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Thais Dissemination of US Immigration Laws and Disclosures
THAIS would like to inform all of our clients about US Immigration Laws and the risks involved with international marriages.
THAIS does not do background checks on our clients, this is your responsibility. THAIS does not know whether our male or female clients are good persons or bad. The US Government believes that foreign women, who meet their American spouses using international
matchmaking companies, may be at a higher risk of becoming a victim of spousal abuse than other American women.
THAIS feels that if you marry a foreign man that you have only known for a week or a month, you are putting yourself at a higher level of risk of having an unsuccessful or abusive marriage. THAIS urges all of our clients to take time to know each other very
well before getting married and we recommend that you contact an immigration attorney to advise you about US Immigration Laws before planning a marriage.
The US Government has very strict laws concerning international marriages and severe penalties for those who use fraudulent marriages in order to gain entry to the USA. People who engage in fraudulent marriage contracts for the purpose of evading US Immigration
Laws can be fined $250,000 and imprisoned for 5 years. Also, you can be fined $10,000 and imprisoned 5 years for knowingly and willfully falsifying or concealing facts (lying) or using false documents to file for visas or residency in the USA.
There are several options available to couples who intend to marry.
Option 1:
You can get married in the U.S.A. by going the U.S. Embassy and filing a petition for a "fiance visa" (form I-129). You must both be legally free to marry. When the visa is granted, you may go to the U.S.A. and then you must marry within 90 days of your entry into the U.S.A. If
you do not marry within 90 days, you must return to your own country. If you do not marry and you try to illegally stay in the U.S., you may be subject to fines and imprisonment and you can NEVER enter the U.S.A. again. When you marry in the U.S., the alien spouse must immediately apply
for an adjustment of his or her visa status to a "conditional permanent resident" at a U.S. INS office, using the INS form I-485. You will become a "conditional permanent resident" for a period of two years.
Option 2:
If you marry your American spouse in your own country (Thailand) under Thai law, both of you will need to go to the American Embassy and file a "Petition for Alien Relative" in order to get a visa so that the alien spouse can go to the U.S.A. with the American spouse. This may
take some time to be approved. When the petition is approved, the alien spouse may go the U.S.A. and upon arrival, the alien spouse will automatically be granted a "conditional permanent resident" visa status and will remain a "conditional permanent resident" for a period
of two years.
After completing either option 1 or option 2 and during the last ninety days of the two year period starting on the date the alien spouse was granted "conditional permanent residence," both partners are required to file a "Joint Petition to Remove
the Conditional Basis of The Alien's Permanent Resident Status" (INS form I-751). Upon the successful application to remove your "conditional permanent resident status" you will be issued a "permanent resident" visa status (green card). Failure to file form I-751
will result in termination of your "conditional permanent resident" visa status and initiation of deportation proceedings. If you happen to become the victim of "spousal abuse", you can still apply for "permanent resident" visa status by filing (INS form I-751)
by yourself by indicating on (form I-751) that you are applying for an "abused spouse waiver" of the "joint filing requirement." Your American spouse cannot abuse you and threaten to have you deported if you report the abuse to the police and you can continue to live
in the U.S.A. by filing for a "permanent residency" visa status using the "abused spouse waiver" on (form I-751). You must have documented proof of the abuse.
If you do not understand the Laws or have questions or problems, contact an attorney who knows U.S. Immigration Laws, or a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service office or a U.S. Embassy official. THAIS is not an authority on U.S. Immigration Laws and this
document should only be used as a guide. Should you have need to know "precisely" what the laws are, then contact an immigration attorney.
Please sign and date this form:
Signed: _________________________________ Date: __________________
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