Changed her mind ...

[ilayja 2]

Last year my wife and I went thru the K1-visa process, we put her 13-year-old son on all the K1 petition forms even though she had decided back then to have him stay in Thailand to live with her family. She received her K1-visa in September 2007, and her Green Card in February 2008. She is currently back in Thailand visiting her son, and she has now decided that she wants to bring him here to the US with her. She is getting a passport and ID card for him while she is there now.

So my question is this: since her visa was issued less than a year ago, and her son was already listed on all her paperwork, can she just make an appointment with the US Embassy Bangkok to get his visa (after medical and police certificates), or does she need to submit an I-130 and go thru the whole process (VSC, NVC, Embassy, etc.) to get her son a visa?

[ilayja 2]

Oh, I see that he may be eligible under Following-to-Join benefits. Has anyone here done this? Sounds like this will take awhile, she is in Thailand only until June.

Since her last action was getting her Green Card from CSC, do we need to submit her I-184 there instead of VSC where the original I-129F was filed?

[rin and john 71]

Go to the embassy website.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/immigrant_vis...estions.html#12

it states:

"Q: How can the children of a visa recipient follow to join the parent in the USA?

Children of K1 and K3 visas holders only are eligible for derivative visas (K2 and K4). Provide us with an address in Thailand to send "packet 3" documents for completion by the children’s' current guardian. After the guardian returns the complete checklist of required documents, we send out additional instructions. Then we schedule an interview for the children. Please note that the children’s visa must be issued within one year of the parent’s visa.

For other categories of immigrant visas, the petitioner must file a separate petition for each child"

Send an e-mail to:

"• Please send an additional email to visasbkk@state.gov with the following information

• Subject Line

1. Must contain the words “Inquiryâ€

2. Case Number: Include the case number (with prefix of BNK)

3. Applicant’s surname: include in the subject line.

• Text of Message: Include the full name of the petitioner, applicant, type of visa, nationality of applicant (Thai or other) and your contact information in the first paragraph. Follow this with your specific concerns in the subsequent paragraphs."

Or you could use the forms online on the website. Rin and I did the same thing. She came in April 2007 and her children came in October. I sent the embassy the necessary docs (DS230-part 1, passport photos, etc) in mid-September (when we returned to Thailand) and requested interviews for the children the first week of October (let them know we had departure on October 12th). They were very accomodating.

Goodluck!

John

Edited May 4, 2008 by rin and john

[ilayja 2]

Thanks John, that seems easy enough.

[ilayja 2]

I just called my wife and told her the news. Since her visa was issued in September then according to the Embassy FAQ his visa only needs to be issued within a year of hers, but how long does he have before he must use the visa? The US Emabssy FAQ only mentions that it needs to be issued within a year, but the VJ FAQ says "A K2 Visa holder (child of K1 Visa holder) may enter up to one year after the K1, but a K2 Visa holder may not enter the U.S. prior to the K1."