Pib

Snapshots from Wise showing 1 month trend for USD-THB and EUR-THB as of 12 July 2022 at 9pm Thailand time. USD trend good/going up; EUR trend bad/going down. But give it time....when it comes to currency exchange rates what goes up eventually comes down....and what goes down eventually goes up. USD-THB Exchange Rate as of 12 July at 9pm Thailand time EUR-THB Wise Exchange Rate as of 12 July at 9pm Thailand time.

Are you saying that Samui "also" processed/generated a new 90 days receipt for you when you got your extension? Some immigration offices do that; some don't.

Doing some googling, here is what the "2nd Notice" supposedly look like....the notice you get if Wilkes Barre didn't get your 1st notice 7162 back within 60 days. And it also says you can mail the 7162 back in any envelope if the Wilkes Barre provided envelope isn't used for some reason.

I've never sent both the wife's and my form back in the same envelope, HOWEVER, BUT, I would not think it would make any difference (other than saving on mailing costs) because the envelope SSA provided is a generic, un-stamped in nature with the Wilkes Barre addressed preprinted. All the "person specific" info/data is printed/encoded on the 7162 form the SSA mailed you; it's not on the envelope they provide for return mailing. The only thing I would do is include a short note attached to the forms flagging the fact one form is for you and the other for the wife just to help make sure the SSA person opening the envelope notices "two" forms for two people are included. It's gotta be a mind-numbing job opening hundred of thousands of 7162 envelopes over several months. Of course I'm assuming Wilks Barre has humans opening the envelopes....I guess they could have a machine doing it with all the fantastic robots machines they have now days and then the human only gets involved for those forms the robot rejects for some reason.

Above is tracking from the Thailand Postal Tracking system. Does tracking on the U.S. Postal System tracking show "final delivery" specifically to Wilkes Barre? https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input The Thai and U.S. postal tracking systems do interface with/update each other "to a degree" but from my experience the USPS tracking system will show more detailed tracking/locations especially once it arrives in the U.S., but the Thai Postal System tracking will show a more abbreviated form. Seems the arrival at the inward office of exchange (i.e., arriving the U.S. international mail center which could have been several U.S. locations but probably New York City) and then being signed for in Wilkes Barre PA is awful fast even with NY and PA being side-by-side states.

Although tracking might give a warm-fuzzy of knowing where the mailing currently is just having a tracking number of a mailing to Wilkes Barre will be of little to no assistance in satisfying the requirement of the Wilkes-Barre SSA folks receiving the form and updating the system. If for some reason you get a second notice I seriously doubt telling the SSA folks you have a tracking number showing arrival at Wilkes Barre will satisfy the SSA folks in requiring a 7162 either provided via a 2nd mailing to Wilkes-Barre and/or an email/scan to Manila. I would be interested to see more current tracking results for a Registered Airmail to Wilkes-Barre...hope more people post some tracking results like Kivetoruk did above a few post showing around a 9 day delivery time. I was surprised indeed based on my 5 test mailings back in 2019 where it took 21 to 40 days for a Registered Airmail envelope to reach an addresses in California and Texas but a Regular (unregistered) Airmail took 10 to 14 days. Back then a Registered Airmail cost less than Bt100 but now Bt325. Maybe with the new & improved price Registered Airmail price they are moving the registered email faster combined with registered mail not getting bogged down in U.S. customs for 3 to 7 days at the U.S. international entry point which I experienced with each of my registered mailings which was a simple envelope with one A4 sized piece of paper in it. Yea, hope more people post Registered Airmail tracking results....would be nice to know info for us folks listening in.

Back in 2019 (pre-pandemic) the wife didn't receive a 7162 and when asking Manila what to do she was told to wait until 1 Nov and if no 7162 was received by then, then contact Manila again and they would email a 7162 for completion and return to Manila. And when neither the wife or I received a form in 2020 we were once again told to wait till 1 Nov. Below is a partial quote of their responses back then from two different reps. In both cases Manila did email a 7162 to complete, scan, and return email to them but only on/after 1 Nov which means a person would have not received the first or second mailing from the SSA. Basically, Manila didn't want to get involved in processing 7162's until "after" the initial mailing from SSA and if needed the follow-up mailing to the beneficiary had occurred....and these two SSA mailings would have occurred and been received by 31 Oct. If a person didn't receive either of the mailings then Manila would accept/process a 7162 sent to them versus Wilkes-Barre. A 21 June 2019 Manila SSA FBU response (pre-pandemic) A 2 July 2020 Manila SSA FBU response (pandemic starting to disrupt mail)

If you were unable to sign the form/make an X on the form (like being in a coma) that would probably mean you also would not be able to handle funds. So, in that case a person, such as your spouse, would probably need to be designated as your representative to receive & manage the funds for you....and to confirm periodically that you are still kicking vs having been barbequed at the local temple. The representative program has different/detailed reporting requirements. See below weblink for a bunch of FAQ regarding Representative Payees. Now in those cases where a person's inability to manage his/her SSA Pension or even make a X on a 7162 form, like being in a coma for a few months, I expect the person's servicing SSA Office (i.e., Manila SSA FBU) should be contacted for guidance as the servicing local SSA office has the responsibility to determine what is going on with an individual like when not responding to the annual Are You Dead or Alive form. https://www.ssa.gov/payee/faqrep.htm?tl=5%2C27%2C28%2C29

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/changes_us_passport_service-2/

Yeap...renewed my U.S. passport by mail a few months ago.....total time required including all going & coming mail time was 18 days.

Use below DTAC link to start....I just used it to schedule appts for the wife and I. We have DTAC numbers so I don't know if it will work with non-DTAC numbers. https://app.dtac.co.th/vaccine/index.html Select the English or Thai language setting in the upper right hand corner. It will ask for your name, Thai ID/foreign passport number, address, date of birth, and mobile number. I used my Pink ID card since that is what I have used for my previous vaccine jabs. You will then pick an available appt date but the time on that date will be issued upon completion of the process (i.e., you can pick the date but not the time). The process also sends two SMSs to you confirming the appt. The 1st SMS just says your registration for a jab has been registered and within 2 hours you will receive another SMS informing you of the registration final results. But that 2nd SMS arrived within seconds confirming successful registration....and that 2nd SMS will contain a weblink which will show your appt date/time with QR code for the Bang Sue appt which you are suppose to show when arriving for your appt. So take a snapshot of that appt/QR code.....but all the QR code shows is the ID number you used which I guess when scanned by the Bang Sue folks would immediately pull-up your appt in their computer system...just makes their work a little easier. You can go to the weblink using the DTAC app or browser.....I used my browser to go to the link as using the DTAC app just took me to my DTAC acct menu where I didn't see anything about the appt (maybe I didn't look good enough)....but going to the link using your phone or computer browser works fine....you enter you ID number and phone number and then your appt date, time, and QR code are shown. I first made my appt and got issued a 1pm time on the day I selected....I then immediately made an appt for the wife on the same day and fortunately they issued a 1pm time also. It worked out well...didn't step on any landmines during the process.

The wife has her SS pension sent via IDD also....goes to her regular Bangkok Bank acct at a branch in Bangkok. The exchange rate she gets matches yours above, however, there is only a Bt100 fee which is the basic BAHTNET fee since BAHTNET is used for the last leg of the SSA IDD SWIFT transfer. I expect the additional 76 to 78 baht you are seeing is due to some "inter-regional" BAHTNET transfer fee on top of the basic 100 baht fee since I think you live and probably bank in up-county Thailand vs Bangkok.

Knock on wood (my head), but so far I've never had a problem in mail going from the Thailand to the U.S. reaching it's destination. And those test mailings I did to check the speed of regular airmail and registered airmail proved to me registered mail can take 2 to 3 times longer to reach it's U.S. destination....maybe so much longer that the SSA receives it "after" they have sent you a second mailing which makes a person think their first mail-back never made it to the SSA.....then the person mails in another Dead or Alive form. Plus, with the Dead or Alive form if the SSA does not receive your response to your first mailing within 60 days they then mail you another request.....and if you don't respond to that second mailing within 45 days then they mail you a letter in mid Jan saying your benefits are being suspended for the Feb payment until they do hear from you. Here is a link to the SSA instruction covering the mailing/follow-up for Dead or Alive forms formally called the Foreign Enforcement Program. https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302655010 Yea, the SSA stills wants a mailed copy with handwritten signature/mark on the form versus going with an online system with digital signature. Probably has something to do in them trying to ensure a person has provided/kept up to date their foreign address, many older folks are not computer/online literate but can still lick a stamp just fine, some may not have easy (or any) access to online access considering there are beneficiaries almost everywhere in the world, and maybe "legal-wise" it makes it easier to prosecute anyone involved in fraudulent submissions. But hey, I'm guessing as to the "why's" for requiring the snail mail process over an online process.

Got the wife's and my forms mailed back today/8 July. Mailed both via Regular Airmail which cost Bt49 per envelope using the SSA-provided enveloped going to Wilkes Barre PA. Registered Airmail would have cost around double based on some mailings I did a few years ago. Back in mid 2019 (pre-COVID pandemic) I did 5 test mailings from Bangkok to some mail forwarding addresses I have in Texas and California where I'm immediately notified via email of the mail arrival. I would mail two envelopes at the post office at the same time from Bangkok....one via "Regular" Airmail and one via "Registered" Airmail in identical envelopes. All that was in each envelope was once piece of A4 sized paper. Those envelopes sent via Regular Airmail arrived in 10 to 14 days but those sent via Registered Airmail took 21 to 40 days. And the Registered Airmail would go MIA in the Thai Postal & U.S. Postal tracking systems for a week or two after leaving Bangkok and before reappearing on the tracking systems radar screens again upon arrival at the New York City International Postal Center. Then that Registered Airmail always got bogged down at the NYC Int'l Center for approx 3 to 7 days in clearing customs before being released into the domestic US Postal System. So, ever since then I have just used Regular Airmail when mailing envelopes back to the U.S. since the mail arrived a lot faster while also being cheaper than using Registered Airmail.

The wife and I rec'd our today/8 July 2022...we live in Bangkok. Wasn't aware/forgot about this thread when I started this other one on 8 July.

Well, after a couple years of the SSA not mailing "Are You Dead or Alive" forms due to the COVID pandemic both the wife and I received a SSA-7162 today/8 July 2022. We live in Bangkok. Apparently the SSA is back to mailing the forms on a regular annual basis for us Thailand-based old folks. Will complete and mail the forms back today.

Yea....I'm been a DTAC postpaid customer for many years....over the last 6 months or so there has definitely been a BIG uptick in advertising texts from DTAC offering different text/data/voice top-ups...almost daily such a text arrives....and I've already got one such text for today/24 June regarding a data top-up. I expect the proposed True-DTAC merger is a key factor....trying to retain/gain customers to make the most money in the merger.

Most Thai banks allow a person such as a spouse to be added as a "Signatory or also called Power of Attorney (POA) " to a single owned acct. The Thai bank will probably use the POA terminology vs Signatory when you are talking to them about it. The bank has their own POA form (usually a simple one page form) and there is a 30 baht govt stamp fee to process the POA (all done at the bank rep's desk). The Signatory is authorized to withdraw/transfer funds but is "not" added as an account owner....will "not" appear on the passbook/acct as an account owner. The Signatory must be present along with the acct owner to complete the POA paperwork. For those banks like Bangkok Bank that have you sign the last page of the bank passbook where that signature can only be seen under a black light, the Signatory will also sign that page also which means issue of a new passbook. Now if you have the special/restricted Bangkok Bank acct used to receive reoccurring U.S. govt payments via ACH like a pension payment a Signatory/POA can not be setup for that acct, but you can setup a Signatory/POA for a regular acct. The Thai wife and I are Signatories on each others singled-owned accts at Bangkok Bank and Krungsri Bank with the exception of a special/restricted Bangkok Bank acct I setup over a decade ago when I wanted to receive a U.S. govt pension payment....I later stopped receiving that payment to that special acct but keep the acct open just in case it might come in handy again some day. When I tried to add the wife as Signatory/POA to that special acct I was told "can not" since it's a special/restricted acct....but I was able to add the wife to my regular (unrestricted) Bangkok Bank accts....no problem....and ditto for my Krungsri acct.

When you obtain cash via use of a debit/credit card at the bank counter and also have it deposited into your bank account (i.e., money never touches your hands), it's really "two separate transactions" that can appear as one transaction since they are done one right after the other....to the customer the two transactions can appear as one transaction but the bank rep is doing two separate transactions. First transaction is using the card to obtain money....the bank teller will have you sign the transaction receipt and will temporarily place the money obtained into a holding pattern/temporarily central acct while they then initiate the deposit transaction (the second transaction) to deposit the money into your acct. Deposit the money just like you walked into the bank with money in-hand to deposit. A deposit receipt is completed and then the funds in the holding pattern/temporary acct are transferred to your acct. That transfer/deposit is coded just like you walked in the bank with money in-hand to deposit....coded just as a local deposit and "not" an international transfer. I get money this way every few months using my U.S. bank cards....been doing it for a long time....do it at Bangkok Bank and Krungsri Bank....both banks do the same two separate transactions one right after each other kinda making it look like one transaction....and both code it as a local deposit. Just because a debit card might be issued by a money transfer company such as MoneyGram, Wise, etc., transaction using such a card would be processed on the Thai bank end just like a card issued by a foreign/home country bank.

".....may face arrest." Means NOT!!!!

Well, in this case a stranger is just passing along good info....good info that can be found on the internet like at the Asus Support web site....see below....and it does work...I tried it...shows your Wifi password. Could come in handy if you ever forget your Wifi password, lose wherever you may have it documented, etc....sure beats having to reset your router to create a new password. https://www.asus.com/me-en/support/FAQ/1046400/#:~:text=In the Command Prompt window,that has been connected currently. I too just don't do anything that some folks recommend on the web as sometimes that info is just plain wrong or is missing key details...I usually try to validate the info by doing some googling to see what other folks/sites say. In this case the recommendation is just running a Windows built-in command that will show certain info and other sites like the Asus Support website talk its usage in their Windows 10 FAQ section.