The United States Immigration process can be cumbersome and byzantine for those who are unaccustomed to dealing with government agencies both in the United States of America and the Kingdom of Cambodia
The American Family Immigration process generally begins at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). USCIS is responsible for the adjudication of immigration petitions. Therefore, those Americans wishing to obtain immigration benefits either in the form of a CR-1 visa for Cambodian spouses of US Citizens married less than 2 years, an IR-1 visa for Cambodian spouses of US Citizens married longer than 2 years at the time of admission to the USA, or K-1 visa (the official categorical name for the US fiance visa) for a Cambodian fiancee of a US Citizen. Each of the visa categories noted above has different criteria for petition approval. After receiving initial petition approval from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) the Consular Processing phase of the US visa process begins with the receipt of the visa petition package at the Department of State's National Visa Center
The National Visa Center is primarily responsible for acting as a sort of clearinghouse for visa application packages during the K-1 visa process insofar as the NVC sees to it that visa application packages arrive at the US Embassy or US Consulate with appropriate consular jurisdiction. For a Khmer-American couple seeking a K-1 fiance visa, the visa application package will likely be sent from the National Visa Center to the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Consular Processing is much more time consuming at the NVC for Khmer-American couples seeking a CR-1 visa or an IR-1 visa for the Cambodian spouse or an American Citizen. This is largely due to the fact that the National Visa Center is responsible for adjudicating certain portions of the visa application package. Most notable among the things that NVC scrutinizes is the I-864 affidavit of support which an American Citizen petitioner must fill out and sign in order to act as sponsor for his or her Khmer spouse
Those seeking American immigration benefits from the Kingdom of Cambodia often retain the assistance of an American immigration attorney in order to obtain advice and counsel regarding the overall visa process. Those seeking assistance with the US Immigration process are well advised to check the credentials of those claiming expertise in American immigration matters as only a licensed attorney from the United States of America is entitled to practice United States immigration law
For related information please see: US Visa Thailand or Legal