documents required by US immigration in BKK

[GregR 0]

OK, I tried asking this question in the main forums and was advised to post the question in the regional forums... here we go ;P

I'm being told by the person preparing my wife visa that we need a document signed by a judge here giving her total custody of her daughter. I was told this would cost anywhere from $2000 $3000.

I am also unable to find anything on the internet as to why this has to come from a Thai judge.

A bit of history... Her ex-husband (no paperwork filed so no real marriage) and her had a daughter. She kicked him out after he decided he wanted a mia noy (minor wife) the only place his name appears is on the birth cert and she received a document from the local government office (Amphur) stating that she has sole custody of the child. this document is used in Thailand for all agencies with regards to the child. The father hasn't seen the child for 10 years and is as far as we can determine, Overseas working.

So my question is... Is this document from the Amphur acceptable for US immigration or is a judge signed document needed? Anyone else have this same issue?

Thanks guys,

Greg

[JD63 4]

No. You need to contact Ning on this board and get her input. Thai custody laws and what the consulate accepts are complicated. You will likely need signed documents from the father, signed, in both thai and english, giving his permission to take the child to the US. I don't know if it has to come from a judge, but am nearly certain it has to include the father, and may or may not need to be legalized by a lawyer or judge in some fashion.

As I said, contact Ning, she's been involved in these cases.

[JD63 4]

Here is a link to a thread with a similar question, that may be useful.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/310043-thailand-question/

[GregR 0]

Here is a link to a thread with a similar question, that may be useful.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/310043-thailand-question/

Thanks for the help. Contacting the father isn't an option here. its been over ten years since she's seen him.

Greg

[Ning 619]

OK, I tried asking this question in the main forums and was advised to post the question in the regional forums... here we go ;P

I'm being told by the person preparing my wife visa that we need a document signed by a judge here giving her total custody of her daughter. I was told this would cost anywhere from $2000 $3000.

I am also unable to find anything on the internet as to why this has to come from a Thai judge.

A bit of history... Her ex-husband (no paperwork filed so no real marriage) and her had a daughter. She kicked him out after he decided he wanted a mia noy (minor wife) the only place his name appears is on the birth cert and she received a document from the local government office (Amphur) stating that she has sole custody of the child. this document is used in Thailand for all agencies with regards to the child. The father hasn't seen the child for 10 years and is as far as we can determine, Overseas working.

So my question is... Is this document from the Amphur acceptable for US immigration or is a judge signed document needed? Anyone else have this same issue?

Thanks guys,

Greg

I have been helping a USC & his Thai wife with a very simlar problem. They have been trying to get two kids visas for months now & still can not get it done. The Thai has one of these Thai court orders. These orders from a Thai court are useless inside the embassy. The embassy is U S soil so they go by U S laws.

The background of her life as a young mother is the norm in Thailand. The fact that the father hasnt been seen for many years is the norm as well. That explanation will not help.

There is always a way. Your lady will have to begin with a plan to prove beyond doubt that she nor anyone can find him. She must NOT say the kids have seen him or his parents or anyone from his family. The fact that he has been gone for 10 years will help. She should go find someone or some way to prove he hasnt been seen in all that time. Go the the police to get a letter saying they havent seen him nor know how to find him. Same for every contact he might have had in the past. Do not take this process lightly. In the experiance of the embassy these guys are often found when people really look. For this reason they will not make this easy.

Forget the idea of the Amphur document making a difference. Same for anything from a Thai judge. Everyone that tried this was denied & sent away to try a different avenue. The embassy will not tell her how to find him. They will insist she continues to try up to possibly a year.

She can try buying a pin number from any Thai post office that will allow her to call directly into the embassy. She must not ask about her case. She needs to ask general info questions only. Like; will they accept the Amphur letter. How about the effect of the Thai court order. This will allow her to feel she has the correct answers because most people dont want to hear it from people such as me. They always believe they have a new way that will work. The women I spoke of wasted 3 months so far only to let me know what I told her was in fact correct. Now she must leave to use her visa or loose it because she didnt get the kids visas so far. My husband is working with her USC husband to help them find a way. We have helped in 4 of these cases now.

This isnt impossible if there is a thoughtful plan based on knowledge of what the embassy demands. Below are the responces sent by the embassy to questions from one USC we are helping.

Read these several times. My husband points out that they have given a lot of info if you read between the lines.

Embassy:

We normally discuss these issues in person when people come for their interview. Applicants are generally able to satisfy the documentary requirements for immigrant visas without hiring an attorney. The normal requirement is to provide an affidavit of consent to emigrate, using our language, that can be executed by the biological parent either at the district office or at the embassy. Usually biological parents can be tracked down, such as through the grandparents. In the absence of a court document stating that only one parent has custody, we generally require that parent to make every possible effort to contact the absent parent before we will consider other possibilities. These children are not very old and one of them has had recent contact with the biological father, so we encourage your fiancée to make every effort to contact the father to have him swear the affidavit of consent.

Visa Unit

Embassy:

Thank you for your response. We again must state that we can’t provide any individuals with specific advice about their situations, but that most applicants discuss the situation with us at their interviews to determine the best way to proceed, and that most applicants do not need to have lawyers. Most applicants don’t qualify for a visa at the time of the interview anyway, and have to come for follow-up, which is no problem as long the follow-up takes place within a year of the interview. So, you may wish to postpone your decision to incur significant legal fees and again, have your fiancée focus for now on any other ways she might be able to contact the biological father.

[GregR 0]

Thanks for the great advice Ning. I'm getting a lot of conflicting reports from people what they accept. I believe you are probably right and im going to confirm by taking a trip to the embassy next week..

Thanks,

Greg

[ThaitoUSA 15]

By reading between the lines, this seems to indicate that a court document is sufficient,

In the absence of a court document stating that only one parent has custody, we generally require that parent to make every possible effort to contact the absent parent before we will consider other possibilities.

though the previous line seems to state otherwise;

The normal requirement is to provide an affidavit of consent to emigrate, using our language, that can be executed by the biological parent either at the district office or at the embassy.

As was repeated throughout the correspondence, the Embassy handles this matter on a case by case basis i.e. one needs to come interview to find out.