Received Form 7162 From SSA

[wayned]

Got mine in my weekly mail delivery on Tuesday.  I'll mail it back this afternoon via regular airmail as I have done for the past 12 years with no problems.

[connda]

On 6/6/2019 at 3:57 PM, Jingthing said:

Nope. In Jomtien. Sorry to be a pessimist but if it doesn't ever arrive is there a way to ask them to send it again?
Yes I realize it's way too early to worry about that but surely it happens.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I've written to Manila after not receiving mine last year and got no reply.  Finally received it and had two weeks to get to them.  Send it via registered mail.  It got to New York in about a week and then took another 3 week to arrive in Wilkes-Barr.  They never sent me another one and I got my checks, but ya know,  It's worrisome.  

[connda]

On 6/7/2019 at 6:57 AM, mtls2005 said:

 

Have you ever received any mail from the SSA (1099-SSA, annual benefits letter, this 7162) at your current address? I assume you've provided your current address?

 

You can always download the form, and mail it in, maybe add a cover letter or note advising on your current address?

 

(the address on my return envelope)

 

Social Security Administration

PO Box 7162

Wilkes Barre, PA 18767-7162

United States of America

 

 

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms/images/SSA7/G-SSA-7162-OCR-SM-1.pdf

I never received my SSA-1099 for 2018 either.  I knew that amount I received via direct deposit, but just saying.  My mails seems really hit or miss.  Thanks for the additional info.

 

Edited June 13, 2019 by connda

[Jingthing]

OK,  so I got my form and am now deciding how to mail it back.

I haven't gone to a Thai post office in years, so I have some questions.

 

I'm choosing between registered mail and regular mail.

 

I have some questions.

 

Do you need to bring your passport to mail stuff these days?

 

What about the envelope they give you? It's rather a large size.

 

I assume if mailing regular mail you just use that envelope as it's got the address preprinted.

 

For registered mail, don't they give you a form that gets put in the address area so you need to write the address area yourself, right?

 

Would you use the provided large envelope for a registered letter or another smaller one?

 

Thanks. 

Edited June 13, 2019 by Jingthing

[wayned]

1.  No Id needed

2. Use the envelope provided

3.  Air mail will cost you about 20 baht.  Registered willl cost a little over 100 baht but can be tracked on the Thai and USPS tracking website.

4. No addotional form required for registered, the process is similar to sending EMS.

[Jingthing]

So am I right in assuming that the consensus suggestion is to use registered?

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[wayned]

32 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

So am I right in assuming that the consensus suggestion is to use registered?

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

For the past 12 years I've always used regular air mail with no problems.  I went to the post office yesterday to mail mine, air mail was 19 baht, registered was 104 baht so, for the first time I sent it registered and now can track it.  Most likely will take longer and I will know that it arrived at the SSA facility, but not at the desk of the person that has to open the envelope!

[ubonjoe]

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

So am I right in assuming that the consensus suggestion is to use registered?

I do it for peace of mind. Knowing it was delivered makes me feel better about the whole thing.

IMO it is worth the extra 85 baht to know that.

[albertik]

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 1:49 PM, Pib said:

Update: Rec'd mine today, 6 Jun 19, but my family member did not...hopefully it will show-up soon as we both have exactly the same address.    

 

 

 

Yeah, Pib, I'm in the same boat. Got one for my minor daughter but not one for me. Curious as she and I have the same address and the same last name

[Pib]

1 hour ago, albertik said:

Yeah, Pib, I'm in the same boat. Got one for my minor daughter but not one for me. Curious as she and I have the same address and the same last name

Yea...mail for today/Friday/14 Jun just got delivered...family member's form still hasn't arrived...has the exact same address as me....same last name.  But as mentioned earlier my form arrived 8 days ago/6 June.

[racyrick]

I have always sent mine back regular airmail with no problems but, I also mail out another copy with my original signature just in case the first form does not get to them. I mail that out 1 week later than the original.

 

 

[Pib]

On 6/12/2019 at 9:01 PM, Pib said:

Update on the 2nd mailing test.  The  MIA registered air mail envelope showed up at the USPS New York City International receiving center today and a few hours later went into Customs.  If it takes approx 10 days to get thru Customs like the 1st test mailing plus another 5 days or so to get from NYC to Houston then the total mailing time will be around 40 days.   40 days in comparison to the two regular (unregistered) air mail envelopes arrived in 11 and 14 days.  Yeap, sure appears registered mail slows down the mailing time by a good amount. 

 

Since I need to go the post office in a few days to mail-off my 90 days address report I'm also going to do a 3rd test mailing this week to the US...just like the previous two tests of one registered air mail envelope and one regular air mail envelope.  See if the registered envelope gets slowed down significantly again due to going thru US customs....probably because registered envelopes are probably shipped in the same container as registered packages....packages which customs probably looks at closely/at a high percentage rate.

 

Another Update on the 2nd mailing test: the registered air mail envelope that went MIA and took 28 days to get to NY City from Bangkok got thru Customs in NYC in only 2 days and it's now on its way to Houston.  On the 1st mailing test the registered air mail envelope got stuck in Customs for 10 days but only took 8 days to get to NYC from Thailand.  Each of these two registered air mail letters have incurred some very significant delays along the way whereas the two unregistered air mail letters did not.    

 

Since I needed to go to the post office today to mail off my 90 day address report to immigration I also started a 3rd mailing test to the US/Houston. 

 

Same as the 1st and 2nd tests which is one envelope sent via air mail and one envelope sent via registered air mail.   Three tests will be enough real world testing proof (for me) to compare how long it takes regular air mail and registered air mail envelopes to reach their destination in the U.S.   But based on the first two tests, sending via registered air mail definitely slows down delivery time...but as others have said it can give piece of mind of where the envelope currently is and did it arrive.

 

I have also found out over the last few weeks that 1st Class International envelope mail ($1.15 postage) from the US east coast to my Bangkok address arrives in 9 to 11 days.  Have had four envelopes arrive from Virginia and Pennsylvania (2 from each state) and they arrived in 9, 10, 11, and 11 days for a 10.25 day average.  Not bad at all.   

 

Now since these letters arrived to the exact same address that SSA has on file for me and my family member, I'm hoping the family member's Dead or Alive Form is not lost in the mail, but just still in transit/maybe just mailed or will be mailed soon.  Time will tell.

 

 

[mahjongguy]

" Do you need to bring your passport to mail stuff these days? "

 

The Jomtien PO is pretty strict about ID but they will accept a valid Thai DL and a photocopy of the passport if the passport numbers match.

 

I just went through that yesterday when I mailed back my form. Didn't want to carry my passport 'cause it was kinda rainy.

[wayned]

2 hours ago, mahjongguy said:

" Do you need to bring your passport to mail stuff these days? "

 

The Jomtien PO is pretty strict about ID but they will accept a valid Thai DL and a photocopy of the passport if the passport numbers match.

 

I just went through that yesterday when I mailed back my form. Didn't want to carry my passport 'cause it was kinda rainy.

Wow, passport required to mail a letter.  I live in the boonies and have never been asked for ID at the post office for anything in the 21 years that I have lived here.  Either outgoing or even incoming packages where I had to pay large  customs and VAT fees (I import farm equipment parts from the US and China), just a signature.

[Pib]

Here at the Bangkok post office they require ID if mailing a "package," but for envelopes they don't seem to really require it....but would like to see it.  Some postal clerks would always ask for ID while others would not.  For the last year or so I just hand them my Thai Pink ID card when handing them my mail.   Some seem to take info off the ID like my name; others just lay the ID to the side and take the info off the return address on the envelope. 

 

Summary: Is ID required for envelope mail?  Yea...no....maybe....TIT.

[tutsiwarrior]

3 hours ago, Pib said:

Here at the Bangkok post office they require ID if mailing a "package," but for envelopes they don't seem to really require it....but would like to see it.  Some postal clerks would always ask for ID while others would not.  For the last year or so I just hand them my Thai Pink ID card when handing them my mail.   Some seem to take info off the ID like my name; others just lay the ID to the side and take the info off the return address on the envelope. 

 

Summary: Is ID required for envelope mail?  Yea...no....maybe....TIT.

 

where I live I dealt mostly with a PO clerk that insisted on a passport for EMS, he politely explained that the waybill required a passport entry...then later a different clerk accepted my pink card which I thought reasonable as the ID number configuration is the same as for a thai ID card (had my passport in my back pocket just in case)...

 

let's see what happens this time with the 7162 and thai registered airmail...the Thailand postal service is the land of adventure...

 

 

 

[wayned]

Thai Post and USPS have really updated their tracking systems since the last time that I used them.. My SSA form is sitting in the mail center at Swampy according to the Thai Post tracking system.  For grins I entered the number in the USPS tracking system and It actually showed the same data as the Thai Post system.  In the past, it was not tracked in the US until it arrived in the US and it disappeared from the Thai Post system once it left  Thailand.

 

In addition, I have a hydraulic pump for one of my combines which was mailed USPS Priority Mail International sitting in the mail center in O'Hare Airport.   All of the shipping information shows up on the Thai Post system even though it hasn't left the US.  In the past it would not show up on the Thai system until it arrived in Thailand.

 

Kudos to the updated tracking systems

[Pib]

9 hours ago, wayned said:

Kudos to the updated tracking systems

Yeap, they do update each other. As soon as the Thai post office creates/scans the registered/EMS tracking number it will appear on both the US and Thai postal tracking systems.  Like once it's initially entered into the Thai tracking system the US postal system will show a "Pre-Shipment/Origin Post is Preparing/Inbound" type notice...and then update as the mail continues it trek to final destination.   And you probably noticed the last two digits of the tracking number...like US or TH...represent the country the registered/EMS mail is bound for. I expect that two digit country code is what interlinks different countries postal tracking systems.

 

The USPS system appears to update multiple times per day, but the Thai postal system tracking appears to only update once a day "once the mail has arrived the U.S."....while the USPS system might show say two status changes during a day (like entering and leaving a certain USPS facility) the Thai postal system might only show the latest/last status....like only show it leaving the USPS facility if the mail was only at that facility for a half a day or less.  Or that's been my experience in several recent test mailings of registered mail from Thailand to the U.S. 

 

However, while the mail is "in Thailand" the Thai postal tracking will update multiple times per day/any time there is a status change.   

 

It's like when the mail is within whichever country the tracking system for that country will update pretty much real time/give more detail/give more updates, but feeding/retrieving that update back to the other country is not real time....maybe just once a day....plus the status displayed may be worded a little differently between the two systems.   I guess it all depends on how often different countries tracking systems are set-up to retrieve data from the other postal system....seems to be more of "pull" vs "push" type update.

 

But anyway, if you monitor "both" the US and Thailand mail tracking systems you can pretty much get real time status of where your mail is located. 

 

Below are the Google Play links to the Android apps for both the Thai and US postal system tracking.  And of course you can track via your browser also, setup email notifications of status every 24 hours, etc., but the apps are more convenient IMO.

  

US Postal System 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.usps&hl=en_US

 

Thai Postal System

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trackandtrace.lazylist&hl=en_US

[Sheryl]

Got mine and I will send it back registeted mail tomorrow.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Pib]

Final update on those two test mailings I did.   Each test mailing was one envelope via air mail and then another registered air mail envelope.  Mailed at the same time at my local Bangkok post office to a Texas address.

 

1st mailing 3 May

- Air Mail: Delivered 14 May.  Total 11 days

- Registered Air Mail: Delivered 24 May.  Total 21 days

Note: Delay in New York City Customs/USPS Center caused the extra 10 days for the registered air mail.  Apparently to the US they mail westward thru the Middle East/Europe....or maybe fly a North Pole route.

 

2nd mailing 15 May

- Air Mail: Delivered 29 May.   Total 14 days

- Registered Air Mail: Delivered 17 Jun.  Total 33 days.

Note: Only a 2 day delay in NYC Custom/USPS Center but it took another 26 days to get from the Bangkok airport to NYC....kinda went MIA off the US and Thai postal tracking systems for 26 days.

 

Summary: plain old air mail took 11 to 14 days to arrive.  Registered air mail took 21 to 33 days to arrive....roughly twice as long as plain old air mail.   

 

And I've got a 3rd and final test mailing underway/mailed 14 Jun...once I get the results I figure three real world controlled test mailings is enough to determine/average/compare mailing times of plain old air mail and registered air mail envelopes from Thailand to the U.S.--just something I wanted to know.

[wayned]

I mailed mine at 1031 on the 13th and it arrived at JFK Mail Center at 0839 on the 17th.  Pretty fast!  Now it's up to internal USPS surface mail to get it to Wilkes Barre, Pa.  And once there it's totally up to a SSA employee to do his/her job and see that it's properly processed!  No tracking available at any cost! 

 

I had a 19 pound priority mail International package mailed from Owatonna, Minnesota on the 12th at1149 and it will be at my local post office at 0730 this morning..  & days is really fast.  I mail many packages from htis location and in the past they always went through Tokyo and got hung up there for a few days.  This time it went east through Dubai and was in and out to same day and on it's way here.

 

 USPS and Thai Post have certainly upgrade3d their tracking websites.

[Pib]

11 hours ago, wayned said:

I mailed mine at 1031 on the 13th and it arrived at JFK Mail Center at 0839 on the 17th. 

Has it completely made it way thru the USPS Mail Center and Customs maze at NYC/JFK.

 

Usually when they say processed "through" that means USPS just handed it over to Customs at the same location. 

 

See below snapshot of one of my test mailing....notice where it said "processed thru" just means it was being handed over to Customs.  Then once Customs is done they release it back to the USPS and you'll see an "Arrived NY Distribution Center" which means it can not continue its trek to final destination. 

 

All the these USPS and Customs facilities are at the same location at JFK airport it's just slightly different location names are used depending on the location within the maze.   It's kinda like at some immigration offices processing your annual extension of stay....you get sent to various immigration officer desks as they chain process your application. 

 

[wayned]

35 minutes ago, Pib said:

Has it completely made it way thru the USPS Mail Center and Customs maze at NYC/JFK.

 

Usually when they say processed "through" that means USPS just handed it over to Customs at the same location. 

 

See below snapshot of one of my test mailing....notice where it said "processed thru" just means it was being handed over to Customs.  Then once Customs is done they release it back to the USPS and you'll see an "Arrived NY Distribution Center" which means it can not continue its trek to final destination. 

 

All the these USPS and Customs facilities are at the same location at JFK airport it's just slightly different location names are used depending on the location within the maze.   It's kinda like at some immigration offices processing your annual extension of stay....you get sent to various immigration officer desks as they chain process your application. 

 

This is what the last entry says:

 

In Transit to Next Facility. Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be delivered to its final destination. It is currently in transit to the next facility.

[Pib]

Yeap....it's thru the NYC/JFK maze.   

 

And in my earlier post I made a significant typo...I typed "not" but I meant "now".

Quote

...which means it can not continue its trek to final destination. 

Meant to say: "....which means it can now continue its trek to final destination."

[wayned]

9 hours ago, Pib said:

Yeap....it's thru the NYC/JFK maze.   

 

And in my earlier post I made a significant typo...I typed "not" but I meant "now".

Meant to say: "....which means it can now continue its trek to final destination."

 

Why would you think that form letter from SSA would have to go through customs.  Yes, through the "drug scanner", but not customs.

It's now in the post office in Wilkes Barre and since it's 1:15pm there, it's most likely out for delivery.  Now I have to depend  on the local yokels. 

 

Arrived at Unit. Your item arrived at the Post Office at 11:27 am on June 19, 2019 in WILKES BARRE, PA 18701. WILKES BARRE, PA 18701

 

Six days from My Post Office in rural Thailand to the Post Office in Wilkes Barre. Pa., not bad.  I doubt that regular air mail would be any faster.

 

[Pib]

9 hours ago, wayned said:

 

Why would you think that form letter from SSA would have to go through customs.  Yes, through the "drug scanner", but not customs.

 

As mentioned in my earlier posts because the register mail (i.e., envelopes/docs) gets shipped in the same container as registered packages/boxes....that is, all registered mail (envelopes/docs/boxes/packages/etc) is consolidated into one container.   Once that container goes into Customs "all" the items are not released by to USPS until the entire container is released although the great bulk of Customs time was spent on inspecting boxes/packages.

 

Like I posted before, in both of my test mailings the two registered envelopes (just  plain old white envelopes with one piece of paper inside) processed through Customs....one took 6 days to get thru Customs...the other 2 days.

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

And with the registered mail all in one container along with registered packages into Customs it goes. 

 

And this is not to imply unregistered mail in another container with unregistered/regular packages does not go into Customs as they probably do, but we can't see that since there is no tracking number.  It's just the majority of packages sent are sent registered versus unregistered....so the regular mail container probably don't have many packages for Customs to inspect and therefore the container gets processed faster....gets thru Customs much faster.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/115/~/mail---processing-international-mail

 

[wayned]

No worries until next year if I'm still around.  By then I will have forgot what I did this year and most likely 19 minutes earlier. It took 6 days and3 hours, not bad.

 

Delivered. Your item was delivered at 1:37 pm on June 19, 2019 in WILKES BARRE, PA 18767. WILKES BARRE, PA 18767

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 6/16/2019 at 12:27 AM, wayned said:

In addition, I have a hydraulic pump for one of my combines which was mailed USPS Priority Mail International sitting in the mail center in O'Hare Airport.  

 

Just curious... a 19 pound USPS Priority mail package to Thailand is a pretty expensive mailing....  A suitable kind of hydraulic pump isn't available here closer to "home"?  You'd think agricultural machinery wouldn't be a problem here....

[Pib]

3 minutes ago, wayned said:

No worries until next year if I'm still around.  By then I will have forgot what I did this year and most likely 19 minutes earlier. It took 6 days and3 hours, not bad.

 

Delivered. Your item was delivered at 1:37 pm on June 19, 2019 in WILKES BARRE, PA 18767. WILKES BARRE, PA 18767

That piece of airmail definitely hit all the gates just right.  Goes to show how airmail delivery can vary greatly in comparison to my two test mailings of registered airmail.

 

And tracking for my 3rd test mailing done on 14 June (6 days ago) from my Bangkok post office shows it still has "not" arrived the U.S.....both US and Thai postal tracking just shows it left Suvarnabhumi Airport/Mail Centre airport on 15 June but has not showed up in the U.S. yet.  

 

 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Pib