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K-1 Visa Thailand: Will We Have to Live Separately?

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing K-1 Visas. Specifically we are going to be discussing this in the context of Thailand.  I am talking about those American citizens who are engaged to marry a Thai National and cases which are processed out of the US Embassy here in Bangkok, Thailand for K-1 Fiancée benefits.

A question that comes up rather frequently, especially with respect to folks that are long-term tourists in Thailand or have retired in Thailand and perhaps are now moving back to the United States. With respect to retirees, I often see this in the context of retirees who need specific kinds of medical care and they need to go back to the US and perhaps they haven't married their fiancée yet and they are looking at the K-1 Visa. A big question that comes up is "do we have to live separately while the case processes?" Well the answer to that is “have to” is really where it comes down. "No you don't need to live separately, but depending on your circumstances it may simply result in the fact that some prolonged separation may be inherent to the overall process." The reason for this is the backlog of K-1 Visa petitions and the time it takes to get a K-1 Visa issued. So it can take months. Generally speaking I don't usually see K-1s ones out of Thailand taking years but it can take a prolonged period of time and for example if a retiree here in Thailand needs to go back for medical care and that Medical Care is relatively urgent,  then that individual may have to move back and simply wait for their fiancée to follow along once the Visa is issued. 

People ask, "Is it possible to ask for expediting, something like this?" Probably not depending on the circumstances of the case expediting is probably not going to be possible. That being stated, again it depends on the specific circumstances of a given case. It may be possible to request an expedite and the relevant authorities may allow it. That being said, the K-1 currently is moving at rather a brisk pace compared to the Marriage Visa status so K-1s in and of themselves are a little bit faster when compared to other categories.

That being said, depending on one’s circumstances separation may be a foregone conclusion in the K-1 Visa process.