5 minutes ago, thesetat said:

Other countries who make Americans get visas usually charge us the same fee so you expect us to get charged the same thing next time you need a visa.

Ohh you mean like the financial requirements Thailand demands, or their 1900 baht visa fee they charge? Lets see. A tourist visa allows you to travel to the US for 10 years paying the visa fee once. Thailand charges about 55 USD for a one month visa. If you are any good at math you can see how cheap 442 USD for a 10 year visa is a lot less than a Thailand visa. Even if you got the first month free. Extended your tourist visa to 2 months more. The cost would be more than the 10 year US visa. Does your comment mean thailand will consider reducing their visa costs and renewal cost to match the 10 year visa fee in the US? 

3 minutes ago, amykat said:

Some people here are just absolutely gleeful at the thought of anything that f*cks over other people!!  Just like their mentor Trump.

Citizens of a country like it better without tourists. Tourists suck. Thai people can relate to that

4 minutes ago, thesetat said:

Complained about it haha... Never... but seems you have been. The hotel was an example as the majority of tourist do not go to see family. You are really taking a small portion to use as a guide for the majority. 

well why don’t we make them give a pre-paid itinerary and then we will know what they will spend.  I had to do that in the 1980s when I traveled in Eastern Europe, all meals and hotel and transport had to be arranged and paid before I left for the trip.  Then we could just charge them a percentage as a visa fee …because they can afford it??  You know, like a  vacation tariff?  We can base it on how much we like or dislike their country.  

18 minutes ago, thesetat said:

Ohh you mean like the financial requirements Thailand demands, or their 1900 baht visa fee they charge? Lets see. A tourist visa allows you to travel to the US for 10 years paying the visa fee once. Thailand charges about 55 USD for a one month visa. If you are any good at math you can see how cheap 442 USD for a 10 year visa is a lot less than a Thailand visa. Even if you got the first month free. Extended your tourist visa to 2 months more. The cost would be more than the 10 year US visa. Does your comment mean thailand will consider reducing their visa costs and renewal cost to match the 10 year visa fee in the US? 

Thesetat doesn't agree with thesetat. A bit confused in the head?

41 minutes ago, thaipo7 said:

You don't think the country has had it with illegals and their cost of being here?

I'm not sure what that has to do with tourism where people apply for and are granted a visa, are you in some sort of dark mood today? 

5 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Thesetat doesn't agree with thesetat. A bit confused in the head?

Perhaps rereading would be best before posting comments. CLearly you lack understanding what I wrote. 

Just now, spidermike007 said:

I'm not sure what that has to do with tourism where people apply for and are granted a visa, are you in some sort of dark mood today? 

Maybe because 1% of the 66.5 million tourists end up being illegals yearly? knowing 600,000 illegals are entering and staying yearly kind of puts a damper on it all. 

7 minutes ago, thesetat said:

Perhaps rereading would be best before posting comments. CLearly you lack understanding what I wrote. 

Lol, this says it all.

 

 

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

The real question is with all this dogma coming from the White House, and all this anti foreigner sentiment, why are people visiting the US at all right now? Tourism is way down, but it should be down to next to zero. That's what the US richly deserves at this point. 

Why the US is the top country for tourism in 2024

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240617-why-the-us-is-the-top-country-for-tourism-in-2024

 

In 2024, the United States was in the top five most popular countries to visit. Now that Donald Trump is President, the United States will be at the top of the list. Trump is making America great again. 

1 hour ago, angryguy said:

Hotels should lower their prices anyways. They are getting away with murder

Their mostly hidden resort fees are a scam.  Parking fee even if you arrive by taxi, bus, etc. is the most outrageous one.

1 hour ago, angryguy said:

Im loving it mike. No tourists is heaven

Its also NOT the tourists they're after, its the people who come and never leave. 250.00 is just another barrier to keep people out that don't want to go home when their times up.

Not a bad idea

1 hour ago, angryguy said:

Citizens of a country like it better without tourists. Tourists suck. Thai people can relate to that

If you have lived here for some time, you will know Thai's never stop moaning about tourist, then when there is not tourist they still moaning, 

29 minutes ago, Slowhand225 said:

Its also NOT the tourists they're after, its the people who come and never leave. 250.00 is just another barrier to keep people out that don't want to go home when their times up.

Not a bad idea

It will deter bonafide tourists, but not those whose intent is to overstay.  

2 hours ago, thesetat said:

Excuse me. What does an opinion about Trump have to do with anything said here? Seems you are using your hate for Trump to disagree with it simply because you do not like Trump. 

Why not simply answer the question, instead of trying to divert the post?

2 hours ago, thesetat said:

AI says One in every hundred.. 

meaning roughly 1 in every 100 nonimmigrant visitors remained in the United States beyond their authorized period of admission.

Given that the US has 

In 2023, approximately 66.5 million tourists in that year. 665,000 did not leave after their visa expired that year alone.

And of course you believe what AI says. Do you have a link for that?

The US will keep shooting itself on its foot, and finally 'reset' itself and revert to normal.

Now its just a transient period...

IMHO

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The real question is with all this dogma coming from the White House, and all this anti foreigner sentiment, why are people visiting the US at all right now? Tourism is way down, but it should be down to next to zero. That's what the US richly deserves at this point. 

Seek help sooner rather than later. 

8 hours ago, blaze master said:

I can drive across the USA border show my passport and im in. 

 

That may change, so don't gloat.

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

The extra visa fee is per person, so a family of 4 will face an extra $1,000, which is not so cheap after all.

Do you understand that visa waiver countries don't require a visa and don't pay. 

 

3 hours ago, Searat7 said:

Shortly after the announcement I read that the extra $250 would be refunded when the applicant returned to his/her country. If this is true things are not as bad as they appeared to be in this article.

3 hours ago, marin said:

Fake News. 

 

"The $250 U.S. Visa Integrity Fee is designed to be refundable to applicants who comply with their visa terms, but the refund process is still unclear and pending detailed implementation by the government. Therefore, returning to your country after complying with your visa will not automatically guarantee a refund; the specifics of how and when you receive it are not yet established, and you should expect a delay, possibly for years."

 

That in itself is enough to deter the majority of travelers.

Are we done with all this winning yet?

17 minutes ago, ravip said:

The US will keep shooting itself on its foot, and finally 'reset' itself and revert to normal.

Now its just a transient period...

IMHO

Yes, this bullsh*t will eventually pass - like a kidney stone or a severe case of diarrhea, but it will pass.

Cancel the World Cup while there is still time.

Teach the idiot a lesson.

1 minute ago, Jonnapat said:

Cancel the World Cup while there is still time.

Teach the idiot a lesson.

That idiot and his minions are beyond reach, there can be no lessons taught.

15 minutes ago, Jonnapat said:

Cancel the World Cup while there is still time.

Teach the idiot a lesson.

With what is going on travel wise into the USA at this time the WC could turn into on big clusterf*ck. 

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The World Travel & Tourism Council predicts international visitor spending in the US will plunge to below $169 billion this year, a drop from $181 billion in 2024.

 

So, a drop of 0.044% in GDP. (12$B/ 27,000$B).  The sky's not falling.

 

Seems like a reasonable trade off to have secure borders and save the US taxpayers hundreds of $billions taking care of illegals, many of whom come in on visas and never really plan to leave.

 

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The real question is with all this dogma coming from the White House, and all this anti foreigner sentiment, why are people visiting the US at all right now? Tourism is way down, but it should be down to next to zero. That's what the US richly deserves at this point. 

No need to go visit usa to see the homeless tent cities . You see those similar states in impoverished shanty towns worldwide. 

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

If you have lived here for some time, you will know Thai's never stop moaning about tourist, then when there is not tourist they still moaning, 

Different sectors of Thais with different priorities. Don’t lump Thais into a single entity. They are not, historically and in the foreseeable future too. 

Who needs Trumpistan

2 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

 

 

"The $250 U.S. Visa Integrity Fee is designed to be refundable to applicants who comply with their visa terms, but the refund process is still unclear and pending detailed implementation by the government. Therefore, returning to your country after complying with your visa will not automatically guarantee a refund; the specifics of how and when you receive it are not yet established, and you should expect a delay, possibly for years."

 

That in itself is enough to deter the majority of travelers.

Are we done with all this winning yet?

 

Exactly!

 

The current B1/B2 visa is issued for a period of ten years without specific limitation on the number of entries. 

 

I could see how it would not be possible to preclude an overstay of the visa until after it had expired ten years after issuance!

5 hours ago, thesetat said:

Haha... the cost for a cheap motel is now between 60 to 150 USD nightly. Imagine the cost for a hotel. How can a tourist pay for that if paying the visa fee makes a problem for them? 

Is that rate per person or per room?