As many have said, the odds are unfortunately not good for a Thai person to get a tourist visa to go to the US. It actually becomes less likely when the consular officers find out that the person has ties to a US citizen or has family living in the US (but it’s definitely not a good idea to lie to them about it either). The consular officers are required to assume that everyone is intending to emigrate/stay in the US. It is up to the visa applicant to convince them otherwise in what is usually a 10-minute interview. In the case of your partner, she will need to show as many ties to Thailand as possible and they may also ask her about you and how strong your intentions to reside in Thailand are (as you are a couple). The application is easy to do and in my experience, there wasn’t any advantage to using an agent. She will have to do the interview in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. Check the US Consulates’ online appointment calendar as you may have to wait a couple of months for the next opening. Hope it all works out for you.

Make sure to bring your transcripts from University and a copy of your diploma. If you want to work at a Thai public (government) school, they will need those. As many have said, the public schools pay about USD 1,000/month. Not great, but one can certainly live on it. The Thai school year starts in May but schools will prefer to hire before then, so it would be best to contact schools asap. If you wait until May, there might not be many positions still available.

There are also private schools (some of which operate on a US-like schedule (school year starting in September) and tutoring centers where kids go to take classes after school.

If you work at a school, plan on being there for the whole school year--it takes a while to get the hang of things, esp. if you've never lived in Thailand. It's also much better for the kids if the teacher stays at least for the whole year. Good luck!

@Michael ******

if getting a Type O in Thailand when the O-A expires is appealing, there are IO’s that will issue it, but they may require that he has 800K on deposit at a Thai bank (account solely in his name-no joint accounts) for at least 2 months when he applies. He can check with the IO where he would apply to confirm the specific requirements. Could be easier and cheaper than leaving Thailand to do it.

@Charles *********

That's a very comprehensive and detailed document. If my friend winds up needing to go for the Type O-A instead of the Type O, the information will be very useful. Thanks for sharing!

Bart Beemsterboer I'd like to believe that the information on the consulate's website is accurate, but I also know that with Thai govt. offices, how requirements are applied can vary widely. I've personally had experiences where Thai consular officials contradicted the information on their own consulate's website (said information was out of date and rules had changed). Hence, someone's recent experience applying for a Type O (retirement ) at the LA Consulate might shed some light on whether they are following what's on their website or not. Thanks!