NOA2 Expiration, Medical Expiration, Bank to pay Fee

[khrfx4 16]

THAI EMBASSY

THREE questions as seen in the title?

I am the US citizen. My fiancé and I have live together in Thailand since December 2009. I believe we are at the NOA2 stage.

1) I assume the notice you get from USCIS, saying they have approved the visa and forwarded it to the NVC, is the NOA2. I noticed on the NOA2 there is a "Approval Notice" validity period. Does that mean if we do not have the visa approved by Sept 4 we have to start over? Or what does that validity period refer to?

Notice Date May 5, 2015

Valid May5 - Sept 4, 2015

The reason I ask is we are trying to time this so we can leave for the US in Jan or Feb of 2016. For the curious, it is for tax purposes as I’ll be moving back to California and I don’t want to pay taxes for 2015 to California for an extremely good reason.

2) I read on the Bangkok Embassy packet 3 instructions they say to be careful when you get your medical because there is an expiration date for the medical documents and your visa expiration will be tied to that. Does anyone know how long the medical documents are good for with regard to Thailand?

I want to delay getting the medical and mailing in Packet 3 as long as possible without exceeding the NOA2 expiration assuming that expiration is something I need to be worry about.

3) Lastly, I saw on the instructions for Packet #3, it clearly says to pay the DS-160 fees at Krungsri Bank. However, there is a link on this website page that says you need to pay at Ayudhya Bank…under the 2^nd main heading on this page…“Instructions to Pay Your Visa Fee”.

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/th/th-niv-paymentinfo.asp

I’m assuming the Packet #3 instructions on the Embassy website would be more up-to-date. Can anyone who has recently paid their fees please verify where you paid?

Edited May 28, 2015 by khrfx4

[khrfx4 16]

I just stumbled across the answer to question #1 on the Bangkok Embassy website.

"An approved I-129F petition remains valid for four months from the date of USCIS’s approval. Consular officers can extend the validity of the petition (revalidate the petition), and in practice does so while the application is being processed."

Edited May 28, 2015 by khrfx4

[Ryan H 3,812]

Non-responsive post removed.

[khrfx4 16]

I just found out the answer to my third question. Ayudhya and Krungsri are the same bank.

From the first sentence in their about webpage..."The Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited (Krungsri)".

So I'm still looking for the validity of the medical examiniation. Certainly someone out there has had a recent medical in Bangkok or Chiang Mai and can look at their paperwork? If not, I've posed the question to the IV unit at the Bangkok Embassy.

Edited May 28, 2015 by khrfx4

[khrfx4 16]

I received no answers to any of my questions on this thread, but I'll go ahead and answer the last questions now. I received an answer from the US Embassy in Bangkok from an email inquiry. It took almost a week, but they answered.

The Validity of the medical, at least in Bangkok, is 6 months...not the one year I had read about and a couple of other people had told me. This means, even though the validity of the visa is normally 6 months, the validity of your visa can be no longer than the expiration date of your medical which will certainly expire sooner than the day you get your visa (theoritically). So if you wait until say one weel before your interview date to get your medical then your visa, which I read is usually granted a day or two after the interview in Bangkok, your visa validity will be about 5 months and 3 weeks. I'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.

This information was critical for me to know since we want to delay our trip to the US until early 2016. The timing will be tight.

[tysonrocky 7]

For your first question, assuming you guys do your interview soon, you must marry within 90 days of them telling you whether or not you're approved (right after the interview). I also think you must schedule the interview date before the expiration date on the NOA2. So you guys cannot wait until early 2016 to arrive in the USA, that will be way past your NOA2 expiration date AND way past the 90 days to get married. I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure I'm right.

[baron555 934]

1) I assume the notice you get from USCIS, saying they have approved the visa and forwarded it to the NVC, is the NOA2.

Yes

I noticed on the NOA2 there is a "Approval Notice" validity period. Does that mean if we do not have the visa approved by Sept 4 we have to start over? Or what does that validity period refer to?

The 797 Notice form is used for many purposes. In the K-1 world, that is meaningless. Once NVC and then the Embassy has your case, it is automatically extended. Nothing for you to do or be worried about.

The reason I ask is we are trying to time this so we can leave for the US in Jan or Feb of 2016.

You have 6 months within which to use the K-1, so your plan should be good.

2) I read on the Bangkok Embassy packet 3 instructions they say to be careful when you get your medical because there is an expiration date for the medical documents and your visa expiration will be tied to that. Does anyone know how long the medical documents are good for with regard to Thailand?

Many Embassies tie the visa start date to the medical date. So ir you have the medical way earlier than the interview, you may not really have 6 months within which to use it. Most countries the medical is good for a year, but again, don't do it too early.

3) Lastly, I saw on the instructions for Packet #3, it clearly says to pay the DS-160 fees at Krungsri Bank. However, there is a link on this website page that says you need to pay at Ayudhya Bank…under the 2^nd main heading on this page…“Instructions to Pay Your Visa Fee”.

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/th/th-niv-paymentinfo.asp

I’m assuming the Packet #3 instructions on the Embassy website would be more up-to-date. Can anyone who has recently paid their fees please verify where you paid?

Usually the Embassy is the most up to date. Email them and ask.

[khrfx4 16]

For your first question, assuming you guys do your interview soon, you must marry within 90 days of them telling you whether or not you're approved (right after the interview). I also think you must schedule the interview date before the expiration date on the NOA2. So you guys cannot wait until early 2016 to arrive in the USA, that will be way past your NOA2 expiration date AND way past the 90 days to get married. I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure I'm right.

"tysonrocky" You are mixing thngs up here. You could not be more wrong in what you say.

Once the package is in the hands of the embassy, then all you have to do is not take a really long time to gather the documents in packet #3...say one month. Once this package has been mailed to the embassy then you no longer have to worry about the expiration on the NOA2. The conular's office will and usually does extend this validity period. This is clearly stated on the US Embassy website. You can see the quote I gave from the website in my answer above.

My question is how long we have to use the visa or enter the US. This is called the visa validity. The visa validity has nothing to do with the 90 day period to get married. That 90-day clock only starts once you enter the US. So if we get our visa towards the end of August 2015 we CAN delay going to the US until January 2016 as long as the visa is still good. I MUST emphasize the visa validity has absolutely nothing at all to do with the 90-day clock to get married which only starts the day you enter the US.

However, the 6 month visa validity is NOT a given if you get your medical too soon, then your visa validity could be shorten by the date your medical expires and the medical, according to the answer I received directly from the embassy, is only 6 months. Theoritically you can't have a visa validity longer than about 5 months and 3 weeks and a couple of days, because you have to get your medical at least a few days before the interview and then subsequent granting of the visa about a week after the medical.

But as I said in my answer above, we will have to see how this all plays out after the medical, interview and granting of the visa. I hope to get back to this thread with all the timing.

[khrfx4 16]

To "baron555"

The 797 Notice form is used for many purposes. In the K-1 world, that is meaningless. Once NVC and then the Embassy has your case, it is automatically extended. Nothing for you to do or be worried about.

I mostly agree with you on this after I found that quote on the US Embassy website which I posted above, but I think if you were to take way, way too much time in gathering the documents for Packet #3 for the Embassy you might run afoul of this expiration, though I agree there does seem to be virtually no chance of this for the vast majority of applicants who are not sitting on their hands twiddling their thumbs gathering the information. The embassy will, as a matter of course, extend the expiration if you have problems gathering information. I actually hope to push this validity a little bit to gain more time. We have a few loose ends to tie up here in Thailand.

Many Embassies tie the visa start date to the medical date. So if you have the medical way earlier than the interview, you may not really have 6 months within which to use it. Most countries the medical is good for a year, but again, don't do it too early.

I agree and think this is exactly what the BKK Embassy does…tie the visa validity to the medical date, which according to them is only good for 6 months. This would necessarily shorten the normal 6 months validity of the visa to about 5 months and 3 weeks assuming you get your medical 1 week before the visa is granted.

Usually the Embassy is the most up to date. Email them and ask.

Though it appeared each site was mentioning two different banks, they are indeed the same bank as I state in my answer above. However, once again you do give good advice. If I had not cleared this up I was going to most certainly go with the Embassy information since this is basically a local issue. I did email the Embassy, but it was my girl who clued me in that they were the same bank before they got back to me.

Thanks “baron555” for some good information.