Mia

This copy of a email to my sister in America, correctly describes a "Thai Wife".

Hi Sis,
Lord has about "8" very small cysts in total,and there is no cancer.
The "drill" is monthly home breast exams and once a year x ray & medical check.
  The weather is very "HOT"...36-38c and this will be the norm for the next two plus months,then "RAIN"!
Lord is @ "Toshiba" this am......Another "Meeting" with the management..Thai style "Bottom Line" Stick & Carrot" covering their
asses...Toshiba has lost a very large number of employees due to their reluctance to restart operations.
I need my wife @ home,not working.......
Sawat is just to old to look after Mak,cook & clean and other normal Thai cultural family routines.
Thailand & Asia our very different than America in respect to "Males" helping with household & children,it is just not
acceptable for males to help in these areas..I want to help,but it causes "Loss of Face" for the female members of my family.
 I can tell you that even picking up your dishes after a meal,is a 'NO GO"..forget about house cleaning,laundry and food shopping(except @ western style stores).
Lord has almost twenty years @ Toshiba,and the toll on her body has been huge..Lords face has now been clear and free of "Acne" for almost five months,and she has gained needed weight and a real sleep routine(6-8 hours)..The doctor who treated her for Acne issues,told her the "Acne" was stress related,along with lack of sleep and nutrition(good eating & rest habits)..he was 100% correct.
I know it may sound selfish on my part,but i have invested a very large amount of both money & emotions in this marriage,and i want a return on my "Investments"..I need a wife,friend and supporter in this stage of my life.....not somebody who i see for just a few hours everyday.
I have made my position very clear on this issue to the "Family" & Lord",and i am in position(retirement money & savings)to change directions if my wishes our not heeded.
The latter(change of directions) should not be necessary,as i believe Lord likes her new"life" better then working 80 plus hours a week,no house payments now,no bills(for her)and the chance to spend time with her mother,Mak and doing family things that Thai females love doing...LOL,cooking,cleaning,laundry...Lord would be "Shocked"if she spent any real time in America.....Thai people just do not get it!....
As a "Male" chauvinist pig.....LOL,well it does not get any better...she will not let me even clip my own finger & toe nails...I really need her to stay @ home and take care of the "PIG"....
Love "The "FARANG PIG"..."UJ".

OK,so I am a "PIG",but it "IS" a normal way of life living in Asia,and that will not change any time
soon.
 If you our lucky(No Bar Girls) and marry into a  traditional Thai family(again,you marry a Thai woman,you marry the whole family!),you get the benefits that come with marrying a Asian woman.
I also must note that you will of course be the one paying 100% of the benefits package..please do not
judge me to harshly,as this post is a bit"Tongue in cheek"!
Chok dee,

luckkyybuddha999

The Eight Thousand Dollar K-3 Visa

It is a nice picture of my Thai wife,Amporn.Is it worth 8 grand?
I do not believe it is,nor was the almost 30 months that the "USCIS" took issuing it to Amporn.
The "K-3" expires July of this year,a little more then four months from this date.The multiple entry is good until 2014.
  It is necessary to go back in time to explain this complete failure on the part of "USCIS & Visa Lawyers".

 Long before i started my adventure of living as a expat in Thailand,i dreamt of marrying a beautiful Thai Woman.
Living out my life alone was not my idea of fulfillment of my retirement dreams.
 I first connected with my future wife on"ThaiLoveLinks.com" back in early 2007.
  TheThai women who contacted me on this site,numbered in the hundreds.
Amporn stood out from the pack,not because she was the most beautiful,sexy,or youngest,but because of her honesty and persistence and good heart.
  The online romance lasted almost a year,with hundreds of chats online and emails.
 Marriage,Visa's,and other considerations were talked about in length,and promises were made.
The fact of the matter is ,we had planned on a marriage in both Thailand and America,with Thailand being only a 'Buddhist" rite,and America being the legal one.
Enter the quest for the original"K-1" fiancee visa late 2007(5 years ago).
I hired a Thailand based American Lawyer for almost 2 grand to get this visa before my planned visit to marry Amporn in July of 2008.
.I was in for a big disappointment upon my arrival in Thailand.
The aforementioned American Lawyer informed me that Amporn would not be granted the "K-1"without me providing the tax records (1040's) for the last two years(06/07).It is strange,but he never emailed or contacted me about this issue.
The resulting loss of "The k-1 Visa",fall's directly on the lawyer's failure to perform his duties  and informing me in a timely manner about the Tax forms required.
Amporn and I decided to marry in Thailand(legal & Buddhist),as there was no time left to get the documents before her 'K-1" interview.I did however have complete financial records of all my American assets,which would have sufficed to comply with all "USCIS" support of spouse/fiancee requirements.
The Lawyer failed to inform me of the"5-1" US Dollar asset rule,simply meaning, if i had five times the yearly income requirement(i had 600 grand in money & assets liquid),then "NO PROBLEM",visa would have been granted,and i would have married in America,applied for Amporns "Change of Status",and been able to keep the "Promises"i made to her back in 07.
It goes without saying,but this lawyer was responsible for the loss of that first "K-1 Visa",plus thousands of more dollars to be later spent.
I love "Good Lawyers"and despise bad ones,as they(Good Lawyers) were the main reason i had 600k in assets.The facts our good legal help is worth the costs,bad help is a losing proposition.
   OK,so the story moves forward to April of 2009,which found me back in America trying to keep my assets from going completely south after the market crash.
 I hired a another lawyer to try and get the "K-3" visa while i was waiting out the storm of the market.
The new lawyer seemed very competent,and had worked in Washington D.C.,thus knowing how the government operates(NOT!).
That lawyer charged me another 5 k for this service.I was told i could go back to Thailand and wait eight months,visa issues would be resolved by that time(NOT!).
  The time period of April 2009 to March of 2012(almost three years) found me living in Thailand,dealing with Thai family issues,riots,floods,closed US Embassy and more Visa experts,the latter(Sunbeltasia.com) finally getting the job completed,
I mention this company in Thailand,because they have worked for me almost four years now,and they have done a good job.
If you have managed to read this far,then maybe you our thinking about visa issues yourself.
The efforts and costs related to getting any kind of visa to America our huge,make no mistake in thinking differently.
USCIS,our not going to give you any help,advise you in any matters related to your applications,or in anyway make your life tolerable in visa related issues...".you our guilty,until proven innocence in their eyes!"
If you manage to get your wife,fiancee into America,then the process of further "HELL ON EARTH" awaits you in getting the change of status,work authorisation,Green card, SSN,and many other issues.
I know the costs first hand,and it runs into the tens of thousands of dollars and years....
        If you want "EASY",then stay in Thailand and forget about the Visa "LOTTERY",because only fools would bet on something with those kind of odds.
Chok Dee,
Luckkyybuddha999

American Citizens Service Center,Bangkok Thailand

It's that kind of morning    My head hurts, my feet stink, and I don't love Jesus.
'(Jimmy Buffet).

The Nine circles of Hell, better described as a visit to the US Embassy s “American Citizens Service Center, Bangkok Thailand.

(This discription of Dante's Inferno,is not my work"writing",but best describes this "Poem" or Story).I barrowed this explanation or discription of Dante's classic....hope he approves of my "Hell".jas/LB999.

 Dante's Inferno, widely hailed as one of the great classics of Western literature, details Dante's journey through the nine circles of Hell. The voyage begins during Easter week in the year 1300, the descent through Hell starting on Good Friday. After meeting his guide, the eminent Roman poet Virgil, in a mythical dark wood, the two poets begin their descent through a baleful world of doleful shades, horrifying tortures, and unending lamentation‘s .

  My journey through the “Hell of doing business with the US Government” is long and storied.

It has been my misfortune to have made a “K-1 & K-3” Visa applications for my Thai wife over the last four years.

Misfortune comes in many flavors when dealing with any US Embassy in Bangkok Thailand, especially if you want to give your Wife or fiancée a chance at a new life in America.

The Visa process is very close to Dante’s journey through the nine circles of Hell, and that is putting it mildly.

American Citizens service center is the “Bottom Circle of the Inferno”.

Today is March 1, 2012.I made application for the “K-3” over 27 months ago and “8,000.00 US Dollars” and three “Visa lawyers @ assorted Visa experts..?

The above application expired 12 months after application, yet after many attempts of trying to

Locate, update or by any reasonable inquiries as to its fate, I was told there was no records?

 Ok, let’s go back in time two weeks.

February 15, 2012.

Yahoo Mail “Spam folder” ( Dear Applicant:

Bangkok’s Immigrant Visa (IV) Unit is ready to begin final processing of the immigrant visa applicant(s) named below in this case. We have scheduled an appointment for a visa interview at the Immigrant Visa section on the date printed below.

Visa Appointment

Date Time

*****************************

01 Mar 2012 13:00PM

Please read and follow very carefully all of the Appointment Instructions located on the Embassy’s web site at:

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/k_appointment_package_may09.pdf

I guess you might be asking yourself “What is the problem?

The problems are the complete lack competence, professionalism, and doing due diligence on visa applications in a reasonable time frame.

The facts are that my wife was forced to redo all the required documents for the third time, pay extra

Fees to our visa lawyers and hundreds of dollars of other related costs, all because the “Visa section” of the United States of America, could not find their ass, with both hands firmly planted on the cheeks. I am being kind & gentle in my evaluation of their job performance.

My “Blog “Luckkyybuddha999” is all about the adventures of living as an “Expat”in Thailand, I would be remiss if I failed to warn you about dealing with “America”.

If you our American, then always remember that your “Government is there to help you…..”NOT”!

As a foot note, it was 35c in the shade, no water. No place to sit, and no admission without an “online appointment” into the “American Citizens service center”.

My wife is Thai; I am “American”...

Go Figure!

Choke Dee,

Luckkyybuddha999