Helped some friends start small businesses. Clothes, computer repair, hair/nails, food, all eventually failed. Success #1) Sent person to pharmacy school and helped 50% acquire first pharmacy after graduation. She owns three pharmacies now and recently bought herself a condo and car. Success #2) Built row of 4 houses way up north in village near school. Friend collects rental income every month, always 100% occupancy. Moral: Be smart before you start a business here. Opening the next general store, salon, or specialty shop here can be very high risk.

@Alex *******

I had a similar experience. On motorbike. Car pulled out in front of traffic (moving about 50 km/h), car in front of me braked hard, I clipped their rear bumper and side fender and ended up in a ditch next to the car that pulled out, and had stopped, with just a few scratches. Police witnessed the whole thing. Was prepared for the worse. After talking with both drivers....they asked where I lived and was I ok. They said the two car insurances would take care of the damage, "no pay". Not sure what would have transpired if police were not there. Miracles do happen.

Nobody know IF you can come in November or what restrictions will be in place.

I'm thinking September, at the earliest, for any significant number of tourist arrivals. Maybe October. Hope they do something about getting the split apart farang/Thai families back together sooner.

If the US stops testing....they will be at "0" new confirmed cases in one day. :)

You "should" be ok with a local police check, but a state police records check would be better. National check can also be done (non-FBI) by a couple authorized companies in each state, or an FBI check. All four levels have made it through the visa process but maybe not guaranteed at the lowest levels. I got paperwork for the "national" level check to be on the safe side.

Thailand could not hide thousands of bodies, packed emergency rooms, dying doctors, families posting on social media, so the Thai death numbers are likely closer to the truth and much less than many western countries. Same with Vietnam. Whether it is a non touching culture, face masks, following rules, climate (UV and humidity), diet, whatever, several SE Asian countries have come through this much better than more economically advanced countries. Go figure! Future studies will detail the reasons why.....while we get to enjoy the results.

Hence...why Thai Airways finds itself in financial difficulty often.

Every country will have to learn to live with the virus, even after cures or a vaccine are created. There are many deadly viruses and diseases in the world, some with cures/vaccines, some not. Few countries can survive lock downs more than a couple months, mostly for economic reasons. Those economic reasons will lead to untold increases in deaths that the virus could never touch. So yes, each country must open its economy, trial and error, assess, adjust, and continue.

Whatever your situation, glad it worked out for you. Apparently not working out for others. I'm good here until Feb 2021 so not a short-term concern of mine. If people want more details you said they could PM you. That's the bottom line. Hopefully your situation WILL help someone else get their extension too...maybe through a PM. On the other hand, it seems a more personalized letter, where at least a name is inserted, would be even more helpful for other officers and IOs. Hopefully the Embassy will consider that. Good luck to all of you with an extension/bounce issue in the coming days and weeks.