US Embassy Bangkok Calls For Americans To STEP Up

[webfact]

US Embassy calls for Americans to STEP up

Visitors wait in the lobby of the American Citizen Services unit at the

US Embassy in Bangkok, which provides emergency assistance regarding

arrests, missing persons, medical emergencies, death, crime and lost

and stolen passports.

THAILAND: -- The US embassy in Bangkok is calling for all Americans in Thailand to register with its Consular Section so it can better provide assistance to US citizens.

Tim Swanson, Chief of US Embassy Bangkok’s American Citizen Services (ACS) Unit, told the Phuket Gazette, “If you are an American citizen in Thailand – either as a long-term resident or a visiting tourist – please consider enrolling with the US Embassy’s Consular Section via the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program [sTEP].

“Using this system, you can enter information about your trip abroad so that the Department of State can better assist you in the event of an emergency,” he said.

The range of emergency services offered by the ACS Unit includes assistance regarding arrests, missing persons, medical emergencies, death, crime and lost or stolen passports, he explained.

“STEP is a free service provided by the Department of State to US citizens who are traveling to, or living in, a foreign country. It also allows Americans residing abroad to get routine information from the nearest US Embassy or consulate,” said Mr Swanson.

“You can enroll online in a few minutes at travelregistration.state.gov . After you’ve enrolled, you can use STEP to enter and update your contact information at any time, allowing you to keep your travel and contact information current.

“The data you provide is secured behind Department of State firewalls, accessed only by cleared personnel in embassies, consulates and the Department of State, and releasable only under the provisions of the Privacy Act. Enrollment is for American citizens only,” Mr Swanson said.

Kristofor Graf, Consul at the embassy, confirmed that the next ACS outreach service clinic in Phuket is still scheduled for September 16, though a location has yet to be set.

More details will be announced closer to the event date, he added.

To keep up to date with the latest news from the US embassy, follow them on Twitter at @ACSBKK or visit the website http://bangkok.usembassy.gov

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-07-20

[bedouin1990]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

[JAFO]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

[Samuian]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

giving away iPhones for free?

[sirchai]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

– please consider enrolling with the US Embassy’s Consular Section via the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program [sTEP].

One stop service???? :jap:

[NanLaew]

And just like the 130-odd line items of passenger information that the US Department of Homeland Paranoia demands from all airlines flying people to the US, I bet they aren't allowed to ask the STEP applicants about their religion. "Must be a US Citizen so MUST be alright, no?"

[sirchai]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

How do you know if you'll pass? They might know more than you know........................:jap:

[daboyz1]

Yeah they were a big help when I got snatched up by the Lat Phrao cops for no reason years ago. I couldn't get a hold of anyone there. Waste of time.

[jmccarty]

Come on people, the IRS can't get everyone to volunteer info on their where-abouts, but this is something totally different, it's from the government and its here to help!

[phuketrichard]

and another way to track u,

did u know that Americans are to report ALL MONIES held in foreign accounts over $10,000, ( this is all accounts total)

so all u that are placing the 800,000 for ur extension , make sure u report to to BIG BROTHER

[KeyserSoze01]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

Big Brother aka the IRS, sniffing out merkins who aren't paying their pound of flesh.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Fears of loosing your anonymity by registering with the Embassy seems unwarranted unless you have an ulterior motive for doing so. We that live here, most anyway, still file tax returns so the big secret is out anyway.

I think it is likely that the Embassy is trying to update the ACS outreach service that currently limits its visits to (primarily) big tourist locations. Great for the Embassy staff but not so good for us folks living 400 km + from Bangkok in less touristy areas. I have been requesting that they add Buriram or Surin to one of there outreach locations and they assured me they would look into it. Even a visit by them once a year to the area would save me an unwanted trip into Bangkok. So if you are not wanted by law enforcement and live in the Buriram Surin area then please sign up. I hate the yearly trek into Bangkok to get my Embassy income letter which they can provide on the spot. Plus new pages, new passports, etc.

If you are unfamiliar with the ACS outreach service check it out. They come to you for many of the services that used to require a trip into Bangkok - if your lucky enough to be in an area that they service. From what I see our Embassy wins hands down over our European expat buddies.

[LTGTR]

Knowing where we are is a good thing.Get over your paranoia.

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

[siamjimi]

What the embassy REALLY needs to do is prioritize their efforts and STEP UP their visa agents to satisfy the demand for more application processing.

Currently their system is to let a visa applicant's 90 days paid subscription expire before they begin to consider granting a visa - that's a ridiculously absurd and ludicrous approach to handling what seems to be an overloaded visa department

What a novel idea it would be to add more agents to make the interviews and qualify the applicants - Duhh!! - reducing the load and getting those people qualified to go and spend money in the USA - WOW - how simple minded management can be.

Instead they spend their resources getting addresses of travelers and residents updated online.

I registered before - for what ? - a national crisis control ? - no-one contacted me to advise me to evacuate or instructions for other emergency contingency during the May red-shirt demonstrations with bombs and tanks rampant in the streets - I never heard of anything from the during the Tsunami

So what is their to STEP UP to ?

[animatic]

Knowing where we are is a good thing.Get over your paranoia.

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

And if they REALLY want to find you they can.

No doubt all our data is on Thai computers including home adress

and such if the NSA can't get past the Thai firewalls

they aren't worth their astronomical budget.

99 88/100th of us are not worth their time and trouble to look for.

But if you're straight up and in the database,

you are possibly going to have a faster time getting help if you REALLY need it.

just check the data base and the see you are who you are...

whether they help or not is another matter.

Between biolmetric passports, the Thai visa system, cellphone and credit card usage

they can pinpoint us reasonably quickly if they REALLY want to.

You better not pout you better not cry you better be good I'm telling you why,

Uncle Sam can come to your town.

[SouthernMan3]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

Who cares what they know unless you have something to be afraid of ?

[leobeerman]

"Big Brother" came and got me out of Egypt in January. A few people need to pull their heads out of their whiny, paranoid cracks...

[kuwaittemp]

This free service brought to you by the folks that now charge $85.00 for previously free passport pages. It is good to see where our money is going.

[thaimate]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

Who cares what they know unless you have something to be afraid of ?

YEH thats what they all say ,1984 has arrived ,just a little late.

[Kilgore Trout]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

Big Brother aka the IRS, sniffing out merkins who aren't paying their pound of flesh.

Most of the people putting money in offshore bank accounts are cheating the honest US taxpayer out of millions of dollars in public funds...

Most of these people are rich already and in my opinion are crooks who should receive much harsher consequences than your average burglar or purse snatcher....

Unless you are doing something wrong, you have nothing to worry about

[BuckarooBanzai]

This free service brought to you by the folks that now charge $85.00 for previously free passport pages. It is good to see where our money is going.

Actually it is the people in Washington we can thank. People working here do not make pricing policy. One more thing we can thank the fine tuned bureaucrats that run our country for. And I fully agree - it is a total rip off.

[maxman71]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

As PhuketRichard points out, if you are living here long-term and have foreign bank account(s) in AGGREGATE that exceed USD 10,000 even for one day in a given calendar year, you are required to report them along with any interest earned in the accounts. If you have at least 10% ownership in a foreign corp (in the case of Thailand, a Thai Limited Company qualifies as a Corp), you are also required to file all sorts of forms and statements related to the foreign corp.

The IRS conducted one semi-amnesty program back in 2009 to get US citizens to fess up. They started a second one in March of this year.

Penalties under these amnesty programs are significantly reduced (but still high) if you come forward voluntarily.

However, if you are required to report and haven't done so, and did not participate in the either one of these amnesty programs, and they catch you...your days in Thailand could well be over. Depending on the scope of what has been unreported, you could be subject to jail time and truly draconian penalties.

Our dear friend and Socialist Charlatan in Chief Obama has been quoted a few years ago as wanting to "mine the expats" as it is believed (and correctly so) that there billions upon billions of unreported foreign accounts and associated unreported income from those accounts, that the US gov't is highly motivated to get their hands on, given the financial mess the US is in.

If you guys want to roll the dice on getting caught later...good luck with that.

[caseytankc]

The repies I see on here. It is spilt decision. Some people likes the BB and some people don't like the BB and has paranoia I would just say, stay in tune with yourself and do what you think is best as nothing in this world can be real and only you can make it real.

Peace Out!!!

[SouthernMan3]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

Who cares what they know unless you have something to be afraid of ?

YEH thats what they all say ,1984 has arrived ,just a little late.

Oh is it ?

What exactly do you mean Mr. talking in a circle man ?

[SouthernMan3]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

Who cares what they know unless you have something to be afraid of ?

YEH thats what they all say ,1984 has arrived ,just a little late.

Please explain.

[Pib]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

^ Indeed.....Indeed. Big brother wants to know all....

Thank You but I will pass.

Do you also keep Big Brother in the dark by passing on entering your address or the correct address on your yearly federal tax return?

[vahack]

i like the work they did in the citizen services office, but i am not going to register with big brother. thanks anyway.

EDIT: i guess the other expats share my sentiment lol

Edited July 20, 2011 by vahack

[craigt3365]

Just flying here alerts the US to where you are. Remember passing through immigration when you left? Registering here is a good thing. I get regular updates via email. And the more US citizens they know that live here, the better services they will provide.

Who cares about the FBAR. I make no money here on it, so don't have to pay taxes. No biggie. TurboTax kicks out the form automatically.

[Stjohnm]

A good idea in some respects. It also enables Big Brother to know where you are.

Big Brother knows anyway

[devaram]

This free service brought to you by the folks that now charge $85.00 for previously free passport pages. It is good to see where our money is going.

Are they also charging more to get a new passport now?

This is a major game changer I am shocked to hear this!

It is so stingy and unfair that they only give you about 24 pages in the new passport and then will charge another $85 for how many cents worth of paper and time spent?

Meanwhile the republicans continue to seek loopholes and tax breaks for wealthy billionares and oil companies dont you just love it?

This is unconstitutional and could possibly be contested in court as it is an unfair tax on traveling.

Justice William O. Douglas held that the federal government may not restrict the right to travel without due process:

The right to travel is a part of the 'liberty' of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Amendment. If that "liberty" is to be regulated, it must be pursuant to the law-making functions of the Congress. . . . . Freedom of movement across frontiers in either direction, and inside frontiers as well, was a part of our heritage. Travel abroad, like travel within the country, . . . may be as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or wears, or reads. Freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values.

Edited July 20, 2011 by devaram