One of the Consulate's Thai staff may do a pre-screening of the application and ask a few questions but this is just to make sure all required info is present.

The actual interview is done by an American Foreign Service officer who has had up to 44 weeks of Thai language training before the assignment to Bangkok. They should be able to speak and understand Thai pretty well at this stage, reading, however, varies as that's a tad more difficult.

Often you'll find junior consular officers on the visa desks as this is part of their rotational program through the various sections of the embassy. There's also more seasoned ConOffs doing the deed, too.

I note that there's an option to have the interview done in either Thai or English, up to the interviewee.

FYI, my now wife will be up for a new tourist visa later this year. She's previously had four visas, two short-termers and two 10-year visas. This'll be the first time she'll go by herself as early one I was allowed under the old rules to accompany her to the interview window. And, I was the one interviewed with a few Qs, not her, the ConOff wanted to see my passport and the string of retirement extensions I had. Only one Q for her, "Do you have any relatives in the U.S.?" No, done deal.

Mac

This is imho the most important part of the interview. "Do you have any relatives in the U.S.?" no connections friends relatives in the usa.

She was intervied by a very pleasant (her description) Thai speaking American consulate officer and yes she was asked that question about relatives, and she doesn't.

PS. can anyone answer this question:

She was given a 10 year visa but her passport expires in 2017. Is the visa transferable to a new passport?

She was intervied by a very pleasant (her description) Thai speaking American consulate officer and yes she was asked that question about relatives, and she doesn't.

PS. can anyone answer this question:

She was given a 10 year visa but her passport expires in 2017. Is the visa transferable to a new passport?

In short, bring both the expired passport with the visa and the new passport (Google is your friend):

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/826/~/what-to-do-if-my-visa-is-in-an-expired-passport

Not mentioned in the link, and likely isn't relevant in your case, but if there is a name change in the new passport, you may need to check more thoroughly if the visa would still be valid.

Yankee99

"my wifes interview was in thai by a thai {maybe thai American}. "

If the interview, not a pre-screening, was done by a Thai, that'd really surprise me.

How good was the interviewer's Thai speaking, on, say, a 1-5 scale with 5 being "native?"

FYI, a very good grad from the State Dept Foreign Service Institute's long Thai course might end up at a 3 level, which is actually quite good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILR_scale

Mac

Quick question. How long does it approx take for a thai person to obtain a USA tourist visa single entry, from start to finish assuming they are successful? Application, interview, visa in passport... How much time do you need to safely set aside?

My wife's got hers in under 8 working days. It really depends on the appointment availability