US B1/B2 Visa Renewal By Mail

[notoriousmatoom]

Hello all, the US Embassy website says I'm eligible to renew my visa by mail. I've never renewed my visa by mail and it's the first time I'm applying from Thailand. Has anyone done this by mail before? If so, where did you drop it off? The website lists designated Thai Post locations which are just so far from me. The other thing is, it seems to imply that these designated locations have a special process for sending documents to the US embassy. Is that the case? I highly doubt the Thai Post office in Pakkret knows how to handle a US visa application in a special way. But Krungsri Bank does have a special process for accepting payments for the US visa and the lady at the counter knew it inside out. Always skeptical about sending passports and whatnot in the mail.

 

Any help or past experiences appreciated. Thanks!

[hereforgood]

You can now pay on line also instead of getting 2 bank drafts 1 for the fee and 1 for the postage.

[notoriousmatoom]

12 minutes ago, hereforgood said:

You can now pay on line also instead of getting 2 bank drafts 1 for the fee and 1 for the postage.

Do you know if it can be submitted at any Thai Post or is it only the designated ones in the boonies that are listed on the US embassy website?

 

Also, can't you just pay in person at the cashier at the post officer? Lastly, do you need to buy a return envelope?

 

Thanks

[khunjeff]

On 7/29/2021 at 9:23 AM, hereforgood said:

You can now pay on line also instead of getting 2 bank drafts 1 for the fee and 1 for the postage.

I believe you're thinking of the new payment option for renewing a US passport, not a US visa. The procedures are quite different.

 

 

On 7/29/2021 at 5:26 AM, notoriousmatoom said:

The website lists designated Thai Post locations which are just so far from me. The other thing is, it seems to imply that these designated locations have a special process for sending documents to the US embassy. Is that the case?

The embassy web page covering the mailing of visa renewal applications is the same as the page covering sending in additional documents following a 221(g) refusal, and I did deal with the latter.

 

The reason for the limited post office selection seems to be that the mailing cost is already included in the visa fee that you paid, and only those select offices have been trained to take your item and mail it without collecting any postage payment - so yes, they do indeed have a special process, just as you saw at the bank.

 

What I don't know is whether you could choose to go to any Thai Post branch and just pay the postage yourself. I suspect not, since I think those selected offices have special labeling and tracking for visa-related mailings, but you can try contacting ustraveldocs to ask if that's really something you want to try.