What does an old guy need to move back to America

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Can I use my existing Samsung Galaxy Note phones or will American Immigration confiscate them because they think I'm a perv from Thailand and if so how long will they keep my phones and laptop?

 

A Samsung Galaxy Note should work with most any of the mobile networks in the U.S.  Their compatibility is broad...

 

As for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, dunno, do you look PERVY????

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

I use ATT Prepaid. It's unlimited text, talk and 4G data for $65 a month. I get a further discount since we have two lines

 

Since it seems Marcus has some lead time to prepare for this, IF and when Immigration comes forth with any kind of health insurance requirement, another option that might help would be to establish a working U.S. address BEFORE he actually returns.

 

Use a service like USA2Me in Houston, TX, and there are others similar, that would give him a U.S. mail/street address that he can use NOW to do things like help open a U.S. bank account, hopefully get a credit card, sign up for mobile phone service, etc. Runs about $10 per month, and then for added cost, they'll either scan and email PDFs or forward paper mail to you here in Thailand. Bank cards and SIM cards, of course, need to be forwarded, not scanned.

 

[lannarebirth]

3 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Thank you for your considered reply.

 

2 years ago I knew that my time was up as the health insurance increased along with the exclusions.It was the exclusions that actually got me in the end because I ended up self funding most of my treatment.

 

I also agree that there is every chance that the immigration requirements will go up by a substantial amount.

 

Last time the retirement and marriage requirements went up, were not existing retirees and married persons grandfathered in at the previous requirements? I seem to remember that they were, though that was a quite a while ago and my memory may be faulty.

[NCC1701A]

12 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

My driver's license expired

of course you need to choose which state you are going to live in. you can look at requirements on line.

 

as a example here is Navada's website with ID card requirements. this is typical NOW for many states. 

 

http://www.dmvnv.com/dlresidency.htm

 

You must present all of the following:

Proof of Identity (one document) AND

If you have changed your name, Proof of All Name Change(s) AND

Proof of Social Security number AND

Proof of your Nevada residential address (two documents) AND

an Application for Driving Privileges or ID Card (DMV 002):

 

 

[lannarebirth]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

No life event really.  The latest election results will bring some changes and if the Hospital lobby gets it's way there will be mandatory insurance.  That could be good or bad.  Perhaps I'll get a discount on what I'm paying now or perhaps they will just kick us old folks out.  If they kick us out my wife won't leave Thailand so I'll be moving back to the States alone.

 

My challenges are 1.  Getting into the America with a phone that works.  2.  Being able to get Internet on the phone so I can tether my computer (I'm used to high speeds).  3. Bringing in a couple hundred thousand cash and depositing that in a bank.  4.  Getting from the airport to an apartment and store to buy furnishings for the apartment.  5.  Getting registered with VA and getting my meds changed to the States.  6.  Getting a dr lic and buying a car or living in a city where that is not necessary like Chicago or NYC. 

 

So, this is the scene.  Here comes old guy not been in the country since 2000.  A pocket full of cash and a couple thousand a month in Social Security.  I know I could go to Chicago - lived there before.  Tampa maybe but VA sucks there and might kill me.  SF - lived there too but think too expensive now.  South America is a no go - no family there in case of emergency.  Canada might work but very expensive and cold - lived in Victoria before. 

 

Seems like my best choices are the old GF in Wisconsin or Florida but I hate to be an imposition on anyone. 

 

And maybe it works out and I don't have to go.  But best to be prepared. 

 

If you are going, and if you are married (happily I presume), why wouldn't you take your wife with you? In three years she's a dual citizen and can collect your SS when you croak.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

If you transferred in anything to the equivalent of 10K USD then there must be a FET.

 

You can, but it'll be a problem, carry out cash. Anything in excess of $10K needs to be declared, then you get into the whole money laundering world.

 

If you are going to do this, set up a US bank account and start transferring amounts less than $10K

 

Here's a link for the State Department Federal Credit Union...

 

https://www.sdfcu.org/how-do-i-join

 

For an expat, the easiest ways to gain eligibility for joining, I think, would be to join a nonprofit group called the American Consumer Council, which is listed on their webpage, for a small one-time fee (but you may need to show some kind of U,S. address for that), or take out a membership in the Americans Citizens Abroad organization, which doesn't require a U.S. address.

 

https://www.americansabroad.org/sdfcu-account/
 

Quote

 

ACA has teamed up with the State Department Federal Credit Union to provide SDFCU accounts for Americans residing abroad. This is the same type of account used by Americans working at US embassies, as well as many other people around the world.  You can reside full-time or part-time abroad and still qualify. You don’t have to have an address in the US. You don’t have to be connected in any way with the Federal Government.

The ACA-Members/SDFCU account is simple to open and maintain. Everything can be done online. The most up-to-date EMV secure (Chip enabled) cards are available.

 

 

Quote

 

If you're not already a member of ACA, join now

To join ACA, go to "Join Now" on the ACA website and Membership Levels and Benefits are explained there. You will receive a confirmation email upon completion of your ACA membership. Then, to open your ACA-Members/SDFCU account, go directly to the SDFCU website here and select the "Join" button.  Proceed to join by choosing American Citizens Abroad (ACA) under the eligibility "I qualify through my relationship with one of your organizational affiliates". 

In order to activate your ACA-Members/SDFCU account, you must be an ACA member and US citizen.  SDFCU will confirm your membership with ACA as part of the application process.  SDFCU application processing time is approximately one week. 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, mania said:

That is quite good as it is above 50k

1.9m Baht=59k USD today anyway ????

 

The difference, though, as I understand it, is Marcus is asking about CARRYING cash out of Thailand on his potential travel, because right now, he seems to NOT have any U.S. bank account to transfer any money into.

 

[lannarebirth]

1 hour ago, mania said:

You will not need a FET if you limit transfers out of Thailand to 50k usd or less

 

I have done a few million baht that way no problems

& was never asked for FET's (although I had them in case to show I did bring it in)

When they asked reason for transfer I just said repatriation

 

Funny my wife who is dual citizen US/Thai had more trouble as she needed to go home & fetch her US passport before they would transfer her

900k baht  back to USA

 

 

 

I've transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars out of Thailand and never filed a FET. If the OP has a wife, she just tells the bank she is transferring the money to buy a house in America or fund her kids education or fund their lifestyle for the next 5 years. Yeah, I understand it may be different for single people, but for married people it's not really an issue.

[oldcarguy]

Getting a phone is easy , and if your present phone has LTE bands 2 and 4 it will work in the US ,

A sim card can be bought on eBay , $30 or so for free calling , free text and 5-8 gb of data , at least a good place to start and have a working phone when you land. Then later you can figure out what you really need.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Odysseus123]

2 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

Last time the retirement and marriage requirements went up, were not existing retirees and married persons grandfathered in at the previous requirements? I seem to remember that they were, though that was a quite a while ago and my memory may be faulty.

Yes they were..but that is no guarantee that it will happen that way again.Who can say?

 

I reckon it would be a pretty big step to relocate when you are 80 tho',curiously enough,I am chatting with a 79 year old Swedish chap who wants to return home.

 

I cannot relocate again as the health insurance would be oppressive and not all that helpful.Even visiting Thailand as a tourist (travel insurance) is now a very dodgy business.

[marcusarelus]

39 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Yes they were..but that is no guarantee that it will happen that way again.Who can say?

 

I reckon it would be a pretty big step to relocate when you are 80 tho',curiously enough,I am chatting with a 79 year old Swedish chap who wants to return home.

 

I cannot relocate again as the health insurance would be oppressive and not all that helpful.Even visiting Thailand as a tourist (travel insurance) is now a very dodgy business.

Since they didn't grandfather the keeping 800 and 400 in the bank I don't see why they would grandfather anything.  I think 8 and 1 mill is a done deal.  My only question is can I qualify for the insurance. 

[Odysseus123]

4 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Since they didn't grandfather the keeping 800 and 400 in the bank I don't see why they would grandfather anything.  I think 8 and 1 mill is a done deal.  My only question is can I qualify for the insurance. 

Well...the big thing about the insurance is also how many exclusions they attach to your policy.

 

After reading a long list of exclusions in my policy I was mightily heartened by the fact that if I was shot down by a ME 109 I would probably be covered..(but only if I was flying a Spitfire whilst wearing a helmet)

 

The other fact is that the costs increase by age so it is all a bit of a lottery.

 

Anyway,all the best to you as I have enjoyed our "stoushes' on TV.

[giddyup]

10 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Since they didn't grandfather the keeping 800 and 400 in the bank I don't see why they would grandfather anything.  I think 8 and 1 mill is a done deal.  My only question is can I qualify for the insurance. 

Why do you say it's a "done deal"?

[nervona81732]

LUCK!

[totally thaied up]

59 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Why do you say it's a "done deal"?

I would also like to hear your reasoning on this. Just because of the influx of Chinese and Indian? I know of all the Indian marriage scams but why should it affect those of us with genuine marriages. This will do more harm than good. 

[cardinalblue]

Choose a city with a great transportation system like Portland OR....

 

renting is no problem if you can show sufficient income....I had to rent for six months in Portland and my wife owns our house in thailand - no mortgage so I had nothing to show debit

 

still had a great credit rating from my previous years in America 

[marcusarelus]

16 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

I would also like to hear your reasoning on this. Just because of the influx of Chinese and Indian? I know of all the Indian marriage scams but why should it affect those of us with genuine marriages. This will do more harm than good. 

Inside information and I'm not supposed to talk about other nationalities.  Pardon my reticence. 

[marcusarelus]

4 minutes ago, cardinalblue said:

Choose a city with a great transportation system like Portland OR....

 

renting is no problem if you can show sufficient income....I had to rent for six months in Portland and my wife owns our house in thailand - no mortgage so I had nothing to show debit

 

still had a great credit rating from my previous years in America 

I used to live in Portland but the herion usage freaked me out.  Also very expensive as I remember.  I've lived in Seattle, Everett, Spokane, Tocoma, Tualatin and Bend.  Actually liked Spokane the best. 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I used to live in Portland but the herion usage freaked me out.  Also very expensive as I remember.  I've lived in Seattle, Everett, Spokane, Tocoma, Tualatin and Bend.  Actually liked Spokane the best. 

What's your price range? That makes all the difference in your realistic options.

[Jingthing]

17 minutes ago, cardinalblue said:

Choose a city with a great transportation system like Portland OR....

 

renting is no problem if you can show sufficient income....I had to rent for six months in Portland and my wife owns our house in thailand - no mortgage so I had nothing to show debit

 

still had a great credit rating from my previous years in America 

Easy for you to say. The OP says he has no recent credit history. Yes that is a big problem. 

 

Please let's not trivialize the challenges of a person of age 80 starting all over in the USA. It will be very difficult and indeed risky.

 

But the difficulties and challenges can be reduced with lots of money. That's why the BUDGET we're talking about makes a huge difference. 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Jingthing

[Ebumbu]

9 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Can I use my existing Samsung Galaxy Note phones or will American Immigration confiscate them because they think I'm a perv from Thailand and if so how long will they keep my phones and laptop?

 

Who would want to return to such a place? The seizure scenario (based on no evidence) is not inconceivable. They have total discretion to detain you and your gear. They can demand passwords. "Show me your papers."

 

Best practices is to put all your stuff in the cloud (Google Drive or other), and bring a virgin laptop with freshly installed apps and nothing else to USA. They have lost their collective minds. 

 

Thus, if they detain your gear, you have not lost data. Show them a brand new phone and laptop with no accounts on it. Or, bring nothing and buy laptop and phone in US. Download your data after safely free from the Thought Police.  

 

 

[Ebumbu]

You can get some secured credit cards with a virtual address and get score to 600. Credit Karma makes suggestions for cards. Virtual addresses are easy to find. You can use Thai ID to get US address. 

[totally thaied up]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Easy for you to say. The OP says he has no recent credit history. Yes that is a big problem. 

You show up anywhere with a big bundle of cash, most problems can be fixed. I had let all my licenses expire and pension/health care lapse as well but it only took me having an address to link myself to and I got most of this fixed up within two weeks when I came back. I cannot imagine America being much different. Once you have an address and a phone number, the rest was pretty easy. My passport just had to be showed and just with that document alone, I could get a lot of stuff done.

[marcusarelus]

13 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

What's your price range? That makes all the difference in your realistic options.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1217-SW-11th-Ave-ZG6GG5GFS-Portland-OR-97205/2090393514_zpid/

[marcusarelus]

9 minutes ago, Ebumbu said:

 

Who would want to return to such a place? The seizure scenario (based on no evidence) is not inconceivable. They have total discretion to detain you and your gear. They can demand passwords. "Show me your papers."

 

Best practices is to put all your stuff in the cloud (Google Drive or other), and bring a virgin laptop with freshly installed apps and nothing else to USA. They have lost their collective minds. 

 

Thus, if they detain your gear, you have not lost data. Show them a brand new phone and laptop with no accounts on it. Or, bring nothing and buy laptop and phone in US. Download your data after safely free from the Thought Police. 

That was my thought.  Can I buy a phone in most American Airports? 

[moontang]

creditkarma requires a vpn...but it gives actual, and states what version it uses.  Different types of creditors use different versions.  Being clear of judgements will be very helpful.  I know a good apartment building in midtown Phoenix that is age restricted, and rent is based on income.  PM me for more details...very walkable area, zero Africans.  Way less than half of what an apartment in the DC area would run, or any place you would want to be in California.  and..it is only a couple blocks to carl hayden VA Hospital...which aint great, but not bad.

 

Also, I know a lady with a studio apartment in her back yard in Nogales, AZ....was 250 including utilities, deputy lives next door, walk to Duty Free shopping with best booze prices on earth, cross the border for some famous pubs and restaurants, and prescription...and much cooler down there than phx, at about 3850 feet elevation.  

Edited April 5, 2019 by moontang

[Mansell]

If you want to drive buying a car on credit will establish a credit rating as you keep making the payments.

you might want check online on the friendliest cities to seniors. States like Oregon (rains quite a bit) have no purchase tax which can save a lot of money. Cities like Portland probably good transportation systems. Many places have special transportation for seniors. Eventually after you get residency you may be able to get on a list for senior housing. 

As for Medicare, you sign up each year before the end of March, but you will have to pay a continuous penalty because of not being signed up for years.....the VA might be your best bet. Need to check which cities have the best VA hospital.

obviously a lot to deal with, so good luck to you with all that. Do you have any family members who can help you?

[oldcarguy]

I would say probably not but close by,

Or bring a new unlocked phone from Thailand that has the correct LTE bands for At+t or Tmobile

That was my thought.  Can I buy a phone in most American Airports? 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Mansell]

9 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

No life event really.  The latest election results will bring some changes and if the Hospital lobby gets it's way there will be mandatory insurance.  That could be good or bad.  Perhaps I'll get a discount on what I'm paying now or perhaps they will just kick us old folks out.  If they kick us out my wife won't leave Thailand so I'll be moving back to the States alone.

 

My challenges are 1.  Getting into the America with a phone that works.  2.  Being able to get Internet on the phone so I can tether my computer (I'm used to high speeds).  3. Bringing in a couple hundred thousand cash and depositing that in a bank.  4.  Getting from the airport to an apartment and store to buy furnishings for the apartment.  5.  Getting registered with VA and getting my meds changed to the States.  6.  Getting a dr lic and buying a car or living in a city where that is not necessary like Chicago or NYC. 

 

So, this is the scene.  Here comes old guy not been in the country since 2000.  A pocket full of cash and a couple thousand a month in Social Security.  I know I could go to Chicago - lived there before.  Tampa maybe but VA sucks there and might kill me.  SF - lived there too but think too expensive now.  South America is a no go - no family there in case of emergency.  Canada might work but very expensive and cold - lived in Victoria before. 

 

Seems like my best choices are the old GF in Wisconsin or Florida but I hate to be an imposition on anyone. 

 

And maybe it works out and I don't have to go.  But best to be prepared. 

Mexico could be an option with quick and easy access to the States. A lot of expats live down there and quite happily. Your money will go further than America. Worth checking it out before getting bogged down in some city you might end up hating. You can transfer money back through Bangkok Bank.

[Lacessit]

8 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

You can withdraw the funds in Thailand that's no problem. 

It's when you get to customs, at both ends. As i recall on entry to the US you are required to state whether or not you are carrying cash or monetary instruments over $10K

 

Now on the exit from Thailand, remember they have exchange controls, unlike the West, so exiting with a wad of a of cash is technically illegal 

I understand exiting with Thai baht is a problem. Exiting with foreign currency such as USD is not. Perhaps go out with Swiss francs so they won't be recognised.