American, Male, 42, Not Married (yet!)

[rundmw]

Sawasdee khrap!

Looking for some authoritative advice.

I am an American, male, 42, with a long-term Thai girlfriend (pregnant, expecting in September, ), been doing monthly visa runs for about two years.

Now with the word out (again!) that monthly visa runs might be an endangered species, I'm considering a more stable visa status.

Haven't married yet - for all the reasons that single guys avoid it - but if it makes a decisive difference in visa status, then it may be time to really do it, especially with the kid on the way.

Got lots of strong connections with my girlfriend's family (mom, brother, two kids from her previous marriage to a Thai guy), lots of photos. Bought some land up in Isaan, under her name, of course.

I'm not doing any work for Thai companies. I do a little consulting work for foreign companies.

I speak, read, and write Thai. Probably better than your average long-term farang, but certainly not "fluent". For example, I still pick up precious little from TV news in Thai.

Any advice? NonImm-O or NonImm-D? What are the chances?

Will getting married make a big difference? She often talks about jotabien as some kind of intermediate marriage status. Any ideas on what she means?

Khawp khun maak khrap,