You know, we all hear so many people complaining about Thai Immigration and Visas, however Thailand is excellent when compared to many countries. My wife and I live 50/50 in Vancouver, Canada and Udon Thani. I am on a Non-O Visa Retirement and on the yearly extension. Pretty easy, just some paperwork and a check in every 90 days. Today while in Vancouver we thought we would apply for a visa to the US to go to Alaska sometime. I contacted the US consulate in Vancouver and I was instructed to fill out two comprehensive forms, pay a fee (not sure how much) and they would then book a time for our interview. I asked when the interview would be and the US employee said they were averaging 700 days from today-that's right, 2 years waiting after you've filled out all the paperwork and paid a couple of hundred dollars just to get an interview!
And Schengen Visas in Vancouver from VFS Global? Don't get me started! A nightmare organization.