I’m about to apply online from the USA for a non O retirement visa (Chicago consulate). Three questions:

Does my bank account need to be at least three months old?

Does the $25,000 need to be seasoned at all (I just deposited it)?

Do I need to wait for the official monthly bank statement or can I just provide a photo/screenshot of the current account balance?

I ask all this because I want to know I’m completely ready before I begin the application process.

Thanks everybody.

Applied 10/6 through Issacompass.

Paid roughly $1400 for visa fees and muai the courses.

Uploaded my documents, everything handled through them.

Approved 10/14. 8 working days through Chicago consulate.

All in all I highly recommend their services and the application went smoothly.

Before people get in the comments yapping about how you don’t need an agent etc, I was rejected the first time and applied using an agent for peace of mind.

Can’t wait to see Bangkok!!

Submitted application and payment to Chicago consulate and it is now telling me “pending payment” after it said my debit payment failed. I did not receive any sort of fraud notification from bank, nor have a seen any payments out of my account. It’s not giving an option to retry payment again. Any advice on what to do? Thanks in advance 🙏

Update: I restarted application and used another debit card. Had to verify with bank before having it approved the 3rd time! It’s now in processing.

Denied DTV visa at the Chicago consulate due to a misspelling on my name. I read the posts in the group over the weekend and freaked out. $400 mistake on my part.

Currently in the process of having my paperwork overlooked by an agency but they’re pushing that I re-apply in Vietnam.

Should I travel to Vietnam and apply from Ho Chi Min or should I stay and re-apply at the same consulate from the US?

My rejection email from the visa site just states to reapply and I doubt it’d be different at a different consulate unless I’m wrong?

Thoughts?

Hello all!

Anyone recently apply through the CHICAGO consulate for a DTV visa with a bank statement of less than 3 full months of $16,000 in your account?

The requirements listed on the Chicago Consulate website for the DTV aren't clear if it's necessary to have 3 full months, or if a shorter time is fine as long as you meet that $16k minimum.

All it says is *"a copy of a recent saving or checking bank statement with an ending balance of no less than 500,000 THB or ($16,000)".*

I'm hoping I can apply with 2 months and not have any issues but would love any input or data points from other's recent experience with the CHICAGO consulate.

Thank you!

any positive chicago consulate stories for families of 5?

Hello, I sent an email to Chicago Consulate on 5/29, and I just wanted to see if you could help ease my worries. When is an appropriate time to email again?

Does anyone have any experience with processing times for a non-immigrant B visa at the Chicago consulate? I know the website says 15 business days, but was wondering how accurate that's been in people's experience. I am waiting on a letter from the HR for the Thai company I'm going to be working for. I plan on traveling on June 23rd (I haven't bought a ticket yet), and I am trying to figure out how close I might be cutting it.

Two DTV approvals:

* 1 soft power muay Thai through Chicago consulate.

* 1 freelance/workcation through NYC consulate

Muay thai soft power visa:

* *Total processing time: 9 business days from Chicago consulate

* Documentation sent by Tiger Eye (Bangkok) for 1 month of unlimited classes

* License (proof of address)

* 3 months of bank account statements showing 500,000 baht

* Passport photo

* Airbnb accommodations

* Flight confirmation

* Photo for Visa, taken against a white wall and background deleted in Photoshop Express

Workcation visa:

* *Total processing time: 15 business days from NYC Consulate

* Utility bill (proof of address)

* 1 month of bank account transactions showing 500,000 baht, which was deposited 2 days before, printed by the bank. "Statement of funds" printed by my bank, and a picture of the ATM showing my deposit.

* Passport photo

* Airbnb accommodations

* Flight confirmation

* Photo for Visa, taken against a white wall and background deleted in Photoshop Express

* Proof of business below

Proof of business documents submitted:

Cover letter/list and explanation of documents submitted

1- Letter of Intent example (thank you to whoever posted it in this group- [members only])

Legal Formation Docs

3- Certificate of LLC formation

4- Employer EIN registration

5- Employment verification letter example (thank you to whoever posted it in this group- [members only])

6- Screenshots of my website

7- Most recent tax return

Client 1-

8- website screenshot with my name showing as a contractor

9- recent payments and invoices from Bill.com showing money being deposited into my account

10- 1099 from 2024



Client 2-

11- Website screenshot

12- recent payments and invoices from Bill.com showing money being deposited into my account

13- 1099 from 2024

Client 3- Fiverr profile

14- Fiverr profile screenshot

15- Payoneer invoices showing deposits into my account

16- 1099 from 2024

Bank statements

17- 3 months of business bank account statements



Things people said might not work and did (ymmv):

* 500,000 baht was deposited into my account 2 days before applying. The funds were not in my account for 30 days.

* Partner signed up for 1 month of muay thai to start. He does plan to continue doing muay thai after that.

* NY Consulate told me that if my visa was not approved in time, I could enter the country on a regular tourist visa and reenter the country after my application was approved.

Soft power DTV (6-month Thai cooking from Arun Thai) through the Chicago Consulate.

Applied on March 18th.

Pending Document Check morning of March 26. Checked again at noon - Pending Approval.

Received approval email by 3:45pm.

8 days total. No back and forth.

No income, but I submitted a brokerage statement which had the amount necessary instead of my personal bank account. I submitted my boarding pass from Taipei to Chicago as proof of location.

I’ve been so anxious reading the recent posts on here especially since I have already booked a ticket back to BKK in the beginning of April that I kept checking the status of my application everyday. I hope my experience can provide some people with relief during their application process.