higgy88

On 2/22/2024 at 1:28 PM, ColeBOzbourne said:

I'm hoping for some insight into Schwab, their accounts, and requirements. My parents had accounts and investments with Schwab that are to be passed on to me and my siblings. Recently my parents passed away, and Schwab has told us that each sibling must first open a separate Schwab account in order for them to make payments to us. 

 

I live in Thailand with no permanent address in Thailand nor in the USA. Opening an account is proving to be difficult for me, and I would really prefer not to open one at all. Does anyone have experience with this requirement by Schwab to open an account? Are they trying to pressure us into opening an account with them when we really don't have to? Thank you for any information.

 

 

I can help you out with that.   My sister and I went through their beneficiary process a couple of years ago when our mother died.  I already had a Schwab account and have been dealing with them for the last 40 years,  about 10 as an international account, and the last couple of years as a US based Trust account,  so I kinda know how they do things.  My sister did not have an account with them, so as you say, she was forced to open separate accounts (both brokerage and IRA) which she did not want to do.  She was not happy with the way they do things, to say the least.   She closed the new accounts as soon as she could, and moved the money and what investments she could to another institution. 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1249786-report-on-successful-transfer-to-us-300k/

My problem was I tried to use my local branch (of Bangkok Bank) who had no idea what to do but didn't want to lose face.  Best to find the main branch of your province who (hopefully) knows what to do.

If you are transferring smaller amounts (looks like it has been increased to 2 mil baht) it is best to use their mobile banking app, as you do not need to supply any documentation and do not need to deal with anyone at the bank.

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Out-of-Thailand/IFT-mB

I have an ongoing issue with them.  I called them on their toll free number on September 20.  They told me that they would be reviewing my file and would most likely be sending me a form by snail mail to fill out and return to them.  So far I have gotten nothing, but things do move very slowly, especially if it is done by snail mail, so I am not too concerned yet.  But since noise mentioned dealing with them by email, I was wonder what that may be.  I've found nothing on their website on contacting them electronically.  

I've found some very interesting information for those who may be interested.  Apparently Kasikorn Bank does not send money to the US using the SWIFT method,   but rather uses  the ACH direct deposit method.  So at least theoretically you can transfer money from Kbank in Thailand to your USD account in Wise.

This is a screenshot from their web page.

2 hours ago, meechai said:

She says the same as I do..."repatriating money". The account she sent it to was actually our joint account back in the USA, but that was never questioned

as form just asks acct number routing etc & she gave her name on account

(although that account as I said has both names as it is a joint account)

 

The only question they ever had for her was to bring her US passport to show she was in fact a dual citizen US/Thai

 

At no time were either her or I ever asked for inbound proof of funds originating in US etc

 

But if they do not have a dual citizenship then yes they will question why they are sending money out of country

Usual answers for Thai only citizens are things like supporting family abroad or child in school abroad etc

Thank you very much.  That's good information for me.

3 hours ago, meechai said:

No Surprise

 

It was never a problem for a Thai to trans out any amount period

That she has dual citizenship is irrelevant

Which is why this was suggested to you folks by BKB

 

My wife who is also a Thai/USA citizen has also transferred more than 50k USD at a time no questions asked

 

In any case even a US citizen living in Thailand can transfer out up to 50k USD without any questions with Bangkok Bank as I have done it many times  & all you have to say is repatriating the money. I usually kept it under 1.4 million baht to make sure it was easy

 

Lastly, As to them suggesting all at once in her name was just to save her the 1400 baht fee for each transfer

 

meechai,  what exactly does your wife use for the reason for the transfer, and does she transfer it directly into her own account in her own name?

I am using an old canon MP 258 printer/scanner with Xubuntu 20.04, but only use the scanner part as the printer crapped out a long time ago, and the printer part had not even been installed.   You need to remember that even though your eyes see one unit, your computer sees two separate things.  My scanner did not have the problems yours has as it was immediately recognized.  One thing I do like about using linux is trying to solve problems like this, as it really helps keep some of those old brain cells alive.  

You should start here;   http://sane-project.org/

http://sane-project.org/sane-supported-devices.html

Quote

SANE External Backends

This list provides information about the devices that are supported by external backends, i.e. backends that are not yet included in the SANE package. They also contain the reason why these backends are not yet included. Go to the backend's homepage for download instructions and more information.

http://www.sane-project.org/man/sane-pixma.5.html

Quote

Currently, the following models work with this backend:

              PIXMA E410, E510

Have fun figuring out how to fix this!

12 hours ago, jimgilly said:

higgy88, bit confused because you said you have an international account and weren't required to initially put in $25k but I know that is now a requirement. 

 

Biggest question I have is why you have problems with them transferring you to their international department when you now have an international account?  Are there other problems you've had other than that?

I did not open a new international account but transferred all my investments from an existing account, which had over 25k in it, and kept the same account number.

I do not wish to go into any details here as to why I have found Schwab International such a pain in the ass to deal with.  Maybe it's because I was so used to dealing with Schwab USA, who was such a pleasure to deal with.    They may be a part of the same big corporation, but are very different departments.  I am just very happy that they didn't close my account and I am still able to invest in US securities, although I am very much in bear mode right now. 

I've had a Schwab brokerage account for probably close to 40 years.  About 10 years ago, I no longer had a US address I felt comfortable using, so I gave Schwab my Thai address and they said I had to open an international account, so I did.  In a nutshell, I find Schwab international a PITA to deal with.  And anytime I have to contact them, as soon as they see I have a Thai address, Schwab USA will no longer deal with me and will immediately transfer me to international.

I cannot answer your question on the 25k initial deposit as that did not apply to me, and I also cannot answer your question on the ATM as I no longer have an ATM debit card with them.  I can only answer any questions you may have on their customer service.

36 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I have had all of the stimulus payments deposited into my direct deposit account via the New York branch of Bangkok Bank. And the next one is due to be deposited on Wednesday.

I did a non filers submittal (not available now) on the IRS website to get the first one back in June. I used their "FED Routing No: 026008691" and my account number on the form when I did it.

Thanks alot.   So apparently they are using the IACH format.   Wonderful!

Would anyone have any knowledge and/or experience in trying to get the stimulus check and/or tax refund direct deposited into Bangkok Bank going through their New York office? 

The IRS website does say this

Quote

Eight out of 10 taxpayers get their refunds by using direct deposit. The IRS uses the same electronic transfer system to deposit tax refunds that is used by other federal agencies to deposit nearly 98% of all Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits into millions of accounts.

So there may be hope.

My situation happened about 3 years ago.  My daughter recently turned 21 and has closed her custodial account in the US and had the money transferred to her Bangkok Bank account, which she will now use to pay for the rest of her education herself.  But since it is now over $10K, she will also have to start filing her own the FBAR form.  We have very deliberately kept all the money in her accounts well under the 10K limit so she has never had to file.

When my daughter was getting close to her 18th birthday, we got a letter from SSA saying her benefits would stop when she turned 18 unless she was still a full time student, and it included a form that the school had to fill out verifying that she was still a student, how many hours per week she had classes, the date she would finish, etc.  We had the school fill it out and sign and we sent it in.  We got a follow up letter saying her benefits had been extended, but would be sent directly to her.  I don't remember any kind of form for having the money direct deposited into another bank account, and because it was only going to be for a relatively short time I didn't bother.  The checks just started coming by snail mail, and as I said, we just resent the checks back to the US to be deposited into her custodial account so I do not know what the costs would have been to have had the checks deposited to the bank here in Thailand.

I think your options are pretty limited.  Just do the same as we did and have the checks sent here, or try to open an account here to have the checks direct deposited, either by getting him a US passport and doing it the right way, or having the bank just check "no" to the question "are you a US citizen" on the application, which I personally believe is not a big deal if you can get the bank to do it.  I can give you my reasons for that opinion, but it would take too long for me to type.   I guess I just do not share your fear,  mainly because of our $10K limit on being required to file the FBAR report,  but then you need to do what you are comfortable with.  

We had the same problem with Bangkok Bank opening up an account for our Thai/US daughter a few years ago.  I stayed home and the wife went with the daughter to open the bank account.  The bank officer asked if she was a US citizen (because of her name) and then wanted her US passport, but it had expired as we had no need to use it any time soon.  "Sorry, we cannot open an account for her", to which my wife (who is not your typical passive Thai female) asked (demanded?) to see the manager, who had no problem in opening the account for her as a Thai citizen.  My wife can be quite assertive.

Fast forward to now, where she is currently a student at a Thai government university.  The system at this school is that all students must have a Krung Thai bank account, where her student number is linked to her bank account number and the ATM/debit card is her student card.  Registration for each term is all done online, and all the school fees are automatically deducted from this account.  When she was accepted to the school and paid the confirmation fee and was given a student number, the bank account application was pre printed and was shown to her to review and make sure all the information was correct, like the spelling of her name, home address, birthday, etc and then sign it.  On this form, it was preprinted "no" to the question "are you a US citizen".  She pointed out to the teacher that she was in fact a US citizen.  The teacher said she needed to sign it or she would not be able to register for classes, but he would get back to her on that.  Of course he did not get back to her and that was the last she ever heard about it.

She had also collected SSI benefits as a minor child until she turned 18, or finished high school, whichever came last.  I had set up a custodial account for her in the US for this money.  She still had about 4 months after she turned 18 before she would finish high school, but I could no longer act as her representative payee as she was considered an adult at 18 by the federal govt.  Unfortunately, the state where her custodial account was held considered 21 to the the age of adulthood, so what ended up happening was that SS sent the checks by snail mail to her in Thailand, where she endorsed it and sent it back to the US by snail mail to be deposited into her custodial account.  One check did in fact get lost, and it took more than 6 months for that check to be replaced, and it ended up being sent to the US consulate in Chiang Mai and being mailed to us by them.  I don't know if this is your similar to your situation, but this is what happened to us.

Actually, Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (long term support) is 5 years old now, and support would have ended in April.  I wonder what updates the OP would have gotten, and why he doesn't update to a newer version, like 18.04 LTS, which would be supported until April, 2023.

Petl, any idea what may have been updated to cause this problem?   It would be pretty easy to save your data to an external drive and just do a fresh install to the newer version.

I'd like to jump in with my experience with the TB test. 

I first tested positive with the skin test when I was about 5 years old, along with the rest of my family; father, mother, sister and brother.  The health services had come into our neighborhood and tested everyone because apparently someone living in our neighborhood had TB.   We were all then taken to a health center for X-rays.  For the next 10 years or so, each and every year we were given the skin test, tested positive, and went for the X rays.  Finally they decided we did not have to do this any more.  That was the last time I was tested for TB, and if I have my way, I will never be tested again. 

Fast forward about 50 years.  My father had been having reoccurring bouts with pneumonia so his doctor decided for him to go to the hospital and run a bunch of tests to see why this was happening, and one of the tests was the TB test.  He tested positive and was given  penicillin, which he was allergic to, but the hospital was not informed of this, and he died within a few hours.  We requested an autopsy which showed no signs of TB.

A few years after that, my sister got cancer and again, the TB test was given as part of the routine tests, again she tested positive, and she had a big fight with the doctors about refusing treatment, which she only half won.   This is one area of medical science where I am really dumbfounded at their refusal to consider the possibility that not all tests are 100% accurate and there may be things that are not completely understood.

And then there is my brother, who also died from an allergic reaction to medicine, this time it was Warafin, which he was being treated with for Hepatitis C. 

Since this fatal interaction with medicine seems to run in my family, I know I have to be very, very careful. 

This discussion about Southwest Airlines is very interesting.  In July, I booked tickets with them with no problems, same as I've been doing for a number of years.  I'll be needing to book tickets with them again, but now I also can't get into their site.  I did make a change between last July and now when I cancelled my True cable service, which I've had for the last 7 years, and am now using AIS fibre.   I do wonder if this may be a True vs AIS problem.

The only VPN I use is the free Zenmate add on for Chrome, which gives me 4 servers, the US, Germany, Romania, and Hong Kong.  I can get into the Southwest site using the US and Germany servers, but not with the Romanian and Hong Kong servers.  Go figure!

Without using Zenmate, I have no problem with the Macy's site but also cannot get into the homedepot site.

Just thought I'd let you know of my daughter's experience as she is currently in the process of transferring her number from True Move to Line Mobile.   This started a couple of days ago.

The first thing Line told her was they can't transfer the number until the number is free, which means there is no money owed on that number, so she paid off her current True bill a bit early.   After she paid off True and told them she was cancelling, she got the transfer code from them, which she said was also good for 6 hours, and signed up with Line Mobile.  As with you, Line pretty much immediately charged her debit card.  They told her she would be getting a new SIM card in the mail in 3 to 4 days, which she hopes will be on Tuesday.  Until then, she is still using her phone with True, and was was told by them that when she gets the Line Mobile SIM card and installs it and uses it for the first time, that is when her True account will be automatically cancelled and she will be billed one more time for however many days she used in her billing cycle for up to that day.

yes, the OP does say he wants a tourist visa, but then the application says he is applying for the R1 visa, and for that, they need the petition information.  You really have to read every part of the visa application very, very carefully.

But according to Jenny's original post and attachment, the traveler is applying as a potential worker, the religious worker R1 visa, and not as a tourist, which would be the B1/B2 visa.   As you say, that is probably more likely what he should be applying for, but we really don't know that.

This may help

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/th/th-niv-typer.asp

Quote

Petitions

Your prospective employer must file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For more detailed information regarding the filing of Form I-129, as well as requirements, please refer to the USCIS R-1 Temporary Nonimmigrant Religious Worker web page.

I suggest Sumatra PDF

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatra_PDF

I use it as a portable app in linux using Wine.

It does say it can open these files, so I assume you can just open them and then save as a pdf. 

I asked my daughter, who uses free music for her school projects (she is studying animation and visual effects) and she says to just do a youtube search for "audio library no copyright music" and you will find a youtube channel with just what you are looking for. 

Just to clarify, Jacko, I was agreeing with you and criticizing the person who said you think wrongly. 

With this particular Sony, it is not actually a software problem but a hardware problem with the "mechanical" switch that changes which graphics hardware to use, the Intel or the AMD.

The fact is that not all computers are comparable with Windows 10 and should not be upgraded, and again as you rightly pointed out, for the OP the best way to get that information is from Asus, not MS.

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I can only believe ASUS should inform you of this. After all, likely they will supply any necessary drivers. In my case, a particular model of Sony Viao I bought in Thailand, has remained on Windows 7, as the Sony website said it would blue screen and likely become a brick. It is still working on 7 fine.

 

I upgraded my Asus T100T from Win 8 to 10 just fine, and am very happy with it, although many of the functions I like stem from Touchscreen facilities.

I actually laughed out loud at the reply that you believe wrongly.   Some people just live in their own bubble. 

My daughter has a similar Sony Vaio.  One day she emailed me and told me that MS was trying to update her Windows 7 computer to Windows 10, and should she let it do it.   It took me maybe 5 minutes to find the answer, which was a big NO.  So I found and gave her the tools she needed to make sure MS never tried to do it again, and I am sure she will happily continue to use her 'puter 'til she no longer wants to.