rwilem

Yep, I just made one now, to get a preferred date and time. It's just for backup, in case something goes haywire with the online submission(s). Best case scenario is online results in APPROVED and then I just go back in to the appointment system and cancel it.

Wow, amazing story, thanks for sharing that. Yep, good call. And as you say, the rest is history. Or, as back in the day the American radio news/commentary great Paul Harvey would say, "And now you know the rest of the story."

A bit off-topic to the main point of the thread. Just wondering, how does someone have, how do you end up having two valid passports? Has to be an unusual situation. (Seems in the end they didn't allow you to keep the second one?)

There is an appointment system in place and you can book an appointment for doing the 90-day report in person. Really makes it smooth.

When is your due date? And when did you submit the report that the system shows is PENDING? And to clarify, for in-person reporting there is a 'grace period' of up to 7 days AFTER the due date, during which time you can submit it without being fined.

Had not thought of that. Seems like that would be an ideal way to go to sample localphone. Yeah, about the search, some agonizing...I hear you. Well, getting my U.S. TextNow number getting zapped, then Skype going down, you're out in the wild, U.S. number-less and no call-out ability, when things had been running on auto-pilot for years. On the True tourist Sim, the link didn't show, or maybe I missed it, what the initial outlay is for buying and funding it. And the costs for extending it, keeping it funded. But certainly 1 baht a minute calling to the U.S. is decent, and I would venture that the call quality should be better than VOIP.

Interesting.... I guess you'd have to get a 'tourist sim' and set that up. Lot of questions, though. How long is a 'tourist sim' going to be valid for? Forever, as long as it's funded? Not a lot of info at the site, but I'll look for it.

Wow, good to know. I didn't try that, just had the idea on the back burner after reading accounts of that process. I'll not pursue that method, no. After getting some call-out service, I'll be covered. I may just wait till my next trip to the U.S. to get a Voice account, get one on the up-and-up.

No, not accurate. There's no 'citizenship test' for acquiring a Voice account/number. (And it is available in some other countries in addition to the U.S.) In the U.S., to make an account you would have to be present, or fool google that you are (VPN), and have a U.S. mobile provider phone number able to receive the code to confirm the account.

So far, seems like it's tough to beat localphone's basic rate for calls to the U.S. I've contacted support at Mytello, to clarify if a purchase of a block of minutes is a one-off buy (with minutes having no short-term expiration period) or if it's based on a recurring monthly subscription model (with the minutes valid for only a month.) Received two conflicting, opposite answers from the same rep. First, he said it was a monthly subscription, the minutes do expire. Your subscription would be renewed. OK. Then I pointed out some info from the same 'U.S. rates' page on their website at the bottom, the details, which said the opposite, that your minutes don't expire. Brought that to his attention, and he changed his tune immediately. 'Yes, it's a one-time buy, not a subscription, the minutes don't expire.' So which is it? Doesn't inspire much confidence. That's for Mytello. Have contacted localphone support with a couple pre-buy queries, no response yet. If you want to make a test call with all these calling outfits seems you have to sign up first, get an account. I guess easy enough, but... Oh, well. Seems the top contenders for replacing the Skype call-out function are localphone, Mytello, Yolla and Viber. And one more that I came across yesterday, DialHard, which is web-based, no app. Want to look closer at that one. Will have to get something in the next couple days, as my Skype subscription is gone now. Ended yesterday or Sunday. No more Skype. Had a 16-17 year run with them.

Yeah, looks like your count is accurate, if counting April 4th as day 1 of the new time frame. But it doesn't matter. Could look at it this way, you got a one-day 'bonus' on your 90.😉

Yeah, who knows? I set up the new account on the laptop, via the google web site, and got going on the Voice set up, again via the website. But when it came time to confirm the code, it fizzled. I was actually looking at Sim cards on ebay and noted at least three sellers who were offering activation, or 'pre-activation' of the cards and shipping them out. That idea popped up here in these forums, a post from a year or so ago? I don't know if the poster actually bought the Sim card he was discussing, but I did. The Ultra sim, $3/mo plan, 100/100 T&T, 100 mb. I went, I guess, 'Cadillac'? The seller would activate it and add $35 credit to the card, so if you stay within the monthly limits it won't need to be 'topped-up' for another 10-11 months. (Have to see what additional taxes, charges, are applied to the monthly drawdown of the credit.) So that $35 is reflected in the cost I paid, which was a tad under $90. And the card was activated, account established up-and-running after getting here. How that's done, I don't know, but it's done and working fine and I've got management of the account now. Some other Sim 'activator-sellers' activate the card before they ship it, and get a number in an area you may not want. The seller I bought from got me a number in my preferred zip/area code. Great to hear it's worked out except for that hiccup you mentioned. Yeah, I'm gonna get that set up. The entire thing that I have experienced, my 'main' number held for five years from TextNow getting zapped, because using it from here violated the TOS, and then about a week later, the news of Skype's pending shutdown is a double whammy. I feel like taking a 'shotgun approach' to covering me to be able make calls when you need to call out to the U.S.

And have you noted your 'next due date' on the APPROVED pdf file? (Was it 'counted' 90 days from the date you submitted it, April 4th, I believe?)

This is correct. Ideally you want to do the online report on the first day you are allowed to. And that is two calendar weeks before your due date. Either that day or the next one is the best time to do it. The email, don't wait or look for it. (May end up in the junk folder, too.) Note your due date. Going to the date two weeks prior to it and doing the report that day seems to be the path to APPROVED land!

I don't know about that subscription. My read from what's being reported is that it's not going to be an option, at least in my case. I don't have credit. I have had a monthly subscription, of some kind, whether it be a 'world' or 'U.S. subscription', unlimited calling, for 16, 17 years. They're not renewing those subscriptions. People who have credit, who have used Skype that way, they might be able to do something within the Teams app, but even that seems unclear at this point. Teams is geared for more for business and corporate customers. The individual customer who wants to make 'calls out' is not really welcome there, that's the consensus emerging from what people are reporting. Did you use the Tello app? Do you make an overseas call first calling a local number here--as some of the outfits seem to operate--or you dialed directly to the overseas number? Many (maybe all?) of these providers and/or apps give you a chance to make a sample call. Good idea to do that before deciding to go ahead with a purchase.