Darth Bangkok
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Posts posted by Darth Bangkok
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a fiance visa is an immigrant visa. you are expected to go, get married within three months and then apply for a green card. in fact, you are not supposed to leave the US for the first two years and will invalidate your permission to stay unless you apply in advance for permission to leave.
i imagine you were already married when you applied. this visa takes longer from what i have heard, but perhaps there are none of the adjustment of status issues to deal with later.
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You are going over the top, Darth. You may have personal grievances, but this doesn't justify rants like this. I have only few complaints about immigation officers in Suan Plu, and I have witnessed them reacting with patience towards enraged applicants demanding to debate the stupidity of the regulations. For me they even reopened a counter so I didn't need to come back the next day, and kindly refused the tip I offered afterwards.
Also, personally I don't react very friendly to folks aking me aggressively WHY I have this attitude or do that sort of thing.
I went there on thursday. this time to the office on the first floor. the have no respect for the people who come in there. the three people in front of me were all arguing with the agents. mostly because there is not one iota of sense in all of this nonsense. i was wearing a shirt and tie and determined to be nice and not say a word. i had gone two weeks earlier and they said to come back yesterday with these documents. so i did that. the guy was like what is this i don't understand. then i told him. he walked away and came back with that book. nothing about the case, what documents were missing, etc. he read the documents, then handed them back to me and said "only seven days" and stamped that the visa was refused and i have to leave. when i asked, in thai, what i'm supposed to do because my work permit isn't finished yet, he laughed and repeated the question to the woman next to him. no eye contact with me nothing. he then preceded to disrepect my passport as they all do. he stamped on a fresh page again instead of the half empty page next to the non-imm b visa, and then, in order to bookmark the page in his notebook for his superior to sign the stamp, he flattened out the passport and broke the spine and used it as a book mark. that's when i shut my mouth. i also looked down at the desk and saw where they printed out the law concerning insulting immigration officers and the commesurate jail time. i'm afraid i'm not the only one.
how is it physically possible to get things done after 3 months? if the work permit is not done, you are out of luck? you're not allowed to do it from outside thailand
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burning buildings doesn't mean the wiping out of an entire race of people.
anyway, these people have more sense than that. they are not extremists. there was already talk about them approching the king to ask for a change of government. they are not the animals that everyone is making them out to be.
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it just deserves. and its the only way that something will happen. if you've lived in thailand for more than a month, you know thais don't do anything until there is a crisis. you can remind them to do something every day for weeks at a time, but not action will be taken until its almost too late.
Nothing you say will justify this remark.
i for one will cheer when bangkok starts to burn.totster
right, my remark was a lot worse than others who are saying that all muslims must die
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i for one will cheer when bangkok starts to burn.
No you wont.
maybe i won't cheer, but i won't be surprised. and i won't get all upset about it.
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it just deserves. and its the only way that something will happen. if you've lived in thailand for more than a month, you know thais don't do anything until there is a crisis. you can remind them to do something every day for weeks at a time, but not action will be taken until its almost too late.
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I am sure thailand does not wish to have a tourist industry the size of iraq's or lebanon's. And look at the result after 1 bomb in bali.
since january they have said this violence is under control - and as everyone knew, is was not.
They must realize one bomb in bangkok would decimate the tourist industry, an industry already labouring under the duress of many other sad government decisions.
increasing the troop numbers will not save them, it only takes one man to plant a bomb.
these issues will not be solved by force of arms.
when i first came to thailand a few years back, people back in NY (not the most open-minded or world savvy to be sure) thought I was crazy. They thought that bombs were ALREADY going off in bangkok every day. thailand was just lumped together with all the other problem areas. this may not be true, but it definitely decreases the number of people who come here on vacation. other people come for quick trips just because they are curious and know nothing about Thailand ( forget all that world-renowned bullcrap the TAT spits out).
if even one bomb goes off in bangkok, tourist numbers will drop by the millions.
meatish sweetball was dead on a page or two back in his analysis of what's going on in the south. but,alas, thai will just keep going on with their heads in the sand.
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i would rather protest thai shops. spend as little as you can. what is happening in the south is not about religion, its about being treated like shit by the thai government for decades. being treated like that for your whole life, with no sign of hope for the future, i think (i hope - if you have any self-respect) you would protest too. those people were calling for the police to release suspects. suspects who were being held without evidence for over two weeks. suspects who reported that their weapons - issued to them by the Thai government - were stolen. later on the police figured they found easy scapegoats because they couldn't find the real thieves. so they arrested the people who reported their guns stolen. the protestors had no weapons. just rocks on the road they picked up. they probably didn't even pick them up until the thai troops brandished their weapons.
i think any elementary policing course teaches about crowd control to defuse a situation, not incite it.
everyone gets treated like shit in thailand - why shouldn't we think that the people from those provinces don't have a point?
just go to suan plu and see how you are treated by the officers. they treat you like you are some subhuman animal. see if they will look at you. or listen to you your questions. or, god forbid, speak to you in ANY language. they just point like they are some kind of monkey for you to get your stamp signed by some other moron sitting there reading the paper.
anyone who has lived in thailand for any amount of time knows that thais deal with problems by pretending they don't exist. this is no exception. for two weeks the thai police knew about the community's objections to these people being arrested. the whole protest could have been avoided in the first place by open communication. by thai's cannot accept any viewpoint but their own.
have you ever said the worst word in thai - why? say this to a thai and its an invitation for a fight. any type of discussion is viewed as criticism and you're not allowed to do that. because
Thai person = sheep
Doesn't your girlfriend know THAT THIS IS THEIR COUNTRY???? WHAT COUNTRY DOES SHE WANT THEM TO GO TO???? just another example of how ###### ignorant the average thai person is to almost every issue imaginable - except for how many different types of som tam there are. they believe every stupid word that comes out of the mouths of the thai press.
i for one will cheer when bangkok starts to burn.
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any restaurant employer would either hire her illegally or if they follow the law, would only hire those who already had permission to work - ex. a thai spouse of a citizen. the first option would not allow her to stay with you long term and the second seems to be a no go. probably a student visa is the best option. but then she also has to go to school. if she stops going, the school would not sponsor her any longer and she wold have to leave at the end of the current visa - presumably issued each year or the end of each course. studying, is also not really a good idea for a 20-yr time frame though!
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Yesterday, my girlfriend and I went to the consulate in bkk to hand in our checklist so we can get a k-1 appointment date. on the way out another girl came up to us and started to chat. her fiance is in the us and comes every month to visit her. they are using a lawyer. they started the process in july and are just getting the interview date. she is doing all the legwork here too. and from nong khai, taking the bus down when necessary.
we started in mid-september, a couple of months later and are getting an interview around the same time. i doubt if the lawyer delayed them. they are probably slower only because of the time delay in sending things back and forth (i am in bangkok). if you read up on the process, you can easily do it yourself and you'll know how to speed things along (like not waiting for mail confirmations of things before handing in forms at the consulate).
its not difficult, just slow.
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Thanks for the replies. Hmmm... didn't think about the alcohol part. maybe i will sneak a chang or two in my carryon.
Thanks for the advice Spee, I will use a passport case that I have and hope I don't have to show it too often.
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IamMaiC, you waited two years for a fiancee visa? man that's a long time. We started our petition in September. Yesterday we handed in the 'checklist' to get an interview date. we are waiting for a letter now to tell us the date. Hopefully late Jan or early Feb.
By the way, it is possible to do more than k-1. but you need to explain your self more the second time around. this guy is may or not be for real (he should post on another kind of website- maybe he did).
anyway it does happen. the process itself is stressful and can lead to problems between the couple, especially if they live apart for long times. and despite what many people think, there are thais who don't want to live in the us. even some that want to, can't take it once they get there. maybe the girl can't stand it and maybe the guy can't leave (job, family etc). i think it does happen in a significant number of cases. and there are also probably cases of the girl running away. or maybe this guy is in cahouts with her, i don't know.
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I will take a flight to the US on Kuwait airlines in December. When I mentioned this to a Thai friend he made all kinds of comments about the safety of the airline. On the US Embassy website, it says that both the aviation industry in Kuwait and in Thailand are "in compliance" with US standards. In fact, I wonder if you grabbed a few people off the street in the US and asked them which airline was safer - kuwait or thai- i think most might say kuwait.
as far as passing throught the middle east as an american, i think it will be safe. are there any issues to deal with? i've never flown kuwaiti before, so i don't know.
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"We pledge before Allah that from now on, the infidel will suffer sleepless nights, the property they have robbed from us will be totally destroyed and their lives will face consequences for the sins they have committed," the group said.
"Their blood will be shed on the soil and flow into water. Our weapon is fire and oil, fire and oil, fire and oil."
Deal with these fanatics now.!!
Unfortunately this is a problem that is never going to go away. The problem is 'belief systems'. Human beings can be made to believe 'anything' whether it has anything to do with reality or not. And then we have to ask, 'who's' reality?
Organized religion is something that goes beyond my conception... I do not personally understand how any adult can be religious, or believe whole heartedly in a God that cannot be touched, seen or sensed with any of our senses. Surely books such as the Bible, Koran and words of Buddha were originally Philosophies and not meant to turn all manner of men against each other to the point that they will kill each other in thousands/millions because they do not agree with other respective philosophies.
I see not end to this lunacy until all religion is bannished from the earth... and that may be a very long time in the future........
if only this were about religion...
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Then why are muslims in different parts of the world??
1. malaysia
2. indonesia
3. bosnia
4. chechnya
5. phillipines
6. middle east.
and don't tell me they are fighting against isreal!!!! the palestinians are terrorists plain and simple isreal was formed by the UN if that is not respected then what International community body do we respect??
read you history books. israel was formed by the UN after the british want to deal with THEIR guerrilla terrorists attacks anymore. and the attacks they pull now are no less terrorist activities just because they are done under the banner of a federal gov't
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I have said before and I will say again. "All radical Muslim terrorists must die."
what kind of idiot are you? are these radical fundamentalist muslim terrorists that have said death to all Thais because they are buddhist? or is it a bunch of people that are fed up with being treated like animals for decades and have no hope for their future except to be stuffed in the back of trucks like chickens (which is a terrrible way to treat even chickens)?
Thai people treat Thai people with disrepect. ask anyone from Isaan if they have the same opportunities as people from other parts of the country. ask a thai woman how easy it is to find a job if you are more than 30 and married. or younger than thirty and not beautiful. ask the thai people who's ancestors have been living in the hills of northen thailand for thousands of years - they can't get passports, but the gov't is happy to issue them id cards that the police can then use to harass then and drive them off their land. the list goes on. today I had to go to suan plu and was treated like I was less than human again - and for those holier than thous who like to get off blasting others, i went in a suit and tie and didn't open my mouth at all today.
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Thailand has welcomed other cultures and taken from them what it likes and rejects the rest. Don't forget that Thailand is the only country in SE Asia never to be colonized by a foreign power and who's reigning monarch also holds a US Passport!
Are you sure he actually holds a US passport? I know he was born in Cambridge, Mass, and as such has the right to US citizenship, but it does not mean he has not renounced his citizenship. I've been curious about this ever since I found out he was born in the States. Does anyone know for sure if he still retains his US citizenship?
didn't the first daughter of the royal family get disowned for marrying an american? even later when she divorced him, she was not allowed to have back her claim to the throne as the first born. I don't know, maybe a woman can't even ascend the throne here. an old girlfriend told me this.
if she was disowned just for marrying an american, i doubt the king holds a US passport.
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Islam again, what a surprize
why do you suppose they are wrong just because they are muslim? everyone complains about the thai government on this site. what makes you think the gov't is 100% correct in this case? think about the way (some) foreigners complain about the way they are treated here. What if those same people were native to thailand, but treated the same way? would they not eventually get to the point of civic disobedience, or maybe worse? what if their protests are ignored for decades and their lives have no hope left?
I seem to remember reading about a story from 'farang land' a few hundred years ago. Something about 'no taxation without representation' and similar. that wound up in bloodshed and now we celebrate those events with barbecues and fireworks every July 4th. People back then probably said "puritans again, what a surprize"
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I think that inhuman work restrictions for foreigners might also be one cause behind his suicide.I think thailand is the only country which doesn't give any rights to the spouses of it's own citizens.You know about that work permit rules and specific work restrictions.How can an expat family make ends meet in such a way?Why don't Amnesty take notice for this.Even though he's highly qualified,He can't make an earning in Thailand coz usually all jobs are specific for Thai Citizens only
amen. there is no mobility for farang working here. unless you are among a select few, working here can be quite tough, even in the teaching profession. You are a slave to various groups of people: the ministry of education, the ministry of labor, immigration, and your employer. Any of these people can make your life miserable at any point. When you work for a small school, the MoE, or consulates abroad (when you get non-imm B visas) can give you a hard time. maybe because these schools are not 'high quality'. your employer can then treat you like crap and make you do things that are far beyond your responsibilty if they want. Even when you quit, they are required to go out of their way to get the proper documents to have you quit properly. There is only disincentive in the system.
Many people, even if they work hard, can see no hope for a future here, there's too many restrictions that hold you back constantly along the way. You either are stuck where you are and try not to think about your lot, you smarten up and go home, or you get thrown out a window (sorry- I meant jump).
Not everyone is lucky enough to be the Asia - Pacific regional manager of their company. some people meet their significant others under totally legitimate circumstances abroad. For whatever reason, they decide to move to thailand and the farang is stuck with this restrictive processes and no much hope of ever making more than 30-40K per month because his expertise is in some other field than teaching. Not everyone comes here, meet a bargirl, and works for beer money. Living here as a foreigner and trying to assimilate into society is not the same as the Thai assimilating into our societies ( which can be very difficult, but in other ways). Anyway, in the case of marriage, the Thai spouse would be free to get whatever kind of job she is capable of and have complete freedom of movement. And it is the repsonsibility of the citizen spouse (not the foreign spouse as it is here) to prove that he/she can provide for the foreign spouse. Even this is only for the first few years.
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I don't know how much they hold an overstay stamp against you, but two weeks ago when I went to Suan Plu on the last day of my visa I was missing a document from my school that they wanted. They told me I could get a two-week extension that day and come back later for another week or come back the next day, pay ฿200 for the overstay, and get a one-month extension. I opted for the first, I didn't want the overstay and I knew the boss wouldn't be around to sign the letter and that all the other staff would claim they couldn't help me.
They made it sound like no big deal at Suan Plu. But i never had an overstay, so I don't know. I think it would be best never to have one though, if you can avoid it.
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What happened to parental responsibility?
its weird how people turn to the gov't for every little thing here. who's fault is it that the gov't is overly-involved in every day life?
what are parent's doing complaining to the gov't? yell at the kids. teach them. help them find something more creative to do, even if it is handiwork around the house.
did parents really complain? or is a certain someone just trying get more contorl over one more thing?
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thailand can be the hub of rain dances
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These guys are Mahouts / Kwan. They might not go for Harrods bags
oh,
whisky then
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why doesn't the CEO governor of thailand know that he she pay the bill first because services were rendered and sort out the internal BS later? no wonder all his businesses failed until he got the fat cat concession.
just now i read another story on this site about a bill unpaid by the gov't. the miss universe fee is apparently long overdue.
Thais Vote With Their Wallet
in General Topics
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maybe i should post more often rather than when it all builds up!!