noobs

[Chica Yeyé 41]

OMG!!! We were all teh noobz

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

"a great fountain of information"

apart from being n00bs, we wanted to appear as f'ing poets

[Ladylethal 12]

My excitement showing on my first day on VJ.

"Thanks! I´m really nervous about all this. So far the year has been nerve racking for me. I have the bar exam coming up, getting this visa thing rolling (sending him my side of the I-129F pack tomorrow) plus teaching English at Fisk (which makes me nervous ´cus I haven´t been a teacher before, just private tutoring)."

And the cheesiness.

"It proves that in the end, us members of this forum, who are going through this huge process to be with our loved ones, end up having more chances of a sucessful marriage, as our love is tested so much!"

P, very collected.

[Minya's wife 24]

Alert:

N00b who back in Jan of this year was divorcing and filing for citizenship, a short wile later got arrested for speaking to what he thought was a hooker...turned out to be a cop (priceless!) is back w/ a new thread....? Wow!

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

I think I just puked in my mouth...

[Minya's wife 24]

"a great fountain of information"

apart from being n00bs, we wanted to appear as f'ing poets

STFU, you're just jealous 'cuz I have vocab skills Don't be hatin...

[Chica Yeyé 41]

So children, we all svcked at one time. Does that mean we will stop pwning teh n00bz???

hell no.

"a great fountain of information"

apart from being n00bs, we wanted to appear as f'ing poets

STFU, you're just jealous 'cuz I have vocab skills Don't be hatin...

Tavo, you have been OWNED hermano

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

I'm ESL

It's true

[Ladylethal 12]

Heck no, and our n00bness was justified, we don't make fun of genuine newbies that are truly confused and asking acceptable questions, we make fun of the azzes.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

i dare u to post urs

gimme some credit, at least it wasn't like "how do I AOS?"

Hmm..

All my posts were trying to give advice to people (I was corrected on several issues during my run here) - and some OT posts.

No questions from me

I am so smrt!

First post:

Hello all -

I came across this site when I was doing a search for I-129F forms, and signed up.

I can say - it has saved me over $1500.00 dollars (which is what the lawyer wanted to just fill out the forms).

I started my timeline - nice little function!

Hope to share my trials and tribulations with this with you all -

thanks!

Bobby

Alert:

N00b who back in Jan of this year was divorcing and filing for citizenship, a short wile later got arrested for speaking to what he thought was a hooker...turned out to be a cop (priceless!) is back w/ a new thread....? Wow!

Ha!

(by the way Hai! Minya's Wife)

I remember reading that one!

[Ladylethal 12]

Chopfvck!

[almaty 19]

OMG my n00bnezzz!!! and a high high dosage of cheesy

First post:

Hello everyone,

This is our first post. My husband (USC) and me (Mexican) got married in May of this year in Edmonton; where we are currently living. Just begun our process for a K-1 (the lady at Calgary Consulate told us the K-3 would take as much time as the K-1.... hmmmmm). Things are complicated and we are quite scared about the whole thing. We are so happy to have found this forum, so that we can at least rant with other folks in our situation.

Hope to get to know all of you!!! And thanks for all the exciting and educational information. Sometimes it's discouraging, but it is making us breathe much more easier!!!!

Wouldn't mind some hints on what some of the initials mean.... i.e. NOA and such. Also, how do I post our pic on each post?????

L&B.

you were a serious dumbazz nOob

[scandal 951]

I was not a n00b on my first post.

The only n00bish thing I did was being too afraid to start my own thread, I posted in the middle of someone else's thread.

I actually did a VJ search, found a relevant thread from May 2008, and posted into it in July 2008.

When I did post, I hit them over the head with a sledgehammer!! I had already assembled my research, links to embassy website, and a chat-transcript with a legal firm that had addressed my question (whether it was ok to have a Buddhist ceremony and still do a K-1 filing). I had read guides on VJ and government websites and knew what the hell I was talking about and the answers I was looking for.

Rex,

i want to reiterate again... MAKE SURE you DO NOT let the embassy know you had a formal wedding ceremony, it doesn't matter if it is non-legal or not. I would NOT recommend it but if you are going to then don't let them know

hi evrybody,

i've photos of our engagement, photos with my family and look like a marriage ceremony anyway, is it risky to show that ? how can they know if it's a marriage or engagement ceremony ? thanks for your advices.

Rachbel,

I mentioned two times up there already that it's NOT a good idea to show these photos. The embassy MAY consider it a marriage ceremony and won't care ig it's legal or not. I don't understand why people take this risk of having these things and then after all that showing the photos. There was a thread earlier about a bunch of people who got denied because they showed these photos at the consulate or embassy and got denied because the embassy said they were alread married and neede to apply for a K3/

I am a brand-new member on this site, just joined today, haven't even begun a K1 filing yet. However I am very interested in the side-topic that was raised in this thread, namely the significance of a Thai Buddhist ceremony WITHOUT!! Amphur registration for a K1 filing.

In this thread littleasianman is warning NOT to do such a thing for those of us who want a K1 - that we run risk of being deemed married and hence needing a K3.

This is precisely my case - I want to do a K1 not a K3. But I would like to honor her family by having the traditional ceremony. And I don't want to have to hide anything in the visa filing or interviews. Our case should be clean-cut, I want to keep it that way.

I've been digging into this topic a great deal today online and offer the following information:

[1]

From website of US Embassy Bangkok http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html :

Marriage in Thailand

A legal marriage in Thailand consists of both parties registering their marriage in person with the local Thai Amphur (Civil Registry Office). The United States does recognize the validity of such a marriage.

While they don't discuss the status of a Buddhist ceremony without amphur registration, they do make it very clear that a legal marriage in Thailand MUST have Amphur registration.

[2]

This is from the website of "K1LAWYER.com - Thailand-based U.S. Immigration and K-1 Visa Lawyers - WHITE & WHITE LTD" The info in this FAQ generally looks authentic and accurate, so I'm hoping their response to my issue is correct as well.

It's from http://www.k1law.com/k1visa_faq.htm (actually I cheated - this website is down so I grabbed it from Google's cached pages).

Here's the Q/A from their FAQ directly relevant to the discussion here:

Q. My Thai wife and I were married in a traditional Buddhist ceremony at her family home upcountry. Does that mean that I can no longer file for her as a fiancé and must file for her as my wife

(Immediate Relative)?

A. If you had only a customary ceremony and did not register your marriage at the Amphur (local District Office) you may still file for her as your fiancé. If you registered your marriage at the Amphur, you must file for her as your spouse. Thai marriage customs cause a considerable amount of confusion among foreigners. There are effectively two kinds of “marriage” practiced in Thailand. The first type is a customary or traditional marriage involving a religious ceremony (usually Buddhist) and party for the family and neighbors. While the family and community may recognize the couple as married, such a marriage confers no legal marital status, either for the Thai Government or the U.S. Government. Hence, in the eyes of the law you are not yet legally married and may file for her as your fiancé or, proceed with a registration of the marriage in Thailand after which you must file for her as your spouse.

I think that's pretty cut and dried, and contradicts littleasianman's advice.

[3]

Finally, I used the online-chat facility at one of the Thai legal offices that specializes in K1/K3 filings (http://www.siam-legal.com/). Here's the transcript of the chat I had with them today. He reconfirmed that a non-amphur registered ceremony is OK for K1 filing:

General Info

Chat start time Jul 16, 2008 11:13:32 AM EST

Chat end time Jul 16, 2008 11:22:54 AM EST

Duration (actual chatting time) 00:09:21

Operator Kevin

Chat Transcript

info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.

info: You are now chatting with 'Kevin'

info: Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK14308060368X

Kevin: Welcome to Siam Legal

Kevin: How can I help you?

Ron: hi

Ron: i am an US citizen

Ron: considering doing a K1 finace visa for my thai girlfriend

Ron: i will be going to thailand in sept

Ron: i am also strongly considering a prenuptial agreement

Kevin: Okay

Ron: my question regards the distinction of a ceremonial thai buddhist ceremony vs. registration at "amphur"

Ron: i have been searching on internet about this...

Ron: and see conflicting information

Ron: essentially, if i have a buddhist ceremony ONLY with no amphur registration,

Ron: can i still do a K1 fiance filing,

Ron: or must i do a K3 spousal filing?

Kevin: No, that is not sufficient. you have to register the marriage at the Amphur as well

Ron: ok... so if i dont do the amphur registration, then we can do a K1?

Kevin: Once you have already registered the marriage, I would recommend you to apply for a K3 Marriage Visa

Ron: i dont want to do a K3!

Ron: i want to do a K1

Ron: what i'm trying to ensure is that a buddhist ceremony will not invalidate a K1 filing

Ron: i've been told that at the embassy interview if they ask her about it,and she tells them about hte buddhist ceremony, they can invaldiate the application

Kevin: Ah! okay. Sorry, so, you can apply for a K1 Visa even though you have not registered the marriage at the District office

Ron: and at the embassy interview, and in the initail K1 application, we can freely disclose the buddhist ceremony with no risk?

Kevin: You have to show evidences of relationship ie. emails, photoes, telephone cards, letters of intent to marry

Ron: right, i am aware of that. we can include photos of the buddhist ceremony to reinforce our evidence? with no risk they will interpret it as though we are already married and so must do K3?

Kevin: Yes, you can arrange a ceremonial thai buddhist without any problem

Ron: ok thanks Kevin

Kevin: You're welcome

Ron: that's really what i wanted to confirm

Ron: y

Ron: ty

Well - that's what I've come up with. If anyone else has DIRECT RELEVANT AUTHORITATIVE experience with how the US Embassy in Bangkok considers Buddhist ceremonies with non Amphur on a K1 filing, I would be very happy to hear about it.

[Ladylethal 12]

Oh my, I'm re-reading some of my posts from my first few days and I was already owning noobs!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;#entry98604

I was being one in other posts as well though, and boy did I ask questions.

[almaty 19]

you were already being scouted by Commies for Christ....