Pib

Just use the USPS Tracking website to enter the registered mail tracking number issued by the Thai Post Office then setup how you want to be notified of any changes by entering whatever email address you want to use. https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input

Yeap...the Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire (FEQ) process (a.ka., the 7162/7161 process) only applies to beneficiaries with a non-US address on-file with the SSA. And I'm sure the primary reason is to ensure the person is still alive as "passing away" in many foreign countries might not get reported promptly or at all due weak social safety networks/systems, corrupt governments, etc., where the foreigners death stays under wraps for un-intentional or intentional reasons like foreign family members just want the money to continue flowing and are not worried in the less about not reporting the death....they just want the SSA pension money to keep flowing in. Yea, yea, a foreigner's deaths is suppose to be reported to that foreigner embassy in that country but unless the embassy is notified by host country officials or family it will not know. A lot of third world nations simply do not have good systems to track/notify/report foreigner deaths. But when a person dies in the U.S. that death is reported in so many different ways....hospitals, morgues, police, funeral homes, etc., just in case family members do report the death. Background Information — FEP https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302655001

Below BoI announcement on the BoI LTR website shows what other agencies an application might be sent to for consideration. To me it's unclear whether it's sent before or after BoI completes its review and is satisfied with the supporting evidence/docs. But based on paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 wording I think it's "before" the BoI completes its detailed review...and then after the BoI completes its final review/recommendation for approval it then goes back to Immigration to finalize approval. For those who recently submitted your application (like say over the last week or so) it would be helpful to know what your application status now shows after the BoI software update today/Sat/10 Dec where people who had a status of "Pending" Friday night/9 Dec woke-up to a new status of "Consideration by Govt Agencies" on Saturday morning/10 Dec. If your status also now suddenly shows "Consideration by Govt Agencies" with your application only having been submitted recently (say the last week or two) then "Consideration by Govt Agencies" is probably just the new "Pending." But hey, maybe some of you are still showing "Pending"....please give us some crossfeed if your application still shows Pending as of 10 Dec/Saturday. https://ltr.boi.go.th/documents/Announcement of the Office of the Board of Investment_No.3-2565 (EN).pdf

As a reminder this coming Monday/12 Dec is a holiday (observed Constitution Day) which means govt agencies like the BoI will be closed. So don't expected to see any LTR application status changes or being able to call BoI no sooner than 13 Dec/Tuesday.

Since you said you received notification on 7 Dec your application had been approved, hopefully in your case it just means the BoI and Immigration are still coordinating the official notification of approval letter that you would use to actually get the Visa from the BoI Immigration or a Thai embassy depending on where you requested that you pay and have the visa issued at. But for those who had not received notification of approval yet, I expect "Consideration by Govt Agencies" could mean BoI as a govt agency is still reviewing/processing your application, maybe BoI asked a couple other govt agencies if they have any issues with your application (like making sure you are not on some bad-boy list, etc. Personally I don't think the change is much different than a few weeks ago on another Saturday morning software update when the BoI changed the online status "Staff Name" entries to start showing a "Screen number" like Screen 3 instead of a StaffBOI entry 3 or 4 digit number. As it turned out a Screen number like say Screen 3, only represented a "screener" at BoI who supposedly had a person's application in their inbox. And when I asked to talk to Screen 3 in my calls I was told it could really represent several different screeners/evaluators...like BoI co-workers in the same section.

Mail bound for Wilkes Barre PA goes from Bangkok to JFK Airport/Jamaica (part of New York City)....that usually takes a few days to a week in various controlled registered airmail test I have done. And other folks who post their tracking results show the same thing. At Jamaica the mail enters USPS International Service Center and U.S. Customs systems....once clearing Customs which can take hours to weeks (highly variable) the USPS Int'l Service Center will direct the mail to either the Scranton PA USPS Distribution Center or Lehigh Valley PA USPS Distribution Center....sometime the mail goes thru both. Then it on the Wilkes Barre PA Post Office who manages around 18 ZIP codes, one of which is the Wilkes Barre SSA ZIP code. The an agent from the Wilkes Barre Data Processing Center comes and picks up mail on business days who takes the mail back to the SSA Processing Center for internal distribution. This SSA Data Processing Center Receives many different forms....not just 7162/7161 forms. Where the 7162/7161 always seem to go MIA and/or get stuck in the mud is after leaving the USPS International Service Center or after leaving the Scranton or Lehigh Valley Distribution Centers. The problem with 7162/7161 going MIA/taking so long to reach Wilkes Barre is "not", repeat, not with the Thai Postal System getting the mail to the U.S.; the problem, delay, MIA, etc., all occurs on the US Postal System end. And it appears "foreign registered" mail receive less than satisfactory attention in many cases once entering the USPS system. Heck, there are plenty of complains for U.S. domestic registered mail receiving poor delivery service also. Summary of Problem: It's caused by the U.S. Postal System.

I've been told twice in two separate calls to two separate BoI reps in mid and late Nov my application was "out for review." A few days after that late Nov call my status changed from Pending to Request for Additional Docs which I provided same day....the status immediately went back to Pending. Based on a call this week BoI hasn't had a chance to review those additional docs but should soon.

Based on my phones calls to BoI over the last month checking on the status of my application which was showing "Pending" I expect "Consideration by Government Agencies" simply means that BoI (a govt agency) is still processing the application which still means it's in pending status that could indicate the application has not been looked at yet, went back to an earlier queue location, maybe being looked at by a non-BoI department, etc. Now "Consideration by Govt Agencies" does give the impression a person's application is moving thru the process when in fact it could be (probably is) awaiting "internal BoI" initial or additional review/processing. Mine showed Pending status around 9pm last night....but at 5am this morning it now shows Consideration by Govt Agencies...but I'm sure my application hasn't moved an additional inch in the BoI process overnight nor from where it was last week based on my calls checking on status.. This is surely just a renaming of status descriptions in an overnight software update trying to convey application movement instead of stagnation/still in the queue. Hoping to cut down on the number of calls to BoI asking why a person's application doesn't seem to be moving.

Below weblink is a SSA Office of Inspector General Audit Report in 2017 regarding the FEQ process (i.e., 7162/7161). It appears the audit was looking at 2015 data. It's probably the latest IG review of the FEQ process especially since the COVID pandemic hit in 2019 and the FEQ process came to a halt for a coupe of years. Read the short IG report for full details....but I did quote one paragraph from the report. https://oig-files.ssa.gov/audits/full/A-13-16-50092.pdf

Amen Brother!!! And I say that based on the s....l....o.....w processing of my LTRWP application (approx 1.5 months already) and others I know who are at around 2 months. And phone calls to BoI which have all been polite and professional on both ends has yielded little other than them saying they have a lot of applications, their IT system is slow, they'll get to the application soonest, etc. IMO LTRWP processing (and probably other categories as well) has slowed down a great deal since the LTR kickoff month in September when the BoI may have been staffed better to process LTR applications and/or more motivated to actually reach an approval or disapproval decision within their advertised 20 working days (approx 30 calendar days). I bet 40 working days/2 calendar months is closer to the average processing time right now.

Just as a 7162/7161 refresher regarding the 1st, 2nd, and Suspension notices and how different SSA departments such as Wilkes Barre, Office of Int'l Ops in Baltimore, Manila FBU, etc., fit in the process, the two SSA Program Operations Manual System (POMS) weblinks shown at the bottom spell it out. POMS is what the SSA calls its operating instructions. And from review of the two POMS you'll see there is a combination of automated and manual activities occur that determine if a person ends up on the suspended list and it varies a little depending on whether it's a 7162 or 7161. You will notice that if a person is suspended the FBU, like the Manila FBU, is the key department in trying to resolve the problem but of course that means they need to be able to contact you and all they got to go on is your address, phone number and email on-file (correct or outdated). And I doubt they would try to contact you by email or call....and probably not by mail since no response to the 7162/7161 notices has occurred (although you may have mail a form back it just never made it to Wilkes Barre or didn't make it in time). Instead they are probably going to wait for you to contact them. So, it's pretty much up to the individual to contact the FBU to get off the suspended list (not to imply contacting the Office of Int'l Ops in Baltimore might not work also). The Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire (FEQ) Process. FEQ is the SSA's fancy name for the 7161/7162 forms. https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302655010 What Wilkes Barre Does https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302655007

Oh yea....the SSA will definitely suspend benefits if they don't receive back the form and the ensuing checks accomplished by the SSA can't satisfy the form requirements. SSA knows suspension of benefits will definitely gain the beneficiary's attention and quick reaction to contact the SSA to resolve the problem. Once fixed....which is basically confirming you are still alive.....then any suspended benefits will be paid within a few days to few weeks. Additionally, Manila will be very receptive in accepting a 7161/7162 sent to them "once you appear on the suspension list." But as we seen in several replies from Manila they don't even want to provide a blank form for completion until 1 Nov (after a 2nď notice should have been received by 31 Oct) and even then they instruct a person to mail it to Wilkes Barre. But as mentioned once appearing on the Jan suspension list they will accept a form sent to them to unsuspend your payments but still may require you to also send a copy to Wilkes Barre.

Just a typo...even my mobile spell checker initially replaced cardless with cashless which I had to change back to cardless before submitting.

A cardless withdrawal is where you use your bank mobile app to scan a QR code displayed on the ATM screen. Then the ATM spits out the amount you requested.

And just to add to K2938's post in regards to any major financial decision/commitment a person must make before applying for an LTR I would not accept a answer/confirmation in response to a query submitted via their online contact form as many people have found out the answer given by those BoI reps working the contact queries may be different and much less experienced from the BoI reps that actually evaluate a person's application. https://ltr.boi.go.th/index.html#contact Instead, first determine if you feel such a financial investment matches the exact wording listed in the BoI LTR requirements and also look at the application form where they require certain info on the investment to include investment documents. Yes, look closely at both the requirements and the application form blocks. https://ltr.boi.go.th/documents/Wealthy-Pensioner.pdf And then get some kind of confirmation from application evaluators at BoI; not from just any person that answers the phone at BoI. If possible you might even want to try to setup a virtual or physical meeting with BoI to discuss. Committing oneself to buying long term Thai govt bonds solely (and hopefully) to meet the requirements of an LTR application is a major decision and a person needs to be as sure as possible the bond buy will indeed satisfy BoI.

Nope.. Whether you have an online acct or not....or if having an online acct and setting the paperless option the 7161/7162 is still snail mailed.

Yea...they are giving instructions like if you went to an ATM "to pay a bill." So just use your bank mbanking/ibanking "to pay a bill." I always just use the Pay Bill's selection on my Bangkok Bank mobile app...just takes a minute or two. And I could do it via Bangkok Bank ibanking also. All you are doing is paying a bill the Lazada checkout process created....and I think you have 2 days to make the payment....otherwise, the bill then cancels itself if not paid.

No, I do not mean "internet transfer" which use to be an available option up until around Jul 2022....although the internet option is still shown on the payment options list it is "greyed out" and no longer works. Maybe they are keeping it on the list but inactivated/grey out for now as they are planning to bring that option back in the future. But back to the "bank transfer" option which I use several times per month, when you select it you are shown a transaction number and instructions on how to complete the bank transfer which is basically log onto your Thai bank acct ibanking/mbanking acct, use the "Pay Bills" function in your banking, look up the vender to pay given in the instructions (i.e. 123 Services), enter the transaction number given in Ref 1, enter your phone number in Ref 2, and enter the payment amount. Just like you had got a paper bill for your monthly electric, water, etc., bill. Click confirm and if you have entered the info correctly (i.e., correct vender, Ref 1 number, and amount) it immediately processes; otherwise, it's rejected as not being found in the system just like how a bill payment will not process unless all info matches. This is good as you can't send the money to the wrong place or send the wrong amount....must send the exact amount to the stang. Then just a few seconds later within your Lazada acct you see the payment arrived/completed. Yea, Lazada calls it a Bank Transfer but it's really a Bill Payment. Below snapshots are from my Lazada acct when Using the Lazada Mobile App and when logging on Lazada via browser (like using your computer to logon). During checkout to pay for an order select the "all payment options" selection otherwise you'll probably only see two payment options. When logging on using the Mobile App that a Mobile Banking app payment will be offered for several banks....but that Mobile Banking payment option is "not" offered when logging on via a browser. But the Bank Transfer payment option is offered via the app or browser. Yeap, I use the Bank Transfer option (which is actually a Bill Pay option) several times per month but I use my Lazada Wallet more. And I highly, highly recommend that people predominately use the Lazada Mobile app vs logging on via your computer because the Mobile App offers more discounts, free/reduced shipping, cashback, and a variety of other goodies not offered at all or in smaller amounts when using Lazada via a browser. Use of Lazada via browser definitely comes in handy sometimes to "translate" some item descriptions as translation on the mobile app is more cumbersome. But predominately using the Mobile app is the way to go "pocket-book wise" due to all the extra discounts, free/reduced shipping, etc. Yea, as long as a person can view a smartphone/tablet screen OK, then using the Lazada Mobile App vs using a browser is the way to go....definitely better. Lazada Payment Option When" Using Lazada Mobile App." Note the Internet Banking option is greyed out/doesn't work anymore as of around Jul 2022. Lazada Payment Options When "Using a Browser" to Log onto your Lazada acct. Notice the Mobile Banking option is not offered. And the Internet Banking option is greyed out/doesn't work anymore as of around Jul 2022.

I use Lazada all the time....I'm a farang. I don't remember it ever offering payment at 7-11 but maybe I missed see that option My payment options in the Lazada app which I looking at as I write this are: - Lazada Wallet (which I use for payment) - Credit/debit card - Mobile Banking (which I use for payment) - Bank Transfer (which I use for payment -Truemoney Wallet, -Rabbit Line Pay, - and COD (which I use to use) In my early days of ordering on Lazada I used COD but that can be a pain if you are not around for delivery. So for the last couple of years I've been using Lazada Wallet, Mobile Banking, and/or Bank Transfer to pay for each order in advance....which method I use depends on the situation...but I use the Lazada Wallet the most, followed by Bank Transfer, and occasionally via Mobile Banking. I use the Mobile Banking most to top-up my Lazada Wallet. All three of my main payment methods are easy and quick....all done on the comfort of my smartphone/laptop. And I have found the Lazada refund process to be easy....in some cases I get my refunded "instantly" after filing the return or dropping off the item at a Kerry/Flash delivery point. There area a lot of payment options available for a Lazada buy. Anyone who has a Thai bank acct should be able to do a simple bank transfer which is easy and quick to do (a minute or two)....no additional action required like emailing Lazada a copy of the transfer receipt. Yeap....lot of options to pay for a Lazada buy.

Misty I had never heard of PFIC until your post above. I did some googling on PFIC and yea, it sure does sound like overseas mutual funds are taxed at a high rate per U.S. IRS laws/rules. Quite a few websites saying such like the one below. https://www.goldinglawyers.com/foreign-mutual-funds-pfic-form-8621-fbar-8938-u-s-tax-returns/

Thanks. And when did you apply as people are definitely interested in how long it takes to get from application submission to notice of approval.

Update: Known LTR Approvals as of 7 Dec 2022 based on posts in this thread I saw. Added "anotherexpat4444" who received his LTR approval on 7 Dec. Congrats!!! Don't know what type of LTR he applied for or when he applied. I may have missed some approvals...please speak-up if you have been approved. Poster & Date Approval Notice Rec'd 1. BKKNono - 15 Sep 2. ashkale - 28 Sep 3. ThailandRyan - 28 Sep 4. pepper402 - 29 Sep 5. gajah - 30 Sep 6. Alotoftravel - 4 Oct 7. James7 - 4 Oct 8. & 9. Misty (and family member) - 4 Oct 10. mudcat - 4 Oct 11. & 12. stuarty (and wife) - 4 Oct 13. Boomer6969 - 5 Oct 14. aublumberg - 12 Oct 15. JJJJJJJJ - 8 Nov 16. smic - 28 Nov 17. anotherexpat4444 - 7 Dec

So what changed with your insurance? Did you buy a new policy over the last few days, self insure, etc. Before you were saying your application was hung up due to insurance.

Whenever a residence that is far from a populous area and is also unoccupied it's just screaming, "Come burglarize me, please!!!" The maid having left five months ago doesn't necessarily mean the maid was involved as the maid may have just wanted to move to another location/job (people in these types of jobs change jobs/quit all the time), the home owners were not paying her on-time/enough, etc. Toss-in an all too typical witnesses/neighbors' attitude of "Not wanting to get involved" and it makes it easy pickings for any burglar. Now the destruction within the house such as punctured ceilings, walls, and trash everywhere could indicate someone had a grudge against owners and/or the burglars where just high on drugs. Yea, this house was just screaming, "Come burglarize me, please!!!!"

Well, it will reach the New York City/Jamaica NY in approx 10 days where it has now entered the Customs and USPS systems. It first enters Customs. How long it takes to get thru Customs can range from same day to several days. Now that Customs has released it back to the USPS a person is at the mercy of the USPS in getting it from NYC to Wilkes Barre which is only 121 miles. That USPS trek from NYC to Wilkes Barre is where it can only take a few days OR months....OR simply go Missing in Action.