B2 Visa Thailand: Issues For Fiancees of US Citizens

The US visa process can be cumbersome and confusing. The following article explores the issues associated with obtaining a US tourist visa for a Thai loved one.

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 provision requires that the Consular Officer make a presumption that the tourist visa applicant is an undisclosed immigrant unless the applicant can provide strong evidence to the contrary. Section 214(b) therefore creates a "strong ties" vs. "weak ties" analysis which necessitates that the applicant show "strong ties" to their country of origin, or another country outside of the United States of America, and also "weak ties" to the US. 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 wise course of action, in this author's opinion, because any misrepresentation, even misrepresentation by omission, is unethical and could be viewed by State Department personnel as an attempt to defraud the American 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.

However, the DS-156 form that is used to apply for a US tourist visa does not ask "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. As an example, one can say with relative certainty whether they have a US Citizen husband or wife, but "fiance" is another, more opaque, matter. Defining "fiance" is difficult as relationships, prior to marriage, are fairly fluid from a legal standpoint. It is this author's belief that if the applicant has a romantic relationship with an American Citizen, then this fact ought to be disclosed to the Consular Officer either in writing or during the visa interview, but if there is any possibility that marriage and adjustment of status may be a possibility, then it would be better to forgo an attempt at obtaining a tourist visa, as this is not really the proper visa, and submit a petition for a United States fiance visa.

Whatever the factual situation, the existence of a "fiance/fiancee" ought to be disclosed as a failure to do so would likely be construed as a misrepresentation of a material fact if, in fact, the couple plans to eventually get married.


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Benjamin W. Hart is an attorney licensed to practice law before the US 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. For more information on Consular Processing Issues at US Posts in Thailand please see: US Embassy Thailand or US Consulate Chiang Mai.