US Immigration Thailand: US Student Visas for Thai Fiancees, Why it is Not a Good Idea

Many people travel to the Kingdom of Thailand and meet the love of their life. The ladies of Thailand are some of the most beautiful and kind women on the planet. As a result, many American men wish to bring their loved one back to the United States.

In an overzealous attempt to speed up the US Immigration process some Americans use dishonest Immigration tactics, but in the end, these methods often result in more delay and frustration than they sought to avoid. There are those who wish to side-step the US fiancee visa process. The reason people wish to circumvent this visa route is based in part on the fact that the K-1 visa processing time is somewhat longer than that of some of the other non-immigrant visa categories. For example, the use of American tourist visas to bring Thai loved ones to the USA is well documented. However, this Immigration strategy often culminates in frustration because the Thai applicant is either denied the visa at the Embassy or is turned away at the point of entry in the United States because her relationship with an American can cause her to be deemed inadmissible under section 214 (b) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act. Other issues could come up when the Thai national tries to adjust their status from Tourist visa holder to lawful permanent resident in the United States subsequent to marriage.

Since September 11th 2001, the United States Embassy in Bangkok has been more vigilant in verifying the bona fides of US Tourist Visa applications, the result of this vigilance is a comparatively higher denial rate. The upshot of this higher Tourist visa denial rate is that some American men look to the F-1 Student visa as an alternative route for bringing their Thai loved one to the USA. This strategy is inadvisable due to the fact that using a US Student visa with immigrant intent could result in unforeseen legal effects. Providing false information to United States Immigration Officials is not only a legal ground of inadmissibility that could cause the Thai fiance to be barred from traveling to the USA, it could also lead to criminal charges leveled against both the Thai immigrant and the American Citizen fiance. Thus, if one seeks entry to the United States in order to marry therein, then it is advisable to use the K1 visa as it is the correct type of travel document.

This piece should not be utilized in place of competent legal advice. No Lawyer-Client Relationship is created by reading this article. For more information please see Visa Lawyer Thailand.