daboyz1

I sometimes wonder if the government has any idea how absurd stories like this make them look in the eyes of the world ????

It's obvious they don't care about how the rest of the world perceives them. They keep doing one absurd thing after another.

India and Pakistan are the worst. It took me 5 business days to get my first business visa to India back in 2005. That embassy is a zoo.

India is now EIGHT working days, at least the applications are now handled by VFS in the Glas Haus (Asoke BTS).

I've had an Indian Business Visa every year for the last seven years, this year (last week) I had to have an embassy interview (another rule change). You also have to have flights and hotel bookings before you'll get in the door of the application centre.

I remember standing at the Indian Embassy on 23 waiting for the window to open. It seemed like I was standing in a queue. They slid the window open and it was a free for all. Everyone just ran up to the window. No order at all. I thought they were giving away 1000 THB notes or something the way everyone was acting.

Most crime prone areas?

They forgot parliament house? Politicians commit serious financial crimes there daily.

I can't be sure, but perhaps murders may be commissioned out of there as well?

Last time I saw a video that made me this angry, were planes flying into buildings in New York.

Let me get this right.

Several women are beat up which is alarming and should be investigated within a culture that commonly overlooks such behavior and you are comparing that to 3,000 people dying?

I must be missing something here.

I was talking about how angry the video made me, not the body count. But hey I'm here to help. I suggest giving these folks a call:

http://www.auathailand.org/thai/index.php

Thanks, I was just trying to sort out the requirements before trekking to the embassy.

I've just had sorted my seventh business visa for India. It gets harder every year, this year (for the first time) they actually wanted an interview, OK it was a 2 minute chat with the consular officer but a pain none the less.

I imagine Bangladesh will be similar (I will need 3 months there).

India and Pakistan are the worst. It took me 5 business days to get my first business visa to India back in 2005. That embassy is a zoo.

Last time I saw a video that made me this angry, were planes flying into buildings in New York.

There are 2 condos planned for Ubon. 1 is 19 stories and will be near Big C. Another one is 20 stories and they are still in the early stages of choosing a location. The 19 story one is supposedly confirmed though.

I've tried the above link in both Firefox and IE. Just opens to a blank blue page.

I haven't been there since 2007. When I went it was basically visa on arrival. It was $50 USD on arrival single entry. I think they gave me 30 days.

She needs to go to the PSC in Bangkok.

Police Clearance Service Center website: http://pcscenter.sb.police.go.th/eservice.php



As of March 2009, about 1 week* to obtain Police Certificate, *if
Applicant has clean record. (Make/Keep Photocopy, in English, No
Translation Needed.)

If you request the police station to mail your certificate, they send it
via Thai Post EMS so you should get it in under a week. However, they
don't send it until the day that you could have come to pick it up.



The Police Clearance Service Center:

Building 24, Royal Thai Police,

Rama I, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330



Phone : 0-2205-2168-9

Fax: 0-2205-1295

E-mail : [email protected]

I found this on the USCIS website:

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative Procedural Changes

On May 17, 2011, USCIS published a rule in the Federal Register
removing regulatory restrictions on where a Form I-130 may be filed.
See 76 Fed Reg 95 (17 May 2011), pp. 28303-28305 The rule requires
that all petitioners, no matter whether they live in the United States
or overseas, file a Form I-130 according to the form instructions. See
new 8 CFR 204.1(. This change will become effective on August 15,
2011. USCIS will amend the form instructions for Form I-130 concurrently
with this rulemaking to provide the option of either mailing the
petition to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox, or filing at the USCIS
international office if the petitioner resides in a country where USCIS
has an office. Stakeholders inquired as to whether there would be any
additional costs with the change in filing location for the Form I-130,
which will not be the case. Additionally, petitioners requested
information on the processing time for the Form I-130 if it is to be
filed at an overseas office versus at the lockbox. Representatives from
USCIS International Operations indicated that the processing times for
overseas offices will depend on their work load and for cases filed at a
Lockbox, it is yet to be determined what the processing times will
be.

Source:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=2565618036c40310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

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I still can't seem to find a list that explains which countries are still eligible. I saw it last year, but can't find it.

A few things.

1. You don't file both I-130 and I-129F for a marriage visa any longer. That used to be the process for petitioning for a K-3 visa. That visa is pretty much dead nowadays because NVC closes the I-129F at that stage. You just file the I-130 petition, and depending on how long you've been married that will will result in either a CR-1 or IR-1 visa. When entering the U.S., if you have been married over 2 years at that point, your spouse will get a green card that is valid for 10 years. If the spouse has been married less than 2 years, it will result in a 2 years green card.

2. If you petition for the visa while living in Thailand. It's called "Direct Consular Filing" DCF for short. However, you must prove that you have resided in Thailand for at least 6 months. This is generally the quickest way to go. Usually they'll accept a Non-O or B visa with the appropriate stamps as proof of 6 months residency in Thailand. Recently they have made some changes in certain countries concerning this process and where to file the I-130 etc. I'm not sure if you can still file the I-130 directly with USCIS in Thailand or not at this point. The USCIS office is actually across Wireless rd. from the embassy. More than likely you will need to file it with a USCIS filing location in the U.S.

Here is the link for the USCIS office in Bangkok.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=6cee39d112b72310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

I wish I had known about the DCF option when I lived in Thailand. I have seen these cases go from start to finish in as little as 30 days. In my case I filed form the U.S. and it took a year from start to finish.

ETA: Looks like they have an email address on that page. I'd send them an email and ask them.

My wife has been here in Texas for 4 years now. We lived together in Bangkok for a couple years as well prior to her moving here. Her mother and father are pretty poor farmers in Si Saket, yet they never really ask for money. I think I've sent them maybe 10k THB since she's been here. I guess I'm lucky in that regard. I do pay for her niece's private school in Chaing Mai which is like 10k THB a semester. We're saving to go back and live in Isaan somewhere, in about 5-6 years. Funny thing is she wants to stay here in the U.S. and I don't. I actually hate it here. It's a good place to make money, and that's about it.

She's adjusted pretty well. She is now a U.S. citizen, has her driver's license , and a regular job.

As your wife is a US Citizen and working, consider fulfilling her SSA time requirements. That pension will go a long way in Si Saket.

Yes, I've considered that. She only has 6 qualifying quarters now, and I believe you need 40 to qualify. We'd have to stay here in the U.S. a few more years than I'd like. Definitely something to think about though.

The social security rules are very complicated and I don't pretend to know them all. I do however know that because my wife is a US Citizen she will be able to qualify for her own social security check, even though she has never worked a job in the USA, by filing a claim under my fully paid up earning history. She will get approximately 50% of the amount that I am getting.

So your wife will get a check.

Will I have to be dead for her to collect?

No.

She will qualify for her own check at retirement age. You two will probably be collecting both checks for quite I while. When you die her check goes up substantially. If she wasn't a US citizen I think the rules would have been different. If I remember correctly in my wife's case if she only had a green card she would not get a check if she lived in Thailand but would if she moved back to the USA. that is why it was critical for my wife to become a citizen. We moved out of the USA 3 months later.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

My wife has been here in Texas for 4 years now. We lived together in Bangkok for a couple years as well prior to her moving here. Her mother and father are pretty poor farmers in Si Saket, yet they never really ask for money. I think I've sent them maybe 10k THB since she's been here. I guess I'm lucky in that regard. I do pay for her niece's private school in Chaing Mai which is like 10k THB a semester. We're saving to go back and live in Isaan somewhere, in about 5-6 years. Funny thing is she wants to stay here in the U.S. and I don't. I actually hate it here. It's a good place to make money, and that's about it.

She's adjusted pretty well. She is now a U.S. citizen, has her driver's license , and a regular job.

As your wife is a US Citizen and working, consider fulfilling her SSA time requirements. That pension will go a long way in Si Saket.

Yes, I've considered that. She only has 6 qualifying quarters now, and I believe you need 40 to qualify. We'd have to stay here in the U.S. a few more years than I'd like. Definitely something to think about though.

The social security rules are very complicated and I don't pretend to know them all. I do however know that because my wife is a US Citizen she will be able to qualify for her own social security check, even though she has never worked a job in the USA, by filing a claim under my fully paid up earning history. She will get approximately 50% of the amount that I am getting.

So your wife will get a check.

Will I have to be dead for her to collect?

And people wonder why a crook like Thaksin and his cohorts get elected. I'm no Thaksin fan, but when the red shirts go on and on about the Bangkok elite, I'm sure they point to stories like this.

What a bizarre story. After Tak Bai, I would have thought there would be a contractout on Thaksin, rather than a position at some sort of south Thailand peace brokering...... This has to be some sort of feel good bullshit cooked up as part of the whitewashing of Thaksin.

Tony Blair is a peace missionary now. His track record of starting many wars has won him this role. Thaksin is following the same trail. If this sort of thing can happen in farang countries, why can it not be so in Thailand??

Note to self======= stop replying to troll posters....

Should be part of the TOS if it isn't already.

Perhaps he is involved as he wishes to keep an eye or maybe keep a lid on any information that could damage his reputation or even land him in trouble.

If you wish to control an outcome, you have to be involved in the process.

He is claimed to be living under a Muslim host.

I've never considered the irony of that. He is holed up in Dubai, yet he's no friend of the Muslim population in southern Thailand.

In Australia your employer has to pay 9% on top of your wage to your retirement fund. A lot of those retirement funds are useless and no capital gains are made and sometimes even go backwards. Thankfully we are allowed to run our own funds (SMSF Self Managed Super Funds) which is what I do and with the extra attention I give it, does much better then the run of the mill fund.

In the US can you run your own fund (ie take control of that 14% you mentioned) and invest it yourself?

Unfortunately, no. They talked about it back before the dotcom bust, but since then I haven't heard much else about it.

What's even worse is the social security fund is supposed to be separate from the general fund. So the U.S. govt. just turns around and borrows money from the social security fund and basically issues a bunch of IOUs. So who knows if there will be anything left when I retire.

Good advice. I have already begun saving quite a bit more than the 15% of gross. My hatred of living here has been a big motivator.

Maybe you just hate Texas? The US really is a great place to live. Hate is such a strong word.

To each his own I guess. I don't "hate" it per se. I just don't like living here. Texas is better than most places I've lived here in the U.S.

"Good advice. I have already begun saving quite a bit more than the 15% of gross. My hatred of living here has been a big motivator."

Good for you. Have you read up on the magic of compound interest? As in, the first year you save, and then also the second. But while you're saving the second year, the first year is already drawing interest on the interest it earned the first year. The third year the first year has grown and is now drawing interest on the amount you saved, and has the interest it's earned, but it's also drawing interest on the compounding amounts of interest it has earned. The second and third year are now kicking in the same way and on it goes. In 40 years you would be wealthy.

The banks here in the U.S. don't really pay interest unless you get a C.D. or treasuries. And then they don't even keep up with inflation. I've been going the municipal bond route. You don't have to pay taxes on the returns in most cases, and the rate of return is much better than bank interest.

The returns aren't as a good as stocks for example, but with the way companies are being run these days, it seems like I might have a better chance putting everything on red in Vegas and spinning the wheel than buying stocks.

My wife has been here in Texas for 4 years now. We lived together in Bangkok for a couple years as well prior to her moving here. Her mother and father are pretty poor farmers in Si Saket, yet they never really ask for money. I think I've sent them maybe 10k THB since she's been here. I guess I'm lucky in that regard. I do pay for her niece's private school in Chaing Mai which is like 10k THB a semester. We're saving to go back and live in Isaan somewhere, in about 5-6 years. Funny thing is she wants to stay here in the U.S. and I don't. I actually hate it here. It's a good place to make money, and that's about it.

She's adjusted pretty well. She is now a U.S. citizen, has her driver's license , and a regular job.

As your wife is a US Citizen and working, consider fulfilling her SSA time requirements. That pension will go a long way in Si Saket.

Yes, I've considered that. She only has 6 qualifying quarters now, and I believe you need 40 to qualify. We'd have to stay here in the U.S. a few more years than I'd like. Definitely something to think about though.

We never think we'll get old when we're young. But we do. I started collecting SS last year and have gotten about 8 payments. Until I checked into it in the year before I started, I had no idea it would be so much. I just hadn't checked. My parents were lower income and mom didn't work, so they got only about $US800 a month which was still a big help. But I get three times that much due to a higher income and therefor higher amounts paid in, and that's just one person. If I was married to someone who was a substantial earner we could double that.

Before someone jumps my bones about taking from the government, I paid about 14% of my gross income into that fund for almost 50 years. With the magic of compound interest, had I been allowed to just put it into the bank and let the interest build, I'd have even more.

So you either should build your SS funds or save at least 15% of your gross income with compounding interest because the day will in fact come when you'll want to retire.

Good luck!!

Good advice. I have already begun saving quite a bit more than the 15% of gross. My hatred of living here has been a big motivator.

My wife has been here in Texas for 4 years now. We lived together in Bangkok for a couple years as well prior to her moving here. Her mother and father are pretty poor farmers in Si Saket, yet they never really ask for money. I think I've sent them maybe 10k THB since she's been here. I guess I'm lucky in that regard. I do pay for her niece's private school in Chaing Mai which is like 10k THB a semester. We're saving to go back and live in Isaan somewhere, in about 5-6 years. Funny thing is she wants to stay here in the U.S. and I don't. I actually hate it here. It's a good place to make money, and that's about it.

She's adjusted pretty well. She is now a U.S. citizen, has her driver's license , and a regular job.

As your wife is a US Citizen and working, consider fulfilling her SSA time requirements. That pension will go a long way in Si Saket.

Yes, I've considered that. She only has 6 qualifying quarters now, and I believe you need 40 to qualify. We'd have to stay here in the U.S. a few more years than I'd like. Definitely something to think about though.

My wife has been here in Texas for 4 years now. We lived together in Bangkok for a couple years as well prior to her moving here. Her mother and father are pretty poor farmers in Si Saket, yet they never really ask for money. I think I've sent them maybe 10k THB since she's been here. I guess I'm lucky in that regard. I do pay for her niece's private school in Chaing Mai which is like 10k THB a semester. We're saving to go back and live in Isaan somewhere, in about 5-6 years. Funny thing is she wants to stay here in the U.S. and I don't. I actually hate it here. It's a good place to make money, and that's about it.

She's adjusted pretty well. She is now a U.S. citizen, has her driver's license , and a regular job.

Something new from Chalerm everyday. It's getting to be like that joke of the day website. He must really have the dirt on Thaksin, to still be in this government.

I notice the "other" paper isn't even mentioning it.