K1 Visa Interview: How Do I Prepare My Thai Fiancee

The climax of the US visa process is the K1 visa interview. This phase of the process may be the most anticipated, second only to the approval phase. In many ways, a US visa lawyer can be helpful in assisting a Thai with the fiance visa interview.

Many Thai Fiancees approach an impending visa interview with a sense of foreboding and fear. Many are afraid that they will do or say something that will cause their visa to be denied. Some are confused about what they need to bring to the interview. In a few cases, visa applicants are concerned about a sensitive issue in their past and hope to avoid discussing it or seek to conceal it.

For those who contemplate lying to the consular officers at the US Embassy be advised: consular officers are trained to be on the lookout for those wishing to use deceptive techniques in order to obtain a visa. If one is caught lying to a consular officer it could result in not only rejection of the present application, but a bar on entry to the United States for years. It is always a good decision to provide truthful answers to any of the consular officer's questions.

For those simply nervous about the K1 visa interview itself, it may be reassuring to point out that the consular officers are not in the habit of using the visa interview as a method of brow beating a Thai fiancee. Instead, the visa interview is a means of conducting due diligence in an effort to determine whether a couple's relationship is bona fide and the Thai fiancee is not legally inadmissible to the USA.

Often, K1 visas will be denied under 221 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality act. The word, "denial," is somewhat misleading in the context of a 221 g in the sense that it is not so much a denial as it is a request for more information. When a 221 g request is presented to the Thai fiancee it usually means that the petition was deficient in some way, usually some document is missing. The consular officer will remit a form to the Thai fiancee that stipulates what is missing and what needs to be presented in order for the consular section to process the K1 visa.

Should a fiancée receive an outright denial because the consular officer made the decision that the relationship was not bona fide, then that decision is unlikely to be subject to an appeal. However, should the consular officer deem the K1 visa applicant legally inadmissible to the USA, then there may be a waiver available for that ground of inadmissibility.

It should be noted that there are many in Thailand holding themselves out as US attorneys. If anyone claims to be an attorney, then ask to see a license to practice law as only a licensed attorney in the US is entitled to make such an assertion. Also, only an American attorney can take a fee for representing clients before USCIS.

(Please note that the content contained herein is to be utilized for informational purposes only and should not be inferred as creating an attorney-client relationship between the author and any subsequent reader. One should always obtain legal advice from a competent licensed attorney.)