What the US B1/B2 visa is
B2 covers tourism, visiting family and friends, and medical treatment. B1 covers business meetings, conferences and negotiations. They are normally issued together as B1/B2.
The visa is commonly issued for up to 10 years of validity with multiple entries, subject to your passport's expiry. Each entry allows a stay of up to 6 months, determined by the border officer when you arrive. Validity and permitted stay are two different things: a ten year visa lets you ask to enter repeatedly over ten years, and the officer at the airport decides each time how long you may stay.
The US application is unlike every other country on this site, and understanding why changes how you should prepare. The decision is made in a face to face interview. The consular officer has your DS-160 on screen and works through a handful of questions with you. Your documents are supporting material, and many applicants are approved without the officer opening a single bank statement.
You cannot work in the United States on this visa.
Who needs one
- Thai nationals travelling to the US for any purpose. Thailand is not in the Visa Waiver Program.
- Foreigners living in Thailand whose nationality is not covered by the Visa Waiver Program, and who prefer to interview where their documents and life are based.
- Anyone visiting relatives in the US, including parents visiting children who live and work there.
- Business travellers attending conferences, trade shows or client meetings.
- Anyone who has been refused before and wants to prepare differently this time.
Documents required
Your documents support the interview rather than replacing it, and the officer may never ask for them. What they must do is be instantly producible and completely consistent with what you say and with what is on your DS-160. We assemble them in an order that makes that possible.
Everyone
- Passport, and your old passport if you have one.
- Digital photograph to US specification.
- National ID card and house registration.
- Marital status documents.
- Purpose of the trip, planned dates, cities you will visit, estimated budget, and who is paying.
- Invitation letter and host information, where there is a host.
Proof of occupation
- Employees. Employment certificate, employment contract, salary certificate, payslips, leave approval letter and tax documents.
- Business owners. Company registration, business licence, and financial documents showing the business trading.
- Students. Enrolment certificate and student ID.
- Retired applicants. Pension or investment income evidence.
- No standard certificate available. A written explanation of your occupation and income. We prepare this with you.
Additional
- Property ownership documents.
- Marriage certificate and children's documents.
- Any other commitments in Thailand that a settled life produces.
- For foreign residents of Thailand, your Thai visa, work or business evidence and lease.
Financial requirements
There is no published minimum. Your funds should credibly cover the trip you have described, and the officer is far more interested in whether your account of yourself hangs together than in a particular number.
If a relative is paying, that is completely fine. What matters is that you can say so clearly and explain the relationship without hesitation. Under US law every applicant for a visitor visa is presumed to intend to immigrate, and the interview is where that presumption is addressed. The officer is not trying to catch you out; they are looking for a coherent picture of a person with a reason to travel, the means to do it, and a life in Thailand they intend to return to.
What works is being clear, brief and truthful. If you are visiting your daughter in Los Angeles for three weeks and she is paying, say exactly that. Officers hear thousands of applicants and recognise a straight answer immediately.
What this costs
- Our fee: 4,500 THB. This covers the DS-160, document preparation, securing the appointment, the evidence pack and full interview preparation.
- Visa application fee: USD 185, paid separately before the interview and not refundable whatever the outcome.
- Visa integrity fee: USD 250, a statutory charge payable on issuance. Collection has been rolling out unevenly across posts, so we confirm the current position for your case before you budget.
- Issuance fee, where one applies, varies by nationality under reciprocity. We confirm yours.
How we help
You are not buying information, you are buying execution, and for the US that execution is mostly preparation for a conversation. We complete the DS-160 with you question by question. It is long and detailed, it asks about your travel history, your family, your employment, your previous US visas and any prior refusals, and the officer reads your answers on screen while you speak, so the form and what you say have to match exactly. We confirm every answer before submission. We handle the fee and secure the earliest realistic appointment, and we assemble your evidence in a logical order so that anything the officer asks for is in your hand in seconds rather than somewhere in a folder. Then we spend real time on the interview itself: the questions officers in Bangkok genuinely ask, in the order they ask them. Why are you going. How long. Who is paying. What do you do. Who do you know in the United States. Have you travelled before. We work on answers that are honest, short and consistent with your DS-160, so you walk in composed and know exactly what you are going to say. That is a skill you can practise, not something you either have or do not.
FAQ
1. What actually decides my application?
The interview. The officer works from your answers and their consistency with the DS-160. Documents support you, but many approved applicants are never asked to show them. This is why we put so much into preparing you for the conversation.
2. Can you attend the interview with me?
No. Only the applicant may attend, apart from an interpreter or a guardian in specific circumstances. That is exactly why we invest the time in getting you ready beforehand.
3. How long will my visa be valid?
B1/B2 visas for Thai nationals are commonly issued with up to 10 years validity and multiple entries. Your permitted stay per visit is set separately at the airport, normally up to 6 months.
4. How much money should I have?
There is no published minimum. Your funds should credibly cover the trip you have described. If a relative is paying, that is fine, and you simply need to be able to say so clearly.
5. What if I have relatives living in the USA?
Declare them, every time. The officer very likely already knows, and having family in the US is common and normal. Many applicants with US based children are approved because they answered honestly and their life in Thailand was clear.
6. I was refused before. Can I apply again?
Yes. There is no waiting period. Tell us what you were asked last time and what you answered, and we will prepare differently for the next one. Preparation is the variable you can change.
7. How long does it take to get an appointment?
Wait times vary through the year and can be long in peak periods. We check current availability at the outset and plan around your travel dates.
8. Should I bring a big folder of documents?
Bring a well organised set of the key items rather than everything you own. We tell you exactly what to carry and in what order.
9. Can I work in the USA on a B1/B2 visa?
No. If work is your goal, that is a different visa category and we will point you to it.
10. I am a foreigner living in Thailand. Can I interview in Bangkok?
Yes. You may apply at any US embassy or consulate, and applying where you have residence and documented connections is the natural choice. If Thailand is your base, Bangkok is the right place.
11. Is the fee refundable if I am refused?
No. The USD 185 application fee is non refundable regardless of the outcome, and it is paid again for each new application.
12. What if I do not have every document on the list?
Few applicants do. Send us what you have and we will work out what is genuinely needed for your case and what can be evidenced another way.
The US process rewards clarity. Come to us early, get the DS-160 right, and walk into the window knowing exactly what you are going to say.
