What should I know about applying for a married DTV visa at the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles, especially regarding name spelling?

September 29, 2024
20 hours ago
Terry ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
Update on my husband's married DTV with the Thai Consulate of Los Angeles: Came back today to tell him to reapply to the visa after he had mistakenly "forgot" to put a hyphen in his last name. Note: The message did not tell him that he's denied a visa.

Applied: Sept 12, 2024

Reapplied: Sept 28, 2024

At the end of the reapplication, was expected to pay another $400 (.... really?)

Remember everyone who happens to have hyphens in their names or some middle name. INCLUDE THEM! Save the $400 mistake that my husband made.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
A user shares their experience with the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles regarding the DTV visa application process, highlighting issues caused by incorrect name spelling (specifically the omission of a hyphen). After initially applying on September 12, 2024, and having to reapply on September 28, 2024, they faced an additional $400 fee. Community comments emphasize the importance of ensuring names are spelled exactly as on the passport, with some sharing similar experiences and the potential for mistakes in the eVisa system. The discussion also touches on frustrations with the Los Angeles office's strictness.
DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
Barrie ******
Los Angeles office is particularly picky. I will not use them again. I will fly to another country first. lol
Troy ***********
Similar posts have appeared over the last couple days. When I applied, the officer told me “make sure your name is spelled correctly because there have been a lot of people getting denied because they don’t spell their own name right.” I’m 99.99% sure I entered my name correctly. Thank god I saved the application before I submitted it, and looked back over everything. I found a mysterious error had appeared in the spelling of my name. Luckily I caught that.

Maybe your husband didn’t put a hyphen in, but it seems the website randomly messes up names for no reason. Example: last post I read, person got denied for using a zero instead of the letter O. I highly doubt they actually made that mistake on their own
Ivan ************
The problem is compounded by the instructions saying "Your name must be spelled exactly as it appears in the machine-readable zone (MRZ) at the bottom of the biographic data page of your passport."

The MRZ doesn't include hypens.
Paul ********
@Ivan ***********
Nor misspellings
Roger *********
What do you mean with “married DTV”? Is there a special DTV when you are married?
Jon **********
@Roger ********
can get a DTV as a spouse/dependent
Stephen ********
It isn't just Thai government offices. My mother has two different legal spellings of her name and had to go through hoops trying to renew her British passport. So, be careful always.
Tod *********
Yep many people have gotten denial/rejections because of bad data entry and unfortunately the eVisa system makes you pay again to apply again.

you need to use the name exactly as it's written on the passport

So if on the passport the name is hyphenated, you have to do that when you fill out the application too
Charles *************
@Tod ********
todd i think it they look ti checkuo on status they can add info without paying again.
Tod *********
@Charles ************
unless it's in a closed status,
Charles *************
@Tod ********
yes unfortunately
Tod *********
@Charles ************
it sounds like it was a data ENTRY issue, not a document issue and those can't be changed, you have no way to edit the data you typed in on the application once you pay and it starts to process,
Charles *************
Terry ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
I'm like shaking my husband lol! Telling him. "How the heck did you miss that??"
Paul *********
@Terry *****
patience... Lol
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