Starting my journey from Thailand

[TeacherJeff 0]

Sawadee Krup.

That's the Thai equivalent of saying 'hello' though I imagine that the transliteration is slightly off the mark. I am an American expat living and teaching in the Land of Smiles for the past three years. As is the story of so many other people who visit this forum I am trying to bring the love of my life back to the states. I met my wife, who is Filipino, five years ago on an Christian dating site. We were happily married October of 2008 by our church in Hatyai Thailand. However, our official documentation states November since we had to travel to Bangkok, a 12 hour bus ride, to make it 'official'. Anyway, I am looking to head back to the states after my current contract ends next April.

I am in the process of filling out the I-130 document and I am slightly stuck. Quoting the instruction booklet that comes with the form: "A completed and signed Form G-325A, biographic information, for you and a Form 6-325A for your husband or wife. Except for your name and signature you do not have to repeat on Form G-325A the information that you repeated on Form 1-130 petition." Does that mean that all I have to write is my name and signature on form G-325A? How should we put the addresses of our schools that we work at on the application? Everything would have to be transliterated into English and quite frankly neither of us can read Thai.

Given our situation should I aim for the K3 spousal visa or the IR-1 visa? As can be expected I would prefer the latter one. One other tidbit of information is that my godparents will be the ones that actually sponsor my wife since I do not earn 125% of the poverty level here in Thailand. My monthly income is 30,000 baht (roughly 800 dollars) while the 125% mark is roughly 18,000 USD.

Kindest regards from Thailand,

Jeff

Edited July 24, 2010 by TeacherJeff

[TeacherJeff 0]

Grrrr, I wish I could edit a few grammar mistakes in my last post. It's nearly 1:00 am my time and I'm bone tired. Anyway, I have copied the to do list found here: (http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2). Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

[Mithmeoi 29]

Since you live there why don't you go CR-1 aka IR-1? It's faster, and you've already lived there three years. I have a co-sponsor as well, my father, since I haven't had income the last three years, so no tax forms for me. So that shouldn't be a problem that your Godparents are sponsoring.

When I filed our petition I filled them both out fully. I think there were two parts on one form for mailing address and one for living and if they were the same you only had to fill it out once on that form, but as I said fill them both out fully just in case. It's better to have too much info than not enough.

I think they do ask a translation if her name or the address is not English readable or something like that, but if it's in the official language that might be different. Here they didn't ask it unless it wasn't in one of the four national languages.

Good luck and God bless!

Edited July 24, 2010 by Mithmeoi

[tokyo.lovers 6]

if you are married already you do the CR-1.

and you should fill out all the bio form just to be safe. even if it says not to. we filled out everything.

if the info doesn't fit on the page you add a page with the info on it. there should be instructions attached to the documents.

if you cannot translate or read the language your marriage doc is in, you will need to pay a translator to translate it. you should also have it notarized to be safe.

good luck

[TeacherJeff 0]

Thanks for all the replies. I have a slew of questions to ask since my mind is a littler clearer and more awake.

1: How many copies / pages should I print from the G-325a and I-130?

2: On the G-325a application there's a column asking for "file number". It's located in the upper right hand of the application. What do I place there?

3: How many documents do I need to show to prove my citizenship to America? Would a photocopy or scanned copy of my passport suffice?

4: The G-325a form ask information about my biological mother and father. For most people that would not pose a problem. I on the other hand was a ward of the state for 12 years and I do not know my father at all. I have very little information about my biological mother. How would I go about filling those slots?

5: My three year mark in Thailand will happen next month. Would I still qualify for the CR-1 visa?

6: My two year marriage is officially November 11 though our church wedding was in October. Would that have an impact on our application process?

I guess this is all for now. Again thanks so much the two people who have already responded.

kindest regards,

Jeff

[TeacherJeff 0]

7: Is the I-130 form necessary if I am pursuing the IR1-CR1 visa?

8: What if my wife and I decide to have a baby from now until next year? How would that affect the visa process?

9: What if I have to relocate back to America due to political instability here in Thailand? Would I have to start the entire process all over again?

10: What if my wife and I decide to move to a different part of America then indicated in the visa process? What steps should we take to stay legit?

Sorry I had a few other questions and like last night I was not able to edit my previous post.

Edited July 25, 2010 by TeacherJeff

[LotofPatience 65]

Jeff,

Please review the answers inline.

Good luck!

Loto

1: How many copies / pages should I print from the G-325a and I-130? -> 1 copy per person

2: On the G-325a application there's a column asking for "file number". It's located in the upper right hand of the application. What do I place there? -> N/A since you have never filed her GC. It is basically Alien Registration# or A# in the Green Card.

3: How many documents do I need to show to prove my citizenship to America? Would a photocopy or scanned copy of my passport suffice? -> U.S Passport is enough. Take photocopy of ALL the pages

4: The G-325a form ask information about my biological mother and father. For most people that would not pose a problem. I on the other hand was a ward of the state for 12 years and I do not know my father at all. I have very little information about my biological mother. How would I go about filling those slots? -> Provide as much info as you are aware of. Get a letter from the public child agency and attach these details with G325A.

5: My three year mark in Thailand will happen next month. Would I still qualify for the CR-1 visa? -> By the time you get visa, it will be IR1. CR1 visa will be issued if the period between the official (Nov 2008) marriage shown on I-130 and the Port of Entry of the beneficiary is less than 2 years. CR1 is just a 2 year GC and you both need to remove the condition on the second year completion to get 10 year GC. On the other hand, you may get IR1 which is 10 year GC.

6: My two year marriage is officially November 11 though our church wedding was in October. Would that have an impact on our application process? -> No problem. Show the official one

7: Is the I-130 form necessary if I am pursuing the IR1-CR1 visa? -> I-130 is the first form in IR1/CR1 process.

8: What if my wife and I decide to have a baby from now until next year? How would that affect the visa process? -> Since you are US citizen, you can transmit your citizenship to the child

9: What if I have to relocate back to America due to political instability here in Thailand? Would I have to start the entire process all over again? -> Since yours is DCF (Direct Consular Filing) your beneficiary will have GC in couple of months time. You have to complete this process and once you have GC, you can relocate back to the U.S.

10: What if my wife and I decide to move to a different part of America then indicated in the visa process? What steps should we take to stay legit? -> It is ok wherever you go after your GC. Whenever the change of address happens, your wife needs to fill AR11 and you need to fill I-865 with the USCIS. You both have to continue this until she gets US citizenship. There are other clauses as well.

Edited July 25, 2010 by LotOfPatience

[TeacherJeff 0]

Wow, this will be less painful than I anticipated. Could you elaborate a little bit on answer #5? How would I go about removing the two year condition? Which visa (Cr1 or IR1) aim for? What would the next step that my wife would take in getting her citizenship after her GC? Also I am a little hesitant about committing to one specific address to relocate to while in Thailand. There are several options that I could chose all dependent upon the job market. Could I put one address down while in Thailand but change my mind at a later date before relocating back to the states?

Edited July 25, 2010 by TeacherJeff

[canadian_wife 1,822]

You don't really 'aim' for one visa over another. You petition for your wife and when the visa is issued, depending on how long you have been marrid, the IR-1 or Cr-1 will be issued. It is not a choice that you need to make although you can delay processing so an IR-1 is issued.

If issued a Cr-1, 3 months before the expiration date of the green card, you will file to have the conditions removed and get a 10 year card. You need to show your marriage is still valid.

3 years after she becomes a resident, she may apply for citizenship. When issued her green card, she will have a 'resident since' date on it. 3 years after that date she can apply for citizenship.

You may put down any address you wish, at the time of interview if that address has changed, inform the agent so she/he can make corrections.

Good luck

[TeacherJeff 0]

While filling out the 325a form Glyndale and I are facing a small problem. There's not enough space. The transliterated names are quite long. Also she is not able to fit her city of birth in the space provided. Should we leave those spaces blank and pencil in the information?

Should she use her maiden name or my last name in the "family name" slot? Before coming to Thailand I lived in Washington DC. How would I label that on the 325a?

Edited July 25, 2010 by TeacherJeff

[LotofPatience 65]

While filling out the 325a form Glyndale and I are facing a small problem. There's not enough space. The transliterated names are quite long. Also she is not able to fit her city of birth in the space provided. Should we leave those spaces blank and pencil in the information?

Should she use her maiden name or my last name in the "family name" slot? Before coming to Thailand I lived in Washington DC. How would I label that on the 325a?

Wherever the space is not enough, write using black ink pen (not pencil) in CAPITAL letters if possible. Still not enough, use an additional sheet and hint it in the form.

Name is VERY important in the entire immigration process since it involves background name check combined with FBI. If USCIS suspects any discrepancies, RFE (Request for Evidence) is damn sure. So, always use the name as in the passport and stick with it through the entire application. She can also fill 'OTHER NAMES' used for any prior names.

Loto

[canadian_wife 1,822]

To piggy back on the above poster, the visa will be issued in the name that is in the passport, the green card issued with the name on the visa. If your wife as not changed her name on the passport, but wishes to, she should do that before the interview.

Good luck

[LotofPatience 65]

I would say that, if the beneficiary wants to change her name on the passport, do it even before I-130 petition and then start I-130, to avoid unnecessary confusion.

If the change of name is not really required now (other than your mental satisfaction), then it can be done very easily at the time of Naturalization.

Loto

[OBX 51]

I submitted my I-130 petition in my married name and then proceeded to change all of my identification. My passport (in my married name) was not required until the NVC stage. There was no confusion by doing it after the I-130 was submitted but before submitting documents to NVC.

[LotofPatience 65]

I submitted my I-130 petition in my married name and then proceeded to change all of my identification. My passport (in my married name) was not required until the NVC stage. There was no confusion by doing it after the I-130 was submitted but before submitting documents to NVC.

Glad to hear it!

Loto