The US IR-1 Visa for Thai spouse is added below. The US IR-1 Visa in Thailand is a type of visa that allows an American national to sponsor his Thai spouse for settlement in the United States. Only couples who have been legally married for more than two years are eligible to apply for the US IR-1 Visa. Your Thai spouse can be a permanent resident automatically once she enters the United States. So, if you and your Thai spouse married in Thailand then she will have to apply for the IR-1 Visa from Thailand.
US IR-1 Visa for Thai spouse
The whole process for application usually takes between 10 months to one year to complete. Once your Thai spouse has been granted her IR-1 Visa, she can enter the United States freely and may pursue employment or education while in the country. The Green Card will then be mailed to your address within few weeks or months after her visa is granted.
The sponsor for the US IR-1 visa should be a US national and at least 18 years of age. Your Thai spouse will not be qualified to apply for any type of US visa if she has history of giving out false information nor details to an immigration application, or if she has any criminal record and any communicable disease. However, there are circumstances where a visa waiver will be allowed for your Thai spouse in order for her to obtain a visa even with ineligibility if case maybe. See the US IR-1 Visa for Thai spouse visa added for more information.
The IR-1 Visa application process starts with completing the Form I-130 or the Petition for Alien Relative. The I-130 petition will then be sent for processing together with all supporting documents to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). There are numerous lockbox designated or USCIS locations where submissions be forwarded depending on your state.
For those residing in Thailand, you can lodge your I-130 petition at the USCIS office in Bangkok. See to it that you have copies of all the documents that you will be sending together with the I-130 in case you will need them later on in the process. The USCIS will send you Form I-797 when they receive your I-130 petition, which means that they have come up with the petition approval and are starting to process your petition. The US IR-1 Visa for Thai spouse is easy to understand.
Once the USCIS approves your I-130 petition, it will then be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). After further processing, the NVC will send the applicant an instruction packet with corresponding visa application forms. You will be required to file a Form I-864 Affidavit of Support to make sure that your Thai spouse will not need any access to government funds during her stay in the United States.
In addition, at this stage, Thai police certificate must be obtained for your Thai wife. When your application is complete, you will be scheduled for an interview at the US Embassy in Bangkok. The applicant must complete a medical examination prior the interview at the embassy, with designated locations within Bangkok and Chiang Mai. In Thailand the US IR-1 Visa for Thai spouse can be completed from anywhere in Thailand.
The last step in the IR-1 visa application process is the interview with a visa officer from the US Embassy. The visa officer will evaluate and review all paperwork that have been submitted, and make sure that your Thai spouse is eligible for a visa. If the applicant is granted a visa, it will be available for collection within 5-7 working days from the visa interview. always check for the latest rules for the US IR-1 Visa for Thai spouse in Thailand. Take legal advice from a lawyer in Thailand for more assistance.