Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Interview time for MARCH filers	I really really hope my fiance gets packet 3 this week, she already has all the forms ready to be sent out, but we just want confirmation that the embassy has our petition before she sends it back to them. I have heard that you can email the consulate and ask if they have receive your petition. if they have, send out the packet to them without having to wait until the actual packet 3 arrives. It won't hurt to give it a try. i'll email them too. visasbkk@state.gov Good luck.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-07-23 00:35:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Interview time for MARCH filers	Beneficiaries of family-sponsored petitions must also include: Proof of Relationship: Please provide all original documents used to establish the qualifying family relationship. Is this considered a family-sponsored petition?? If it's not, there is no box to check for evidence to bring for proof of relationship even though it's something I know is needed...please let me know. Thanks. As far as i remember reading from another forum in thai (yes, we have VJ in thai, too), no, K-1 is not a family-sponsored petition. so, you don't provide any documents related to that, nor do you check any box there. anyone familiar with the US embassy in BKK please correct me if i'm incorrect on this one.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-07-11 00:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Interview time for MARCH filers	Good luck ladywhite and gbertz7 !!! Thanks a lot !!!	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-07-06 22:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Interview time for MARCH filers	Congrats guys! I'm gonna wait till Monday to do my first call to NVC, which will be the 2 week mark...I'm getting nervous as the interview is inevitably coming, and I'm not even the beneficiary! Whew...calm... qbertz7: your timeline and mine are nearly exact. I told my fiance to wait until Monday also. Good luck to us all.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-07-06 22:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Interview time for MARCH filers	Oh my God!!!! NVC recieved our petition!!! Vismaster please call them as I am sure they have your petition as well!!! Elmira: Congratulations !! Did you receive email from NVC as well notifying they have received your petition? I hope our petition was sent out to NVC with yours. Thank you for the update.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-07-06 22:12:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Interview time for MARCH filers	Hi Scott: Your timeline and ours are exactly the same. I hope the hard copy of our NOA2 is in the mail also. My fiance has been out of town so we have to wait until Monday for him to find out if it is. Hopefully it won't take too long for our cases to be delivered to NVC. Good luck to all of us who are waiting and praying. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-07-01 09:00:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	Hi everyone. We filed the I-129 in April but I just found this site last night. It is great to share information and encouragement with so many people going through the same thing. We tried and failed twice with a tourist visa last year and with a student visa earlier this year, so we are getting married! We have known each other 7 years and have gotten together 4 times in the last year, so proving a relationship shouldn't be a problem. We filed the I-129F April 23, 2007. We were disappointed to see that they report that they are now only processing applications from last December, but I was very encouraged to see on this site last night that they are already completing some April applications. Ours was sent to the California center. My hope is that Nichaphat will have her visa in November. Does that sound reasonable? I don't anticipate any problems with police, medical, etc. Thanks for any guidance or encouragement! Welcome to VJ, the awesome place for plenty of support and useful info... you can ask your questions in a main board and will surely receive answers from the people here. but if something is specific to Thailand, you may want to go to a thread specifical to Thailand called "Sawasdee 2." http://www.visajourn...h...dee&st=2025 that link will lead you to the last page of the thread. Good luck.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-07-23 04:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	WE GOT OUR NOA2!!!! Congrats !!!!!	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-07-10 05:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	OMG I GOT APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :energetic: :energetic: Definitely the ranting some how works the cosmic mojo into action! OMG, thank you all so much for putting up with my demands for NOA2, i know you guys have got to get your NOA2s soon. in one half hour i can call my fiance and tell him the good news!! CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-06-28 05:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	Thank you all for your congrats... I still can't stop my excitement. OMG!!! Congrats!!! you sent the petition on march 24...we sent it march 27...both to TSC...CSC received your petition on april 4...they received ours on the 5th...Now I'm really anxious!!! But oh so happy!! come on, we want those NOA2s!! Justin is arriving in 59 hours, and we are having our engagement party on saturday...USCIS, if you want to give us an engagement present, we have something already in mind! Caro I hope you get the engagement present you are waiting for, Caro. I am rooting for you.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-06-27 06:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	Congratulations Thank you & Good luck.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-06-26 11:25:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	Hello all April filers: We got our approval yesterday (June 25) . I didn't expect it to be this soon even though I secretly had hoped to see a touch this week. In tears, I called my other half immediately and he was still in bed. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world realizing we are getting closer to our forever reunion. after 4+ years together, i had to leave and we have been apart for nearly 2 years now. Now I can only imagine how amazing it must feel when i have a visa in hand, when i get on a plane to come home, and when i see him for the first time at the airport where he sent me off 2 years ago, knowing that we won't be apart again. I know you are happy for me just the same as i was quietly happy for you when I saw you guys got approved. This is real !!! Your happy day will be coming soon -- sooner than you think. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-06-26 07:52:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	I got another touch today, im soooooooooooo excited!! Please please please please dont let it be a RFE!! sam xxx I am soooo excited for you and alredy prayed that it's going to be an approval and not an RFE...	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-06-08 10:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	Yay, I can see alot of Mar filers being approved!! It really seems that CSC is REALLY picking up speed! We Apr filers are next!! COME ON CSC! Amen.....	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-06-02 03:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APRIL Filers!!	Good Luck to all the April filers! our NOA1 was yesterday. Good luck to all of us.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-04-10 11:49:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K-1 and J-1	Hi there, First of all, my case may be uncommon to you guys, but I hope some of you can help me. I lived in the US for 8 years to finish my degrees on a J-1 visa or the Exchange Visitor Visa. the thing with this type of visa is that, once I am through with school, I am required to return to my home country (or a 2 year Home Resident Requirement --HRR) and to physically be present there for 2 years. During this 2 year HRR, I am not eligible to apply for any type of US visa. I am now doing my second year of the 2 year HHR in my home country. My 2 year HRR will end on Sep 1, 2007 (as i returned home on Sep 1, 2005 --> the date stamped on my passport). My fiance who is a US citizen plans on filing a K-1 petition around March of next year. If things go as usual (on an avarage of 4 months), the approved petition should be sent to the US embassy in my home country around July. Then I will send the Embassy all required documents along with an application, which is likely during the time of my 2 year HRR (that is before Sep 1, 2007). However, by the time I have my interview date set and actually go in for a visa interview, it should be after Sep 1, 2007 (or after I am done with my 2 year HRR). My question is whether or not "my submission of the application of a K-1 visa during my 2 year HRR" will be a problem? I am aware that I am not eligible to apply for any kind of visa during my 2 year HRR. However, if they consider granting a visa based on the day I have an interview, I would definitely be eligible then to be granted a visa. Please help. I would appreciate your inputs, comments, information, anything. Thank you very much. You can apply for the k1 during the last year of the "two year rule" but it will just postpone the "results". I was subject to the foreign residency requirement which was to end, back then, 7 month later. During those 7 months, we got our petition approved in 28 days but the K1 visa appointment was on the same day I was done with the rule(the consular officers selected that day on purpose as they knew that I would be eligible to receive the visa). So it means that I could have got the visa 5 months earlier but I wasn't eligible! I don't know if it was necessary or not but we included every possible info about the 2 year rule(Certificate of eligibility, Record of Departure from the US) in our application for the petition. To all, I appreciate your time and help here. This is such a wonderful, supportive community. NEDO2: Thank you for your help. From what I heard, once the case is approved and a case number is assigned, the case will be valid for 4 months. Is that correct? If so, it means that I have 4 months for waiting on the package 3, prepare all required document, submit an application, and set up an interview date. What if my case happened to be approved unusaully fast and I got package 3 too soon and it would be like 5 months until my 2 year HRR is over? Would I be able to wait that long? my case would become invalid and we would have to start the process all over again. Do i understand this correctly? Again, thank you for all of responses here. it's been wonderful being a part of VJ. My fiance and I will need your help again for sure as we start the process. Good luck and God bless and help everyone to get your loved one back in your arms soon. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2006-11-11 06:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K-1 and J-1	[quote name='Yodrak' date='Nov 10 2006, 10:51 PM' post='560122'] ladywhite, Yours is one of those situations where careful attention to the wording is more than a question of semantics, it's critical. You can't apply for a visa until the 2 years are up or a visa can't be issued until the 2 years are up? Yodrak Khun Yodrak: The point you have made is what I am not clear about. I looked but couldn't find anything that was clear cut about this. If i still were in the US now and having a j-1, I would not be eligible for "change of status." From one of the posters below, it seems like a visa can't be issued until the 2 years are up. If that is the case, I would be relieved knowing that we can go ahead and wait to set an interview after my 2 year HHR is over. Thank you very much. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2006-11-11 06:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K-1 and J-1	Hi there, First of all, my case may be uncommon to you guys, but I hope some of you can help me. I lived in the US for 8 years to finish my degrees on a J-1 visa or the Exchange Visitor Visa. the thing with this type of visa is that, once I am through with school, I am required to return to my home country (or a 2 year Home Resident Requirement --HRR) and to physically be present there for 2 years. During this 2 year HRR, I am not eligible to apply for any type of US visa. I am now doing my second year of the 2 year HHR in my home country. My 2 year HRR will end on Sep 1, 2007 (as i returned home on Sep 1, 2005 --> the date stamped on my passport). My fiance who is a US citizen plans on filing a K-1 petition around March of next year. If things go as usual (on an avarage of 4 months), the approved petition should be sent to the US embassy in my home country around July. Then I will send the Embassy all required documents along with an application, which is likely during the time of my 2 year HRR (that is before Sep 1, 2007). However, by the time I have my interview date set and actually go in for a visa interview, it should be after Sep 1, 2007 (or after I am done with my 2 year HRR). My question is whether or not "my submission of the application of a K-1 visa during my 2 year HRR" will be a problem? I am aware that I am not eligible to apply for any kind of visa during my 2 year HRR. However, if they consider granting a visa based on the day I have an interview, I would definitely be eligible then to be granted a visa. Please help. I would appreciate your inputs, comments, information, anything. Thank you very much.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2006-11-10 21:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can I print?	Hello, I have a quick question: Are forms that are filled out using a black/blue pen acceptable by USCIS? Thank you for answering my question. I do appreciate your time and help in advance. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-01-24 09:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Different handwriting	Is it the signature you're worried about or just having someone write down your name? If it's just writing down the name and not the signature, you're ok. No, it is not the signature I was talking about. Just my name written on the form. May i ask another question? I do not want to create a new thread. Does my fiance need my birth certificate with translation to be submitted with I-129F? I am reading the REFs thread and someone said "My RFE was for Beneficiary's Birth Certificate with translation"? I am the beneficiary. I am confused. I don't recall it as one of the required documents. Or i am wrong... Thanks again for all the replies. I do appreciate them all. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-05 11:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Different handwriting	Hi there, Please help. I am getting very comcerned. Last month, my fiance visited me in my country. I filled out all four copies of the form G-325A by hand, including writing my name in my native alphabet as requested on the form under the signature space. Now, it was the form I-129F that he didn't bring with him (the filled one) for me to write down my name and address in my native alphabet (item 16). He was going to go home and fill it out on the computer, print it out, and have someone from my country write my name on the form for him. He is now working on the petition in the US. Because my handwriting and another person's who writes it for my fiance are definitely NOT going to look alike. My concern is whether that is going to be a problem as a adjudicator notices it. Please help.. Thank you very much in advance. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-05 10:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Question Regarding I-129F	The question is relevant to Thailand and many of you won't know what I am asking about. I appologize for that. I meant to post my question on Sawasdee thread but clicked on the wrong button; that's why it is on the main board.. Sorry.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-12 06:54:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Question Regarding I-129F	Hi there: I have a question regarding how to put my address in Thailand to fit the designated spaces provided on I-129F Part B item 2. Because we don't have town or city like you do in the US, I don't know how to put my address. I live in Muang district (which is "Amphur" in thai), Khon Kaen Province. Should I put 'Muang' under Town/district? If I do so, Khon Kaen Province would be missing from this address because there is no "State or Province" here on this item to put Khon Kaen in. That would concern me because, if they used this address information to contact me, I would never get any contacts due to the incomplete address. Or should I put "Khon Kaen" under Town/district? I was incline to choose this option. But if I do so, the address here would be inconsistent with that on item 15 where I put Muang under town/city and Khon Kaen under State or Province. Please help. I greatly appreciate all the help you can provide. Ladywhite In the form I-129F under my address (as a benificiary, what should I put the name of the province (Khon Kaen)?	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-12 06:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	check payable to whom?	Have you read the instructions that accompany the I-129F form? Make your check payable to "Department of Homeland Security." see: Form I-129F Instructions (Rev. 11/24/06) N Page 4 And re-read the instructions to confirm that and anything else you might have missed. Thank you so much. I will go back and read the instructions.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-22 23:59:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	check payable to whom?	My question is about a personal check that goes with I-129F. I found, after a search here, that you write your check to "Department of Home land Security." I just wanted to make sure that is the correct info. Our I-129F will be sent to TSC. Thanks so much for your time and help. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-22 23:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	please help..still married but filed K1	Seems like a radical reaction... good luck! Doing the right thing is always a way to go. I would not do something that one day USCIS (or whoever with authority) could find out and come knck on my door, saying " your wife must be deported." That would be the worst nightmare of all.... Just my 2 cents...	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-24 05:12:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Finally....	Thank you very much, guys...	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-24 22:31:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Finally....	BTW, I would like to have my timeline and the ticker at the end of my post like a lot of people here. How can i do it? Thanks.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-24 13:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Finally....	I think I have become an official member of VJ today. I am so relieved now that my fiance just mailed out our petition today right before the post office was closed. It took him quite a bit of time to gather all required stuff and organize the petition. And he did a great job... We now start counting the days........ Good luck to all of us here.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-24 13:46:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-129F Filed	Congratulations !! My finace sent out the petition yesterday, too. He is also from Florida. I wish you (and all us) a smooth and speedy journey Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-03-25 05:30:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Translation Certification: Please Help	Actually, I did that. But the mission failed. which leads me to believe i either hit a "shady" translator or some little bureaucracy/money making thingie. If you would like it all get translated by the government officer with stamps and everything, go to the Ministry of Foriegn affairs on Sriayuttha road. They have this kind of service.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-04-05 01:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Home Residency Restriction	Congrats Elena! I hope the information is true and you can leave sooner to be with Mike! Thank you Joe I totally agree with rebeccajo. It should have been you who made a call to the consulate who has full authority to grant or not grant you a visa. I am not sure how knowledgeable about HHR the person who talked to Mike was. Good Luck.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-04-05 01:33:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Slip up on I-94 US Permit record	Ref: http://help.cbp.gov/...amp;p_topview=1 Question: I did not turn in my I-94 when I left the U.S., what should I do? Answer: Failure to turn in your I-94 (or I-94W) when you leave the U.S. can create a serious problem. Without this record of your departure, you will be identified in our records as an "overstay." Being identified as an overstay means that you will be denied re-entry into the U.S. If you failed to turn in your I-94, please send it - along with any documentation that proves you left the U.S. to ACS Inc.1084 South Laurel Rd., London, Kentucky 40744. Documentation to prove your departure can include the boarding pass from your flight. If you exited the country by a land border it is much harder to verify that you did- in fact - leave the country on the date you claim. If you have any documentation of your arrival in your home country (i.e. passport stamp), then you should send a copy of that. If the above office does not have any supporting documents to substantiate your claim to have left the U.S. on a certain date, there is no guarantee that you will be entered into the record as having done so.We strongly urge you to keep a copy of what you send to ACS Inc. and to carry it with you the next time you come to the U.S. in case the CBP officer has any questions about your eligibility to enter. If you want to confirm that your I-94 was received by ACS, please give them 4 months to process the paperwork. Then you can write the following address to determine whether or not your departure was recorded. If you turned in the I-94 when you left the U.S. as required, please do NOT request confirmation that it is on file. This process is only for people who did not turn in the I-94 when they exited the U.S. You will need to provide your name, date of birth, passport number, and date of departure, in addition to asking whether or not your departure was recorded. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air Sea Passenger Operations, Room 5.4D, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington D.C. 20229.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-05-24 09:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Slip up on I-94 US Permit record	As far as the US Govt is concerned, you are still here accumulating illegal presence. This will cause you big grief on future visa applications. Search (sorry, I dont remember where) the USCIS, CBP, DOS web sites, or just google for it/ There is an address (in KY I believe) where you send the I-94 along with proof of when you left so that they can correct your record, and "log" you out of the US. Yup, it's this address, it was in the link I posted, along with other instructions on what to do... [b]ACS-USCBP, SBU, P.O. Box 7125 London KY 40742-7125 USA Given my case (as posted above as a response to the OP), do I need to send my I-94 back? I have a printout from that machine that I believe did register my departure. If I would like to find out more as to what I need to do, who should I get to contact? Thanks for the help.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-05-24 03:59:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Slip up on I-94 US Permit record	My fiance in South Africa was gathering boarding passes and other evidence together for us to submit with the I-129f. He discovered that he still had the I-94 US permit which was issued to him for his visit here this past March! He was never asked for it nor questioned about it either. He was given all of his boarding passes in Dallas for all of his flights clear through South Africa. Only in Dallas was he asked for his passport. That was it...no one ever asked to see it again in order to stamp him out or to gather his I-94!! If you have had a problem such as this before, please let me know. This could cause up to a 4 month delay in our visa process!! I am not sure if my reply will help or be relevant to your case. I left the US on August 2005 through San Francisco airport and I still have my I-94 attached to my passport now. At the airport, I was not asked for I-94 to register my departure from the US. Instead, there at the airport, they have computer-operated machines (similar to ATMs) that did the job. I scanned my two index fingers and also put in my personal information to register my departure (such as my name and my passport number-- i don't remember it well). then the machine printed out a card with a logo of Homeland security on it, which i still keep. If your fiance did the same thing at the airport, I don't think you should have anything to worry about despite I-94 still being attached to his passport. The Homeland Security must have a record of his departure. The problem i see here would be that he didn't check himself out (like I did) nor did anyone ask him for I-94 by mistake. If that is the case, it means he is still staying in the US because there is no record of him leaving the country.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-05-23 11:46:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can we get married at our wedding? (i think we're too late on the whole visa process)	Gail: This is the link here on VJ that discussed about J-1 and the 2 year rule restriction. I think you might want to check it out. http://www.visajourn...h...c=60799&hl= Good luck.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-05-13 12:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can we get married at our wedding? (i think we're too late on the whole visa process)	From http://www.usavisano...eevisainfo.html "........... K-1 Fiancee Visa VISA INELIGIBILITY/WAIVER ............................... The two-year foreign residency requirement for former exchange visitors is also applicable. If found to be ineligible, the consular officer will advise the applicant if the law provides for a waiver. ................................"	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-05-13 12:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can we get married at our wedding? (i think we're too late on the whole visa process)	Gail: I am not sure if I understand your posting. Pardon me if I misunderstand something. The "no objection" letter, as far as I know, needs to be sent to the USCIS and they will consider if they will grant a waiver to your fiance. Has the letter been sent to the USCIS yet? I am not sure why you are not worried about the j-1 (waiver) being approved. My fiance had to wait 19 months to file I-129F because I am a former j-1 holder and is subject to the 2 year rule. And I don't understand what you mean by "if the J1 thing only comes up at the interview, I think it'll be no problem." If your fiance is still subject to the 2 year rule (in other words, he still doesn't have the j-1 waiver from the USCIS) on the day of his interview, the k-1 visa won't be granted. Ladywhite	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-05-13 12:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can we get married at our wedding? (i think we're too late on the whole visa process)	Maybe have the religious ceremony, and don't file the paperwork. Call it something else, family engagement ceremony, when you refer to it with the USCIS. I don't understand about the J1 timing, myself. But good luck! Empr: When is he going to know about his J-1 waiver? My guess is it is going to take a long while when he will hear anything back from USCIS. They just received his application early this month. If he didn't get a waiver by the time he has a k-1 interview in his country (which I don't think he will, considering VSC is the center you filed), he wouldn't be granted a K-1 visa due to his being subject to the 2 year home residence requirement. He in fact could have filed a j-1 waiver while still in the US. Best wishes.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-05-13 11:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Translation of documents	We should use caution when self-translating legal documents. Check with the laws of your home-country before doing so. It is/may not (be)enough to be fluent in a language. It might (might) be good enough for USCIS/Dept of State, etc -but don't rely on that for future legal use. Just be cautious. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, wills, diplomas, legal documents all need to be certified. Certified translations are governed by local laws in each country. In a non-certified translation the translator is sometimes entitled to give a personal style and tone to the text, to make it more appropriate for the target audience. Certified translations often must be an exact translation of the source and must always include a clause from the certifier together with a round seal affixed which only Certified Court translators may use, and must be certified by the translators signature, in order to be accepted by the courts and the authorities. @ - Someone said Certified Translators don't exist in the US - of course they do. I do greatly appreciate your input. From the experiences of successful Thai beneficiaries, documents such as House registration, ID card that are translated by the beneficiaries themselves are accepted by Consulate officers at the US consulate in Bangkok. You just have to certify that your translation is accurate and submit both the original and translation copies on your interview. I believe the consulate officers (both American and Thai) are fluent in both languages and are able to tell if the translation is accurate. For documents submitted to USCIS, I kind of wondered if they'd accept documents translated by either the petitioner or beneficiary themselves, plus I couldn't find approriate statements to say on the translated copies. On my BC I requested from the government office responsible for Birth records in thailand, it doesn't have anything written on the translated document other than the phrase "Certified accurate translation" and then the signature of the translator and his printed name (who actually is a certified translator for that government office). So, what difference would it be if that was me who translated it? USCIS didn't ask for the certification of the translator to be submitted, right? According to meow mix's posting, USCIS accepts documents translated by petitioners themselves. Again, I do appreciate the time, help, inputs, and everything you guys provided here. It is always good knowing you can get help when you need it.	ladywhite	Female	Thailand	2007-04-04 02:20:00