U.S. Tourist Visa

Does anyone have any idea how much money a Thai citizen needs to have in the bank in order for the U.S. Embassy to grant him a tourist visa?

Does anyone have any idea how much money a Thai citizen needs to have in the bank in order for the U.S. Embassy to grant him a tourist visa?
You ought post on thaivisa.com as there is lots of experise there on the subject. Obviously, there is a lot more to it than just a dollar amount in the account. Seems to me a person who is motivated to stay in the US could just use an ATM and get the money anyway, not much evidence of an incentive to return based on that.

The dollar requirement is one that needs to have a long account history. Do not think you can deposit the money one day and go for the visa the next day. Along with the money requirement one has to show that he has a residence and a job and can speak some english.

Ah, if only it were as easy as chukking a million baht into your tilac's bank account and picking up the visa.

It isn't. And in fact, based on the fact that you are asking this question, I would probably venture to say that your tilac is not going to be able to get a visa by hook or crook.

The bank account is not a stand-alone requirement. The bank account is examined to insure that it supports the applicant's claimed status in life. If he is a middle manager in an American company, they will be looking to see that a middle manager-type salary is going into the account on a regular basis. Secondarily, they are looking for signs of financial responsibility, signs that the applicant is well enough off to be holidaying in the US, and signs that the applicant has a life in Thailand that is worth coming back to.

If your tilac is a student, you can forget it.
If he does not work for a "real" company in a management position, or at least in a management track position, you can forget it.
If he is making less than 20,000 baht a month, regardless of the job, you can forget it.
If he is working in a restaurant, bar, karaoke, dance hall, underground casino, street stall, or rice paddy, you can forget about it.

...regardless of how much cash there happens to be in his bank account.

I hope you will not take this as being nasty. It is in fact the cold, hard truth.

BG has nailed it.

In addition, there needs to be evidence of compelling reasons to return to Thailand. Capital assets like owning a home or business, a substantial job with a career path and strong family ties will all be closely considered in the visa review.

The bottom-line test will be what "guarantees" are present to demonstrate the person getting the visa will return to Thailand.

[Smiles]

And more: he will probably also need a letter from his employer regarding his job and the length of time he has been employed, and that the job awaits him at the end of his holiday and return to Thailand.
As Boygeenyus implies above, a letter from a gogo bar mamasan is not A-list. :blackeye:

Cheers ...

Also, Unlike many countries in Europe, You CAN NOT sign a letter of Quarantee for your Thai friend. This is how Thai bar boys/girls get to Germany so easily. They just charm a German tourist into "inviting" them to Germany. My BF was just 18 with no job, no english/german speaking ability when his German BF at the time took him to Germany. He was able to visit quite a few european countries with his BF. My BF frequently reminds me that "He wishes I was from Europe and not The US so he could come visit me".

All the things mentioned above seem to ring true. However, I do know a boy (man) of about 32 who works at one of the bars on Soi Twilight that visited the US (Los Angeles and New York) last year. I am most anxious to talk to him to find out what the hell he had going to make it work. He is a bar boy. He did live in South Africa for the better part of a year with a South African friend who took him there. I understand that he does have some money in the bank and has purchased an apartment or condo on the outskirts of BKK. He told an American friend that when he went for the interview they asked him how long a visa he wanted and asked if 90 days would be enough. His South African friend with whom he travelled to the US seemed to have a more difficult time getting his visa according the my Thai acquaintance. I am hoping I will have a chance to get the whole story when I am in BKK next week. I hope to be able to see him and I will post the results of my conversation with him and see if we can add some more insight to obtaining the visas for US. To my knowledge he has no income from any kind of "regular" job so evidently it can be done but a tough road for Thai guys wanting to go to the US. I am sure previous travel and returning home are a plus but damn if I can figure out how he did it. Hopefully I will have something to add in a couple of weeks.

Thank you all for the frank and even discomforting replies, especially the latter. We learn far more from those things that make us unhappy. You have given me a direction, a challenge, and a passion to once agaijn achieve the improbable. I am picking up the gauntlet and announcing that, by June 13, 2007, assuming we do not break up in the meantime, my friend will be happily visiting me in Lo Pueblo del Nuestra Signora, Reina de Los Angeles, aka L.A.
I will not disclose what I am doing or how I go about things until that visit is finished and my friend happily returned to Thailand. At that time I will reveal at least two strategies which others may use.

Again, thank you for the info and the motivation.

One more bit I've heard: It helps if the Thai applicant has made one (or preferrably more) trips out of Thailand in the past. It helps substantiate the claim that he *will* leave the USofA and return to Thailand.

[cottmann]

my friend will be happily visiting me in Lo Pueblo del Nuestra Signora, Reina de Los Angeles, aka L.A.


"El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora, La Reina de Los Angeles sobre El R├нo Porciuncula," please!

One more bit I've heard: It helps if the Thai applicant has made one (or preferrably more) trips out of Thailand in the past. It helps substantiate the claim that he *will* leave the USofA and return to Thailand.


Yes and no. If he's been to Western Europe, the UK, Japan or Canada -- absolutely. If it's a hop across the border to Laos, or a shopping trip to Hong Kong or Singapore, it means squat.