SAWASDEE 3 (2009 Thai thread restarted)

[NillandNan 0]

any one shop at this place on the internet for Thai food and supplies ?

templeofthai

Not yet. I would like to know this as well...

How many Nan's do we have in this thread?

[John NorCal 0]

We got our K1 Visa!!!

But I wanted to share our interview experience. (I posted this to the embassy review section.) It was not easy but I figure that my job in visa journey is to have all the combined problems s***piled on me so others can have an easy route. Check out my USCIS delays as proof.

Vicky (fiancee) supplied originals of passport, Birth certificate, ID card, house ID, name changes, and huge pile of proof of evidence to Thai embassy workers and was eventully interviewed by the young blonde lady on Wed am July 15.

Interview questions were initially easy. Where did you meet?, when?, how many times I visited? and then they started in on a really strange tangent and they asked for more information. 1) documents for name change after a divorce and before the new Thai ID card was re-issued with her previous maiden name. 2) Documents for my divorce.

Problem: 1)Thai National ID card name changes after divorce from married name back to maiden name can happen without std forms and receipts and thus are not available. 2) I was never married! and thus I can't supply divorce papers! Amazing.

They gave us back our supplied documents above and a white slip of paper stating the problems above (form 221) and said to come back next Monday between 1 and 3pm with these documents in order to receive an OK for the Visa.

Big Note: you don't have to necessarily wait for the next Monday or Wednesday. It is possible to go back on ANY Monday or Wednesday from 1 to 3 pm to resolve problems with paperwork. Form 221 states this also. Also Note: the original interview is with the Thai fiancee only...BUT follow up interview with the further proof required from 221 can be with BOTH BF/GF or Hsb/Wife. This can be a big help with these instances considering language and tag-team efforts.

I/we are very happy that we returned that same day instead of waiting for the next week. I really think that my stares of disbelief and stern furrowing of the brow helped convince them that they were crazy in assuming that I was married. In their defense I can say that their logic was: you have children, you are 48 yrs old, therefore you must have been married, right? They also said that I had a passport application somewhere in my history where I listed a spouce...however they could not and would not show me what the hell that was all about?!! Sounded like a poker bluff to me. Eventually I was able to sign a piece of paper in their presence that stated that I was not nor have I ever been married before and that made it all OK.

Again I don't think that if I hadn't been there, it would have been able to be resolved...at least not for a few weeks and without possible legal intervention.

Overall I think that the BKK interview system is slipshod at best. Maybe they deny or request additional info in order to discover fraudulent cases...ie. bogus cases will drop out under extra scrutiny. (But in my case the extra scrutiny was bogus.)

I think that approx 16 interviews were scheduled on Wednesday morning. By early am 3 girls were absolutely denied...questions were asked but no figerprints and no request for extra info. We saw 3 girls who made it through the interview but recieved form 221 for more paperwork. And finally on the next Friday when approved K1/K3 visa were handed out @ 3pm, there were only 6 girls with visas. My fiancee was one of these 6! :kicking:

PS. I'm on a crappy laptop and may only have a few chances to respond to other questions until I get back to US on Sunday...but I'd be happy to do so if others are interested in the screwy BKK interview routine.

[NillandNan 0]

We got our K1 Visa!!!

But I wanted to share our interview experience. (I posted this to the embassy review section.) It was not easy but I figure that my job in visa journey is to have all the combined problems s***piled on me so others can have an easy route. Check out my USCIS delays as proof.

Vicky (fiancee) supplied originals of passport, Birth certificate, ID card, house ID, name changes, and huge pile of proof of evidence to Thai embassy workers and was eventully interviewed by the young blonde lady on Wed am July 15.

Interview questions were initially easy. Where did you meet?, when?, how many times I visited? and then they started in on a really strange tangent and they asked for more information. 1) documents for name change after a divorce and before the new Thai ID card was re-issued with her previous maiden name. 2) Documents for my divorce.

Problem: 1)Thai National ID card name changes after divorce from married name back to maiden name can happen without std forms and receipts and thus are not available. 2) I was never married! and thus I can't supply divorce papers! Amazing.

They gave us back our supplied documents above and a white slip of paper stating the problems above (form 221) and said to come back next Monday between 1 and 3pm with these documents in order to receive an OK for the Visa.

Big Note: you don't have to necessarily wait for the next Monday or Wednesday. It is possible to go back on ANY Monday or Wednesday from 1 to 3 pm to resolve problems with paperwork. Form 221 states this also. Also Note: the original interview is with the Thai fiancee only...BUT follow up interview with the further proof required from 221 can be with BOTH BF/GF or Hsb/Wife. This can be a big help with these instances considering language and tag-team efforts.

I/we are very happy that we returned that same day instead of waiting for the next week. I really think that my stares of disbelief and stern furrowing of the brow helped convince them that they were crazy in assuming that I was married. In their defense I can say that their logic was: you have children, you are 48 yrs old, therefore you must have been married, right? They also said that I had a passport application somewhere in my history where I listed a spouce...however they could not and would not show me what the hell that was all about?!! Sounded like a poker bluff to me. Eventually I was able to sign a piece of paper in their presence that stated that I was not nor have I ever been married before and that made it all OK.

Again I don't think that if I hadn't been there, it would have been able to be resolved...at least not for a few weeks and without possible legal intervention.

Overall I think that the BKK interview system is slipshod at best. Maybe they deny or request additional info in order to discover fraudulent cases...ie. bogus cases will drop out under extra scrutiny. (But in my case the extra scrutiny was bogus.)

I think that approx 16 interviews were scheduled on Wednesday morning. By early am 3 girls were absolutely denied...questions were asked but no figerprints and no request for extra info. We saw 3 girls who made it through the interview but recieved form 221 for more paperwork. And finally on the next Friday when approved K1/K3 visa were handed out @ 3pm, there were only 6 girls with visas. My fiancee was one of these 6! :kicking:

PS. I'm on a crappy laptop and may only have a few chances to respond to other questions until I get back to US on Sunday...but I'd be happy to do so if others are interested in the screwy BKK interview routine.

Congrats John!

Sounds odd with all the extra questioning. But at least you got it sorted quick. Do you know why the other 3 girls were denied?

Neil

[wasabi 4]

I am presently dealing with a 221g situation. It's been incredibly frustrating and annoying and is not over yet. I hope to have all the needed documents ready for presentation this Monday. I am back in Thailand and will be going to the window with my Fiance. If I'm successful I'll explain everything that happened.

Johnnorcal after you resolved the 221g problem was your visa issued right then and there or did you have to wait a few days?

Edited July 18, 2009 by wasabi

[wasabi 4]

After you get your K1 visa what documents do you need to get married in America? My Fiance is Laos but I imagine the documents should be similar to a Thai person.

[AaronLV 12]

Johnnorcal after you resolved the 221g problem was your visa issued right then and there or did you have to wait a few days?

You have to go back and pick it up. They do not issue on the spot.

After you get your K1 visa what documents do you need to get married in America?

Check your particular state where you are going to get married. They all have different rules, but for the most part, (Birth Certificate or Passport). In Nevada just her passport was good enough.

[John NorCal 0]

Johnnorcal after you resolved the 221g problem was your visa issued right then and there or did you have to wait a few days?

You have to go back and pick it up. They do not issue on the spot.

Agree w/ the above.

In our case, we resolved issues from our 221g hassle on a Wed. And on the next Fri, we received the actual visa.

So to be specific, on Wed afternoon we got a verbal OK for the visa, they asked us to leave her passport behind, and we recieved a stamped notecard telling us to return on Friday at 3pm for the actual visa attached to the passport pages. (The note card was presented to the security at the embassy entrance to get you inside.)

[daboyz 36]

After 221g, we picked it up two days later. We turned in the info on Tuesday, and she picked up the visa on Thursday.

[John NorCal 0]

Do you know why the other 3 girls were denied?

Neil

I don't know for sure. I wasn't in the room during the initial interviews. Thai fiancee's only. And although you can sort of hear bits it relatively private...The room is sort of a of like a series of 8 bank teller windows and a waiting area...you are given a number and wait for your number to be called.

I know that they were culled out quickly during the interview with only a couple questions and were not fingerprinted or given 221g's. I assume that there was something obvious...either fraudulent paperwork, money, visa/passport problems, or some type of marital status issue. Poor girls. I know how terrible it feels to get denied.

[wasabi 4]

For those with the 221(g) after you resolved the problem and picked up the visa 2 days later, was it available in the morning?

[daboyz 36]

For those with the 221(g) after you resolved the problem and picked up the visa 2 days later, was it available in the morning?

Afternoon between 1 and 3 pm. It should say it on the paper.

[wasabi 4]

I have one other question other than my 221g question above.

I was previously married to a Thai national who I divorced. I have a copy of our divorce document from the Los Angeles consulate. For those married to foreign spouses before what did you need to provide to prove you were divorced and register your new marriage?

[daboyz 36]

I have one other question other than my 221g question above.

I was previously married to a Thai national who I divorced. I have a copy of our divorce document from the Los Angeles consulate. For those married to foreign spouses before what did you need to provide to prove you were divorced and register your new marriage?

You didn't learn your lesson the first time?

Sorry had to do it.

[wasabi 4]

I have one other question other than my 221g question above.

I was previously married to a Thai national who I divorced. I have a copy of our divorce document from the Los Angeles consulate. For those married to foreign spouses before what did you need to provide to prove you were divorced and register your new marriage?

You didn't learn your lesson the first time?

Sorry had to do it.

Actually yes I did. I'm marrying a Laos woman this time. The above question pertains just to those who were married to a foreigner, divorced then got a K1 and married in America.

[birch- phuk_beer 0]

221g is easier to get approval then the initial interview,

just get what they ask for. nothing more