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B2 Visa Thailand: Issues For Fiancees Of US Citizens
Author : Ben Hart
The process of obtaining a US visa for a loved one can be confusing. This article delves into the process of obtaining a US B-2 tourist visa from Thailand.
There are many people of all nationalities and backgrounds who submit applications for American tourist visas at the United States Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand. Although such applications are rather common, they are becoming increasingly subject to denial pursuant to section 214(b) of the United States Citizenship and Nationality Act. This rule requires Consular Officers to make a presumption that the tourist visa applicant is actually an undisclosed immigrant unless the visa applicant can show strong evidence that contradicts and thereby rebuts this presumption. Section 214(b) therefore creates a "strong ties" vs. "weak ties" analysis which requires that the applicant show "strong ties" to their home country, or another country outside of the United States, and also "weak ties" to the USA. This can be a very problematic provision especially for those Americans who wish to bring a Thai significant other back to the US for a temporary stay.
The existence of an American Citizen boyfriend or girlfriend can be very detrimental for a Thai National's B-2 visa application (or any non-immigrant visa application for that matter including the F-1 visa, J-1 visa, B-1 visa, etc). The detriment arises from the fact that the applicant has a relationship with an American and therefore could be construed to have a "strong tie" to the USA. Some couples try to get around this problem by "not mentioning" the existence of a relationship with an American. This is not a good idea, in this author's opinion, because any dishonesty, even dishonesty by omission, is unethical and could be viewed by the Embassy and/or Consulate as an attempt to defraud the US government. For an American Citizen, a finding of fraud and misrepresentation could lead to penalties, but such a finding could have a highly negative impact upon the applicant's chances of ever obtaining a US visa in the future as fraud and misrepresentation is considered a legal grounds of inadmissibility to the USA that would likely only be remedied upon the approval of an I-601 waiver.
Although, the DS-156 form that is utilized in applying for an American tourist visa does not pose the question: "do you have an American boyfriend/girlfriend?" Instead the forms asks:
"Are Any of The Following Persons in The U.S., or Do They Have U.S. Legal Permanent Residence or U.S. Citizenship? Mark YES or NO and indicate that person's status in the U.S. (i.e., U.S. legal permanent resident, U.S. citizen, visiting, studying, working, etc.)"
The form then allows the applicant to note family relationships, including "fiance/fiancee." The reason this is being discussed is due to the fact that the rest of the form's questions can be relatively easily answered. For example, one can say with near certainty if they have a US Citizen husband or wife, but "fiance" is another, more opaque, concept. Defining the term "fiance" can be problematic as romantic relationships, before marriage, are fairly fluid from a legal perspective. In this author's opinion, if the applicant has a romantic relationship with an American Citizen, then this fact should be disclosed to the Consular Officer either in writing or at the visa interview, but if there is any inkling that marriage and adjustment of status may be a possibility, then it may be better to forgo an attempt at a tourist visa, as this is not really the proper travel document, and submit a petition for a K1 visa.
In any case, existence of a "fiance/fiancee" should be disclosed as failure to do so would be a misrepresentation of fact if, in fact, the couple plans to eventually marry.
Author's Resource Box
Benjamin W. Hart is an attorney licensed in the State of Kansas and the Federal District Court of Kansas. Currently, he lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand as Managing Director of Integrity Legal (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Contact Integrity Legal at 1-877-231-7533, +66 (0)2-266-3698, or info@integrity-legal.com. See them on the web at:
US visa denied
or
I-601 waiver
.
Article Source:
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Tags: US Tourist Visa, US Visa Thailand, US Tourist Visa Thailand, K1 Visa Thailand, Fiance Visa Thailand, Fiancee Visa Thailand, K-1 Visa Thailand
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Submitted : 2010-03-21 Word Count : 1 Popularity: 66 Times Viewed: 15
