OthmarB

41 minutes ago, OtinPattaya said:

I am also self-employed and there is basically 0 info on this on all the million pages on thaivisa.com. 

41 minutes ago, OtinPattaya said:

I am also self-employed and there is basically 0 info on this on all the million pages on thaivisa.com. 

It gets a little weird when you're,self-employed. 

1 hour ago, OthmarB said:

Hi, ubonjoe, unfortunately, none of the consulates are even remotely close to me. New York, Washington, or LA. I hail from Arizona. 

Hence the uncertainty.

49 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You could also apply for a single entry tourist visa at one of the honorary consulates in person if one is near you.

See: https://thaiembdc.org/royal-thai-honorary-consulates-general-in-the-u-s/

Hi, ubonjoe, unfortunately, none of the consulates are even remotely close to me. New York, Washington, or LA. I hail from Arizona. 

when you applied for the setv in LA, any weird requirements or suggestions?

4 minutes ago, buick said:

i applied for an SETV via mail from the consulate in Los Angeles many times.  it never took longer than two weeks to get my passport back (i was in the seattle area at the time).

Many thanks for this reply. I was hoping someone with past experience with the LA consulate and the SETV would relate his own experience. 

3 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Instead of wasting time in this forum, just apply for a SETV. I am 100% sure you will get your passport with visa before the end of the month

That's what i was thinking-just pull the trigger on the SETV. I have a full month. I can't imagine it would take longer than that. 

I'll be retiring to Thailand on the 26th of August this year (departure flight) and will be turning 50 in mid January of 2020, so I have about 5 months before I can apply for a non-O based on retirement. I originally planned to apply for a METV here in America, but the 15 day processing time (when you factor shipping delays) worries me, also the real possibility of the visa being denied. I have also read on another forum that you must not only provide proof of your original flight reservation but also in-out flights for each of the 60 days when you depart Thailand--this can't be right, can it? At any rate, the METV seems too iffy to me now, so am looking for any advice as to what my best options are to pass this 5 months before I can apply for the non-O.

Also, when I booked my flight I just selected a date on November 14th that got me the best ticket price, since I wouldn't be using the return ticket anyway, but now I'm wondering if the late return date could cause me problems when applying for another visa (ie, SETV), or a tourist visa stamp. Should I change the return date for the ticket to a date BEFORE the visa/stamp expires. Does it matter? Thanks!