If she's elderly she should look into a retirement visa

It's always like this with US immigration. Sorry man

I was correct, he said in a later comment that he had only been in Laos for a few weeks.

How many months ago did you last enter Thailand? I think it doesn't matter to the immigration officer that it's a new calendar year, it hasn't been 12 months since the last entry so it's not a new year in terms of time.

ED visa would cover your whole trip and you will learn some Thai

@Matthew ********

tell that to Ken, he's the one looking for solutions. I'm explaining why the embassy can't do what he's asking. As to the remarried solution, allegedly if you're getting married here you're supposed to provide proof you are unmarried. How does one do that if you are already married. Seems simpler to just register the legal marriage you already have than to get married again, but whatever works I suppose.

No, you have to have a certified copy of your marriage license, look into apostille services, it's similar. If you can't go back to the US, they will ship your license back and forth for you so you can get the right version, then get it translated into Thai and THEN you can register your marriage in Thailand. The embassy cannot do this, you need the certified license from your home state. It's very annoying but that's how it is done if you have already left the US and cannot do this in person.

Join the Thai citizenship group for more specific advice from people who have done it before if you like

What article is this from?

@กะลาสี ****

so as I thought, he needs to get a visa first and then it's no problem, sorted. Thanks for your reply