigrant visas and therefore require adjustment of status before the beneficiary will obtain lawful permanent residence in the USA. It should be noted that failure to file for adjustment of status for the derivative visa could lead to the Thai child falling out of status in the USA. This could occur if the US Citizen spouse and the Thai mother of the Thai child file for adjustment of status, but, for whatever reason, fail to file on behalf of the child. The moment that the mother’s application for adjustment is approved the Thai child’s application is dead because the underlying visa has been canceled as a result of the status adjustment.

The CR-2 and IR-2 visas do not have this problem because they are immigrant visas and therefore adjustment of status is not a necessity once the visa holders arrive in the USA. However, with regards to the CR-2 Visa, since the underlying CR-1 Visa confers conditional permanent residence a filing for a lift of conditions is required for the CR-2.

Thai Children at the Visa Interview at the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand

Thai Child Immigrant’s presence will generally be required at the Visa interview at the US Embassy in Thailand. Although their presence is requested they may or may not be interviewed. To file for a derivative visa a concurrent visa filing must be submitted at the time of submitting the underlying visa petition.

In some cases, the Thai mother wishes to wait to bring the child to the USA until after the wedding or until after the move to the USA. In a case such as this, after the marriage or the arrival of the Thai wife in the US, the American  Citizen spouse may file a visa petition for the Thai child as a step-child or the Thai mother may file a visa petition on behalf of the child as a minor child of a lawful permanent resident (if the situation fits these facts). Generally, it is advisable to file the child visa petition concurrently with the underlying petition if speed is an issue.

For more information Please See: US Visa Thailand

Note: Nothing in this post should be used in lieu of competent advice from a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.

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