I'm fully aware that the visa is likely to be denied, but nonetheless, we'd like to try. I've searched the many threads on this, but I'd like to hear from others given our situation.
Background: I lived in Thailand from 2016-2018, but I had to move back to the United States in 2018 for health insurance for my Type 1 diabetes. I met a girl. She's typical and from a middle-class background from the north, but has lived in Bangkok the past 10 years doing various office jobs related to translation, marketing, and content writing. We're both 28. Since late 2018, we've maintained an LDR. We are trying to meet so that we can get married, but the pandemic has caused us to not see each other for 2 years and as a result, we can't yet apply for K1 visa til we see each other.
In 2020, our trip was cancelled obviously, and as a teacher, I'm really only able to visit over summer (July-August) or Christmas time (2 weeks off). I lose health care if I quit jobs (thanks USA), so quitting my job for a trip at a different time isn't an option so I'm relatively tied down to these months. I had plans to visit this summer, but we had a talk and we had to postpone again due to the rising cases in Thailand and the current situation. I'm not comfortable going somewhere where the health care system is overloaded.
So we're trying to get her to visit here, but I know we need to show strong ties to Thailand. Based on our situation, here's the documents we're going to get:
letter from her employer that she is employed
letter from university where she is currently getting her Master's (won't be done for a few months)
her current apartment lease
copies of her passport (showing trips to Australia as a student, Malaysia/China for work, and Taiwan for a 2-month study program)
her finances (she's not wealthy, but middle class)
invitation letter from me stating her accommodations would be covered (can also have one from my parents as well)
Honestly, the purpose of her visit is to see her so we can push paperwork for K1. I'll try to revisit Thailand in December on my break as well, but who knows what the country will look like then. Hopefully there's another country we could meet that allows her. Otherwise, we wait til next June.
What other documents should we use? What information should I include on the invitation letter that might be more convincing? I do plan on acknowledging the relationship because I believe it's worse to be caught in a lie. I'm debating whether to even mention K1....like I wish I could just explain she wants to visit for 1-2 weeks and then return and then go through things the proper way. She's definitely going to return, but I know US immigration does not take the time to review things carefully and with nuance. I'm hopeful we get a compassionate immigration person who can look at our situation and grant a visa for this.