My 13 yr old son was recently approved through the NYC embassy. One thing I did which they told me I should not have was submitted the application three months before his flight into Thailand. They said about a month before the flight is enough. They didn't reject it but held on to it till there were about 5 weeks left to his departure and approved it.

One other thing that happened early on was that I gave them a screenshot of my US bank account balance for proof of liquid assets but my name wasn't on it, I completely overlooked that. They responded and asked for a bank statement but Chase only gives the previous month's statement and that made me think that even though there was more than enough in there last month, they'd reject it simply because it was last month's eventhough my name would be on it. Luckily I had a Bangkok Bank account with more than the required funds and BB gives a current statement with your name and so I sent them that and it worked. Otherwise it was smooth and he'll be here in a few weeks now. Flying alone from NYC to BKK via Tokyo. If anyone has any experience with summer camps in BKK, pls let me know. Planning that right now. STEM is the focus with some outdoor activities too. Thanks to all. This group has been very helpful!

Finally got my DTV approved. Here's how my process went:

Applied at the US Washington Embassy under the Workation Category

- Applied at the end of December

- After 2 days, I received a request for more docs, which were Employment Verification and Location. I provided all of those.

- After a few days, I received a request for payment slips. I provided my deposit slips from clients.

- After a few days, I received a request for my actual IRS tax filing.

All in all, it took 1 whole month from submission to getting approved. I've read some people getting it a lot sooner (few days). But I would budget at least 1 month.

Also, be ready to provide a ton of documents like tax filings, payment slips and anything related to your client work. Its totally normal for them to reach out several times during the process requesting additional documents.

Hope that helps!

Anyone apply for DTV in USA? If so, how long did it take?

Applied Dec 12, and application only shows pending approval dated Dec 13, nothing since then.

Not sure I should email embassy or continue to wait.

Thanks.

I’m in Bangkok, went to BangkokBank with US Passport in hand, to set up account using Non-O stamp, TM30 + lease. The lady then asked me to get a Letter from US Embassy Certifying the that my Passport was really mine. No clue why. I guess I could have also brought my California drivers license and my Canadian passport as proof of my ID. What’s my move? Bother with a bureaucratic embassy OR learn my lesson and bring the supplemental IDs to the next branch I attempt to setup an account (do Thais understand the principle of dual citizenship or will using the Canadian passport as ID confirmation confuse them?)

Has any US business owner submitted their DTV application using their normal corporation documents without having them authenticated with the US embassy? Only due to time constraints I want to get my application in and I've read it could take months to have them all authenticated.

So, I messed up. My non-O visa runs out on November 7th and while I have been otherwise approved for a 1-year marriage visa extension, I don't have any pages left in my passport.

Okay, I actually have 3 pages left, but they all say "Endorsements" in tiny letter on the side of the page and apparently you can't use those for visas...despite two countries already using half of one of those pages for visa stamps...regardless today Thai immigration told me they can't use them.

Am I screwed? The US Embassy website seems to say that a lack of pages is not a reason for an emergency or temporary passport, and they don't add pages anymore.

I can't apply for a new passport here in Bangkok because my visa will run out long before I get it.

Did I fuck up so bad by not knowing about these final three pages in my passport that I now have to leave my wife just before her birthday, my condo that I have a contract for, my prepaid Christmas plans, and go home for months while I sort out a new passport? Is there no other solution?

UPDATE

After some difficulty, I was able to make an appointment to renew my passport (usually done through mail only) and I will have the chance to state my case for an emergency passport (usually not given in my particular case) so I can get a visa stamp and stay in the country.

🎊 I'm APPROVED 🎉

Got approved in 17 days from USA DC Embassy Online.

US DC Embassy

Asking for Tax Return. I haven't heard of this, is it normal?

Question:

The US Dept of State in Washington DC will authenticate my 'Authentic' SS Income verification letter (Issued on Official letterhead and signed and stamped by the SS Agency representative). It can then be Certified as a legal document by the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, DC.

There is a notary service that takes the document through the entire process for $372 US.

Has anyone successfully used this documentation method for meeting the minimum ฿65,000/month for a retirement here in Thailand (in lieu of the ฿800,000 bank deposit)?

References:

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Are there any Americans on social security in Thailand that can advise how to send yearly information on time,the mail is so slow