jeffandgop

I have had less success dealing with the FBU in the Philippines...it's been a week since I emailed my SSA-7162 and no reply / acknowledgement.

In June-July this year, I sent multiple emails requesting assistance to change my wife's address in the SSA "my Social Security"; currently a U.S address and needing to change to our Thailand address, and not a single response / acknowledgement.

On 7/13/2020 at 8:52 PM, cnxgary said:

I changed my extension from retirement to marriage and was given the 30 day under consideration last week. A few days later I was surprised to receive a phone call from Imm. asking me to bring my wife and a witness to Imm. which I did the next day. By doing so I was informed that a home visit was not necessary. Has this happened to others because I was under the impression that CM. Imm made home visits? While there Imm. took pictures of us at their desk as well as in the hallway in front of the large Imm. poster. My 30 day under consideration says I must report to Imm. on the 24th can I go sooner than this date or wait until the 24th?

Did my extension based on marriage a few months ago after previous years based on retirement. 
We did have a home visit and had to have a neighbor vouch for us. 
 

No. You cannot pick up your passport earlier than the date instructed. 

I just went through replacing all my old analog cameras & DVR first week of May.  I spent a lot of time researching what and where to buy...started out w/Lazada- lots of sellers but I was leary of buying last year's technology and wanted the seller to install.  Lots of HikVision products so I spent a lot of time on the HIKVISION website researching their products- clearly they are a major manufacturer so I narrowed down by choices to find a Chiang Mai seller.  The Chiang Mai area seller of HIKVISION is ALLTECH Solutions out at the intersection of Outer Ring Road (121) & 118- where the major flyover roadwork project is ongoing.

Went to their shop and tho their product range was less than what I expected they would have, they did have my primary choice of the camera model I had decided upon from my research.  They were very helpful and patient in answering my Q's and did not try to sell me a product of higher price/quality than I needed. I placed my order for 8 cameras, power supply and DVR...no money required until after delivery and installation.

They came out a few days later and swapped out the old cameras & power supply; connected the new DVR and set up all the parameters to my request.  And unlike my prior system setup where I could do remote viewing via IP address, this new system a simple download of the app on your phone and tablet does the trick.

I'm going to send you a PM next with more info....

3 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Was that the postmark date also?  Have found there often is a delay between mailing date and actual mail deposit.  But time is not that much off as I received an SS letter that was mailed on 24th of April last week.  Some organization have been drop mailing from Europe and they have arrived in about 3 weeks (but that was more than a month ago).  But mail should be getting better.

No postmark. Probably being a US Government official IRS business envelope. 

Received my tax refund check today.  It was reported by the IRS to have been mailed 17 April....took 7 weeks to arrive.....

On 4/20/2020 at 8:07 PM, jeffandgop said:

The Where’s My Refund site only declared my refund to be mailed & then, was mailed,  as status. A direct deposit per my tax return instruction  was never rejected/never attempted. 

Received my tax refund check today.  It was reported by the IRS to have been mailed 17 April....took 7 weeks to arrive.....

My "Corona Virus" stimulus payment was directly deposited to my bank account without a fault. This is the same bank account I have designated for direct deposit the last 10 years without a problem.

My bank reported no attempt by the IRS to deposit the tax refund. There were no errors in the direct deposit instructions on my return.

The information that the refund was mailed came directly from the IRS webpage "Where's My Refund".

I have sent 3 emails to the Manila SSA office since 10 May to report a change of address and no one has acknowledged or responded.  And my tax refund, which should have been direct deposited, was mailed supposedly from the IRS 17 March. I still haven't seen that check either....

Just today I received a letter from my credit union in Washington state postmarked March 23. Almost 7 weeks ago.

On 3/19/2020 at 11:41 AM, BTempleman said:

You can apply for an online account with Social Security, but be advised that, if you have a security block on access to your credit information, Social Security will not be able to verify your identity. Without verification, they will not give you an online account. With the online account, you can initiate your social security benefits to be direct deposited to your bank account. 

Incorrect. The SSA does what is called a “soft check” of your credit report to verify the name of the person setting up the online account is using an address that is on record with the credit agency. A credit freeze does not affect the SSA’s verification of your address with a credit agency. 

8 hours ago, OJAS said:

If your home country's Bangkok embassy still issues income confirmation letters you only need 1/. 2/ and 3/ are only required for American, Australian and British nationals whose Bangkok embassies no longer issue income confirmations.  

There are much more requirements than 1/ 2/ 3/ mentioned here in order to apply for an extension of stay based on marriage.  I strongly urge anyone needing to know what their local IO requires go spend the time to go to that office well in advance of applying and obtain a list of those requirements.  Immigration offices may have different nuances so don't fall short asking on a forum what an immigration office may require.

8 hours ago, Pib said:

 

It shouldn't because with a credit report freeze certain companies/govt agencies can still have access to your credit report for certain purposes.  The SSA does a soft credit inquiry with their Identity Services Provider who is currently Equifax.  This soft inquiry is done real time during the MySSA Online registration process.  Take a look at the three quotes/weblinks below from SSA and Equifax regarding identity verification & credit report.

 

https://secure.ssa.gov/RIR/CatsView.action 

 

 

https://www.ssa.gov/hlp/mySSA/df-idverification.html

 

 

https://help.equifax.com/s/article/Who-can-view-my-credit-report-if-I-have-a-security-freeze-or-credit-report-lock

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes sense..thank you!

10 minutes ago, Pib said:

If applying for a MySSA acct if the validation keeps failing because of your address, I would "not" try more than two variations of your address in one session/over a 24 hour period; otherwise, you'll get locked out for 24 hours if your third address attempt fails.   

 

Then when you try again in 24 hours and if failing the identity/address verification three more times you are "really locked out" until you call the SSA to get it unlocked so you can try again.   You just can't keep trying different address variations day after day....or week after week....entering many address variations. If doing that the SSA figures someone is trying to steal your identity and blocks/locks further attempts.  Or that's how it use to work a few years ago.   

 

We went through this with the wife's MySSA Online acct opening until figuring out the old Hawaii address allowed the identify verification process to succeed.  Got "really locked out from further attempts" until calling the SSA and going through a mini-identity verification (an easy one) before they would unlock the wife so she could make further attempts.  In fact, the SSA rep stayed online as more attempts were made by using variations of our APO street/box address....got locked out again....SSA rep immediately unlocked...the SSA rep recommend trying a previous address and that previous address worked. 

 

And the SSA can not see what address is on your credit report(s); the SSA can only see what address the SSA currently has  on file for your which is "not" used for MySSA Online Acct identity verification purposes and may not match what their Identity Services Provider (i.e,. the credit reporting agency) has on file for you.

 

 

We froze our credit due to Experian being hacked. Will this credit freeze block getting a my Social Security profile set up?

With apologies to the OP, I re-looked at the "my Social Security" website for new users and no, you cannot complete the creation of an online account without a US or US Armed Forces address---the site is limiting the applicant to the contents of the drop down menu which only contains US states/Armed Forces as choices.  That doesn't mean that you have to have an address within the US to apply for social security; and you can change your US address of your "my Social Security" profile, once it is established, to a foreign address by contacting the Manila office.  You can apply online to receive your benefit; but if you live in Thailand, the Baltimore office will route it to Manila for handling. 

18 hours ago, Brightly said:

I faked a “my account” for SS using a VPN and old US address; it is prohibited to actually start one from out of country.

 

It has lot of good info, but I can’t initiate any business from that site.

 

And I’ve heard the horror stories from Manila..!

 

Still, I do have some out-of-the box issues that I’m not getting answers for.  Additionally, I’d gladly pay someone to do my bidding in terms of initializing my SS.  Hence, I’m still on the lookout for a tax/SS advisor.

Where on Earth did you get the information that " it is prohibited to actually start one from out of country"?  I did set up "my Social Security" account while living in Thailand before being eligible to collect benefits. When I reached the age of eligibility to receive retirement benefits, I applied online and with a very good experience with the offices in Manila received my benefits on time with no hassle. Sometimes I have had to use a VPN to gain access to the my Social Security account; other time not.

And I should add that this was my first year of applying for my annual extension of stay based on marriage. My prior years I applied for extensions of stays based on retirement. I originally entered Thailand in 2012 on an Non IMM O-A visa based on retirement. 

My experience this past month at CM Immigration was not quite the same as you have described.  Attached is a list of the CMI requirements provided in Dec/Jan by the IO.  Note that item 12 requires submittal of copies of the lease agreement, owner ID, House Registration, and rented house book (whatever that may be).  As for item 20, a copy of the last 90 day report is not required.  Also, the required Kor Ror documentation is dependent on whether one was married in Thailand or outside the Kingdom.  It's best, IMO, to visit your local Immigration Office and get a written list of their requirements well in advance of preparing for submitting your extension of stay.

On 4/22/2020 at 7:54 PM, Peter Denis said:

When being married to a thai national, you could apply for the 1-year extension based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa for reason of MARRIAGE.

When doing so the thai IO-approved health-insurance is not required, and also the required financials are way lower than applying for reason of RETIREMENT. 

When it turns out that your present health-insurance is not thai IO-approved, you could thus applying for reason of marriage, or alternatively exit Thailand (necessary to kill the permission to stay of your present Non Imm O-A Visa) and then apply for a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement or for reason of marriage.  That application can be done either in a thai embassy/consulate in your home-country or a neighboring country, and it can also be done in-country at your local IO.

>> I did PM you a comprehensive guideline document outlining all options/details to apply for or convert to a Non Imm O - retirement Visa (and subsequent 1-year extensions).

It only addresses the 'retirement' option, but the process steps are similar when applying for reason of marriage (typically the financial requirements are way lower, but the requirements to provide evidence that you are still married to a thai national are somewhat of a hassle).

 

I'm going to CM Imm to do exactly that- after years of extensions of stay based on retirement (O-A Visa), I'm applying to extend on the basis of marriage..following Peter's details and a visit my wife & I made to Imm back in Jan.....

2 hours ago, Pib said:

OP,

Below is what my "Where Is My Refund" said about my "refund" which I identified for direct deposit....and it did direct deposit/post to my acct on 8 Apr.

 

And regarding my "stimulus" payment below is what the Get My Payment site said (I X'ed out the last four digits of my acct number).  Same bank acct number used for my refund.   And the stimulus payment did direct deposit/post 15 Apr.  

 

Sure sounds like IRS "mailed" your refund this year for some reason.   If they had sent it via direct deposit they would have shown a direct deposit status.  And maybe at one time the Where Is My Refund site did reflect a direct deposit but for some reason the direct deposit got rejected and then the IRS immediately mailed it which is their standard procedure which would then cause the Where Is My Refund site to change status to "....it was mailed..."

  

 

 

The Where’s My Refund site only declared my refund to be mailed & then, was mailed,  as status. A direct deposit per my tax return instruction  was never rejected/never attempted. 

2 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

I feel sorry for you.  You got like 10% of the posts had anything to do with whether they mailed your tax refund or not.

 

If they did actually mail it, I would think it would take longer than normal to arrived but even then, what are you going to do with it unless your US bank allows online app photo deposits.

Fortunately my credit union is set up to deposit checks online. Whether I actually receive it first......

Forget about the special COVID-19 stimulus check!!  I am NOT concerned about that- I have received it already by direct deposit!  It's my 2019 Federal Tax Return, which 
I filed in March and am do a refund for overpayment of federal taxes.  That was to be direct deposited exactly as the STIM was accomplished automatically.  But the IRS MAILED to my Thai home address my tax refund for no understandable reason

22 minutes ago, WalkingOrders said:

You got your stim by DD

 A statement was mailed.

What is the issue?

I said nothing about a STIM statement mail.  It's my Fed Tax return Refund check that was mailed

50 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

Mine was direct deposited and here is the text from the IRS Refund site

The balance of your refund, $1,217.82, was sent to your bank on March 17, 2020 .

 

 So I believe if it says mailed it probably really does mean paper mail.  Now if your address is in Thailand, I can only guess at the delivery time lines.  Many sites report Air mail not coming or going, but cargo planes are still flying, and things like DHS and Fed ex still deliver.  No idea what USPS mail might do.

Thank you...I agree with your view that if the IRS Refund website uses the statement "was sent to you bank" it means it was direct deposited...why in the <deleted>*k they would mail my refund- no question my correct banking information was on the tax return- is beyond my understanding.  

USPS is not air mailing from what I've read...it could be months before I see the refund check- if it arrives at all....

31 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

It's only the 20th April today,you cannot expect it to arrive already.

regards Worgeordie

That's not quite what I'm asking.  I requested the refund to be direct deposited to my bank- just like the previous years and just like the stimulus check...I am asking that, when the IRS website on the "Where's My Refund" states that the refund has been mailed, did the IRS REALLY mail it (as opposed to this taxpayer's instructions to direct deposit into my bank account).

I've lived in Thailand the last 8 years, and over these last 8 years filed my U.S. tax return using my Thai address and designating my refund be direct deposited into my U.S. Credit Union. Never a problem.

About a week ago my "stimulus" payment was direct deposited into that same account without a fault.

The IRS refund tracking website states my 2019 tax refund status as "Your refund was mailed April 17".....did they really mail it?  Don't ask me to contact my bank, I've already done that and they do not have the refund payment.....