Hugh_Hoy Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I would also think that getting the kids over to the U.S. would be difficult if not impossible if the "bride" was coming over on a K-1 visa. However, if u get married within the 90-day period stipulated on the K-1, the bride can apply for permission to work and I don't think it takes more than a few weeks to get that permission. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted February 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Of course, I would have done the finance visa before getting married. She could have worked for me in the short term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I just received the paperwork back from the Homeland office. For those that have completed the whole process of getting a permanent residence visa, did you get your accommodation settled in advance (either leasing or buying a house) and if your visas involved children, did you provide proof that the children will be enrolled in school in the U.S.? I'll be back in U.S. in late April and can take care of these matters then if it is critical to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTEACH Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 No children in our case, as far as where we would live, all I provided was the street/city/state where we would live in the US. Maybe the address was so the petition could be assigned to a local USCIS office, in our case New Orleans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passingthru69 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 same with us. I just provided address city and state. Neve had to send in pics or show any hydro or phone bills. It's really my mom's house. I just use it for my mail and now my bussiness address in the states. My wife's change of status first went to Chicago area, then Kansas city area. Finger prints were to be in Jacksonville,Fl. We did them in Dallas,Tx and her final files went to Ca. Go figure. We live in South Ga. well the mail goes there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted February 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 One last question before I just finish the damn forms and have the interview scheduled. I paid $355 times four visas (wife and her three kids) for the I-30 form. I thought that this covers all aspects of applying for the permanent visa. Now, I see that the State Dept. is charging $400 times four (for the 4 visas). Is this the end of the charges or is there another government agency that will want it's share of the cut? I've to date paid out around $3,200 for these 4 visas and don't want any more surprises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted June 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 Just a clarification on what is needed and the costs involved in getting a P.R. visa. Homeland security charges $355 per applicant (every member in a family pays the $355) and State Dept. charges $400 per applicant (all family members apply). All papers have to be in order when you go to Homeland security (they don't take mail-ins), so if you don't live in Bangkok and go and are told that everything is not in order, expect to have to make another trip to BKK. When you make your trip to BKK, try to get the police report/certificate that the State Department requires for the interview. It can only be obtained at the Thai Police dept. in BKK and has to be done in person (by anyone 16 or older). The medical certification can be a nightmare, mainly costing several times what the state dept. guidelines insinuate. The paperwork cost 1,000 to 2,000 baht, the chest x-ray isn't much but the immunizations (17), especially for women and girls under the age of 26, are costly. I have been told that new, costly shots ($250-$300) were added in the last two months. I will end up spending 80,000 baht for my wife, two step daughter and step son. If you can shop around, among the approved hospitals, and try to get waivers for various shots, it probably would be worth it. There is a ton of paperwork. Just do it and make sure it is in the proper order for the interview. I figure that I will spend around $8,000 for four visas. I did not hire an immigration attorney (it would have been $1,000 per applicant and as I am retired, I have the time to deal with both the U.S. and Thai buracracy)but did take advise from a family friend that is an immigration lawyer in BKK (if anyone PM's me, I will supply his name). My interview is July 21 at 8:00 A,M. and I have been told to expect to have to wait possibly most of the morning for officials to inspect the documents that I bring with me and possbily do some checks. The interview shouldn't take that long. Hopefully, this will be all over then and I can buy the airline tickets for October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khun_khon_neua Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Sounds like it is going to work out ok for you. So, even including the time wasted mailing in the forms, you are about 4 months into this with the visas likely to be given before the end of July? Not too bad. that is about a quarter of the time it takes these days if living in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expat Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Wow. We are thinking about moving back to the States, and the idea of jumping through all these hoops just to get a visa for my wife is daunting. She already has a 10-year tourist visa, but for her to be able to work in the States, I assume to be completely kosher we would have to apply for an immigrant visa before we went back. I'm not looking forward to this aspect of going back. dean--I hope things go well for you in July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Wow. We are thinking about moving back to the States, and the idea of jumping through all these hoops just to get a visa for my wife is daunting. She already has a 10-year tourist visa, but for her to be able to work in the States, I assume to be completely kosher we would have to apply for an immigrant visa before we went back. I'm not looking forward to this aspect of going back. dean--I hope things go well for you in July. Since you have been married for a while, and she already has the tourist visa, you would be better off going to the States on that and doing an AOS (Adjustment of Status). She should be able to get "permission to work" upon filing the paperwork. At least this was the case for me & Mrs Tiger in the late 90s. EDIT: it seems that things are still the same Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.