ChicagoExpat

Your comment says far more about you than it does Jews.

Thailand kowtows to Hamas while insulting a country that has benefitted Thailand tremendously. Well done. One of the hazards of trying "to be friends with everyone." Disgusting, unprincipled. As are many of the comments here.

This won't help you now, but just as an FYI -- they have resumed outreach and were actually in Pattaya a few months ago.

I've heard of other guys who had the UN fund their whole tunnel network. Seemed to work well for them -- the money was supposed to go to other stuff but the UN doesn't seem to mind at all they used it for other purposes.

Start off the discussion, then.

So, wait times are pretty long these days to get a visa appointment (a couple of months) but are coming down. However, applying for a transit visa is a waste of time and money -- she should apply for a tourist visa. The qualifications are the same and the benefits of one over the other are clear. Depending on when she had her last visa, and what kind it was, she may be eligible for renewal by mail.

Your instincts were correct. It is still an option.

I just checked and Thailand IS an option in the drop down menu.

Shhhh... the adults are talking.

A lot of it depends on how long you've been married, how well settled you are here, where you source of income is, and -- most important -- how well the applicant is able to explain herself and her travel plans. There is a high rate of refusal for new marriages, a pretty low rate for well-established ones (although as you'll hear, there are some bad examples of refusals for legit marriages). The cost of a visa is $185, a small fraction of the cost of plane travel and time in the U.S. and if it's issued -- that's 10 years of travel. As long as you're prepared for a rejection and don't let it ruin your life, why not try it? Again, if you're newly married, etc per above, maybe not try. Please note I have some specific insight into this topic, which I won't explain here.

Thanks for posting. Knowing they ran out of time to address all the questions, they said they'd schedule a follow up in a few weeks, after they met with the Revenue people to get clarification on some issues. If I can get it, I'll post the new info here when it is scheduled.

Well, don't do it then if you think it won't be helpful. Of course they're trying to recruit.

Just make one up, or put "retired." I'm guessing if they made this available to the whole American community they know that many of us are retired.

You don't have to join. As it says above but no one seems to be reading -- it's free for non AmCham members.

Well, they've set this up with local tax professionals. I'd call that assistance.

It's free with the promo code.

All -- just learned there will be an online meeting to answer questions about the new tax law for Americans. It's free with the promo code USBKK23 Tax Committee: Thai Tax on Foreign-Sourced Income (mailchi.mp)

As someone who does not spend time in your region, just to say I enjoy your little reports.

You're suggesting the Chinese guy's prosecution is because "men have no rights anymore." Having a hard time understanding any other meaning to your comment.

That went racist quickly.

You might want to change your profile pic if trying to avoid the "weirdo" moniker

Rape is rape, a crime is a crime, he should be prosecuted. But she is the dumbest person in the world and, yes, bears responsibility for what happened to her, no less than if I drive to a poor neighborhood and leave valuables in plain sight in the car, or tease a dog and get bitten. Inviting a stranger to your house after meeting them in a bar, via a hook-up website -- and then saying who could have expected something bad to happen? -- is absurd. That said, may she get the help she needs, and may the Thai police do an EFFECTIVE investigation and not just let him leave the country.

These are Airsoft guns? They're sold all over Bangkok.

Good advice. I lived in Russia for some time; while there is much I like about the country and the culture there is definitely a dark side to the "Russian soul." Many Westerners make the mistake of seeing white skin and thinking "They're just like us. Why can't we get along? I'm sure they want the same things we do." They're NOT just like us -- they are Asians, NOT Europeans, and they have deeply ingrained paranoia, xenophobia, and subservience to authority. For the better educated... perhaps the best single thing to note is that the Enlightenment never occurred in Russia. In terms of mentality, they are probably much closer to a 12th-century European than a modern Western person.

Our fellow citizens' bad behavior is embarrassing and a legitimate cause for concern (though it's clear that Thailand's open prostitution and now legalization of pot attracts the bottomfeeders). That said, I'd also say that with the Thai population in the U.S. having ballooned to hundreds of thousands in just a few years, the Thais can't complain too much about working illegally etc. Which is also a relevant fact to our overall discussion.