Obtaining an American visa for a foreign loved one can be a somewhat cumbersome process, particularly where the American Citizen spouse or fiance is in the United States and unable to deal with the day-to-day demands involved with obtaining a US visa. Therefore, some explanation is helpful to those interested in the US Immigration process and unaccustomed to its complexities.
When the time comes to prepare for the visa interview at the US Embassy in Thailand, there will be a great many forms that must be compiled. This requirement is confusing in some cases because many people in the USA mistakenly believe that the initial application submission is the only time that forms must be filed for the acquisition of a United States visa. In fact, the American Consular Section requires many forms of their own.
A possible explanation for what would seem to be a superfluous system is the fact that the US Consular posts are supervised by the Department of State while USCIS is under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security. Each of these government agencies oversees a different facet of the United States Immigration process. When it comes to Consular processing, the Embassy receives the petition from the National Visa Center (the clearinghouse for United States Immigration applications). After receipt, the Consulate will send a notice to the visa beneficiary that they are ready to begin processing the petition and outline the forms that will be necessary in order to grant the visa.
For the K1 fiance visa, these forms generally include forms like the DS-156 and 157 Although this is not an exhaustive list and many Embassies have different protocol for processing visas so extensive research may be required. The "DS" in front of the numbers denotes that the forms are issued by the Department of State, Immigration forms can be discerned by their use of the initial "I" before the specified number.
Once all of the necessary forms and documentation is compiled, the visa applicant will need to send the documentation to the Embassy in order for the interview appointment to be set. After receipt of this packet and the completed forms, the Embassy will set the interview appointment and the applicant will need to arrive prepared to demonstrate the bona fide nature of the relationship upon which the visa is being issued. If approved, the applicant generally must return to the Embassy within a few days to pick up their passport with the visa in it. The visa conferee must enter the USA on the visa within a 6 month period or else the visa will expire.
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This information is provided courtesy of Integrity Legal (Thailand) Ltd. Contact Integrity Legal at 1-877-231-7533 or via email at info@integrity-legal.com. To find out more visit:
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