The CR-1 Visa and the K-3 Visa are for your Thai spouse. The average timeline for a K-3 Visa in Bangkok, Thailand is 8 months. The CR-1 Visa is a bit longer at 12-13 months. Some opt for the CR-1 Visa as it cuts out much paperwork later. As an example is that your Thai spouse can work while having a CR-1 Visa while she would have to apply for an Employment Authorization from the USCIS office if she only had a K-3 Visa.
If you Thai wife is going to be a housewife and does not need to work then a K3 visa might be the correct visa for her. She will need to adjust status later and there will be more paperwork in the US. If you have a Thai wife that is going to want to work when she gets off the plane then the CR1 visa is a better option for her. It takes a few months longer but it is a much better visa if she wants to enter the U.S. as a permanent resident.
Check the K3 visa application process in Thailand here.
There are certain items which will prevent your spouse from being approved.
- Drug trafficking
This is not very common during visa applications in Thailand. If you have been convicted of selling drugs or caught in possession then it is safe to say that the US visa application is going to be turned down. As stated, not very common in Thailand.
- Having HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, or any other highly contagious disease
HIV is mainly a financial issue because treatment is expensive in the United States. If you have HIV, you will have to ensure that you have insurance or funds necessary for treatment. Normally there is a waiver for the other diseases or conditions but it is very difficult to get around this. Other illnesses can be appealed on the bases that it has been cured. This can be example a case of syphilis which caused the visa to be denied but can be appealed if you can show that it had been cured.
- Overstaying in the US on a previous visa
A more common problem in Thailand. This is very difficult to appeal without extenuating circumstances.
- Practicing plural marriage (polygamy)
Not common in Thailand as plural marriages had been banned in Thailand. It is now an informal system of plural marriages under old Thai customs however you will not find these types of problems in Thailand.
- Advocating the destruction of the US government
Like the above this is not common and no law firm has ever done an application like this to the best of our knowledge in Thailand.
- Knowingly submitting fraudulent documents
Not common in Thailand however what one does find in Thailand is incomplete documentation. Many try to complete the US visa application themselves however this normally ends in a mess when there are documents short and it starts to appear as a fraudulent application. As stated not common for fraud but incomplete applications at the US embassy in Thailand are very common and they cause the largest delays.
If there are issues with your spouse’s petition, please contact our office to discuss.