The US visa process can be cumbersome and confusing. The following article explores the issues associated with obtaining a US tourist visa for a Thai loved one. There are many people of all nationalities and backgrounds who submit applications for American tourist visas at the United States Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand. Even though such applications are somewhat common, more and more they are being subject to denial pursuant to section 214(b) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act. This rule requires Consular Officers to make a presumption that the tourist visa applicant is actually an undisclosed immigrant unless the visa applicant can show strong evidence that contradicts and thereby rebuts this presumption. Section 214(b) therefore creates a "strong ties" vs. "weak ties" analysis which necessitates that the applicant show "strong ties" to their country of origin, or another country outside of the United States of America, and also "weak ties" to the US. This can be a very problematic provision especially for those Americans who wish to bring a Thai significant other back to the US for a temporary stay. The existence of an American Citizen boyfriend or girlfriend can be very detrimental for a Thai National's B-2 visa application (or any non-immigrant visa application for that matter including the F-1 visa, J-1 visa, B-1 visa, etc). The detriment arises from the fact that the visa applicant has a relationship with a United States Citizen and therefore could be viewed as having a "strong tie" to the US. There are some Thai-American couples who try to avoid this issue by simply "not mentioning" the existence of a romantic relationship with a US Citizen. This is not a wise course of action, in this author's opinion, because any misrepresentation, even misrepresentation by omission, is unethical and could be viewed by State Department personnel as an attempt to defraud the American government. For an American Citizen, a finding of fraud and misrepresentation could lead to penalties, but such a finding could have a highly negative impact upon the applicant's chances of ever obtaining a US visa in the future as fraud and misrepresentation is considered a legal grounds of inadmissibility to the USA that would likely only be remedied upon the approval of an I-601 waiver. Although, the DS-156 form that is utilized in applying for an American tourist visa does not pose the question: "do you have an American boyfriend/girlfriend?" Instead the forms asks: "Are Any of The Following Persons in The U.S., or Do They Have U.S. Legal Permanent Residence or U.S. Citizenship? Mark YES or NO and indicate that person's status in the U.S. (i.e., U.S. legal permanent resident, U.S. citizen, visiting, studying, working, etc.)" The form then allows the applicant to note family relationships, including "fiance/fiancee." The reason this is being discussed is due to the fact that the rest of the form's questions can be relatively easily answered. For example, one can say with near certainty if they have a US Citizen husband or wife, but "fiance" is another, more opaque, concept. Defining the term "fiance" can be problematic as romantic relationships, before marriage, are fairly fluid from a legal perspective. It is this author's belief that if the applicant has a romantic relationship with an American Citizen, then this fact ought to be disclosed to the Consular Officer either in writing or during the visa interview, but if there is any possibility that marriage and adjustment of status may be a possibility, then it would be better to forgo an attempt at obtaining a tourist visa, as this is not really the proper visa, and submit a petition for a United States fiance visa. In any case, existence of a "fiance/fiancee" should be disclosed as failure to do so would be a misrepresentation of fact if, in fact, the couple plans to eventually marry.
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