Preparing for marriage/love/residence

[reeses16 8]

sacredlove,

In regards to plan B, you said that you wanted her to come to the USA to get married, go back to Thailand, complete the paperwork at the US embassy and get citizenship and you mention this in the context of a K1 visa. That's not how the process works. If she came here on a K1, got married and returned to Thailand BEFORE she got her greencard (or Advance Parole its takes about 3 months to get the green card after your file; cost $1010), you would have to apply for a spousal visa (CR1) to bring her back to the US.

IF she has her greencard, but has been outside of the US for more than 6 months, she has abandoned her status and you will have to apply for a spousal visa.

Also, she wouldn't get citizenship at the US Embassy in Thailand. She would need to be living with you in the US for 3 years.

Good luck.

[Anh map 2,098]

A couple of thoughts:

The financial requirements for the student visa can be steep. (I believe that the student has to show enough funds to support themselves while studying)

Tuition would likely be cheaper if she's a resident. (If it's a state university)

[rsn 135]

A couple of thoughts:

The financial requirements for the student visa can be steep. (I believe that the student has to show enough funds to support themselves while studying)

Tuition would likely be cheaper if she's a resident. (If it's a state university)

Agreed, but the intent here is clearly immigration, so it seems like the best policy would be to not peruse the student visa route regardless of the cost anyway...

Edited September 21, 2009 by rsn

[Chica Yeyé 41]

A couple of thoughts:

The financial requirements for the student visa can be steep. (I believe that the student has to show enough funds to support themselves while studying)

Tuition would likely be cheaper if she's a resident. (If it's a state university)

True. To be granted a student visa she would need not only admission to a university, but proof of enough financial solvency to maintain herself for one year (tuition, room, board, etc). And international students pay much more than out of state students.

Second, most student visas carry a residency requirement. As in, after school is done, she HAS TO go back to Thailand for 2 years.

[SuperDuper! 230]

Since marriage is a very serious affair, and you, as a sponsor, would be financially on the hook for 10 years to support your potential to-be-student wife, I would start out with a 1-month visit to Thailand to really get to know here before doing anything else. If you afterward decide you really want to spend yhe rest of your life with her, you can move to step 2.

[Jenn and Fuat 2]

I see someone already corrected this, but the F1 visa is the student visa. J1 visa is the visa for university students, and recent graduates, to come on the work and travel program or come on an internship. I work with almost 400 J1 visa students each summer and one or two, over the years, have actually been able to file to file for an adjustment to a tourist visa, get married at a later date and then adjust status again.. without having to return home. It's almost impossible to do for people from a high fraud country though.

One thing to note, if you decide to go the route of the F1 visa.. she would most likely not be able to work while she is a student. F1 visa students can work up to 20 hours a week, at an on-campus job, or they can work 20 hours at an off-campus job ( It MUST relate to their major course of study) but they must have approval from the university and immigration before they could work off campus.

If she came on the F1 and stayed a year or two, before you got married, then you could adjust status without being in fear of being looked at for visa fraud.

If you are wanting to get married as soon as she gets here then the J1 or F1 are not for you!

[thongd4me 69]

Since marriage is a very serious affair, and you, as a sponsor, would be financially on the hook for 10 years to support your potential to-be-student wife, I would start out with a 1-month visit to Thailand to really get to know here before doing anything else. If you afterward decide you really want to spend yhe rest of your life with her, you can move to step 2.

- and not just her but friends, relatives, & co-workers too.

I've posted previously that I made a big mistake when I married my Japanese ex-wife.

With 20-20 hindsight, even though I knew her for 2 years in the STATES prior to our

marriage, I knew little or nothing about her family & other relationships. Had I gone

to Japan before getting married (which I did subsequent to the marriage), I would have

discovered that 90% of her family relationships (with the exception of her father who

was a SAINT for marrying her mother) were dysfunctional (with the dysfunction being

mostly her fault, not that of others). Had I had that knowledge beforehand, it's not likely

I would have had the stomach to go ahead with that marriage.

But this is now:

I have not only gone to Thailand but in roughly 5 months of visits over a number of years,

I met almost all of her family and got an honest view of both the good and the bad relative

to her. Naturally it was from her point of view, but I could see much of what she said first-hand.

My Thai fiancée has not had the chance to see MY side of the friends/family equation, so with

the fiancée visa she will get that chance. If we marry before she has fully made up her mind,

it won't be too late to get it annulled should one or both decide that it was a mistake. Neither

of us is thinking of that now and hope it never comes to pass, but if we have to deal with

that decision we will be able to make it with less bad karma than in my previous marriage.

How can I make comparisons between a Japanese & Thai when most of the interactions

between my Japanese ex and her Japanese family, etc. were in Japanese and when

most of the interactions between my Thai fiancée and her Thai family etc. were in Thai?

=>>It's how each explained those relationships to me. My Japanese ex would constantly

BLAME everyone for her self-inflicted misery while my Thai fiancée would try to give both

sides of the story and not paint even those who sorely wronged her in a bad light.

If you're with someone who constantly blames everyone (but you), rest assured that once

you are married, YOU will be the primary object of blame. Been there, done that.