vision

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

You got an extension until 31st Oct and have an Extension under consideration and need to return 11th November. That one at least runs to Nov 30th if approved. The under consideration gives you permission to stay until the decision is made . I just suspect Immigration is covering some gap in your permissions. 

I think you are good to Nov 11th and will know then. What paperwork did you submit to get the under consideration?

Thats what I figured.  I submitted my Non-O visa (based on marriage to Thai) my house book for my condo and my registration (check in address slip) which is for the same condo.  they asked for the customanry 1900 baht fee and also filled in the stay request durration to 60 days from the 90 I had written.

I think because I was on one of the first repartation flights to come with visa bearing farang they may not be sure what to do with us yet?

Guys, Riddle me this.....I got 2 stamps today in Pattaya.  I'm here on a Non-O visa to visit family that was set to expire on Oct 20.  

The first stamp seems to say I need to leave by the 31st of this month.

The second stamp says that a decition as to my allowed length of stay will be made by the 11th of next month.

Do I need to camp out in the airport post secutrity section in the meantime?  having a hard time reconciling these.

4 hours ago, unheard said:

If that is where they're going forget about open seats on the repatriation flights and available ASQ rooms.

Everything will be booked solid.

Also wonder about refunds if the application doesn't get approved in the end for some technicality.

If the ASQ room is not refundable then what?

I don't know how it's going to work if true.

Well yeah,  The flights I had originally expected to take end of the month were in fact full however a new flight was opened yesterday (21 seats available at the time of this posint) to leave LA on the 22.  As for ASQ rooms well again the first 8 I called at about 35K to 50K for the duration were booked until first week of August but the more expensive ones over 60K had openings for next week.  I expect they will continue to add flights as they certify new hotels so that it may seem extremly tight now but it will undoubtedly open up more as time goes on.

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Step 3: CoE Approval 

8 ) After receiving e-mailed notification of CoE approval you will be asked what flight or told what flight you can take

9) Book an ASQ hotel and e-mail the booking conformation to the Embassy  

 

Step 4: Flight Approval (this will be different in each country / each airline)

10) Pay for your flight ticket

This is an excellent path forward document and anyone reading this should print his post and regard it as gospel.  I can attest first hand that it must be followed in exact order.  I was able to book a flight and did so right away yesterday only to find this morning that most of the ASQ hotels are fully booked.  Im still scrambling to find one but if not I may have to bite the bullet and pay $600 to have my flight re-booked for a time when I can secure a room.

24 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

The recent issue with soldier from Egypt won't help folk trying to return to Thailand.

While to my mind since we are already doing a quaratine this incident shouldn't have impact on any of us.  As it involoves politics and money you can't rule anything out.  ????

I think there are still some Thai's leaving here but they have already flown a lot of flights out of the US and Thais chosing to leave here now are only the ones that haddn't made any effort previously.  I think a lot of them were hesitant as there will not be many options to get back when things turn around.

Just a bump and one small new piece of information for US citizens is that they have added new flights to LAX.  One from Cathay on the 19th and one from Korean Air on the 22nd.  

I have just sent what I hope is the complete 2nd submission in so if this approved I can go get my Covid test and complete my 3 set of submission documents within 72 hours of flight. 

6 minutes ago, unheard said:

Shortly after I've submitted my insurance policy without a clearly written letter they've asked me to resubmit, which I did and then heard nothing since.

Initially I've assumed since I haven't heard anything since that event then they must be OK with my policy.

Now I'm not so sure.

I totally understand the second guessing as I assume your in the situation as me where you want to see your wife and not being sure what is going on makes it a lot harder but my money is on that you should hear something today or tomorrow either way.  

1 minute ago, unheard said:

Mind sharing with us your date of application?

Thank you

I originally applied on June 26th but I submitted my Kaiser policy and they didn't accept that (as detailed above) so I believe it was the 2nd of July that I got all the documentaion to them per requirements.  That 12 day lag is a bit missleading of a timeline though as it includes 2 weekends a USA Holiday and 2 Thai holidays so I would expect most people would get a much quicker turn around.

I just recieved an email asking me to send my passport, 2 photos and money order along with self addressed return envelope to the Thai consulate in LA and letting me know of 3 available flights at the end of the month.   Does this mean they are moving away from the COE process and instead processing everything through the visa process with some additions?

14 hours ago, unheard said:

It seems there's an unknown to me reason for why some insurance companies refuse to mention Covid-19 on the policy letter, even if they cover it.

The conversion goes like this:

Do you cover-19 under the policy?

We cover any illness related expenses.

Can you put it in writing in a letter?

We'll issue a letter stating that we cover any illness but we won't specifically mention Covid-19.

This is eaxctly the issue I had with Kaiser.  While personally I'm sure they would cover Covid they didn't write it into the policy as such and because of their lawyers they cannot make statments beyond what the policy states without running it by a lawyer first.  this is what takes the time and as I didn't want to wait around for that I went for a smaller and more agile company.

<removed>

14 hours ago, unheard said:

Have the Kaiser people categorically refused to mention covid-19 in the letter?

Non, not all, actually they assured me that I would be covered and that they could put in a request for a letter to be sent but that the process would take 15 to 30 days plus postal time.   Because I wasnt willing to wait on them to maybe send a letter and it maybe be acceptable I canceled and went another way.

2 hours ago, Tounge Thaied said:

I contacted this company... here was the quote. I confirmed this covers Covid19.

Yes the letter they supply has

Covid 19: Covered same as any other illness to the above mentioned Medical Maximum

I can't say anything else about this company except that they do supply you a letter that complies with the requirements.

5 hours ago, unheard said:

Well, the letter says that the policy coverage well in excess of 100K and covers everything short of scheduled routine procedures.

Why would anyone have an issue with it?

I am not trying to sound like an ass and your reasoning is sound however they are asking for a letter that states that Covid is covered. If you have dealt alot either with insurance laywers or comliance agencies: when they ask for something that says "Covid-19" and you dont have something that says "Covid-19" all reasonable arguments are out the window.    My suggestion is to cancel what you had before (I had Kaiser) and get a new policy with a company that will write the letter as they ask.

27 minutes ago, Tounge Thaied said:

Can you tell us what insurance you got? Did you have an existing policy or were you able to find a new one that covers Covid19?

I used a company called Insubuy: https://www.insubuy.com/

Whoever you get you will need to ensure they will give you a letter that will explicitly say that it covers Covid and the amount of 100K USD.

The below list was offered to me by an agent at the LA Consulate:

Health Insurance Policy Requirement (Statement must show the following)

1. Must provide coverage of at least $100,000US

2. Must indicate coverage includes COVID-19 treatment(s)

3. Must indicate policy provides coverage in Thailand

4. Must be valid for the duration of your stay

-----------------------------------------------

The following is not an endorsement or recommendation for any particular company. The information only serves as a sample of companies which were used by other applicants. The information in parentheses pertains to whether or not the companies were able to provide a statement showing acceptable proof of coverage meeting the requirements above.

Allianz Care (statement did not specify coverage amount, COVID-19 coverage, coverage in Thailand, and duration of coverage)

Trawick International (statement met requirements)

Seven Corners (statement met requirements)

Thai Setakij Insurance Public Company Ltd. (Thai company) (statement met requirements but the company might not issue the policy for the duration of your stay as required)

Pacific Cross Health Insurance PCL (Thai company)

GeoBlue Travel Insurance (statement met requirements)

TripMate – World Nomads (statement did not specify COVID-19 coverage or confirm coverage in Thailand)

AIG Travel Guard (policy does not state COVID-19 coverage)

AETNA (applicants report it is difficult to obtain a policy statement that satisfies the COE requirements)

Kaiser (applicants report it is difficult if to obtain a policy statement that satisfies the COE requirements)

13 minutes ago, rct99q said:

Things may be happening....just received my COE from the Thai Consulate. 

 

Just waiting on confirmation of flights booked by said consulate.

 

Things are looking up.

Aewsome,  Goodluck and godspeed.  Hopefully the US consulate will be able to do the same for some us to your south.

 A lot of good information on this thread from all contributers.   Let's keep this up to date as new information comes in when any of us hear more about the upcoming  timelines / procedures.

Last thing any of us need is this turning into a typical Thaivisa thread that is full of contraditions arguments and conjecture.

13 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

So... For now, I (from the UK anyway) its the official repatriation flights only. I’m not sure if thats the same in the US.

Yeah I think it's the same here.  I can go online right now and get a ticket from vairious airlines but I think they are just trying to get a booking that they will eventually cancel this booking and offer it at a later date.  My Missus went on one of these flights (operated by Korean Air) in May and it was a bit more than we normally pay but not outrageous.

Also thanks for the updated information above.  

1 hour ago, Tounge Thaied said:

Where are you applying? 

https://thaiconsulatela.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/VISA-NOTICE-Spouse.pdf

I am also in California but applied through a link I found on the Washinton DC site.   Honestly, I am not too shocked either, and I understand they they may need time to process, just looking to get a better estimate as it's difficult to get insurance for the durration of your stay when you don't know when il will begin. 

Hello,

  Just want to find out from others who have applied for the Certificate of Entry specificlly on the grounds of re-uniting with Thai spouce.  Have you been approved?  rejected or asked for additional information?   I am asking as I had applied online for this and was promptly contancted the next day and informed that I would to aquire health insureance from a differenct source that could supply a letter in compliance with the requirments. I did get the insurance and a letter that complied with the requiremnts and submitted it again but that was last Thursday and I havent heard anything back in a week.  Is this to be expeccted?  Are these being issued presently, and if so are these flights the same chartered ones that had been doing re-patriation flights last month?

Last trip out here my wife was issued a a visa with a validity period of 10 years and has already returned to Thailand. If we want her to return again does she need to get a new USA visa or can she enter and leave as many times as she likes for that 10 years of visa validity?

Sorry to the poster for highjacking his thread with my info. Go for the IR1. The year will go fast and it's better than worrying they may stop her coming in at the airport. I've read that could happen. A tourist visa issued from Thailand is still no guarantee you're making through U.S immigration and having a husband who is a citizen of the U.S is not going to help her. Wish they didn't make things sooooo difficult for us.

l

Not a problem at all. This is all new and interesting information for me and it's been quite informative even if not as definitive as I had hoped for. I can still visit her in Thailand so the processing time is not a huge deal for us.

Yea Hal I am in the states already so wmail is all I can try. Well, at least time is on my side here.

I have known my wife 8 years, we have been married 6 and she has been to the USA one time 5 years ago to meet my family. After 5 years in Thailand myself I have now returned to work in the USA and would like to have my wife come out to stay with me for at least a year and maybe several until we retire back in Thailand. I know there are 2 basic routes to do this and the first is to apply straight for an immigration visa while she is in Thailand but right now the backlog seems to be near a year. The other way I have heard of is for her to apply for a tourist visa and then once in the USA convert that visa into an immigration visa.and that seems to be a work around but also much faster? I will be reading up on this on the US Immigration site but would like to get a feel for what anyone who is also in this situation is doing and how it worked?

I'll be there plus 1

I would attend +1 if schedule permitted regardless of the beer situation but much more likely to attend the closer it is to Surin.