American Visa Thailand: K3 Visas in 2010

In 2009, many Thai-American couples sought K3 Marriage Visas. The category K-3 visa was designed for those couples wishing to expedite the American marriage visa process. In the year 2009 the K-3 visa obtainment process was quite similar to the K3 visa process in 2008. That being said, there may be changes in store for the K3 visa process in 2010 and this piece takes a brief look at the changes that couples could face in the future.

In 2009, most Thai American couples could expect the K3 visa process to take approximately eight months from petition submission until final visa decision at the American Embassy in Bangkok. Currently, it is this author's opinion that this remains an accurate estimate of the processing time. At present, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is estimating that it will take roughly five months to adjudicate a K-3 petition at one of the two Service Centers with appropriate jurisdiction. Those curious about the K-3 marriage visa should keep in mind that this figure does not account for the need to file an initial I-130 application. Further, this figure does not take into account the fact that the case file will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) for a security clearance before it will be forwarded to the United States Embassy abroad. Taking all of these considerations into account, 8 months is a relatively accurate estimate of the time it will take to ultimately obtain the K3 visa.

In 2010, there may be changes to the K3 visa process in the form of increased fees for Consular Processing. According to recently proposed rule changes promulgated by the United States Department of State the K3 visa interview fee could be raised significantly in 2010. Under the recently proposed rule, K visa interviewees would be required to pay $350 rather than $131 in fees to US Embassies and Consulates abroad. This proposed rule has not been adopted as of the time of this writing, but a fee increase of this magnitude is substantial and should be taken into consideration by those thinking of applying for this type of visa. Particularly, in the context of marriage visas it may be wise for applicants to look at the Immigrant visas such as the IR1 and CR1 as the cost is similar, but the foreign spouse enters the USA in lawful permanent resident status rather than as a non-immigrant who must adjust their status before they will be granted permanent residence (also known as a "Green Card").

(Please note, the above article should not be viewed as a sufficient substitute for individualized legal advice from a competent licensed attorney. The aforementioned information is intended for general research purposes only and should not be viewed as individualized advice regarding a set of specific factual circumstances. For those who are interested in obtaining individualized advice regarding American Immigration, it might be wise to contact a licensed American Immigration attorney.)

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