topcat333

My wife obtained a US Tourist Visa B2 here in Bangkok from the US Embassy. I have read numerous threads on this issue, and most are from people asking questions. Like many others, we spent hours researching because most of what we read was discouraging and often lacked credible information. There is no doubt that each application is processed based on its merit, but there are some standard components that are key to obtaining approval. I want to share our experience, and hopefully, someone will find something helpful in this thread. Our stats for filing. Married, with a son, "not my son." Wife had never traveled outside Thailand. Wife owns property and has strong family ties. Wife has a bank account with the required amount of money needed to travel to the USA. My wife has no police record. After reading a lot of confusing info, our first thought was to find and hire an expert to increase our chances of approval. I wrote many emails to those who came up in a Google search and was disappointed over and over again, as none seemed to offer any real hope of success. Some provided no information, and others advised first obtaining a tourist visa for Europe, traveling there, and then applying for a U.S. visa. My first thought was, This is stupid. I'm a US citizen, and I'm unable to travel to my country with my wife. We were so discouraged that it seemed our best option was not to try at all. I then spoke to an American immigration attorney living in Bangkok, who provided advice that made the most sense. It's still not giving us much hope, but at least it moved us forward. US attorneys advise against hiring anyone to do filing, and since Visas are a part of his business, that surprised me. He said that some Visas are complicated, but the B2 visa initial form is straightforward and can be completed online in a few hours. It looks better for immigration if you complete and file it personally. He still said only a few out of 100 will ever get approved, but the cost and time needed to file is minimal, so why not try? I can't tell you everything we did to file, but I can help point you in the right direction with some vital key information that could make a difference. First, the website for filing is a real pain in the ass. It's outdated and slow. You can expect to be kicked off and re-enter the info several times. Much of this is because you will likely have to research to provide details and dates for personal information, and a lack of activity is not your friend. Still, it was workable, and eventually, we had all the necessary information compiled, so when we finally filled out all the blanks, we were able to move forward to completion. There are instructions, and I recommend that you read them before starting. Note, this initial filing is just that. Once you file and pay the fees, you will get an interview date. At the time we completed the form in July 2024, my wife's interview was scheduled for a good 100 days out, which was more than ample time to gather all the necessary proof documents for the interview. The best advice I can give anyone is to avoid lying. If you are even suspected of lying, it's an automatic no, and there are no second chances. If there are gray areas, try to categorize them as best you can. Maybe you won't tell the whole story, but at least tell the parts of the story that lend credibility to a specific period. The part that needs the greatest detail is the strong Ties to Thailand. Immigration's biggest problem is not enough proof that once in the USA you will not try to overstay. My wife spent a lot of time reading what other Thais wrote about interview preparation and experiences, which I couldn't read because it's all in Thai. Pay attention to detail and follow the guidelines for the interview. All of this matters. My wife was interviewed late October of last year, 2024. Although she was nervous, her interview turned out to be brief and lasted barely a few minutes. Looking back, it was clear that she had been approved before the interview started, and the interview was merely a formality. She stood in a line with several others, going one at a time. She watched the other interviews, and mostly one denial after another, with many leaving angry or crying. She said the immigration officers were stern and unemotional. However, when it was her turn, she walked up and was greeted with a friendly smile and hello. He asked her two questions, Why do you want to travel to the USA, and do you own property here in Thailand? She answered, he pushed a few buttons on the keyboard, and said, Enjoy your travels in the USA, never once inspected a single document we provided. My wife is from ISAAN, the daughter of farmers, and has never traveled outside of Thailand. Everyone said the odds of her ever being approved were less than 1%. When I reflect, it was the attention to detail that made this happen. We have traveled to the USA, staying almost 5 months, and we will return in August with the goal of selling assets and moving back to Thailand permanently. It's worth noting that my wife has absolutely no desire to live in the USA and was only interested in visiting. It's also worth noting that since her last visit, she has even less desire to go back a second time but will do so to be with me. I have no idea if this will be helpful to anyone, but feel free to write if I might be able to answer a specific question. Cheers!

I'm going to add my story about well drilling, well water, and water filtering. I'll start by saying I'm no expert, but I have been forced to learn more about this topic than I ever wanted to know. I will also say this is an ongoing story because the problems are not solved. I'm providing this information to help others avoid making the same mistakes. We built a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom country house in Roi Et Province, Phon Sai District, as a retirement home and started this project in 2023. My goal when starting the water project was to have a good supply of usable whole-house water, including safe drinking water. I did not want to fill tanks and buy bottled water. My first mistake was allocating 90% of my research to the filtration system and 10% to the well. In my defense, I left that part to my contractor and the drilling company that drills wells in this area, and they should certainly know their business, right? My only request to the contractor and well drilling company was to provide me with a good source of water with a pump, and I would handle the rest above ground. I requested to go deeper for better water quality, but in this area, it doesn't seem to be the answer. I was told the deep water in this area has a heavy salt content so a shallow well is the only way to go. I was out of the country working when the well was drilled. The house was still under construction, so the water was only being used for construction purposes at this point. I had designed a filtration system and had it shipped to the house. It consisted of a multi-stage filtration system designed to make the water usable before entering the house, and another 4-stage reverse osmosis system to provide drinking water at the faucets. The filtration system works as designed, passing all quality tests for minerals and bacteria. However, it only took a day or two to discover that we were pumping almost as much sand out of the well as we were water, which seriously clogged the filtration system and impeded the flow of water. I was able to quickly add a large particulate filtration tank to the system, which solved the immediate problem and provided a workable solution. We still have not lived in our house for more than a few months in these past few years, but it's clear that everything about the well is wrong. We are pulling a large amount of sand through the pump, which is likely shortening the pump's life. The water level is already questionable, as when I backflush the system, I can tell we are actually running out of water, the pump is underpowered and clearly not designed for a house like ours, which will use far more water than a typical village house. Conclusion: After conducting research, I have found ways to manage a sandy well at the wellhead through the use of casings and sand filters. The real challenge is finding a company that has the experience and resources to handle the job correctly, but it must be done; otherwise, the idea of being self-sufficient with our own source of water becomes increasingly problematic.

Whether she does or does not hardly matters. She is my wife, and yes, she has a job. All I'm saying is simply that relationships are what you make them, however you choose!

The real gem in this article is the part it seems everyone missed. One of these guys had a cache of child pornography. I don't care how adults choose to make money as long as they are not harming others, but when children are exploited and abused for profit, it's a terrible thing.

Over 10 years with mine, and she is still fulfilling my fantasies. Every relationship is a risk. I'll never try to give anyone relationship advice beyond, "Open your eyes and live in reality, at least 80% of the time!"

I learned this lesson the hard way. My wife and I went for a foot massage, as we often do. It is typical for the masseuse to finish with a few minutes on the shoulders, neck, and head. This would have been fine, except the masseuse decided to crack my neck. It was quick and without my consent but still, I did not think much about it until pain set in. Over the next few days, it did not get better, and sometimes there was a shooting pain that was so intense it caused me to scream. I went to the doctor and had x-rays and therapy. It took about six months but I eventually healed. Never again will I allow that to happen.

Nothing new here, and nothing will change. Why should it? I stopped judging others years ago. As long as there is a need, whether sexual, companionship, or both, everything remains status quo. Do we really have a right to judge others based on how they make this happen? Where adults make their own adult decisions. Sometimes, it's a business deal; other times, it's an emotional need, so what!

The article starts out by stating "a well-known Thai Pizza Chain", Pizza, The Hut, as you call it is hardly a Thai Pizza Chain, or I guess we can imagine that it's now a Thai pizza chain if it makes you feel better.

The big news here is that he is American! It would have been big news if he was European or Japanese or a Monkey. Some of these things you read about stronger Visa rules or foreigners are bad for Thailand are just ridiculous. Thai's abuse their young as much as any other culture and it's a well know fact that many pedophiles come to places like Thailand or the Philippines because it's easier to do here than in their countries. What they should be talking about is more enforcement, more task forces, more resources and a greater public knowledge to make it less attractive for Thais or any other nationality to attempt such acts in Thailand. America and European countries have committed many resources to these people, and they work with countries like Thailand to share information. This has nothing to do with nationality. It's a human scum problem.

We have a nice Western Style house in the village and my wife is tighter with our money then I. She tells all the village people we are poor, just worked hard and saved our money to build a nice house but nothing extra except a monthly allowance. If you don't flaunt it, easy enough to control.

Very sad for anyone who was injured or lost everything but looking at the timeline, and give the complexity of the area pretty impressive for the firefighter to get the fire out in all of 2 3/4 hours from the original report.

Upcoming in what year? Other countries have been talking about trashing the USD for my whole lifetime and I'm 68