Don’t lie to the US to get a visa like suggested. It likely won’t work and will hurt chances for visas later.

The only visa she should apply for is a tourist visa since she is not planning to stay long term.

Sadly having a relationship with an American can sometimes make this harder to get. That issue is normally for people who are not married though.

Basically just have to show she has the means to get the visa and is not an overstay risk. The more money she has and the more ties to Thailand the more likely she is to get it.

The fact she is married to you shows (as long as you have the income/earning potential) that she could easily come and live in the US legally. So logically it would be silly to lie and come on a tourist visa with a plan to stay long term.

So she should be approved. But you never know.

The big deciding factor normally is the in person interview it seems. As long as she is truthful and confident she should be fine.

Also don’t let horror stories freak you out. The vast majority (think 80%+) of tourist visa from Thailand are approved.

@Geoff *******

yeah ours in the US may not pay a lot but at least it is expat friendly.

Of course we have world wide taxation so even long term expats have basically always paid into it minus a few treaty nations.

I wish there was a Tod in all the visa groups for various countries.

@Robert ********

link doesn’t work

Most (all?) iPhones come unlocked. And companies will almost always unlock for international travel anyways.

Just call them to make sure it is unlocked or have them unlock it

Edit: I clearly am mistaken. Though at one point they were. Now it seems carrier locks are back as a thing.

2 of my last 3 iPhones were on payments and those two were the ones I switched US carriers with (had payments left when I switched). (Sprint to Verizon to T-mobile) At the time I bought the oldest I was told all iPhones were being sold unlocked. Since I haven’t had a locked iPhone (carry financed or not) since then I assumed the policy had continued.

I haven’t had a locked iPhone since my 5S which Sprint unlocked for international travel with a 10 minute phone call.

Had no idea that carrier locks were a thing again since it has been 8 years since I had one locked.

Terry “Internet Explorer” Pennney

@Justin ****************

Fact: Test and Go has been suspended until further notice.

“Further notice” does not give a time frame. No one knows how long it will be suspended for.

“One should expect” does not imply knowledge of the future.

None of us have a clue what will happen in the future. But we can make educated guesses. Which is all my “one should expect” implied.

And since Omicron is relatively new it is IMO smart to assume that “one should expect” quarantines for the next few months. Since it will be weeks until data shows it to be relatively harmless or months for the waves of it pass in various countries.

I’d personally be shocked if Test and Go is opened again in Jan and there is IMO no chance for the remainder of Dec.

When do you think the temporary suspension will end and what would you consider several months?

Short Answer: Unlikely

Long Answer: Test and Go has just been suspended so going forward one should expect to have to do quarantines for the next several months. Going forward and as I have said for a while now….

Thailand is open but unless you are planning a long (multi-month) stay it likely doesn’t make sense to plan a trip there.

Even with test and go if you or someone near you tested positive it turned your vacation into a nightmare. Sure the positive rate was under 1 in 1,000 for test and go but that’s still pretty high odds your vacation turns into a hospital stay.

@Justin ********

sadly the lawyers I personally know in Thailand are corporate lawyers. Can’t help with real recommendations. But if you are curious about cell phone tower law….

But to be serious

My first thought would be to contact your lawyer (the one who wrote this for you) and ask them if they have a colleague in Thailand they would recommend. That would be the most likely option to make sure all your bases are covered. After all you don’t want it to work perfect in Thailand but not in Australia.

My second would be to ask around the expat community. Try to find someone who actually has done this and been divorced (so you know it held up) if possible.

My third would be to ask the Australian consulate.

But my guess is your lawyer in Australia can find you a lawyer via their network.

I’m going to put this as nicely as I can.

If you have enough money where a prenup makes sense you have enough money to hire a lawyer in Thailand to make sure everything is in order.