In the Kingdom of Thailand, and around the world, there are so-called “visa agents,” “lawyers,” and “Immigration Advisors,” making ridiculous claims regarding how they can facilitate visa issuance for the Thai fiances, husbands, and wives of Lawful Permanent Residents and Citizens of the United States of America. One of the most outlandish claims is the notion that one of these operators can guarantee that a visa will be issued. Throughout the World Wide Web there are consultants and visa companies making these claims and they dupe otherwise innocent consumers into believing that a visa can be guaranteed. One issue should be fully understood: No one can guarantee that a US visa will be granted. No qualified attorney will assert, with 100% certainty, that a visa will be issued. USCIS adjudicators evaluate the facts of every Immigration petition and make their decision based upon the unique set of circumstances present in the case before them. The Consular staff at US Embassies and Consulates overseas make more factual findings in order to decide if a US visa should be issued. A licensed US lawyer should act as an advocate for visa application approval. Further, a US Immigration lawyer will advise and assist clients in deciding upon the category of visa that is right for their situation. A competent Immigration attorney will do everything ethical to be certain that a visa is issued.
If one looks at the fine print of most of these so-called “guarantees” one will see that many of these guarantors only guarantee “USCIS approval” which is only one component of the US visa process and not the same thing as visa issuance.
Where an attorney enters their appearance, they are also required to represent their client for the duration of the case, or to the point agreed to by the client. Another unfortunate occurrence in Thailand and elsewhere abroad is to see “visa agents” and “lawyers” abandon their clients and their clients’ Thai fiancees and wives when the case becomes more complicated than originally anticipated.
There are many unlicensed “visa companies” operating outside of the United States of America. Pursuant to USCIS regulations, no individual is entitled as a matter of law to take money in exchange for providing immigration assistance unless they are a licensed attorney in at least one US State or Territory. Therefore, unless one is dealing with a licensed United States attorney, one should not be paying for the services of a so-called “visa agent,” or “lawyer,” who cannot produce credentials. If dealing with one claiming to be a lawyer ask to see their US state or Federal license to practice law. If they cannot produce such documentation then there is a strong reason to believe that they are not entitled by law to represent clients before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).
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Tags: Bangkok Lawyer, CR1 Visa Thailand, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, US Immigration Thailand, US tourist visa thailand, US Visa, US Visa Thailand
