Thais are innately good natured and loving people that Americans can’t help but fall in love with them. Looking at the latest stats from the US Government is interesting.

In 2008 alone, the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2008 issued by the Office of Immigration Statistics of the Department of Homeland Security, declared that there are about 801 K1 visas issued in favor of Thai nationals.

A few hundreds more are presently pending. In order to hasten the waiting time to meet each other, as a substitute of applying for the K1 visa, few couples elect to request for U.S. tourist visa in its place. Truly, the processing time for K1 visa is longer than that for tourist visa. More papers are also involved in the former visa. Nevertheless, there still a lot things to consider first before taking this alternative.

Advantages of K1 visa

• The principle followed by consular officers in resolving applications is “All applicants for visitor visa intends to immigrate, in case of doubt, deny the application”.  This makes the officers stricter in handling application for tourist visas. Though the processing time is shorter, the risk of denial is much greater.

• The duty of consular officers in deciding on applications is purely discretionary. If they have the slightest feeling that applicant intends to go to U.S. to stay for good, it will already result to immediate denial.

• Moreover, even if the visitor visa is issued, the applicant could face an enormous trouble later on. Persons who do not disclose their true intention for going to the U.S. is actually committing immigration fraud. This crime is punishable by imprisonment and/or fine and may ultimately lead to permanent bar to legal entry into the United States.

Conclusion

The benefits of getting a tourist visa instead of a K1 visa are very tempting but the disadvantages clearly outweigh the advantages. If the couple is planning to marry when they finally meet, the K1 visa is the better option.

Also note that taking your fiancee to the US on a tourist visa for the purposes of marriage maybe be deemed to be illegal and may create problems further down the line.

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