SAWASDEE 3 (2009 Thai thread restarted)

[BishopMnA 0]

Kat was approved at her interview today, she picks up her visa on 6/23 and we will probably head back to the u.s. soon after that. Nern (Pete's fiancee) whom I briefly met at the embassy was also approved. More about the interview after I take care of a few things...

Ok, now that I'm on a computer that doesn't suck...

The interview was pretty short, 5 or 6 questions.

1.) When/where did you meet your fiance?

2.) Where were you working around the time when you met him?

3.) What happened after you met him? (did he come back? when?)

4.) What happened after that? (did he come back again? when?)

5.) When did you get engaged?

Kat said the lady who interviewed her did not smile and was pretty interested in moving things along. Kat lined up at 12:30 for a 1pm scheduled interview and was out with her white slip at around 2pm. I was told that I was not allowed inside of the building during the interview, so I decided not to rock the boat and waited at a big financial building across the street w/ lots of coffee shops inside. It was hot as hell outside today, so it's a good thing that air-conditioned building was near the embassy.

I don't plan on buying the return tickets until the visa is physically in her possession, but I suspect we'll be back in the U.S. sometime late next week. Glad this part of our visa journey is finally over!

Ray! Fantastic News!

Sounds like your interview was pretty smooth sailing...congratulations on being well prepared!

I can understand your relief that this part of the VJ is over...and you can start the next stage of your lives 'together' in the good ol' USA! Sounds like you guys will be here in time for the 4th of July! That can be a fantastic welcome for Kat!

God's blessings to you both and you migrate back to the states!

MarkNAAm

[BishopMnA 0]

Just got off the phone with her and as I had said she confirmed "I didn't want to wake you honey." Bah!

She said there were about 50 or so people total, perhaps 10 to 12 there for K-1. The first lady did not receive the visa and told Nern that she was lacking evidence. She said it was nice meeting Kat and Ray, and that the look on Kat's face was priceless when she got accepted.

She also commented how the interviewing lady didn't look at her and instead spent most of the time typing into the computer, presumably some of Nern's responses to her questions. Her Thai was pretty good, but with a strong American accent.

We're looking for an arrival date in about 2 weeks, which I can go with considering that it's been nearly a year since we were last together and 240 days since NOA1.

One last thing, which probably won't apply to most of the Thai spouses on here, but be sure your fiancée dresses appropriately. Nern commented about one Thai lady who was dressed quite inappropriately i.e. like she was on Pattaya's walking street, and the folks at the embassy seemed to have been giving her a harder time. She was attempting to hand in her evidence and the lady behind the counter was saying something like "No, that won't do. I need. . . . " Yet when Kat and Nern went to present their evidence, which I believe was similar to what that first lady was attempting to give, no problems at all.

All the best to all those with upcoming interviews. I believe we can safely say that the glabrous gentleman is presently not conducting interviews and so long as you have all your ducks in order, you shall be just fine.

Brother Pete,

CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is fantastic news!

Wow! I didn't realize that it had been almost one year that you two have been apart. That is quite burden that I am sure you are glad is about to be over!

Of course, once Nern is safely in Maryland and settled in, give us a call! We'd love to come down and meet you guys! Just last weekend AAm and I were down in Silver Springs near DC. Off of Georgia Avenue (and 495) there is a great little Thai Market, on Thayer & Georgia. Have you been there? If not, then I'm sure you will be there soon once Nern is here. At that shop, they'll even burn all of Nern's favorite 'Thai Soaps/shows' onto DVD. AAm bought about a 3 month supply of shows the last time we were in that market (cheap too!). She loves it! Plus, that market is only about 6 miles from the Thai temple in DC. Here is their website: www.watthaidc.org. Have you been to the temple yet? If not, well...I'm sure you will be soon ;-)

So, once you're wonderful wife-2-b is in town please PM me (or email me) and let us know. We'll plan a day to meet you in Silver Springs! I'm just guessing that AAm and Nern will be exchanging cell phone numbers and chatting alot, very soon. AAm will really love that!

Peace to you my brother and I'm absolutely thrilled that you've made it through the interview and will be reunited!

MarkNAAm

[Kang Lang 7]

congrats on the recent approvals!

[GeneT 0]

Congrats on the approvals!!!!! That is awesome!

[afisher 0]

:dance:

That's great news for those approved. I'm leaving for BKK on the 23ed with the interview on the 30th. I haven't seen my girl since March 27th 2008. I'm looking forward to it.

[*Robert* 2]

:joy:

A big congratulations to:

Ray & Kat!!!

&

Pete & Nern!!!

Always great to hear good news!!!

[rsn 135]

A big congratulations to:

Ray & Kat!!!

&

Pete & Nern!!!

Always great to hear good news!!!

Thanks everyone and best of luck to those still waiting! Hang in there! Has anyone had any issues picking up their visas? Does the embassy always deliver on their claim to have the visa ready on day X? What exactly do they give the beneficiary on the day she picks up her visa?

[AaronLV 12]

A big congratulations to:

Ray & Kat!!!

&

Pete & Nern!!!

Always great to hear good news!!!

Thanks everyone and best of luck to those still waiting! Hang in there! Has anyone had any issues picking up their visas? Does the embassy always deliver on their claim to have the visa ready on day X? What exactly do they give the beneficiary on the day she picks up her visa?

They give her back her passport with the Visa in it, big brown envelope (do not open) to be given to the POE officer, and then a letter telling her the requirements of the VIsa.

[Noi3125 1]

I am so happy to hear such great news. Congrats to the newly approved couples, Ray and Kat, Pete and Nern... you made it!

I have never heard of anyone having issues picking up thier visas. They told us to be there at a certain time and they gave us our brown envelopes 15 minutes late but as promised. And as they mentioned you get a passport, a sealed manila envelope (remember not to pack it as you have to give it at the POE before baggage claim), and a couple papers explaining things in Thai and English (for example social security numbers, and for us on a CR1 what it means to be conditional permanent resident).

It really sounds like Bangkok embassy is back to normal... hopefully it stays that way.

Take care,

Noi

Oh, has anyone had any experience with buying Thai ingredients online? I was looking yesterday at stick rice, fish sauce, msg, curry pastes and things like that. Anyone with any thoughts or reccomendations about that?

[*Robert* 2]

Oh, has anyone had any experience with buying Thai ingredients online? I was looking yesterday at stick rice, fish sauce, msg, curry pastes and things like that. Anyone with any thoughts or reccomendations about that?

When I lived on an island in the middle of the Pacific, I had no choice but to order online. I used Thai Grocer several times and never had any problems with them. There are plenty of online Thai grocers nowdays, so you can shop and compare.

http://thaigrocer.com/

[scandal 951]

Best wishes to all my good friends on Sawasdee... hope all is well with everyone going into this weekend.

Here in Chicago we have ominous storm clouds and lots of thunder and lightning. If all goes according to plan, I have only two more weekends to spend here alone - this one and next week. Barring any hitches, Thanti will be here in exactly 2 weeks from today! That gives me but 2 weekends to get the house organized, clean up the mess, buy some new sheets and towels..... Gulp! Suggestions welcome

So - weekend plans!

Rumor has it one of our Texan regulars (we have several!) is sojourning in sunny Florida this weekend. Caliente, Brother Scott! Enjoy a little well earned R&R in Miami.

Brother Mark -- what's shaking in DC?

Brother Robert -- is this the weekend you are out in Vegas?

Brothers Danny, Aaron, Mike, .... big weekend plans?

And what of our sisters - Anya? Noi? Weekend plans anyone?

Others of us are in Thailand, or about to make their way there. Some have just had interviews, some are about to have them. Reports are always welcome here on Sawasdee

We span the entire country. I know that we have brothers and sisters in Maryland, New York, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Nevada, Florida, Illinois (that would be me), and of course in the Lone Star state. What have I missed? Surely we come from more states than those?

Have a good weekend all.

[bill13060 0]

Best wishes to all my good friends on Sawasdee... hope all is well with everyone going into this weekend.

Here in Chicago we have ominous storm clouds and lots of thunder and lightning. If all goes according to plan, I have only two more weekends to spend here alone - this one and next week. Barring any hitches, Thanti will be here in exactly 2 weeks from today! That gives me but 2 weekends to get the house organized, clean up the mess, buy some new sheets and towels..... Gulp! Suggestions welcome

So - weekend plans!

Rumor has it one of our Texan regulars (we have several!) is sojourning in sunny Florida this weekend. Caliente, Brother Scott! Enjoy a little well earned R&R in Miami.

Brother Mark -- what's shaking in DC?

Brother Robert -- is this the weekend you are out in Vegas?

Brothers Danny, Aaron, Mike, .... big weekend plans?

And what of our sisters - Anya? Noi? Weekend plans anyone?

Others of us are in Thailand, or about to make their way there. Some have just had interviews, some are about to have them. Reports are always welcome here on Sawasdee

Yeaah i can remember when i had two weeks until my wife got here. i didn't do anything. now i'm scrambling to clean, been doing a room a day. it's a good thing i only have 5 rooms in my apartment. i go to pick up my wife at LAX this sunday.

We span the entire country. I know that we have brothers and sisters in Maryland, New York, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Nevada, Florida, Illinois (that would be me), and of course in the Lone Star state. What have I missed? Surely we come from more states than those?

Have a good weekend all.

Yeah i remember when i had two weeks before my wife got here. i did not do anything. now i'm scrambling to clean, been doing a room a day. goo thing my apartment only has 5 rooms. i'm going to LAX to pick up my wife this sunday

Edited June 20, 2009 by will92104

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

That gives me but 2 weekends to get the house organized, clean up the mess, buy some new sheets and towels..... Gulp! Suggestions welcome

buy enough so she won't decide to go out and buy more. this way you can nail down the colors of the sheets and towels for the next few years

[rsn 135]

Best wishes to all my good friends on Sawasdee... hope all is well with everyone going into this weekend.

Here in Chicago we have ominous storm clouds and lots of thunder and lightning. If all goes according to plan, I have only two more weekends to spend here alone - this one and next week. Barring any hitches, Thanti will be here in exactly 2 weeks from today! That gives me but 2 weekends to get the house organized, clean up the mess, buy some new sheets and towels..... Gulp! Suggestions welcome

So - weekend plans!

Rumor has it one of our Texan regulars (we have several!) is sojourning in sunny Florida this weekend. Caliente, Brother Scott! Enjoy a little well earned R&R in Miami.

Brother Mark -- what's shaking in DC?

Brother Robert -- is this the weekend you are out in Vegas?

Brothers Danny, Aaron, Mike, .... big weekend plans?

And what of our sisters - Anya? Noi? Weekend plans anyone?

Others of us are in Thailand, or about to make their way there. Some have just had interviews, some are about to have them. Reports are always welcome here on Sawasdee

We span the entire country. I know that we have brothers and sisters in Maryland, New York, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Nevada, Florida, Illinois (that would be me), and of course in the Lone Star state. What have I missed? Surely we come from more states than those?

Have a good weekend all.

I probably spent an entire weekend cleaning up my place before I left for Thailand. It has never been so clean before! I guess that helped me keep my mind off of the interview too. Now all we have to do is pick up the interview on Tuesday and pass through immigration in the U.S. (hopefully). It sounds illogical, but my worrying brain won't let me rest until the visa is in her hand since I'm paranoid that the embassy will mess something up. Hopefully I am, as usual, worrying over nothing.

I put together an entire list of things to buy/replace/do before I went to Thailand (didn't get everything done) and when I get back from Thailand. FYI I use rememberthemilk.com which is a pretty cool todo list website with an open API and lots of apps developed to exploit it. It also can send you emails and SMS messages to remind you of items on your todo list. Anyway, I think we will buy some Thai-related cooking items over the internet after we pick up the visa.

For another day or so, I'm in Bangkok alone as Kat went back to her village to pack and get her parents for a family reunion before hopefully leaving for the U.S. I forgot how much I rely on her when I'm in Thailand, she usually does most of the talking when we go out and eat and stuff.

Best of luck to everyone waiting as well!

[rsn 135]

That gives me but 2 weekends to get the house organized, clean up the mess, buy some new sheets and towels..... Gulp! Suggestions welcome

buy enough so she won't decide to go out and buy more. this way you can nail down the colors of the sheets and towels for the next few years

I took Kat shopping in Bangkok after her interview approval. She wanted to purchase some clothing-related items to get through the winters in Wisconsin since she doesn't have any winter clothes (obviously). If I didn't make her stick to her list, she would have just bought a bunch of new short-sleeved shirts & shorts. She did manage to slip in some non-ice-friendly high-heeled shoes though. I think she owns close to 25 pairs of shoes and is good at finding strange reasons to buy new pairs ("I need a new pair because they might not let me bring this pair into the U.S. - they are too old").

Edited June 20, 2009 by rsn