Filing DCF in Bangkok

[CurtH 0]

Dave and Anbgel,

Hope that the interview went smoothly. We received the notice for Yo's approval today. What a relief!

We are so lucky to be able to go the DCF route. I haven't posted our timeline yet, but we mailed the application Feb 11. The receipt was dated Feb 19, and the approval was dated mar 26th.

Curt and Yo

[Thai1On 0]

That's great news! Angel went for her interview and we need a few documents and waiting for the Thai police clearance. On the note they put in her paperwork said to collect the documents and send your passport with the documents. I'm guessing after we submit the needed paperwork she will have her visa!

Dave and Angel

[CurtH 0]

Always more documents. If the documents they requested from Angel are something that is required of everyone please let us know what they are so we can be prepared.

Yo is worried because the name of her village was changed at some point and some of her records have one name for the village and some the other.

[Thai1On 0]

The docs Angel needs is the have the medical form corrected. They checked K visa and not CR-1 visa, easy fix.

Next I need my brother as a sponsor as I didn't make the minimum salary. I submitted a letter from our family business on the salary I will make back in the US, but it didn't help.

Last, still waiting on the Thai police clearance .

Dave and Angel

[CurtH 0]

Does the Police Report need to be submitted with Packet 3? And is the Police report from Bangkok all that is required, or if you have lived other places (6 months or longer) do you need a separate report from each place?

We hope to submit Packet 3 within a couple days, but it hare to coordinate everything with me being in the U.S. and Yo in Phuket. She will probably go to Bangkok for the Medical exam and Police Clearance as soon as we submit the packet.

[Thai1On 0]

Yes the police report copy is needed for packet 3 but when we submitted ours we didn't have it because of the 3 week delay. We now waiting for it and a support form from the US. Once we have all the paper work, we will mail it the embassy with her passport and then they will issue her the US visa.

I believe if Yo lived more than 6 months in another country she will need it because they asked Angel during her interview if she stayed in another country for more than 6 months. Did you receive the instructions for packet 3? They have all the list of documents there that you need to submit the photocopies. Did you do the online DS 260? She will need to take the print out to show both the police and medical departments. Tell Yo to get the police clearance asap in Thai Royal Police down in Bangkok and ask information for "express service" as Angel didn't ask first and now we have to wait 3 weeks. Then while she's in Bangkok she can also go for her medical check up at one of the two places listed in your packet 3. But Angel went to BNH hospital because its near the police station.

[CurtH 0]

Hi Dave and Angel.

Thanks for all of your helpful advice. Yo arrived in Bangkok today. I tried to get everything else ready for our Packet 3 submission so she could go before Songkran, but found I had missed the 11 pages of medical forms, so she had to wait till after Songkran.

She is going to BNH for her medical exam and will make sure they indicate that the exam is for an Immigrant visa, and then she will go to the police station and request "Express" service. She will put a copy of the receipt from the police in the Packet 3 documents and mail it to the embassy while she is still in Bangkok.

[CurtH 0]

Yo's interview was April, 30. She had the Police Clearance and Medical Exam results with her, but the original of our marriage certificated had gotten packed up with everything else and shipped from Phuket to the family home in Si Sa Ket and she did not have that with her. They instructed her to send that in to the embassy along with her passport.

There were a couple questions they asked during the interview which I thought her answers might have raised red flags but didn't.

"When did your husband return to the U.S?" She told them December which is true, but the I-130 was not filed till over 2 months later (after I found a job). DCF is only supposed to be available if the U.S. citizen spouse is currently residing in the country where the application is filed.

They also asked "How long do you plan to live in the U.S.?". Again Yo answered truthfully "4-5 years, then we will return to Thailand". I thought they only granted permanent residency to people who planned to live more or less permanently in the U.S.

They asked "where will you live when you come to the U.S.?". She knew the answer to that.

I was so happy to know that she was approved that I didn't ask more questions about the interview or the interviewer. I'm not sure if the interviewer was a man or woman. I know that Yo would have told me if the interviewer was rude, so I assume they were reasonably courteous. All-in-all I was very pleased with the performance of the Bangkok Embassy personnel. They turned things around quickly. They responded quickly and courteously to my emails, and they didn't do anything to make the process more difficult. Some of the instructions for the forms were not very clear to me, but that is not done by the embassy.

[Thai1On 0]

I don't think Yo will have any problem and if they asked for the documents along with her passport it is a very good sign she will get her visa. Angel was waiting on a few documents after her interview and was told the same. After we shipped the documents to the embassy in Bangkok we checked via email to confirm they received them and they always replied very quickly. The best part after they got the documents about a week later Angel got her visa.

We are going home June 24!

Dave and Angel.