Affirmation of legal status, USA

[Ruffian Dick]

Hi, all! I'm getting married to my Thai teerak here in Chiang Mai. The lawyer gave me an affidavit for me to fill out that declares that I am single and eligible for marriage in the Kingdom. She said to take it to my consulate and have it notarized. Now the US consulate in CM is not taking appointments for anything but emergencies, and contrary to what my sweetie says, this is not an emergency.

 

My question to you is, can any notary do this job, or does it have to be my consulate?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Preacher]

Have to be the consulate. Not sure if the consulate in BKK does take appointments, that would be your only other option.

[ubonjoe]

I assume this it the affidavit that you completed. https://th.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/marriage-affidavit-chiang-mai-dec2019.pdf

I suggest you contact the consulate. They are making exceptions and may do it for you.

[Ruffian Dick]

9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I assume this it the affidavit that you completed. https://th.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/marriage-affidavit-chiang-mai-dec2019.pdf

I suggest you contact the consulate. They are making exceptions and may do it for you.

Exactly the same document. Thank you.

The consulate is making itself hard to contact these days but I'll keep trying.

[Ruffian Dick]

The ACS' reply to my whining:

Dear Ruffian Dick:

 

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai are offering limited, emergency passport, report of birth abroad, and notarial appointments only.  

 

Notarial services present a challenge as the Department of State has not deemed these services as an emergency service.  We recognize U.S. citizens in Thailand may have an emergency (i.e., life/death/financial hardship) need for a notarial service and review notary service appointment requests on a case-by-case basis.  We cannot however meet the current demand.  

 

For those seeking to notarize documents for use in the United States, you may wish to consider using alternative options, to include utilizing a remote notarial service provider.  A growing number of states accept documents notarized through online services; you will need to research whether they can be used in the state where your document will be filed.  Remote notarization could fulfill your need for notary services more quickly.

 

Furthermore, we have limited staffing in the office, and we have to limit the number of people present in the waiting room at any given time to accomplish social distancing goals.  Limited appointments will continue even after routine services resume because of the limit on waiting room capacity required to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. 

 

If you want to make an emergency appointment request, please email U.S. Consulate General Chiang Mai with some justifications at [email protected].

[Ruffian Dick]

I got a lawyer working on the problem, re: alternative solutions etc. When I get some answers, I will share them here, as I suppose I'm not the only farang guy who wants to marry one of these Thai teeraks. ❤️

[Ruffian Dick]

I understand that if I can get a copy of divorce papers from the State, it MAY suffice. But I'm a widow. The good news is that I have her death certificate. I'll see the lawyer this week to see if that suffices.

[Ruffian Dick]

Well, I got my head straight, I'm sure you're all glad to know about this.

County record-keepers in the states know about this need and if you go to your county's website, you will see they have a form they want you to fill out and mail it in. They require a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) the postage part of which may be hard to come by. But you can get an international reply coupon at the Thai post office.

 

I got a relative back home, however, who is happy to apply for the paperwork and send it to me when it's ready.

 

I hear wedding bells.