By the way I am hoping to stay as long as possible since I will not be working anymore and can stay with my family there rather than go through the hassles if getting them to US
well I stayed there for a year and a half until February this year when my dad passed, then came back to US. While here I ended up filing for disability and it has just been approved. I have been to Thailand many times over the last 8 years. I did have extended stay but not actual visa when stayed for year and half.