I truly appreciate all the posts that gave tips (good, bad and the trolls lol) on how to go about securing a DTVA visa!

My approach:

- Applied on 3/13 @ 11pm EST

- 3/19 morning: status changed from Pending Documents Review to Pending Approval

- 3/19 @ 3pm EST: received email notification (see below)

5 business days total!

I applied under Soft Power thru the Washington, DC office. $400.

Documents submitted:

- Copy of passport

- 1 Photo

- 1 month's bank statement

- Thai cooking class acceptance letter (House of Taste)

- Lease agreement

- Utility bill in America, showing my current location

- Letter to the Thai consulate stating that during my previous visit (I left Thailand March 5), I dedicated a portion of my time to volunteering at a Community Center and I would like to continue my efforts if granted the visa

MOST IMPORTANTLY❗️❗️❗️

- For the lease agreement and Thai Cooking class acceptance letter, I combined these files and added a Table of Content to help the reviewer better understanding what they were looking at

I also indicated that I'll be returning to Thailand first week in April. There was no request for additional documents.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be more than happy to help.