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Posts Tagged ‘K1 Visa Thailand’
19th July 2009
K-1 Visa Process: USCIS Service Center Jurisdiction
Posted by : admin
For those seeking to submit a visa application the first thing to think about is which office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will take jurisdiction over adjudicating the petition. In instances involving an overseas filing of an Immigrant petition (sometimes known as Direct Consular Filing), this information is not useful, but for those living in the United States and filing non-immigrant spouse or fiance visa petitions, the following information may be helpful.
The K-1 visa application (the I-129f) should be filed with the office having jurisdiction over the petitioner’s home state. There are currently two USCIS service centers adjudicating I-129f petitions (the K-3 visa application requires a supplemental I-129f petition after submission of an initial I-130 petition).
USICS Service Center: California
The California Service Center currently adjudicates petitions from the following US states and territories:
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, or Wyoming. (As with all information concerning USCIS jurisdictional matters, the above list is subject to change.)
USICS Service Center: Vermont
The Vermont Service Center currently adjudicates petitions from the following US states and territories:
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. (As with all information concerning USCIS jurisdictional matters, the above list is subject to change.)
(Some people confuse the Vermont Service Center with the National Visa Center in New Hampshire. The National Visa Center is not an organ of USCIS, but is a visa application processing center under the administrative jurisdiction of the United States Department of State.)
For those American Citizens who are resident in the Kingdom of Thailand, it may be possible to file an Immigrant Visa application with the USCIS office in Bangkok, Thailand. However, unlike a USCIS Service Center, the Bangkok District Office does not generally adjudicate K-1 visa applications. Further, the USCIS Service Centers in California and Vermont are not the correct locations to submit Immigrant Visa (I-130) applications for spouses of United States Citizens who are resident in the United States. Therefore, one should do careful research before submitting any visa application in order to be sure that an application will not be rejected based upon lack of proper jurisdiction.
(Do not use this information as a substitute for competent legal advice. No attorney-client relationship should be inferred to have formed between author and reader.)
18th July 2009
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS)
Posted by : admin
For those seeking to obtain a USA Visa from Thailand, it is almost inevitable that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will be involved in the process. That being said, depending upon the visa being sought, USCIS may play less of a direct role in the initial process.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service has had an interesting recent history. Currently, the office is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security. USCIS former acronym was INS which stood for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001 it was decided that the services provided by INS could be better facilitated under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security and INS was folded into that agency. For a time, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service was known simply as the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), but the acronym and name was officially changed to the current form on October 13, 2004.
For Immigrant visas that confer either conditional or unconditional lawful permanent residence (Greencard) to an alien upon entry, USCIS will play a major role in adjudicating the I-130 visa application. In certain instances where the United States Citizen has been living in the Kingdom of Thailand for a specified period of time, it may be possible to locally file an I-130 application at the USCIS office in Bangkok. This procedure is sometimes mistakenly called “Direct Consular Filing,” but, in point of fact, this appellation is misapplied. A direct consular filing can only occur at a consular section when a United States consular officer at a US Embassy or Consulate General accepts a visa application that has not first been adjudicated by USCIS either in the United States or at an office abroad. In Thailand, it is very rare for a consular officer at the US Embassy in Bangkok or the Consulate General in Chiang Mai to accept a visa application directly because there is a large local USCIS office in Bangkok.
For those making a K-1 visa application, it will be necessary to file the application at a USCIS service Center in the United States. The United States Citizen petitioner’s residence will determine what service center should be used when submitting the initial application. For those unfamiliar with the K-1 visa, it is a fiance visa designed to allow an American’s foreign fiance to come to the USA for the purpose of marriage.
For those making a K-3 visa application, the I-129f application must be sent to a USCIS service center and not the Chicago Lockbox. The K-3 visa was designed as an expedited marriage visa for spouses of American Citizens.
F-1 visa applications and J-1 visa applications are generally submitted directly to the United States Embassy with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence. US Tourist Visa applications are also submitted directly to the US Embassy.
(This is intended for educational purposes only, it is not legal advice. For Legal advice about Immigration law, contact a visa lawyer. No attorney client relationship is created between the author and any reader of this piece.)
17th July 2009
What is a United States “V” Visa?
Posted by : admin
Yesterday I received an inquiry regarding the possibility of obtaining a United States V Visa. It had been a while since I had read anything about that category so I decided to do some quick research and share a few things regarding the US V Visa.
The Immigration Category known as the V visa was created under the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act of 2000. In the provisions of this legislation, spouses and minor children (not married and under the age of twenty-one) of United States Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders) could receive a temporary visa in order to join their family member in the United States, while the immigrant visa process is pending.
As a rule, spouses and children of American permanent residents must wait for a comparatively longer period of time to get a visa than the spouse of a United States Citizen or a child (or step-child) of a United States Citizen. That being said, lawful permanent residents cannot avail themselves of the comparative benefits of a fiance visa, also known as a K-1 visa, because that visa category is only available to those betrothed to an American Citizen.
Currently, the V visa is only available to spouses and children of Lawful Permanent Residents who filed their visa application on or before December 21, 2000, as a result of this provision, fewer and fewer V visas are being issued as the pending applications are adjudicated.
The V visa is somewhat similar to the K-3 visa because they were statutorily designed with the intention of allowing spouses and children to travel to the United States of America while their immigrant visa was processing through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). A major difference between these two visa categories is the fact that the K-3 is still currently obtainable for the spouse of any United States Citizen and has not been effectively “phased out,” by statute. Thai being said, those that enter the United States on a K-3 visa after the approval of a K-3 application still must go through the adjustment of status process or return to Thailand in order to go through consular processing and visa interview at the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand because, like the V visa, the K-3 is a two year non-immigrant multiple entry visa and therefore is only issued for a validity of limited duration.
(This post is not legal advice and should not be construed as such. Please contact an Immigration lawyer for individualized legal advice. No Attorney-Client relationship is formed by reading this piece.)
15th July 2009
US Visa Thailand: Reflections Regarding the 100% Guarantee
Posted by : admin
One of the most prevalent advertising incentives utilized by people claiming to be a “visa agent,” “immigration consultant,” or “lawyer,” is the 100 percent guarantee that a visa will be issued. A variation on this scheme is also the 100% money back guarantee if the visa is not obtained.
The most common visa category in which people run into these “guarantees” is the K-1 visa. When doing research regarding US Immigration Lawyers in Thailand, prospective petitioners and beneficiaries come across something that is seemingly too good to be true: a no-lose situation. The “agent,” does all of the work and should the visa be denied the fee will be refunded.
Sounds great right? Except for the fact that it really is too good to be true. First, no one can guarantee a visa will be obtained. Let me make this clear: NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE THAT A VISA WILL BE OBTAINED. Much like any other field of law, US Immigration has success and failure and there is a common incorrect belief that a marital, or intended marital, relationship with an American citizen gives the Thai spouse or fiancee the “right” to a marriage or fiance visa. Although an American Citizen does have the right to marry or date whomever they please, this relationship does not, in itself, create a right to United States Immigration benefits. Therefore, no visa guarantee can honestly be made regarding United States Immigration and visa regulations or how United States consular officers and USCIS adjudicators will interpret those regulations.
I have seen many cases in Thailand where an “agent” or “lawyer,” provided a 100% money back guarantee, failed to obtain a visa for his client, and did not subsequently provide a refund.
In the same vein as the 100% Guarantee is the notion that some “agents” have a special relationship with the US Embassy in Bangkok with regard to visa matters. In reality, no one has any type of special pull with Embassy and consular officials. In fact the US Embassy will occasionally comment regarding this phenomenon, if for no other reason than to explain that no person or organization has any special influence regarding Immigration or visa obtainment matters.
Although it is true that currently the US Embassy in Thailand will allow licensed American attorneys to present follow up documentation if a US visa is denied based upon section 221g of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, Embassy policy dictates that only the visa applicant may be present for the visa interview. Further, simply being able to present follow up documentation does not connote any sort of “special relationship,” but merely a policy decision.
(This posting doesn’t constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship should be inferred from reading this posting.)
11th July 2009
F1 Visa Thailand: US Student Visas for Citizens of Thailand
Posted by : admin
Even with the current economy in a somewhat less-than-perfect state, the United States of America still boasts some of the best educational centers in the world. The United State has a great many post-secondary academic institutions and many of these institutions are considered by instructors, teachers, and professors to be the pinnacle of learning in the specialized fields on offer. As a result of America’s fairly unique position as a center of learning, many people from all over the world seek to travel to American in order to study. For nationals of many countries, traveling to the United States of America can a bit difficult, particularly if their country of origin is not a party to the US visa waiver program.
Citizens of the Kingdom of Thailand are unable to travel to the United states visa-free. As a result, any Thai national who wishes to travel to the United States to study must obtain a United States Student Visa, known in immigration circles by its categorical name: the F1 visa. The F1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, meaning that those traveling to the United States on an F-1 do so with the express intention to leave at the end of the visa’s validity. Those who wish to apply for a US student visa must prove that they have the financial resources to pay for their entire stay in America without needing to resort to government assistance. Further, the applicant must prove that they are traveling to America to take up a bona fide course of study.
Many American’s who have a Thai loved one seek to obtain an F-1 student visa for the purpose of sidestepping the necessity of waiting for a US Family based visa petition to process. In comparison to even a K-1 visa (the US fiance visa that currently is the most expeditious family based visa that has inherent immigrant intent), the F-1 visa has a much shorter processing time. That being said, those who enter the United States of America on a non-immigrant visa, but in fact have immigrant intentions could be subject to criminal penalties as this course of action could be perceived as an attempt to provide false information to United States Immigration officials. Knowingly providing false information to American Immigration authorities could be construed as fraud and, at the least, would very likely result in a finding of legal inadmissibility against the immigrant. As a rule, it is always better for those wishing to travel to the United States to do so on the visa that most properly conveys the immigrants intentions.
For more information please see: US Visa Lawyer Thailand
(Nothing herein should be considered legal advice. For advice about the law, contact an attorney. No attorney/client relationship is made by reading this article.)
9th July 2009
For Thai-American couples seeking Lawful Permanent Residence (Green Card) in the United States for the spouse of an American Citizen the options are either the CR-1 or IR-1 visa. A CR-1 (Conditional Resident) visa provides conditional lawful permanent residence to the visa holder while the IR-1 (Immediate Relative) visa provides unconditional permanent residence upon entry into the United States. An often asked question with regard to these visas: what is the difference?
When seeking a United States visa for a Thai spouse, the classic method of obtainment is through filing an I-130 visa application. After the I-130 is approved by either a USCIS Service Center in the United States or USCIS Field office abroad, it will be forwarded to a US Diplomatic post that adjudicates Immigrant visas. In Thailand, the US Embassy in Bangkok processes all US Immigrant visa petitions. Assuming that a visa is ultimately approved, the Thai spouse shall be entitled to travel to the USA in order to take up residence.
For those holding a visa conferring conditional permanent residence, it will be necessary to eventually file to have the conditionality of the visa lifted. In practical terms, this means that the Thai wife’s residence will no longer be based upon her marriage to an American citizen. Instead, the permanent residence will become independent and unconditional. For those who enter the USA on a conditional resident visa and subsequently end their marriage during the conditional period, loss of permanent residence is highly likely.
Some people confuse the lift of conditions with adjustment of status. In cases involving a K-1 visa for a Thai fiance, adjustment of status is the process of obtaining conditional permanent residence for the fiancee (now wife) after marriage in the United States. For those couples who adjust status in the US, after the adjustment interview, should the application be approved, the adjustment date will be that written on the adjustment of status approval letter from USCIS.
One must file for a lift of conditions within 90 days of the two year anniversary of the the Thai spouse taking up residence, in the case of adjustment the two year anniversary will be marked from the date of adjustment approval. For the Thai who enters on a CR-1 visa, it will be the date the Thai spouse entered the USA.
In order to obtain a lift of conditions the I-751 application must be filed with an approved by USCIS. After approval, the Thai spouse may remain in the United States permanently.
For related information please see: Thailand permanent residence
(This post is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to be legal advice. No lawyer/client relationship is formed by reading this information.)
28th June 2009
The Role of a Thai Attorney in Obtaining a US Visa from Thailand
Posted by : admin
US Immigration from Thailand can be a complex and multifaceted process. Compiling Immigration forms and documentation can be an arduous task for an American Citizen who understands the English language fluently. This difficulty is compounded when one takes into account the fact that a language barrier and 12 hour time difference can slow the visa obtainment process immeasurably. In some cases, the Thai fiancee must deal with Thai government offices, which can be frustrating and confusing depending upon the office in question.
In a previous post we discussed how retaining a US Immigration Lawyer can be highly advantageous for those seeking to obtain a US visa from Thailand. An American attorney on the ground in Bangkok can expedite the visa process by assisting a Thai fiancee with the US Immigration forms and 221 g follow up documentation at the US Embassy Thailand. Many American Citizens enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing a US visa lawyer is assisting their Thai loved one in real time.
That being said, there are certain aspects of the US visa process where a Thai attorney can be a boon to both the American client and the Thai fiancee. The first instance in which a legally trained Thai who is fluent in English can be useful is document translation. Thai legal documents that are pertinent to Visa obtainment should be translated by one with both a fluency in English and a familiarity with Thai law. Further, some documents that are quite common in Thailand, have no analogous counterpart in the American common law system. A lack of familiarity with Thai legal documentation can create confusion and delay for visa cases submitted and processed by American citizens who opt not to retain representation. Therefore, a Thai attorney’s expertise with Thai legal documents can be essential to an expeditious visa processing time frame. Requests for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS and 221 g denials are far less common where the petitioner and beneficiary have opted to retain a firm that employs Thai and American attorneys.
A Thai Attorney can be of real assistance when it comes to dealing with government offices because they are familiar with bureaucratic protocol and can speak to the Thai officers in their own language.
A Thai attorney can assist an American attorney with preparing the applicant for the visa interview in Bangkok. This preparation helps the fiancee or spouse feel more comfortable about the impending interview and also will make the interview proceed more quickly because the Thai is given a “heads up.”
A Thai attorney can be of great assistance in US Immigration matters, but they will not be able to accompany a Thai fiancee to the Visa interview at the US Embassy in Bangkok. No one is allowed to accompany a Thai visa applicant to the visa interview (this includes the US Citizen spouse or fiancee). With the large caseload processing through the American Embassy in Bangkok, the waiting room cannot accommodate all of the relatives of those seeking US Visas.
(Please note: the content contained herein is intended for informational purposes only. No attorney/client relationship is created by reading this post.)
26th June 2009
There are essentially three government agencies that have a hand in the US Visa process: the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the National Visa Center (NVC), and the United States Department of State (the Department with jurisdiction over the US Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Posts abroad). Of these three agencies, USCIS has the case in its possession for the longest period of time because the petition must be initially adjudicated by their officers.
Within the USCIS administrative structure there are two service centers that handle the adjudication of the K1 visa application and K3 visa application for fiancees of United States Citizens (in both cases, the actual application form is called the I-129f). The Services Centers are located in California and Vermont, respectively. They each have their own unique jurisdiction depending upon the residence of the petitioner.
Within the past few days, the USCIS service center in California issued a revised estimate regarding how long it is taking for adjudication of K-1 visa applications and K-3 visa applications. They are now estimating that it will take 5 months for the average visa petition to be adjudicated. This is compared to the previous estimate of 6 months.
As I have explained on this blog and to people in the past. This estimate tends to be quite conservative as we tend to see these petitions adjudicated by USCIS in a much more timely manner than this. That being siad, the prospective immigrant or sponsor should be aware that the petition must also pass through the National Visa Center (which generally processes I-129f petitions faster than Immigrant Visa petitions) and the US Embassy Bangkok.
K3 visas a re also different because one needs to take into account the underlying I-130 petition that acts as the foundation for the supplemental I-129f petition that garners an expedited visa.
At the back of everyone’s mind should be the idea that all time frames for visa obtainment are estimates only as many factors can be at play when a visa application is processing. The best advice is to plan for the worst, but hope for the best. It has been our experience that the US Embassy in Thailand works in a very efficient manner in an effort to get petitions adjudicated quickly. The USCIS service centers are generally the “bottleneck” where visa applications can get delayed.
(No aspect of this piece should be construed as legal advice because this post is written for educational and informational purposes only. No attorney-client relationship should be construed to exist between the author and reader of this post.)
20th June 2009
Naturalization: Requirements for Becoming a United States Citizen
Posted by : admin
A question sometimes posed with regard to US Immigration from Thailand involves the possibility of a Thai fiancee or spouse eventually acquiring United States Citizenship by naturalization. Even in a case in which the couple in question is seeking a K-1 visa or a K-3 Visa (which are both non-immigrant visas) there still seems to be an underlying belief that eventually the immigrant fiancee or spouse will one day wish to acquire United States citizenship.
Many people wonder about the time and residency requirements for naturalization. In many cases the ability to read, speak, and write in the English language is a requirement and a general knowledge of the history and government of the United States is also mandatory.
As to the residency requirement, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) stipulates that one must have been lawfully admitted to permanent residence in the United States in order to subsequently apply for citizenship. The USCIS website goes further and states:
“Lawfully admitted for permanent residence means having been legally accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws. Individuals who have been lawfully admitted as permanent residents will be asked to produce an I-551, Alien Registration Receipt Card, as proof of their status.”
To quote further from the USCIS website, in order to Naturalize as a United States Citizen one must meet the following eligibility requirements set forth under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Basically, the applicant must:
- have resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from the United States of more than one year;
- have been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the previous five years (absences of more than six months but less than one year shall disrupt the applicant’s continuity of residence unless the applicant can establish that he or she did not abandon his or her residence during such period)
- have resided within a state or district for at least three months
Beyond these requirements the applicant must also show that they are of good character. Which is best indicated by an absence of criminal record. In cases where a child of an American Citizen is not eligible to acquire US citizenship at birth, naturalization technically occurs automatically upon the child’s entry into the United States on an Immigrant Visa.
Please note: that where the applicant for naturalization gained lawful permanent residence due to marriage to a United States Citizen, the time requirement for naturalization is 3 years of permanent residence and 18 months physical presence in the United States.
(This post is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be used as substantive legal advice. For more information please contact a licensed attorney. This post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between the person writing this post and those later reading it.)
18th June 2009
Immigration Form G-28 for a US Visa Lawyer
Posted by : admin
Hiring an Immigration attorney is a decision that each couple makes based upon their unique set of circumstances and that decision should be made after careful review and research. That being said, when the decision is made that a US visa lawyer is necessary, sometimes couples are unwittingly duped into hiring a non-licensed “immigration consultant” or “visa agent.” In even worse situations, the couple believes that they are actually retaining the services of a licensed lawyer when in fact they are dealing with someone who has never completed formal legal training or been licensed to practice law.
Form G-28 is a required form that must be submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) when the initial visa application is sent to the USCIS Service Center. Basically, the G-28 puts the United States government officers working at USCIS on notice that an attorney will be representing the petitioner, beneficiary, or (more common in family base cases) both parties. Further, the US Embassy in Bangkok will currently allow attorney’s to present 221g follow up documentation provided a G-28 form has been signed by the Beneficiary and the attorney can produce credentials showing that they are in fact licensed to practice law in at least one United States jurisdiction.
One of the convenient aspects of hiring an attorney from the point of view of the United States Citizen petitioner and the Thai fiancee Beneficiary is the fact that once the attorney enters his or her appearance, then most, if not all correspondence, will be sent to the attorney’s office.
Also, the G-28 acts as a litmus test to determine if the person or organization one is dealing with is an actual attorney or law firm. USCIS has made regulations which stipulate that only attorneys and non-profit organizations are allowed to represent clients in United States Immigration matters. With regard to non-profit organization, these types of institutions are defined as those like the Red Cross or other non-governmental refugee organizations. In circumstances where a “representative” is used who is not a licensed attorney, USCIS has stated that the representative must take little or nothing with regard toa fee. This provision seems truly to have been designed with organizations assisting indigent refugees in mind.
On the G-28 form, the attorney, petitioner, and beneficiary will need to affix their signatures. The attorney will also place his or her state of licensure on the form. In the case of the K-1 visa application, the attorney will also place his or her G-28 number on the form I-129f.
For further information please see:
(Please be on Notice: this piece is not intended to be regarded as a substitute for legal advice. Please seek legal advice from a licensed attorney. This post creates no lawyer-client relationship between the parties writing or reading it.)
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