CR1 or IR Visa from Thailand? The CR1 visa from Thailand for a Thai national is not similar to an IR1 visa. You need to understand the differences which are explained below. This is a conditional residence status for your Thai spouse and once in the US will then be changed to permanent after two years.
CR1 or IR Visa from Thailand
CR1 Visa from Thailand
You will see that there is a difference between the two US spouse visas in which the CR1 applies to those whose marriage is less than 2 years, while the IR1 visa are for marriages 2 years and above.
If you have been married for less than two years since the date of registration, the Conditional Resident visa or CR1 visa from Thailand is applicable for you. This type of application will grant your foreign Thai spouse a conditional permanent residency when arriving in the US. Should she wish to work then she would be able to do this in a few months after arriving in the US and before the visa expiry, you need to have the conditional status removed. This has to be done at least 90 days before the two year period expires.
IR1 visa from Thailand
If you have been married for more than two years since the date of registration, the Immediate Relative visa would be ideal for you. The IR1 visa is an Immediate Relative status and this allows your spouse permanent stay upon arrival in the US. The visa application process for the spouse visas are more or less the same. The CR1 visa as well as the IR1 visa is very much the same application process as well as the K3 visa from Thailand.
The process starts in filing an I-130 petition which is filed with USCIS in the United States. These are then approved and sent to the National Visa Center for further processing. The documents for all three would be as follows:
- – A valid passport
- – Affidavit of Support
- – Application for Immigrant visa and Alien registration
- – Birth Certificate
- – Marriage Certificate
- – Divorce documents if applicable
- – Police certificates/ Court and prison records
- – Completed medical examination forms
You will note that once this has been completed, you will be given an appointment for interview at the US embassy in Bangkok. Speak to a Thai immigration lawyer for more information and assistance as errors can be difficult causing a visa denial and further waste time and will cause additional cost. In order to apply for these, be mindful that you need to be married legally. This and your marriage must be registered with the Thai government.
A religious marriage such as an Islamic marriage, will be considered as a traditional Thai marriage and not legally binding. Thus, this type of marriage will not be recognized for this application process. Always take proper advice when dealing with US immigration from Thailand. Speak to an immigration lawyer about your CR1 or IR Visa from Thailand.
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