biggish data

thx for the info Aaron, we have a house in Thailand and plan to live there in the future, seems time consuming to have to go to bkk this trip so we will hold off to a later date...we are staying bkk our last 2 nights tho, if we try to take care of getting the documents you spoke of will they still be good Jan/Fed 2015? regards....stevie n songsang

They're good forever. There is no expiration date.

Karee

Male

Thailand

2014-06-30 17:17:00

For the " wedding " you probably will need divorce docs if you where ever married, birth cet and passport. You must be aware of sin sod by now so be prepared.

I've always been pretty proud of the fact that I escaped the sin sod thing. However, on this last trip I took in April, I had to shell out 150k THB to get the family land out of hock thanks to my now deceased sister in law. Looks like they got me eventually so no one is immune. :rofl:

Karee

Male

Thailand

2014-06-29 13:19:00

!!!She has her crocheting,we will need a separate suitcase when we return to Thailand,her thai tv,and calls and emails to friends and family.

Dinner is a nightly event, we both love to cook, weight gain for us both might begin to be a problem...haha. The thai embassy in Chicago held a 3 day festival downtown, I took off on a Wednesday and we went from 11am-6pm...music,dancing, food...had my fill of Singha...shopping stalls....one thing I noticed, although it did not seem to bother Songsang,and we returned on Friday when I got off work, she wanted to go again was that while all the people at the various booths were very nice, not ONE thai person in the 100`s that attended ever acknowledged her or spoke to her and I also caught what I believed to be some not so pleasant stares. It did not seem like the dark skinned thai woman from Chaiyaphum and her farang husband we very welcome at this "elite" festival. Anyway, we had a great time.

My wife is in to the cross stitch deal, not sure if that's the same. We have things hanging on the walls all over the place that she has done.

As to the other Thais not being friendly, Some said some pretty rotten things to my wife when she first got here. She was actually in tears once. I kinda took as a "we were here first" kinda thing versus a her being from Isaan thing, but I could be wrong. She doesn't let that kind of thing bother her any longer. She actually just sent a care package to a girl in Wisconsin that is having a tough time.

We went to a road show the Thai MFA is doing to renew Thai passports at the local temple a couple weeks ago and spent all day there. Pretty uneventful and boring as hell. For me anyway.

Karee

Male

Thailand

2014-06-29 13:08:00

he was asked to bring his police record from our country. He is not a Thai citizen but he is leagl to live and work in Thailand.

They also asked for his house registration.

A couple questions.

1. Did he give them the police record from the other country yet? If so, when, and did you confirm that they have it?

2. If he's not a Thai citizen, he's probably not going to have a house registration/ blue book (Tabien Baan) in Thailand. He may have a yellow Tabien Baan, but not a Thai Blue one.

Karee

Male

Thailand

2014-05-05 10:34:00

Here's a simple suggestion that I read on VJ right after we AOS'd. Get a shoe box and start putting your stuff in there, bills, cards, letters, boarding passes etc. The two years flies by and our box is stuffed with 3 months to go!

We did the same thing. Here and there I just put things into the box, but the time it came to do the ROC, we just started copying and organizing. I'm sure we went overboard on evidence, but it made my wife feel more secure. Result, no interview, no RFE, approved.

Caryh

Male

Philippines

2014-06-26 09:02:00

When you apply for a loan you have to be the primary applicant and have her added as a secondary on the loan. This is what I had to do for my wife and when you add her to your bank and credit card she will piggy back off your credit score. As far as adding her to your mortgage I had no problems with this and didn't have to refi or anything that changed the payment.

When we bought a car, one loan firm refused to put her on the loan because she was a new immigrant. This was through my insurance company, who I promptly dropped afterwards. They said I could get the loan by myself, but not if I added her. They didn't beat the rate through the dealer anyway, so it was no great loss.

I did a home refi, and the interest rate would have been higher had she been on it. But we did get her on the house deed, so that was good. Lowered my rate to, so it worked out.

Caryh

Male

Philippines

2014-06-24 11:46:00

Add her to health insurance. Make her the beneficiary to life insurance and retirement accounts.

Get her a secured credit card in her own name.

Caryh

Male

Philippines

2014-06-24 11:40:00

Yup. We're doing the same thing as early as now.

apple21

Female

Philippines

2014-06-24 11:36:00

You can add her name on the utility bills.

apple21

Female

Philippines

2014-06-24 11:31:00

You can add her name into your bank account (joint account) and you can make her an authorized user in your credit card. That's what we did.

You can also add her name into your house lease/rental agreement.

apple21

Female

Philippines

2014-06-24 11:27:00

I am also an authorized user on my husband's CC's (which does show up in my credit score). They do ask for annual income in the CC applications, so if your wife is a housewife, I don't know what bearing that would have on her applications.

See, I put my husband as authorized user on two credit cards and he still doesn't have a credit report. We just opened up a secured credit card just in his name, but it has yet to arrive. I'm hoping it works because State Farm was unable to put him on our house insurance because their system kept getting stuck on his lack of credit report.

For housewives you put down the household income, which would be your husband's.

N-o-l-a

Female

Denmark

2014-06-25 08:08:00

My husband doesn't have credit either, but we have lots of things in both of our names. You don't need debt to prove a valid relationship to USCIS.

N-o-l-a

Female

Denmark

2014-06-24 16:15:00

I own my house. Its 10 years into a 30 year mortgage. I just don't want to start it over

I have her on credit card and I have her on the bank. Don't know what else to do .

You can add her to utility bills, copies of drivers licenses showing shared address, insurance cards with same ID number, life insurance with her as beneficiary, add her as a user to credit cards, the list goes on. We are removing conditions next month and we have a lot of co-mingling to show. Good luck!

mimolicious

Not Telling

Jordan

2014-06-25 06:29:00

I own my house. Its 10 years into a 30 year mortgage. I just don't want to start it over

I have her on credit card and I have her on the bank. Don't know what else to do .

My husband put me on the house loan with a quit claim document.

He had me open my own checking account with which I qualify for a secured credit card in my own name. In a few months I can change that to unsecured credit card which I will use only to create credit history.

Ning

Female

Thailand

2014-06-24 21:44:00

I've always been pretty proud of the fact that I escaped the sin sod thing. However, on this last trip I took in April, I had to shell out 150k THB to get the family land out of hock thanks to my now deceased sister in law. Looks like they got me eventually so no one is immune.

True Karee. My husband didn't exactly try to escape because he had paid 150 K THB to remodel our Thai mothers house but that was totally his decision. Later when the actual sin sod moment came he felt he had invested earlier ! We continue to provide support for mom.

Ning

Female

Thailand

2014-06-29 14:07:00

songsang has adapted quite well it seems, we have already been to several events and locations in Chicago, 100`s of pictures taken and sent back to Thailand. Have tested several thai restaurants, she has her favorite now. She loves the thai grocery store about 1/2 mile from our home. She is reluctant to go out alone here still, I hope this will gradually change but the Chicago "rep" is hard to overcome.We have had our "moments" but after a short cooling off period,(sometimes 24 hrs)all is good again. !!!She has her crocheting,we will need a separate suitcase when we return to Thailand,her thai tv,and calls and emails to friends and family.

Dinner is a nightly event, we both love to cook, weight gain for us both might begin to be a problem...haha. The thai embassy in Chicago held a 3 day festival downtown, I took off on a Wednesday and we went from 11am-6pm...music,dancing, food...had my fill of Singha...shopping stalls....one thing I noticed, although it did not seem to bother Songsang,and we returned on Friday when I got off work, she wanted to go again was that while all the people at the various booths were very nice, not ONE thai person in the 100`s that attended ever acknowledged her or spoke to her and I also caught what I believed to be some not so pleasant stares. It did not seem like the dark skinned thai woman from Chaiyaphum and her farang husband we very welcome at this "elite" festival. Anyway, we had a great time. I pulled the trigger on our return trip, aug20, $1000.00 each round trip, I paid $2000.00 last august just for myself, we have a early morning departure back to Chicago sep.19 so we booked a 5star hotel in bkk for our last 2 nights for only $60.00 per night(Landmark Bangkok)

l so it seems the recent events in Thailand have affected prices. Took a chance with the AOS,I-765 and I-131 pending but our departure date is 94 days after filing so I hope we are good. Do I,the USC need to bring anything as we are going to be "legally" married in Chaiyaphum this trip? We are going to have the "big" wedding in Jan2015 when its nice and cool for me...haha.

s,

Sounds like things are pretty good in Chicago !

My husband has lost weight over time. He says its my cooking! Could be but I have gained weight and I do my share of the cooking. I understand the need for 24 hours at times. He can go hungry.

It is odd isn't it to find the reception from Thais in America. I have found this same thing to be true. We went to an event at a local Temple where this strange atmosphere seemed to surround us. My husband complemented a women on her traditional clothes; she walked away.

Here in the USA people are happy to pay for a tan. Get it from the sun, spray it on or by weird lights in a room. But if we have a natural tone to our skin we are shunned by our own.

For the " wedding " you probably will need divorce docs if you where ever married, birth cet and passport. You must be aware of sin sod by now so be prepared.

Ning

Female

Thailand

2014-06-29 13:13:00

For the 2-year removal I sent in: Life insurance beneficiary, 2 bank accounts showing she was added, health insurance, and three credit card accounts where she was an authorized charger (pics of the cards with the number blurred), and of course copies of tax returns. This along with a timeline listing vacations and holidays each with a picture (showing family members when possible) was enough.

OnMyWayID

Male

Colombia

2014-06-24 12:34:00

I don't understand why people borrow money for vehicles. Just buy what you can afford. I haven't spent more than $2,400 on a vehicle in 30 years. Then you can put anyone on the title you want. Even a trailer can be titled.

rlogan

Male

Philippines

2014-06-24 23:36:00

See, I put my husband as authorized user on two credit cards and he still doesn't have a credit report. We just opened up a secured credit card just in his name, but it has yet to arrive.

Yes, that was the weird thing: I had been an authorized user on my husband's CC's for more than 6 months, but I did not have a credit report... I was basically not existing for the credit bureaus. Then, once I had opened my own secured Capital One credit card and paid it off for a couple for months... voila! I suddenly had a credit score AND my husband's CC's showed up on my report.

Maybe that'll work for you too.

HK12

Female

Germany

2014-06-25 08:27:00

Yes, to build credit, get your wife a secured credit card and have her charge small amounts to it. I got mine from Capital One in November of last year. Did not have any credit score before that, now it is at 778. I am also an authorized user on my husband's CC's (which does show up in my credit score). They do ask for annual income in the CC applications, so if your wife is a housewife, I don't know what bearing that would have on her applications.

We never bothered to get any loans in our names because we like being debt-free and I am not going to sacrifice this for the sake of USCIS. We have enough other proof for ROC later on.

HK12

Female

Germany

2014-06-25 08:01:00

I haven't found the food to be very good, but I am a finicky eater. Thai airline food was much better, but now that there is no direct flight from BKK to LAX, it is pointless to pay the premium for Thai since they stop in Seoul and I still have to transfer to Vegas.

Interesting as for service, we found the Seoul <--> America great, but the Seoul <--> Thailand was HORRIBLE! The flight attendants were not nice.

This trip should be interesting as our son is now 2 /12 and very mobile where as before he just laid around and slept... I have a lot more tolerance for kids on a plane now

The nice thing with Korean also is you can get Business class for 2600 if you book far enough out, and watch for the specials.

No kidding. I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

slowlyman

Male

Thailand

2014-05-20 20:13:00

Thai TV in the states

Thai soaps on Youtube. That's all my wife was interested in watching

slowlyman

Male

Thailand

2014-05-23 07:56:00

Military Coup Announced - May 22, 2014

Talking with Burriam right now. Everything strangely quiet on the streets.

slowlyman

Male

Thailand

2014-05-22 22:02:00

Help! Anyone leaving Thailand coming close to Minnesota,USA??

It's going to be an expensive puppy by the time he gets shipped over here and spends 30 days in lock up.

slowlyman

Male

Thailand

2014-06-16 19:31:00

That out of country police record can gum up the works. Ning or Karee may have some experience to offer.

slowlyman

Male

Thailand

2014-05-04 20:49:00

What was the 221 for ?

Also, the Consulate will not answer specific questions regarding your case. They can only speak in general terms. Yes we have your file, yes it is in AP. Yes you should expect an answer by xxx.

slowlyman

Male

Thailand

2014-05-04 20:39:00

Please fill in your timeline so we know where you are in the process.

slowlyman

Male

Thailand

2014-05-04 19:53:00

I own my house. Its 10 years into a 30 year mortgage. I just don't want to start it over

I have her on credit card and I have her on the bank. Don't know what else to do .

I had a similar issue, but we actually wanted to buy a house after we married. Obviously here name was going to hinder any loan application, and in the very least add a LOT more legwork/paperwork on our end, so we didn't put her name on the loan. We did add her to the title though and showed that at our AOS and will likely use it as well when it comes time to Remove Conditions.

Things I'd recommend that shouldn't be too hard

Government issued Identification such as driver's license or state ID card that has you both listed at the same address.

Joint bank accounts (you seem to have done this)

Both names on as many utilities as possible (Electric, Gas, Cable/Satellite, phone ect.)

Add her as a user on the credit card (which you seem to have done)

If you purchase a pet, do so in both of your names (we did this when we got our puppy and the interviewer got sidetracked into puppy talk)

Insurance...make sure you have her on your health insurance, make her the benefactor on your life insurance, things like that would be helpful

Take pictures....they aren't going to work as your only evidence, but if you have pictures of yourselves together at different holidays, family functions, vacations, etc. then that will support your other documentation.

I'm sure there is more, but those are what come to mind right away. Just be sure to document as much as possible. There is no perfect set of items to have, as each case is unique to itself.

I own my house. Its 10 years into a 30 year mortgage. I just don't want to start it over

I have her on credit card and I have her on the bank. Don't know what else to do .

Things I'd recommend that shouldn't be too hard

Government issued Identification such as driver's license or state ID card that has you both listed at the same address.

Joint bank accounts (you seem to have done this)

Both names on as many utilities as possible (Electric, Gas, Cable/Satellite, phone ect.)

Add her as a user on the credit card (which you seem to have done)

If you purchase a pet, do so in both of your names (we did this when we got our puppy and the interviewer got sidetracked into puppy talk)

Insurance...make sure you have her on your health insurance, make her the benefactor on your life insurance, things like that would be helpful. Also adding her to your home insurance policy or auto policy too.

I'm sure there is more, but those are what come to mind right away. Just be sure to document as much as possible. There is no perfect set of items to have, as each case is unique to itself.

Edited by UK-USA-K1, 25 June 2014 - 10:44 AM.

UK-USA-K1

Male

United Kingdom

2014-06-25 10:42:00

Military Coup Announced - May 22, 2014

I think the coup is a good thing.

I say keep the Pheu Thai, UDD, PDRC, Demecratic party and who ever else they have locked up and get them all in a room and get them talking so they can come up with a resolution. No cell phones, no internet, no computers, and espcially no calls to the man in Dubai. That probably will not happen but wishful thinking on my part.

Andy and Pui

Male

Thailand

2014-05-24 00:32:00

To change names or not?

Pui never changed name on her thai documents. She took my last name when we got married and since she did not have a middle name she took her maiden name as her middle name when we got married. She has been back a few times and had no problems. Just made sure she had certified copy of our marriage license.

Edited by Andy and Pui, 03 June 2014 - 03:31 AM.

Andy and Pui

Male

Thailand

2014-06-03 03:25:00

Help! Anyone leaving Thailand coming close to Minnesota,USA??

We live in MN. No plans yet on going back to Thailand this year. I remember Matt and Bee brought their dog with them back in 2011. I'll send a message to Matt on facebook to see if he remembers anything about that process.

Andy

Andy and Pui

Male

Thailand

2014-06-19 05:09:00

Get your wife a secured credit card from your bank. Charge gas or groceries one a month and pay it back in full when the bill comes. Or get a joint secured credit card with both of your names.

Andy and Pui

Male

Thailand

2014-06-24 12:55:00

USA Immigration Law Thailand

I do agree with everyone else here as well. As long as you have straight forward case you should be able to do it yourself. If you think you have problems like a drug conviction or some other convictions then you might want to post here to see if you need a lawyer or not.

Andy and Pui

Male

Thailand

2014-06-29 00:08:00

Korean Air is great, the service/food/IFE is fantastic. Most importantly, prices are great (unlike Thai Airways) and they have a direct flight to Seoul from Las Vegas three days a week.

I haven't found the food to be very good, but I am a finicky eater. Thai airline food was much better, but now that there is no direct flight from BKK to LAX, it is pointless to pay the premium for Thai since they stop in Seoul and I still have to transfer to Vegas.

Interesting as for service, we found the Seoul <--> America great, but the Seoul <--> Thailand was HORRIBLE! The flight attendants were not nice.

This trip should be interesting as our son is now 2 /12 and very mobile where as before he just laid around and slept... I have a lot more tolerance for kids on a plane now

The nice thing with Korean also is you can get Business class for 2600 if you book far enough out, and watch for the specials.

AaronLV

Male

Thailand

2014-05-18 23:18:00

AaronLV - the day rooms are nice and pretty reasonable there in Seoul. I've stayed in them a few times are my trip over and back to Vegas.

Yeah they are not bad and the price is decent, I think the last time it was around 66.00 for the deluxe. This trip the kid is a bit older so I think we will try to do a day trip into Seoul. I hate the layover but I do like flying straight into Vegas, better than driving from LAX and getting home at 2am.

AaronLV

Male

Thailand

2014-05-14 23:40:00

That is good to know. I just booked tickets on Korean, 2 Adults, 1 Kid, RT Chiang Mai to Vegas 3400. I will have to look into the family plan we have a bunch of miles on them as this is our 3rd trip. The layover in Seoul sucks 11 hours for us each way, but it is much easier than booking extra tickets to BKK and then LAX to Vegas, and we get in Vegas at 5pm vs 9pm in LAX where we always have to make the drive rather than fly because not enough time to catch the connecting flight that night.

AaronLV

Male

Thailand

2014-05-13 23:46:00

Military Coup Announced - May 22, 2014

I am in Chiang Mai, all TV stations are out including international ones. I am on the 14th floor, little to no traffic, no noisy Tuk Tuk's driving by, and can't hear any distant music from any local bars. Very, very quiet.

AaronLV

Male

Thailand

2014-05-22 11:16:00

To change names or not?

My wife uses my last name in the US, and we opted not to change her name in Thailand.

I think in the long run it is easier to keep the Thai name here. No questions come up, where as having a falang last name brings up extra questions that don't necessarily need be asked,

As for travelling we never had an issue with the different last names. We just always carried a copy of the marriage certificate with us, and were never asked for it.

Now that she is a USC it is a moot point. When we book airline tickets I always use her US passport and US name, and then when we get to the airport we show the US & Thai passport to the ticket agent (which shows she doesn't need a visa for Thailand, as we always have RT starting in Thailand). We go through immigration with the Thai passport and then enter the US on the US passport.

There are a few other reasons I think it is a good idea to keep the Thai name, but won't post those on a public forum.

AaronLV

Male

Thailand

2014-06-03 22:10:00

My husband put me on the house loan with a quit claim document.

He had me open my own checking account with which I qualify for a secured credit card in my own name. In a few months I can change that to unsecured credit card which I will use only to create credit history.

Quitclaim deed does not put you on the house loan. It changes ownership on the house, has nothing to do with the loan. If you husband defaults on the loan you are not responsible. Only way to put you on the loan is to refinance the loan in your and your husbands name.

The only items we presented to show assets were the following:

Joint Bank Account

Car Insurance with both our names

Copies of Credit cards with her name on it (no statements as she is only an authorized user).

Copies of IRA where she was listed as Sole Beneficiary

Copy of Life insurance where she was listed as Sole Beneficiary

I didn't go through the hassle of adding her to the utilities as I didn't see the point as they accepted all the above all the way from AOS to Citizenship. I had bought her a car and the rate was 3 times as much putting her on the loan, so I didn't bother.

AaronLV

Male

Thailand

2014-06-24 23:37:00