Love always comes as a surprise, do you believe? It can be found anywhere at any place at any time. Maybe while on your stay in a specific country, let us say Thailand. You met someone, you liked that someone, things got better, you fell in love, and then you became a couple. You then imagined, whoever you fell in love with will be someone with whom you will tie the knots in the future. The future came, the one thing that you once imagined came true, you both decided that you will marry each other and as a better idea, you decided that you will bring the love of your life to your home country and marry each other there.
If that is the situation, you might need a U.S. K1 Visa Thailand or known as U.S. Fiancé Visa Thailand before the marriage that you wanted to happen. Marrying each other with different nationalities is a long process, so, you need to prolong your patience and start working on the things that you needed to process to be able to get what you want, need, and love. That is marrying your Fiancé.
What is U.S. K1 Visa Thailand?
A K1 Visa is a type of U.S. visa that allows you to bring your Thai fiancé to the United States with the purpose of marrying them there. You might question, why not just apply for a different visa for your fiancé, right? This kind of visa, the U.S. K1 Visa, is specifically made for its sole purpose to marry your fiancé in your home country, those other visas that you might think of as an easier option may cause trouble, problems, that will affect the stay of your partner in the future that could be avoided if you just stick to the U.S. K1 Visa instead of the “alternative” visa that made things easier.
How does it work? Well, once granted, your Thai fiancé will be given 6 months to travel to the U.S. Once already arrived, your Thai fiancé is allowed to stay in the U.S. for not over 90 days. The 90 days given shall be enough time to register for marriage and file the adjustment of status. The failure to marry within the given days will affect the stay of your Thai fiancé and are required to depart the U.S. before the 90-day admission expires.
Preparation for Applying for U.S. K1 Visa
In order to apply for the visa, both the American Citizen (the petitioner) and the Thai fiancé (the beneficiary) will have individual requirements to comply in order to apply for the visa. Listed below are the requirements needed:
Requirements for the Petitioner:
- Proof of US citizenship such as a copy of birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and certificate of citizenship.
- Income Eligibility Requirement (please refer to the Poverty Guidelines)
- Form 1040 Tax returns (it must of the latest year)
- Form W-2 (it must of the latest year)
- IRS Tax Return Transcript (it must of the latest year)
- Copy of your divorce decree or death certificate of all of your previous spouse/s (if there is any)
- Copy of your change name or surname (if applicable)
- (2) Two photos (write your full name and date of birth on the back part)
- Copy of your current passport, including the bio-data page and every page with Thai visas and immigration stamps, as well as any other stamps relevant to you and your Thai Fiancé’s travel history.
- Copy of your rental agreement or your domicile in the United States, or any documentation proving that you own a home in the United States or the address where you and your fiancée will reside together in the United States.
- Statement of your employer on business stationary revealing:
- Date and nature of employment
- Salary
- Duration of the position (if temporary or permanent)
- Evidence of financial support (Form I-134, Affidavit of Support, may be requested)
Requirements for the Beneficiary:
- Current Passport (and if there is any, an old passport)
- Birth Certificate
- All certificates of name/surname change (if applicable)
- House Registration or Tabien Baan
- Single Certificate
- ID Card
- 12 Visa Photos size 2×2 inches
- Proof of Relationship (photos, flight itinerary, chat history, proof of money transfers)
- Completed Form DS-160, Online Non-immigrant Visa Application, and print the DS-160 confirmation page to bring to your interview.
- Divorce or death certificate/s of any previous spouse/s.
- Police certificates from your present country of residence must be within the period of 6 months and the previous country where you lived for more than 1 year.
- Medical examination (vaccinations are optional)
Requirement for both:
- Partners must have already met each other face to face in the last 2 years. There will be exceptions depending on the religious rights of the couple.
- Partners must be free to marry each other, which means there shall be no other present relationship and other responsibilities, like unsettled past marriages between both parties.
- Partners must have the intention to marry within 90 days upon arriving in the United States.
Steps to Obtain U.S. K1 Visa
- Submit the K1 Visa application to the USCIS
The K1 Visa application (I-129F) must be submitted to the USCIS. In exchange, the USCIS will issue you a Notice of Action (NOA) letter with your Western Adjudication Center (WAC) number so you can track your application. The application will be processed by USCIS in approximately 4-5 months. When a petition is filed with wrong or insufficient documentation, the USCIS frequently rejects it, so make sure to put the right details and do not miss filling in the needed information.
- Once Approved the application will be processed at National Visa Center (NVC)
The petition will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) if it is granted. Your Thai fiancé’s I-129F application will be handled at the NVC. In essence, NVC conducts a background check to determine who the Thai fiancé beneficiary of the K1 Visa is and whether she is ineligible to enter the United States. The application is typically processed by NVC in 4 weeks.
- Application of K-1 Visa transfer to U.S. Embassy Bangkok
After the NVC has approved your application, they will contact you and inform you that it is being sent to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok or the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai. They will also provide you and your fiancé a BNK number in a letter. This is your Thai fiancé’s U.S. Embassy or Consulate application number, which is required to make all correspondence with the U.S. Embassy more convenient.
- Processing of U.S. K1 Visa application by the U.S. Embassy
When the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Thailand receives your Thai fiancé’s K1 application from NVC, they will send her a letter instructing her to submit Packet 3 together with the DS-160 application form. The applicant must additionally pay the U.S. visa fee during this process. Your fiancé will also have a visa interview with the embassy.
- Interview and Issuance of U.S. K1 Visa
With the Packet 4 application materials, your Thai fiancée will attend the visa interview. After the interview, the Consular official will most likely tell your Thai fiancée if the application has been granted or whether extra information or documents is required. The visa will be issued if the US Embassy or Consulate in Thailand receives acceptable documents. The consular official will store her passport if the application is granted, and the visa will be issued in 2 weeks.
Upon applying for the U.S. K1 Visa Thailand or U.S. Fiancé Visa, it is suggested that the applicants seek assistance from a professional immigration lawyer in preparing or upon going through the steps in applying for the visa. They can help the process of your application smoothly and faster with no issues, it is safe to say that it would be a wise decision to have one.
