Starting Our K3 next month

[John & Nan 0]

Well I be heading over to thailand next month to register the marriage. I just got all my divorce stuff done in the states. so now we can legally register. We have the ceremony in July because she want to fit into her dress. we had plan to marry in Nov when we could register, but her being pregant speeded up the ceremony and to help cut down on all the talk about her having a baby out of wedlock. I trying to get everything togther for the Evidence of A Bona Fide Marriage. The bank in the usa said I can not put her on my bank account yet, would have been nice to save on the Western union charges. This will be the 5 trip to see nan and we have over 300 pictures of the time I was there, the wedding I have over 250 alone. Does it matter who signs the affidavit ? can her family or should i get other people. At our wedding we the head temple monk, districts heads, mayors , police and the chef of police wife. Her family is very connected. Would it help to have affidavit from then ? If so I can get when I go there next.

Thanks

John

[himher 634]

For a K3 the only proof of bona-fide marriage we sent in was the marriage certificate and translation. No pictures, no affidavits, no joint accounts, etc - just a straightforward package of exactly what they asked for in the I130/I129F instructions.

As you have to submit your divorce decree to both the Embassy and with your petition I hope your wedding date is not before your divorce date?

The evidence you have - photos, etc - is appropriate when your (soon-to-be) wife is called for interview at the consulate or embassy.

I left a debit card with my wife so that she could just withdraw $$ from an account here while we were waiting on the approval - the charge was 1% of each transaction and the exchange rate is market rate (unlike Western Union where they screw you at both ends). You might want to consider that as an easy alternative.

Good luck.

[YuAndDan 153]

Consider the CR-1 visa:

Compare timelines.

CR-1 has the big benefit of GREEN-CARD upon entry, NO ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS. K-3 CANNOT get SSN, WORK, or Get driver's license until they have EAD or Green-card, EAD can take 90 days or MORE to get.

K-3:

I-130: $355

I-129F: NONE

Consulate: $131

AOS: $1010

($1496)

CR-1

I-130: $355

NVC I-864: $70

NVC Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45)

($825)

I see many posts from K-3 holders stating, "Wow this sucks, I an stuck at home because I don't have EAD, DL, etc, or I am having hard time getting added to bank accounts because of NO SSN." K-3 has a 90 day or longer period of limbo while waiting for EAD or Green-card.

This one recently had K-3 dropped in favor of CR-1: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...=157530&hl=

K-3 was developed at a time when CR-1 was taking much longer that today, NVC has greatly streamlined the CR-1 process to the point where K-3 becomes irrelevant.

[rin and john 71]

Well I be heading over to thailand next month to register the marriage. I just got all my divorce stuff done in the states. so now we can legally register. We have the ceremony in July because she want to fit into her dress. we had plan to marry in Nov when we could register, but her being pregant speeded up the ceremony and to help cut down on all the talk about her having a baby out of wedlock. I trying to get everything togther for the Evidence of A Bona Fide Marriage. The bank in the usa said I can not put her on my bank account yet, would have been nice to save on the Western union charges. This will be the 5 trip to see nan and we have over 300 pictures of the time I was there, the wedding I have over 250 alone. Does it matter who signs the affidavit ? can her family or should i get other people. At our wedding we the head temple monk, districts heads, mayors , police and the chef of police wife. Her family is very connected. Would it help to have affidavit from then ? If so I can get when I go there next.

Thanks

John

Here is the embassy website's page on getting "officially" married in Thailand, in case you need it.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html

I seem to recall having to sign two affidavits; can't remember what they were now. Then we took the affidavit(s) and my divorce decree to a translation company across the street and they translated all of them. They charged an extra 700 THB to take it to the MFA for us and get the appropriate stamp. Alot of people go to the MFA themselves, but for $20 USD, we chose to avoid the taxi, lines, hassle, etc of dealing with it!

They had the translations with MFA stamps back in two days. Took that to the amphur (went to Bangrak amphur in Bangkok) and registered the marriage.

Had the marriage certificate translated into english. That is all we submitted for proof of relationship when we submitted our I-130 and I-129f petition to USCIS.

We kept the pictures of us together, ticket stubs, hotel receipts, copies of passport stamps, etc for the interview at the embassy.

John

[YGandMAT 0]

Well I be heading over to thailand next month to register the marriage. I just got all my divorce stuff done in the states. so now we can legally register. We have the ceremony in July because she want to fit into her dress. we had plan to marry in Nov when we could register, but her being pregant speeded up the ceremony and to help cut down on all the talk about her having a baby out of wedlock. I trying to get everything togther for the Evidence of A Bona Fide Marriage. The bank in the usa said I can not put her on my bank account yet, would have been nice to save on the Western union charges. This will be the 5 trip to see nan and we have over 300 pictures of the time I was there, the wedding I have over 250 alone. Does it matter who signs the affidavit ? can her family or should i get other people. At our wedding we the head temple monk, districts heads, mayors , police and the chef of police wife. Her family is very connected. Would it help to have affidavit from then ? If so I can get when I go there next.

Thanks

John

Here is the embassy website's page on getting "officially" married in Thailand, in case you need it.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html

I seem to recall having to sign two affidavits; can't remember what they were now. Then we took the affidavit(s) and my divorce decree to a translation company across the street and they translated all of them. They charged an extra 700 THB to take it to the MFA for us and get the appropriate stamp. Alot of people go to the MFA themselves, but for $20 USD, we chose to avoid the taxi, lines, hassle, etc of dealing with it!

They had the translations with MFA stamps back in two days. Took that to the amphur (went to Bangrak amphur in Bangkok) and registered the marriage.

Had the marriage certificate translated into english. That is all we submitted for proof of relationship when we submitted our I-130 and I-129f petition to USCIS.

We kept the pictures of us together, ticket stubs, hotel receipts, copies of passport stamps, etc for the interview at the embassy.

John

The only evidence we submitted to bonafide our marriage was our translatted marriage certificate, and a copy of our honey moon itinerary that had both of our names in it (we got it through Expedia).

[jenny-n-jean 0]

JOHN AND NAN FOLLOW THIS LINK IT WOULD HAD HELPED ME GREATLY IF I HAD SEEN THIS BEFORE. IT TALKS ABOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/..._live_in_the_US

I FILED IN FEBRUARY AND NOW I AM ALREADY APPROVED I AM SENDING SOME REVISED DOCUMENTS AND SHOULD HAVE THE APPOINTMENT IN THE NEXT TWO NMONTHS. I MADE MANY MISTAKES AND THIS WEBSITE IS A GREAT HELP BUT STUDY THIS LINK SO YOU CAN NOW WHAT TO EXPECT AND NOW HOW TO PREPARE.

[John & Nan 0]

For a K3 the only proof of bona-fide marriage we sent in was the marriage certificate and translation. No pictures, no affidavits, no joint accounts, etc - just a straightforward package of exactly what they asked for in the I130/I129F instructions.

As you have to submit your divorce decree to both the Embassy and with your petition I hope your wedding date is not before your divorce date?

The evidence you have - photos, etc - is appropriate when your (soon-to-be) wife is called for interview at the consulate or embassy.

I left a debit card with my wife so that she could just withdraw $$ from an account here while we were waiting on the approval - the charge was 1% of each transaction and the exchange rate is market rate (unlike Western Union where they screw you at both ends). You might want to consider that as an easy alternative.

Good luck.

no the marrage date will be after the divorce date. But the date we had the wedding itself is before then divorce date but we did not register the marriage yet. Oh yes I keep forget to order the debit card thank. I do that this week.

John

Edited October 22, 2008 by John & Nan

[John & Nan 0]

Consider the CR-1 visa:

Compare timelines.

CR-1 has the big benefit of GREEN-CARD upon entry, NO ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS. K-3 CANNOT get SSN, WORK, or Get driver's license until they have EAD or Green-card, EAD can take 90 days or MORE to get.

K-3:

I-130: $355

I-129F: NONE

Consulate: $131

AOS: $1010

($1496)

CR-1

I-130: $355

NVC I-864: $70

NVC Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45)

($825)

I see many posts from K-3 holders stating, "Wow this sucks, I an stuck at home because I don't have EAD, DL, etc, or I am having hard time getting added to bank accounts because of NO SSN." K-3 has a 90 day or longer period of limbo while waiting for EAD or Green-card.

This one recently had K-3 dropped in favor of CR-1: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...=157530&hl=

K-3 was developed at a time when CR-1 was taking much longer that today, NVC has greatly streamlined the CR-1 process to the point where K-3 becomes irrelevant.

I was reading about the CR-1, I thnk the main thing will be the timeline of both. I am not worry about the cost, but want nan and tiger to be here with me in the usa as soon as can be. Also she dont drive and we dont have plans for her to work when she comes to the usa. She want to come to the usa look nice and thin to meet the family. Then we should be working on baby #2 when she gets here and if it goes like we planned with Tiger. she will be pregent the first month in the states .

[John & Nan 0]

Well I be heading over to thailand next month to register the marriage. I just got all my divorce stuff done in the states. so now we can legally register. We have the ceremony in July because she want to fit into her dress. we had plan to marry in Nov when we could register, but her being pregant speeded up the ceremony and to help cut down on all the talk about her having a baby out of wedlock. I trying to get everything togther for the Evidence of A Bona Fide Marriage. The bank in the usa said I can not put her on my bank account yet, would have been nice to save on the Western union charges. This will be the 5 trip to see nan and we have over 300 pictures of the time I was there, the wedding I have over 250 alone. Does it matter who signs the affidavit ? can her family or should i get other people. At our wedding we the head temple monk, districts heads, mayors , police and the chef of police wife. Her family is very connected. Would it help to have affidavit from then ? If so I can get when I go there next.

Thanks

John

Here is the embassy website's page on getting "officially" married in Thailand, in case you need it.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html

I seem to recall having to sign two affidavits; can't remember what they were now. Then we took the affidavit(s) and my divorce decree to a translation company across the street and they translated all of them. They charged an extra 700 THB to take it to the MFA for us and get the appropriate stamp. Alot of people go to the MFA themselves, but for $20 USD, we chose to avoid the taxi, lines, hassle, etc of dealing with it!

They had the translations with MFA stamps back in two days. Took that to the amphur (went to Bangrak amphur in Bangkok) and registered the marriage.

Had the marriage certificate translated into english. That is all we submitted for proof of relationship when we submitted our I-130 and I-129f petition to USCIS.

We kept the pictures of us together, ticket stubs, hotel receipts, copies of passport stamps, etc for the interview at the embassy.

John

Nan has been reading a lot on getting married in Bangkok. She was reading that maybe we can get it done in one day if we take it around. She does not live in bangkok any more so we have to travel with her mom and aunt to the city to marry. She was living alone in the city and we decide it would be better to go home and stay with her mom and family to have the baby. I though it would take 3-4 days also, but she think in 1 day we can do it and there is no way I going to tell a pregant women any different hahaha..

[John & Nan 0]

I was read that you need on one tax year for the 1040 when filing the I-864. the 2 other are optional. I had planned only to send 1 year as I dont have 3 years of 1040, they are are the house with the X. I am sure my income will be ok to show support, I am no where near Poverty level.

[rin and john 71]

I was read that you need on one tax year for the 1040 when filing the I-864. the 2 other are optional. I had planned only to send 1 year as I dont have 3 years of 1040, they are are the house with the X. I am sure my income will be ok to show support, I am no where near Poverty level.

I did one year of tax returns and two years of transcripts obtained at:

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=151682,00.html

It took about a week to receive them.

Or you can have it obtained by a tax practitioner electronically:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=129058,00.html

[rin and john 71]

Well I be heading over to thailand next month to register the marriage. I just got all my divorce stuff done in the states. so now we can legally register. We have the ceremony in July because she want to fit into her dress. we had plan to marry in Nov when we could register, but her being pregant speeded up the ceremony and to help cut down on all the talk about her having a baby out of wedlock. I trying to get everything togther for the Evidence of A Bona Fide Marriage. The bank in the usa said I can not put her on my bank account yet, would have been nice to save on the Western union charges. This will be the 5 trip to see nan and we have over 300 pictures of the time I was there, the wedding I have over 250 alone. Does it matter who signs the affidavit ? can her family or should i get other people. At our wedding we the head temple monk, districts heads, mayors , police and the chef of police wife. Her family is very connected. Would it help to have affidavit from then ? If so I can get when I go there next.

Thanks

John

Here is the embassy website's page on getting "officially" married in Thailand, in case you need it.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html

I seem to recall having to sign two affidavits; can't remember what they were now. Then we took the affidavit(s) and my divorce decree to a translation company across the street and they translated all of them. They charged an extra 700 THB to take it to the MFA for us and get the appropriate stamp. Alot of people go to the MFA themselves, but for $20 USD, we chose to avoid the taxi, lines, hassle, etc of dealing with it!

They had the translations with MFA stamps back in two days. Took that to the amphur (went to Bangrak amphur in Bangkok) and registered the marriage.

Had the marriage certificate translated into english. That is all we submitted for proof of relationship when we submitted our I-130 and I-129f petition to USCIS.

We kept the pictures of us together, ticket stubs, hotel receipts, copies of passport stamps, etc for the interview at the embassy.

John

Nan has been reading a lot on getting married in Bangkok. She was reading that maybe we can get it done in one day if we take it around. She does not live in bangkok any more so we have to travel with her mom and aunt to the city to marry. She was living alone in the city and we decide it would be better to go home and stay with her mom and family to have the baby. I though it would take 3-4 days also, but she think in 1 day we can do it and there is no way I going to tell a pregant women any different hahaha..

Well, at best it will take a couple hours at the US Embassy, then the translation will be a few hours. Your hold up will be the "legalization" at the Consular Affairs Department, which the Chicago Thai consulate says will be two days (I think the translator had ours back the next day). If you are lucky, you may be able to get it done the same day, but I would seriously doubt it.

http://www.thaichicago.net/clate/for_marry.html

I agree, let her think it is possible, smile alot, and enjoy the spectacle. But have an extra few nights booked at a hotel in Bangkok; just in case!

John

p.s. 2 hours for embassy, 2 hours for translation, 4 hours for legalization, 1 hour for amphur, about 3 hours for traffic....that's a 12 hour day without adding about 3 hours for eating; no way three Thai ladies are going all day without food (at least two or three times)!

[John & Nan 0]

Well I be heading over to thailand next month to register the marriage. I just got all my divorce stuff done in the states. so now we can legally register. We have the ceremony in July because she want to fit into her dress. we had plan to marry in Nov when we could register, but her being pregant speeded up the ceremony and to help cut down on all the talk about her having a baby out of wedlock. I trying to get everything togther for the Evidence of A Bona Fide Marriage. The bank in the usa said I can not put her on my bank account yet, would have been nice to save on the Western union charges. This will be the 5 trip to see nan and we have over 300 pictures of the time I was there, the wedding I have over 250 alone. Does it matter who signs the affidavit ? can her family or should i get other people. At our wedding we the head temple monk, districts heads, mayors , police and the chef of police wife. Her family is very connected. Would it help to have affidavit from then ? If so I can get when I go there next.

Thanks

John

Here is the embassy website's page on getting "officially" married in Thailand, in case you need it.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html

I seem to recall having to sign two affidavits; can't remember what they were now. Then we took the affidavit(s) and my divorce decree to a translation company across the street and they translated all of them. They charged an extra 700 THB to take it to the MFA for us and get the appropriate stamp. Alot of people go to the MFA themselves, but for $20 USD, we chose to avoid the taxi, lines, hassle, etc of dealing with it!

They had the translations with MFA stamps back in two days. Took that to the amphur (went to Bangrak amphur in Bangkok) and registered the marriage.

Had the marriage certificate translated into english. That is all we submitted for proof of relationship when we submitted our I-130 and I-129f petition to USCIS.

We kept the pictures of us together, ticket stubs, hotel receipts, copies of passport stamps, etc for the interview at the embassy.

John

Nan has been reading a lot on getting married in Bangkok. She was reading that maybe we can get it done in one day if we take it around. She does not live in bangkok any more so we have to travel with her mom and aunt to the city to marry. She was living alone in the city and we decide it would be better to go home and stay with her mom and family to have the baby. I though it would take 3-4 days also, but she think in 1 day we can do it and there is no way I going to tell a pregant women any different hahaha..

Well, at best it will take a couple hours at the US Embassy, then the translation will be a few hours. Your hold up will be the "legalization" at the Consular Affairs Department, which the Chicago Thai consulate says will be two days (I think the translator had ours back the next day). If you are lucky, you may be able to get it done the same day, but I would seriously doubt it.

http://www.thaichicago.net/clate/for_marry.html

I agree, let her think it is possible, smile alot, and enjoy the spectacle. But have an extra few nights booked at a hotel in Bangkok; just in case!

John

p.s. 2 hours for embassy, 2 hours for translation, 4 hours for legalization, 1 hour for amphur, about 3 hours for traffic....that's a 12 hour day without adding about 3 hours for eating; no way three Thai ladies are going all day without food (at least two or three times)!

haha yes I know what you mean about eating. they eat a lot! Thai people eat more in 1 meal then I eat all day!!! Still working out the plans if I just get in sunday night and stay in hotel till everything opens I know Nan want to be at the embassy at 7am. she want to be first in line, haha like know other thai lady is thinking they want to be first in line. Then have her family come on tuesday to do the rest. But I can make all the plans in the world, I not going to tell Nan anything she dont want to hear.

John

[Completely 3]

it will be better and smarter for you to apply for a CR1 visa for her.. Less headache as she will not have to file AOS and EAD.