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What are the chances of getting a tourist visa for my Thai girlfriend who has no interest in living in the USA?

Thai Tourist VisaVisa Application ProcessK-1 VisaImmigration AdviceLiving in ThailandExpat Life in ThailandVisa Denial IssuesRelationship VisaThai Girlfriend Visa Options
Dec 7, 2022
2 years ago
Max *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Reverse question for resources. I work in the USA 5 months a year, live with my 44 year old Thai Girlfriend the remainder of the year in her Village with Family. DON'T WANT TO BE AWAY FROM HER WHILE IN USA. Applying for Finance Visa, but wait times to long. SHE Can show significant land holdings, income, house lease, new car in her name, for Tourist Visa. She has absolutely NO interest of remaining in the USA. Thanks in advance for the LEGITIMATE answers. Sad for those who won't post questions because of the vile humans that often give their 2 cents and hide behind their screens and post mean spirited responses they are to COWARDLY to say to your face (sad to I feel a need to say this given how often the hate occurs). Yes and spent hours on Google and Youtube looking for answers.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
A user discusses their situation of living with a Thai girlfriend and wanting to bring her to the USA without the intention of a long-term stay. They express frustration over long wait times for the Finance Visa application and inquire about the possibility of applying for a tourist visa, given their girlfriend's substantial assets in Thailand. The community responds with mixed experiences regarding tourist visa applications, suggestions for K-1 visas, and highlights the complexities and potential denial risks based on relationship status during the visa application process.
Kal *********
Grass is always greener ... I'm Thai living in SoCal , as of right now I can't stand this fucking place ... I feel like I'm suffocating in all the bullshit USA has turned into ... I've been here since the the early 60's ... the only reason why I can see anyone wanting to live in USA is to work hard and make tons of money to buy crap they don't need and hopefully save some to retire ...
2 years ago
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Ken *******
A tourist Visa would be very hard to get I applied for one for my now Thai wife and she was refused same situation I ended up applying for AK1 Visa and followed that route It has been 3 and a
***
years and we are applying for her 10 year card I would suggest getting married in Thailand and bringing her over to America as your spouse apply for that Visa Make sure the United States recognizes that country for a marriage It's all a matter of time
2 years ago
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Alan *******
@Ken ******
 I’ve heard it’s easier to go for the K1, get married in the US and have her apply for a green card at the same time.

Seen quite a few Americans say they can’t get a visa for their Thai wife they married in Thailand even after 20 years of marriage and kids
2 years ago
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Ken *******
@Alan ******
 no I got married in US and applied for k1 then 2 year green card. Now 10 year green card. Initially tried to get her tourist visa but she down because my name was on the application that she was staying at my house. So I decided to apply for k1
2 years ago
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Alan *******
@Ken ******
 Ok. Yeah I hear getting the K1 first is the simpler route.

No idea why they would deny a tourist visa for people married in Thailand for 5, 10, 20 years.

Just makes no sense. Nobody’s staying married for 20 years in a fake marriage just to get a green card.

But I see people saying they got denied a tourist visa after being married that long and having multiple kids in Thailand with their wife.
2 years ago
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Alan *******
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Ken *******
@Alan ******
 You cant apply for a green card And a K1 at the same time. You need to apply for the green card after you are married and supply all the documentation.

I did not try to get married in Thailand because I needed documentation from my lawyer before I got remarried.
2 years ago
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Alan *******
@Ken ******
 Right, I mean you can get married then apply for the green card immediately since she’s already in the US.

I’m just going off what others have said but it seems going the fiancé visa route is easier and faster.

Which makes no sense to me. Then again it makes no sense why someone would have a tourist visa to the US denied for their Thai wife of 20 years.

But that’s the US for you
2 years ago
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Ken *******
@Alan ******
 the only problem is time. We got married in June 2019 and it took around 6 months to get her interview but now we are waiting for her 10 yr card it's been 13 months and only have finger prints transferred from the original application for the 2 year card. The k1 process took me almost 2 years to get her to America but in the end its worth it.
2 years ago
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Alan *******
@Ken ******
 So you got a K1 but didn’t get married in the US?

Or was the marriage in Thailand only ceremonial?
2 years ago
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Alan *******
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Eric **********
Check out
****************************
2 years ago
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Shane ********
What's the actual question
2 years ago
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Shane ********
This part made the post too long, you don't need it "Thanks in advance for the LEGITIMATE answers. Sad for those who won't post questions because of the vile humans that often give their 2 cents and hide behind their screens and post mean spirited responses they are to COWARDLY to say to your face (sad to I feel a need to say this given how often the hate occurs). Yes and spent hours on Google and Youtube looking for answers."
2 years ago
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Ադամ ********
Is it possible for her to to apply on her own merits and not mention a boyfriend at all? Just say she wants to visit Disneyland? I have been told (informally) that a Thai woman with approximately 2.5 million in bank or her parents if she is a student with strong reason to return can likely get a tourist visa.
2 years ago
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Harry *********
Go to Mexico, walk across the US border, surrender to border patrol and she will get free, food, housing, job, assistance, and center or later you she will become a naturalized citizen instantly just like the Ronald Reagan did with millions.
2 years ago
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Joe ******
I've seen the the program 90 day fiance.

K1 VISA . You have to get married within 90 days or leave the country.

Not sure how many times you can do this .

Intended for marriage.
2 years ago
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Alan *******
@Joe *****
 If you don’t get married in the 90 days she can’t get another one for 5 years I believe it is.

Also have to actually get the K1 and wait times just for an appointment are very long at the moment
2 years ago
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Alan *******
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Dave *********
@Harry ********
 Harry Swensen that’s exactly how it’s working right now. Most people coming across the border at Mexico are not even Mexican. She could fly to Mexico and just walk over. That will give her at least 2-3 years before she even has to ask for a court date.
2 years ago
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Dan ***********
@Dave ********
 Do you know of anyone that has pulled that off? Seems like meeting you Thai GF at the Tijuana airport and just driving her across, "surrendering" at to the immigration officer on the drive north, would be a popular method of avoiding the uncertain visa procedures.
2 years ago
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Dave *********
@Dan **********
 Well….So far there has been in excess of 2,500,000 illegal crossings this year at our souther border. 8 consecutive months of over 150,000 a month of illegal crossings. They all can stay until their court dates which is prob at least 2-3 years away. They give them a cell phone so they can stay in contact. Lol

Get her a visa and Fly her to TJ. Let her walk across. They will ask her if she has any friends or relatives here in USA that she can stay with until her court date. Give her your number and when they ship her somewhere (hopefully the city u live in, u can meet back up. While u wait for a court date, chances are the government will give her citizenship just to get them off the records. Just saying. They don’t try her with any crimes or lock her up. It’s catch and release as long as she surrenders at the border.
2 years ago
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Harry *********
@Dan **********
 so yeah, I’m only partially facetious because it does work and there’s a lot of non-Mexicans doing it, including Ukrainians m. to answer your question I have not personally known of anybody who has done this as I described. Finally, I am a former San Diego and living in Phoenix now, so that’s the route I would take is TJ to San Diego if one were to do it.
2 years ago
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Harry *********
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Peter ********
@Harry ********
 get a dinghy from France to the uk .. 5 star hotel & £1,000 & free dental & medical 🥲👍🏻
2 years ago
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Peter ********
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Greg *****
If you don’t find your answer here, talk to an immigration lawyer.
2 years ago
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Stephen ******
I am a US citizen with a Thai wife of 16 years. She has been to the US twice, in 2005 and 2011. Her previous tourist visa expired and she was twice refused a new one. Officials refused to even look at the mountain of paperwork we provided on the second try. We have a daughter, raised here, now living there with my sister. No explanations, no apologies...nothing. An absolute disgrace.
2 years ago
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Ադամ ********
@Stephen *****
 Truly. You could be let in then “change your mind” get an immigration lawyer to plead for change of status and stay forever. It would be looked at as gaming the system and I guess a black mark against the consular officer. I have a perfectly respectable friend who tried to get a tourist visa three times. Her late husband wanted to take her to Hawaii. He was KOREAN so there is no way she could pull a fast one. When they finally got to the US she was separated out in an immigration inspection room and treated rudely. They told her not to run away like the first thing any Thai woman wants to do is leave her job and husband and go work in a Waikiki massage parlor. An absolute disgrace.
2 years ago
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Ադամ ********
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Danny *************
2 years ago
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Jackie ***********
You gotta understand that a k1 visa is only good for one entry and it is expected that she will then pursue immigrant status in the USA. Even though technically it's a non immigrant visa, it is a prelude to an immigration visa. She would have to stay in the USA two years, without returning to Thailand, to achieve residency status. Then she's on the hook for federal income tax.

You definitely want a tourist visa. I got one for my thai wife, on my own, first try. It was easy because I was able to prove that I live full time in Thailand and owned no real estate in the US. Pm me if you want to talk more about it.
2 years ago
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Powell *********
How about you ask Google
2 years ago
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Todd *********
@Notyalc *******
 how about you use a tiny bit of critical thinking
2 years ago
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Todd *********
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Wylie *******
Despite what others say it is possible, not easy but possible. My thai wife got a tourist visa a few years ago. It depends on the circumstances, office you apply to, and officer you get.

I live here now and neither of us has any desire to move to the US but wanted her to be able to travel back with me when visiting family and friends. We put that and additional details on the application. There is no spot for that but simply put the detail in an answer for another question. We did that because the interview isn't much of an interview. They don't really give you an opportunity to explain your situation at all. She also applied to the embassy in Chiang Mai instead of Bangkok because we heard it may be a little easier to get approved. She had been denied a tourist visa in Bangkok a few years earlier.
2 years ago
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Jeffrey *******
If you have an active K-1 Visa petition in the works, you could risk getting the I-129 disapproved

and there is a lot more riding on that process than a tourist visa.

Check the FB group K1 (fiancé visa) Support Group. Plenty of experience with this same issue.
2 years ago
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Max *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
One additional question is? What has been given as a legitimate reason to visit USA? One reason is not to be apart for so long another is to visit my parents (because in reality nothing would make them happier) in their 80's, another is to visit Disney Land? What works when any mention of a significant other, usually leads to denial?
2 years ago
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John ***********
@Max ********
 all the thai women I know that have come to America said that they wanted to see America and different places in America, they did their homework and all were single.
2 years ago
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John ***********
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Frank **********
Unfortunately the United States makes it hard to do it the legal way. I was going to put a Sombrero on my Thai gf head and sneak her in through Mexico, lol.
2 years ago
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Mike **********
@Frank *********
 She'll never make it past Joe and Nancy🤣.
2 years ago
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Shane ********
@Frank *********
 ya my Mexican Gardner who was illegal would always take trips to Mexico, and I asked aren't you scared you can't come back in, he says he just pays the border guard $500 to let in as illegal
2 years ago
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Kerry ***********
@Frank *********
 We're the Millers 😂
2 years ago
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Av **********
@Fr***
 easier route is boat over from canada on Lake Ontario
2 years ago
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Karim ***************
@Frank *********
 people will laugh but, that’s probably the easiest way in 😅
2 years ago
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Richard *********
@Karim **************
 It’s human smuggling

Be careful don’t be stupid
2 years ago
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Rei ***********
@Karim **************
 funny but it will work
2 years ago
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Frank **********
@Karim **************
 I believe it is.
2 years ago
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Frank **********
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Lawrence **********
When my fiancee applied for tourist visa we needed to have a friend invite her to USA with no mention of me. We were told they would deny the visa immediately if we did. We now have fiancee visa application pending. Takes forever. Got the tourist visa in like 3 months during covid. Been 13 months now waiting on fiancee visa.
2 years ago
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Av **********
It is nearly impossible to get a tourist visa for a female thai .....best route is k1 visa even that is a mere joke to get for a thai female. I know millionaire thai women, famous thai women and married to American thai women who have all been denied. Id honestly give up on this dream, but you wont. So go through the steps and be prepared to be rejected...sometimes they wont even let you ever reapply again.
2 years ago
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John ***********
@Av *********
 that's funny because I know 3 thai women that got tourist visas to the USA without any problems.
2 years ago
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John ***********
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Sam *******
I live in Saraburi, and I just had a Thai friend visit the USA, my home country and it took her 7 months to get a tourist visa. The same thing and situation absolutely no desire to move to America. 
2 years ago
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Kenneth ******
@Sam ******
 I live in Saraburi also. My wife and I moved here in July. Didn’t want to direct message you uninvited but I would love to connect. Please feel free to send me a message.
2 years ago
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Kenneth ******
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Paul ********
don't let the haters get to you dude! 🕶
2 years ago
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Brandon ************
If she wants to apply for a tourist visa, there's still a long wait for an appointment (3-4 months last I knew but might be different now). And you need to make sure words like fiance and marriage don't come up at all during the interview or they'll reject it immediately. They will assume you'll be getting married in the US and apply for change of status.
2 years ago
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Brandon ************
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