There was a member of at least one of the Boards who came to the realisation after living here for at least 12 years that he could not meet the new regulations which came in for the 800K route. He decided instead he would go the O-A route. So he returned to the USA, got the O-A visa and came back knowing he had basically two years in Thailand (provided he took one short trip outside the country at the end of Year 1). He returned to the USA before the end of Year 2, got another O-A and was again totally pleased that he had taken that route. As @bkkguy points out, no cash in the bank requirements. It fitted his requirements almost perfectly.