thaisail

For less expensive hotel convenient to US Embassy I'd recommend Pinacle hotel or Malaysia hotel on soi Ngam Du Pree. To go to US Embassy, no parking so not sure why you want to rent a car, but you can park in the office complex across the street on Wireless road. Close by to hotels is Sathorn Car Rent? I think is the name. If you don't know Bangkok, I would highly discourage you from renting a car.

I spent part of my honeymoon driving around Bangkok at the end of December. Had a great time having driven so much in Paris! I have a parking place at my translator's office accross the street so no problems there. I just hate getting ripped off by the taxi drivers in Bangkok just because I'm a Farong!

Thanks everyone for the hotels and car rental information

My Thai wife, my 17 year old daughter (100% falong French) and my one month old baby are flying to Don Muang Airport from the 9th to the 12th of July for our appointment with the US embassy on July 11th. I am looking for a reasonable priced hotel and retal car for the duration. I haved checked the internet and so far can only find the big expensive hotels for tourists. Does anyone know where I can find reasonable family lodging and or guest house and rental car for those three days? I know that the walk in price is usually about half of the internet price for hotels and guest houses.

I know there is a real cheap hotel just around the corner from the US Embassy (100 meters) for 300 baht or 50 Baht per hour if you know what I mean but that is not suitable for an infant. Also rental cars in Phuket are around 600 to 800 Baht per day, but in Bangkok they seem to be very expensive. I hope that some of you reading this forum have been through this before and can recommmend something suitable for a family and not too expensive!

Several of us have been through this. I don't know of anyone who has had to produce evidence of physical presence. What they will check is your passport to make sure you are a US citizen.

If this is your first interview and you are in Bangkok, then it isn't with the US Embassy, but rather Home Security. You have to get Home Security's approval first before your file is transferred to the US Embassy. Each step requires additional information, but once presented then it is on to the next step.

Have things changed? I applied for US citizenship for my Thailand-born daughter at the ACS (American Consular Services) section of the US Embassy in Bangkok in Sept 2005. I did not have to go through DHS. I do not recall having to provide hard evidence either. All I had to do was complete a form indicating the time periods I was physically in the US. A tedious task because the only records I had were my passports which show the dates when I was out of the country!

My petition was approved in about 35 minutes, and then 2 weeks later the passport was ready. I cannot recall if I also received my daughter's SSN as the same time or some time later when I was back in the US. But I applied for both at the same time.

I just thought of this and perhaps this would be the difference. You are, apparently, living in Seattle. I was and am living in Thailand. Perhaps DHS gets involved for those of us with residences outside of the US who plan on not returning to live in the US in the foreseeable future.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I can get a good night sleep now that I know that I won't have to call any more schools to find transcripts!!!

I just discovered from reading the "Instructions for Consular Report of Birth abroad of a US Citizen" the following Quote:

"Birth Abroad to One Citizen and Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born to one U.S citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301 (g) of the INA, provided the citizen parent was physically present in the US for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. For birth on or after November14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two of which come after the age of fourteen, is required. For a birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, the parent must of resided in the U.S. for a period of ten years, five of which must have been after the age of fourteen. Aceptable written documentation of physical presence includes school transcripts, work evidence and previous passports."

My appointment at the US Embassy to declare the birth of my daughter born 2 weeks ago, is on July 11th. I was born in the US and lived all but one year in the US from 1955 to 1984. I have started to write to schools that I attended before age 14 and the first one sent back an email that since they are a "elementry school" they do not keep records that go back to 1962 (the age before computers!). Who knows where my passport from 1962 is now 45 years later. I have lived in foreign countries since 1984 and have two other children whe were born in France in Are there any US citizen fathers out there with Thai wives who have had Thai children born recently, who can tell me about their experience dealing with the US Embassy in Bangkok? Was this issue of physical presence documentation being enforced?

An extension of your Non Imm O based on retirement will be the easiest.

IF you can raise 800K and have it in the thai bank 3 months before you apply

in late Jan 2008. No grandfathering is required.

Alternatively you can show a regular income of 65K pm.

Or even a combination of the two, say 400K in the bank and income of 33K pm.

Such extensions can be done the same day, if you have all the paperwork ready

Immigration is much more chary of issuing extensions based on marriage, mind you,

your daughter does strengthen your case. You must show a 40K per month of family income.

(There is no cash in the bank option here now, for you).

Even so, extensions in this way can take 4-6 weeks to go through

Given that you are still working, you might not be around when the extension comes through,

therefore the retirement route is much easier.

For me the confusing thing is how to show income. When I was dealing with the Thai Embassy in Florida, they wanted to see my US bank statements going back 6 months showing income each month. But in the merchant marine, we are paid a regular check while aboard the ship and when we sign off the ship, we can apply for one vacation check from the union which is basically a check for 4 months of our base pay without overtime. This leaves several bank statments when there is no income. I tried to explain this to the Thai consulate in Miami but they don't know what to do with any case that does not fit their guidelines. Also, our local English language newspaper just published an article in which the person asked the same question. The answer came from Phuket immigration saying that a letter from one's embassy showing sufficient income would have to be presented for anyone applying for an extention who did not have a visa before October 1st, 2006. I do not see the US embassy issuing such a letter. It is hard enough to get even the documents that they are required to issue without asking them for extras. Please can you let me know what Singapore will require concering income at the Thai Embasy?

I am 51 years old and I am employed in the US merchant marine. I was married in Thailand on December 28th, 2006 and my Thai marriage certificate was issued on the same day in Loei. My Thai wife and I live in Phuket in a rented house with a one year contract since May 2006. My wife is 34 years old and she gave birth last week to our baby daughter. A Thai birth certificate was issued by the Phuket City Hall and my name is on the birth certificate. I was issued a non immigrant visa type "O" on March 22nd in Miami, Florida by the Thai consulate. They asked for copies of my Thai marriage certificate and my wife's Thai ID card and family book. I arrived back in Thailand on 16th of May and was given until 13th of August to remain in Thailand. My appointment to register the birth and apply for a US passport for my daughter with the American Embassy in Bangkok is set for 11th of July. I work for an American company aboard ships outside of Thailand as a marine engineer and work a schedule normally of 120 days on and 120 days off. I may be working in Diego Garcia next time and may not be passing through my home country USA on the way to and from work to apply for visas with the Thai consulate. My visa is a multiple entry visa valid until March 22, 2008. If I go to back to work in mid July, I will return to Thailand around the middle of November and will hopefully be given until mid February to remain in Thailand. As I will not be due back to work before mid March, I will need to apply for an extension or leave Thailand on a visa run. I do not have a Thai bank account with 800000 baht and do not know if that rule applies for me since I am not going to be "grandfathered". I have had a Thai bank account with Bangkok Bank since September 2005 but with only about 4000 baht in it and no activity since opening.

I am asking for any information as what path to choose to have the least difficulty to remain in Thailand. Since I am starting after the October 1, 2006, I will not be able to use the same system as the others who will be grandfathered. Any advise will be apreciated.