SAWASDEE 2

[afterforever 0]

Hello everyone,

My fiance and I had a successful interview today! Yay! Just a heads up, there's a new interviewer named Jan. I'd guess she's around 30. The Japanese-American interviewer I've read about was standing over her shoulder and teaching her how to do everything. I honestly think she was more nervous than we were, but she was very friendly. I'll add more details into the Embassy Info page. http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=Thailand

If it clears anyone's worries, I made below the poverty line for income last year because I was in Thailand and I am currently, technically unemployed. I don't have much in the bank either, but they said they didn't have a problem with my I-134. All I had for supporting documents was a letter from my bank, 2 notarized letters from family members saying they'd help financially, a letter from a friend saying he'd give me a job, my tax return, and a W2 from my last job. Hope this helps. PM me if you need any help with anything.

Congrats!

Congratulations! I hope you both have a very happy life together!!!

[statman78 0]

Hi Everyone,

It's been awhile since I posted here. My wife, Ying and I are enjoying out life together. We are in the process of getting her 10 year green card. I just want to let you know there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

For those looking to to find a cheap way of calling Thailand from the US I want to let you know that Vonage has some new international calling plans. We have had the unlimited calling plan for awhile and it has worked very well for us. Now they offer unlimited calling to Thailand (including mobile phones) for $10/month. Now Ying doesn't need to buy the calling cards. We just signed up and Ying is preparing for a long night on the phone

Best of luck to all of the couples that are in the midst of obtaining the visa!

[winters 0]

sawadee krup everyone!

That's great news about vonage, I use vonage i'll definately get that added. I was using nobelcom calling card, the talk thailand plan at about 1.2 cents a minute which isn't bad

especialy if your like me and most often use a cell phone.

I wonder what else people have learned now over the years of distance communications.

When I snail mail, at first I used Fed ex, which cost 45.00USD to send a few pages and photos (don't do this), now I always just go to the post office, and mail a letter or package for just a few dollars.

cheap and relaible.

When I need to send money, I opened another free checking account and just sent a card to my fiancee, now I can just pop into my online banking and transfer free,

She's gonna leave the card with her mom, so we can send her money too. (I didn't activate the card till it had arrived)

When I buy plane tickets, I always use farecompare.com

That's all I can think of at the moment. Thanks for the vonage tip!

Best regards

[statman78 0]

sawadee krup everyone!

That's great news about vonage, I use vonage i'll definately get that added. I was using nobelcom calling card, the talk thailand plan at about 1.2 cents a minute which isn't bad

especialy if your like me and most often use a cell phone.

I wonder what else people have learned now over the years of distance communications.

When I snail mail, at first I used Fed ex, which cost 45.00USD to send a few pages and photos (don't do this), now I always just go to the post office, and mail a letter or package for just a few dollars.

cheap and relaible.

When I need to send money, I opened another free checking account and just sent a card to my fiancee, now I can just pop into my online banking and transfer free,

She's gonna leave the card with her mom, so we can send her money too. (I didn't activate the card till it had arrived)

When I buy plane tickets, I always use farecompare.com

That's all I can think of at the moment. Thanks for the vonage tip!

Best regards

I called Vonage last Thursday evening to confirm the rates and coverage. yes, only $10 for unlimited calling to Thailand land lines and mobile numbers. After a couple of minutes to confirm everything we had immediate service. This was about 7 PM. Ying immediately dug out her phonebook and started calling. She stopped at about 11 because she was too tired to go on! I think she called half of Chiang Rai!

[dbirner 0]

Wow that is amazing for only $10. How is the call quality? Gene long time since I have seen you on here! Of coarse I haven't been on here either.

Dan

Edited September 12, 2007 by dbirner

[statman78 0]

Wow that is amazing for only $10. How is the call quality? Gene long time since I have seen you on here! Of coarse I haven't been on here either.

Dan

Hi Dan,

It's great to see that everything is going well for you and your wife. Monday we'll be sending in the paper work to remove conditions on Ying's green card.

we've used Vonage for several years and the call quality has been very good. Ying tells me that the calls to Thailand sound the same.

Have you two been back to Thailand yet? We try to get back once a year for vacation. Last year Ying got back twice. She came with me during 1 of my trips for work. We already have tickets to return next March for a couple of weeks.

[dbirner 0]

Yes. Ton was just there for a month and half. I went for the last week of her visit, and then we flew back together. We had a nice time.

[statman78 0]

Yes. Ton was just there for a month and half. I went for the last week of her visit, and then we flew back together. We had a nice time.

I don't think Ying could take a month and a half back in Thailand. Her family would drive her crazy and she would run out of money since her favorite thing to do in Thailand is to eat and find bargins!

Whenever we come back we always have to ask the hotel for a scale so we can balance out the weight in our luggage.

[K.Robert 0]

Sawadee krup

It has been a while since I posted but I needed to get back on the board.

Aor and I have our interview at the embassy on Oct 3rd.

I will be flying in for this appointment and leaving 10 days later.

Aor is planning on staying in Thailand for a month or so to wrap up her afairs and visit with her family etc.

If there happens to be anyone else in town with an interview around the 3rd who wants to have a cup of coffe let me know.

K. Robert.

[rin and john 71]

Ah, "This is Thailand!"

Rin and I travelled to Bangkok last weekend to begin the K4 process for her children. Of course the first order of business was to get a passport for her son and renew her daughters' passports. Rin went on Monday to find out what is needed, they told her she would need a letter from the local amphur stating that she has been solely responsible for there upbringing. She went to the amphur with her ex-sister-in-law who was to be a witness that her brother's whereabouts are unknown and that he has not been involved with raising the children. The official at the amphur told her "well, it's 3:15 and the bus to my home leaves at 4:00, so if I stay I will miss the bus and have to take a taxi. Very expensive this time of day". When Rin asked how long the form would take, he added "about 1/2 hour", but if she came back in the morning that it would take 2-3 hours as there is always a long line. He said he would take care of it now if she would cover his taxi home. When asked how much....500 baht ($15 usd). Ok not alot in terms of USD, but you can pretty much cross Bangkok twice for 500 baht. She paid the 500 baht and got service with a smile; left with the appropriate document in hand.

On Tuesday, she went with the children to get their passports made, however when she showed her ID with a foreign last name, the lady said she needed proof that we were married (if she had shown her old Thai ID with her maiden name it would not have been an issue as she had gotten the girls passports before!). Rin had a copy of the marriage certificate, but not the original. Rin protested that the children would miss another day of school. The lady said she needed a certified copy of our marriage certificate. As Rin turned to leave, the conversation went:

Lady - "Befroe you leave, would you like to buy (something - I don't remember what) in honor of the King's 80th birthday?"

Rin - "How much is it?"

Lady - "Only 350 baht"

Rin - "Um, OK."

Lady - "Can you wait one minute, please"

The lady left for a few minutes, then came back to the window very pleasant and said she would process the passports so long as Rin returned with the necessary paper from the Amphur on Thursday when she came to pick them up!

So Wednesday it was to the Bangrak amphur for the marriage certificate (no problems here!), then to two other amphurs for the children's birth certificates. The first one was 15 baht ($0.45 usd) for the BC's. The second amphur's office also told her 15 baht, but when she said she was applying for US visas, they charged her an additional 10 baht (after she had the BC in hand so it was no different than the others).

So after 860 baht of greasing the wheels, about 1,000 baht of taxi/bus fares, and three days, we were able to submit their packet 3's to the embassy on Thursday. Now just waiting for the appointments!

[Kang Lang 7]

well glad it's all sorted and you are on your way to having your whole family united!

[rin and john 71]

Well, sometimes the Embassy in Bangkok can be very fast! Rin just called me (I am in Taiwan, rejoining her tomorrow in Bangkok). She had mailed the packet 3 for the children last Thursday via express mail (received on Friday). Rin received a phone call from the embassy this morning (Wednesday) telling her their appointment is October 2nd! Will be a busy few days to get medical exam, pay visa fee, etc, before Tuesday, but at least they will have their visa and be able to return to the US with Rin and I on the 12th!

[anya-D 8]

Hey Gene and Dan,

Long time no see!! How's it going?

My life is great right now.. we just passed our 2nd anniversary this month. our life is great and my life is even better! Still miss Thailand very much but I know it's not the same anymore - still I miss my family and food and the beach!

Wish that everybody here have speedy process and reunite soon.. GOOD LUCK!

-Anya

Ah, "This is Thailand!"

Rin and I travelled to Bangkok last weekend to begin the K4 process for her children. Of course the first order of business was to get a passport for her son and renew her daughters' passports. Rin went on Monday to find out what is needed, they told her she would need a letter from the local amphur stating that she has been solely responsible for there upbringing. She went to the amphur with her ex-sister-in-law who was to be a witness that her brother's whereabouts are unknown and that he has not been involved with raising the children. The official at the amphur told her "well, it's 3:15 and the bus to my home leaves at 4:00, so if I stay I will miss the bus and have to take a taxi. Very expensive this time of day". When Rin asked how long the form would take, he added "about 1/2 hour", but if she came back in the morning that it would take 2-3 hours as there is always a long line. He said he would take care of it now if she would cover his taxi home. When asked how much....500 baht ($15 usd). Ok not alot in terms of USD, but you can pretty much cross Bangkok twice for 500 baht. She paid the 500 baht and got service with a smile; left with the appropriate document in hand.

On Tuesday, she went with the children to get their passports made, however when she showed her ID with a foreign last name, the lady said she needed proof that we were married (if she had shown her old Thai ID with her maiden name it would not have been an issue as she had gotten the girls passports before!). Rin had a copy of the marriage certificate, but not the original. Rin protested that the children would miss another day of school. The lady said she needed a certified copy of our marriage certificate. As Rin turned to leave, the conversation went:

Lady - "Befroe you leave, would you like to buy (something - I don't remember what) in honor of the King's 80th birthday?"

Rin - "How much is it?"

Lady - "Only 350 baht"

Rin - "Um, OK."

Lady - "Can you wait one minute, please"

The lady left for a few minutes, then came back to the window very pleasant and said she would process the passports so long as Rin returned with the necessary paper from the Amphur on Thursday when she came to pick them up!

So Wednesday it was to the Bangrak amphur for the marriage certificate (no problems here!), then to two other amphurs for the children's birth certificates. The first one was 15 baht ($0.45 usd) for the BC's. The second amphur's office also told her 15 baht, but when she said she was applying for US visas, they charged her an additional 10 baht (after she had the BC in hand so it was no different than the others).

So after 860 baht of greasing the wheels, about 1,000 baht of taxi/bus fares, and three days, we were able to submit their packet 3's to the embassy on Thursday. Now just waiting for the appointments!

That's sounds like a pain.. at least you got everything going now though!! Good luck

[statman78 0]

Hi Anya,

It's good to be back on VJ. I see that many of the people that posted on this thread in the past have moved on. I've noticed that Yodrak has posted any comments lately. I remember seeing his posts on a daily basis. several of his suggestions helped us through the process.

We've been happily married over 2 years now. Time flies! Ying has been back home 3 times since she moved to the US. She is always happy to go back to Thailand but when she's there she looks forward to coming back to the US. Since we added anew feature to our phone service she calls back to Thailand almost everyday. For $10/month we have unlimited calling to any number in Thailand.

We just filed our I-751 to renew her green card. More waiting. Next November Ying may apply for citizenship. She still has a year to decide.

Take care!

[K.Robert 0]

Question about the $100.00 for the Post Office.

In Bangkok for our interview on Wednesday and just returned from the Post Office.

The Post Office asked for 3600BHT.

Our paperwork seems to indicate that we should pay $100.00USD.

We paid the 3600BHT.

What gives?

If we are supposed to pay in Baht like we did for the medical than it should be spelled out in Packet 3.

If the local Post Office is supposed to accept my new crisp 100.00 dollar bill than shame on them.......