Thai and US Visas

Traveling to Thailand or taking a loved one back to the USA from Thailand are two endeavors which require preparation and patience.

In comparing and contrasting the Immigration systems in both the United States of America and the Kingdom of Thailand, it becomes immediately apparent that Thailand's immigration system is far less complex than that of the USA. Further, the Kingdom of Thailand allows much greater immigration access than does the United States. Currently, Thailand allows people from many different countries to enter the Kingdom visa free. Those entering the Kingdom without a visa are granted entry based upon a visa exemption. These entrants are required to leave the country usually within 30 days. However, should one enter Thailand using a visa exemption at an Immigration checkpoint on one of Thailand's land borders, then they will only be granted 15 days presence in the Kingdom.

Those who wish to remain within the borders of the Kingdom of Thailand for a longer duration can apply to obtain a Thai visa at a consular post outside of the Kingdom of Thailand. Common Thai Immigration Categories are: Business, Tourist, Education, and "Other" which is used as something of a catch-all category.

By comparing the Immigration process of Thailand with the USA, one can easily see that the methods of controlling immigrant activity are not similar. Where the Thai model is relatively permissive, the United States has been in the process of tightening Immigration regulations. At one time, it was possible to obtain a United States tourist visa without being subjected to a visa interview. After the tragedy of 9/11 regulations have required that those seeking tourist visas to the USA be interviewed by an American Consular Officer.

Royal Thai Immigration does not have a visa category for foreign fiances of Thai Citizens. Bi-national married couples wishing to reside in Thailand are permitted to apply for an "O" visa, if one of them is a Thai Citizen or resident in Thailand. However, a visa based upon an intention to marry a Thai citizen will not likely be approved. Conversely, many foreign fiancees of US Citizens travel to the United States of America each year. Thailand sees many fiancee visas processed through the American Embassy in Bangkok. Thai-American couples who make it through the fiancee visa process generally get married in the United States and the Thai citizen takes up permanent residence in the USA. Unlike Thailand, US permanent residence is somewhat easy to obtain for those married to a US Citizen.

Benjamin W. Hart is Managing Director of Integrity Legal (Thailand) Co. Ltd. He is also a licensed American attorney and Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. To Contact Integrity Legal please call Toll Free 1-877-231-7533 or email info@integrity-legal.com. See them on the Web at k1 fiance visa or k3 visa

Is it Safe to Travel to Thailand?

Over the last six months, Thailand has reached the headlines across the globe. In November 2008, the "Yellow Shirts" held the International Airport at Bangkok under siege, and over the last few weeks, the country has faced another national emergency, when the "Red Shirts" decided to fight back with their protests in Bangkok. Yet, in many areas of Thailand, all seems peaceful and quiet, and there are no signs of these political protests. No sign that is, apart from the concern and worry of the locals, and the quieter bars, restaurants and hotels.

The issues behind these protests are complex, but to put it as simply as possible:

The Yellow Shirts (also known as The People's Alliance for Democracy or PADs), agree with the concept of democracy, but also feel that people need to have some understanding of the long term economic, social and political consequences of their vote. They believe that Thaksin used corruption to gain the vote of the majority population of the rural regions of Northern Thailand, on the lead up to the 2001 elections that made him prime minister.

The Red Shirts, however, see Thaksin more as a Robin Hood character, who took from the rich and gave to the poor. They believe they would be financially better off both in the short term and the long term under the rule of Thaksin. Now, Thaksin faces corruption charges, and an unelected party and prime minister are ruling their country. As a result, they feel cheated.

Who is right and who is wrong is not for discussion here. We are currently more concerned with the impact these struggles could have on the economy of Thailand and on the number of tourists who want to visit. When the first major protests began in November 2008, many holidaymakers cancelled their trip, and having just recovered from the impact of the Tsunami, many businesses in the tourism industry of Thailand faced yet another season of lowering tourist numbers. The fallout from this is wide spread. Entire families rely on the income delivered by tourism to survive.

As such a high proportion of the population in the tourist hotspots of Thailand survive on the income of tourism alone, the majority of the locals in these places want nothing but a peaceful resolution. They want foreigners to continue to regard Thailand as The Land of Smiles.

Whilst no one wishes to encourage you to walk into the middle of a conflict, I'm sure I'm speaking for the large majority when I ask you to consider the real impact of these struggles on your visit to Thailand. Neither the Reds nor the Yellows have an issue with tourists or expats, but if you are concerned about the recent troubles in Bangkok, I would like to highlight that you do not need to fly to Bangkok if you wish to visit Thailand. You can fly from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi, or fly direct into Phuket. From there you can go straight to your final holiday destination, where a warm welcome and a peaceful atmosphere awaits - just as tourists have grown to expect from Thailand - The Land of Smiles.

This article was written by Paula Westberg, manager of Lanta International Language School. LILS offers fast, fun and effective Thai Language Courses based on the latest findings in educational science. For more information about their courses or methods of teaching visit their website: http://www.effective-thai-language-classes.com

Tips and Information on Thailand Travel

Many people choose Thailand as their favorite vacation destination primarily due to the country's natural beauty and eye catching landscape. This country is quite popular for its rich culture and tradition.

Though the climate in this country is not that appealing, still many people wish to choose Thailand as their ideal vacation spot. This is because climatic condition in Thailand generally varies and the peak season with a good weather falls somewhere between December to February, which increases mass tourism every year.

Most of the travelers wish to explore places like Swadee Smile Inn Bangkok, Pattaya and many other places to gain a new experience. Cha Am is said to be the longest beach in Thailand. People often make it a point to visit the beaches in order to escape from hot weather.

Whatever reasons you may have, Thailand give everything your desire. Once you have decided to spend your vacation in Thailand, make sure to get the tickets in advance in order to avail cheap fares and avoid unnecessary expenses. Thailand Travel is unique from other travels in terms of the cost associated with every package. Every travel package is often affordable and falls under your budget.

You can also avail affordable accommodation in Thailand, therefore you can enjoy the vacation with your family to the peak in this scenic country. No wonder that this country has been ranked as one of the leading place for providing all sorts of fun filled and thrilling activities.

It also paves way for conducting many different courses to the tourist.

So there you have it - explore the features and exciting information on Thailand Travel and enjoy what this amazing country has to offer.

Holidays to Thailand Travel Guide

Located in Southeast Asia, the Kingdom of Thailand is surrounded by Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. When taking holidays to Thailand, the capital city of Bangkok should not be missed. It is the country's largest city, being known for the center of all things political, industrial, and cultural.

Bangkok hosts a large number of palaces and temples located throughout the area. Some of these palaces are open to the public for tourism while others are still home to the royal family. Among the many temples in the area, one can see images of Buddha at the Wat Pho and Wat Saket.

For those interested in museums, Bangkok has many worth mentioning. The National Gallery Museum in noted for exhibiting oil paintings produced by the King and has a traditional and contemporary collection of art by past and present artists from Thailand. The Suan Pakkad Palace is a notable museum as it houses a vast collection of Asian art, relics from prehistoric civilizations, and numerous seashells.

Bangkok offers entertainment for those interested in cruising, theater, and shopping as well. The canals of the Chao Phraya River make it possible for chartered boats and dinner cruises to offer tourists the 'Venice of the East' experience. For theatre lovers, the Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre is an interesting visit. It stages the famous Hun Lakhom Lek puppet show and performs the story of Ramakian. For an outdoor experience, the Patravadi Theatre hosts performances of classic Asian literature.

Holidays to Thailand would not be complete without the shopping experience of the street markets and bazaars. A popular shopping destination and one of the largest markets in Thailand is the Chatuchak weekend market. The market offers a unique variety of items ranging from clothing, handicrafts, collectibles, and food.
More Details

http://www.puretravel.com/Guide/Asia/South-East_Asia/thailand

Best Thailand Travel Guide

This Best Thailand Travel Guide combines useful information about Thailand in many aspects in order for travelers who wish to experience this country to have a brief view of the nation. The Guide will first explain about the country in general before describing what it has in each region so that travelers can decide where they want to go to make the most out of their trips.

One of the distinctive points about Thailand is the Thais. Many people know this nation as the Land of Smiles as the Thais are easy-going and always smiling. Thai people are normally kind, warm and welcoming to foreigners. Tourists can feel quite comfortable asking for directions or helps from Thai strangers during their trips. Some believe that this is the influence of Buddhism, which is the religion that approximately 90% of the population is believed in.

Besides the friendly people, the country has a great combination of unique culture, interesting long history, amazing cuisine and beautiful nature. As a result, Thailand has a vast variety of holiday destinations and activities for tourists to enjoy. Tourists can choose to experience many things in this territory from thick jungles, all-night parties, stunning beaches or something else that would appeal to everyone. Besides the tourist attractions, Thailand is also an excellent place to shop due to the incredibly low price items available. To make this article the easy and the best Thailand travel guide, the content in terms of attractions will be divided into regions, North, Central and South; due to the distinctive characteristics of each part of the country.

As mentioned, each part of Thailand has different characteristics and cultures. To the north of Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai, you will find some beautiful mountain landscape with many orchid farms and elephant training camps which would give visitors some unique experience that hard to find elsewhere. Up To Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle area, travelers can visit the hill-tribe people that still have strong native culture and rituals. With the extremely different way of living for these hill tribes, travelers can experience another world on this same planet. In addition in this area, tourists can have a chance to see nice view of Me Kong river, one of the World's greatest rivers originated from Tibet area and divide Thailand territory from Laos. Moreover, if ones wish to enjoy camping in the greenish forests up the hills, this can also be done in the northern region due to plentiful of the green areas that still beautifully exist in this part of the land.

Next is the best Thailand Travel Guide in the central part of the country. In this part, there are still a lot of natural attractions in boundless national parks with some stunning waterfalls. Additionally, there are more of the ancient cities with the existed ruins in Ayutthaya and Sukhothai that can say a lot about the long history of the nation. Last but not least, the capital city, Bangkok, is also located in this region.

To introduce Bangkok separately as it is the place where most visitors begin their journey in this country due to that Bangkok International Airport is the major arrival spot from flights around the world. Bangkok is one of the most crowded cities in the world with lots of traffic congestion, large amount of population and high-rise buildings; yet, it is the city with complete facilities, convenient transportation systems and large shopping malls and streets.

Finally for this best Thailand Travel Guide is the southern region, the slimmest and longest area of Thailand. This region is the land in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea so that beaches are the highlights of this area. Tourists are guaranteed to experience amazing beaches, stunning beautiful tropical islands and sparkling blue water. Moreover, many alternative western-standard accommodations are available from world-class hotels to backpacker places that can be matched with every taste and budget. Due to the existed beautiful reefs and underwater creatures, Scuba diving and snorkeling are normal activities visitors often choose to enjoy in this area.

There is a Thai joke saying that there are 3 seasons in Thailand: hot, hotter and hottest. Normally, most Thailand travel guides would say that the most recommended season to come to Thailand is during November to February as it is the least hot period, yet, the sun still shines beautifully. March to May is considered too hot as it is the hottest period, which could be less tolerable for visitors especially westerners. And as the rain would then arrive during June to October, it is considered as too wet in the monsoon season of Thailand. However, this Best Thailand Travel Guide would choose to also recommend travelers to consider this wet season because this would be less crowded time to visit many attractions such as well-known beaches, ancient cities or temples. The best thing is that during this time with occasional rains, travelers can pay for much less for air fares and accommodations. Well-known hotels can reduce their rates up to 50-60% so that visitors can enjoy superior facilities at minimal expenses.

To explore further for the great deals of accommodation in every season in Thailand, you can visit http://www.thailandcheckin.com for your option.

Rivers Of Thailand

The major river of Thailand is the Chao Phraya. It has low alluvial soil which marks the plains of Thailand. Chao Phraya originates from the meeting point of two other rivers Ping and Nan. The main tributary to Nan River is the Yom River.

Wang River is another river which flows in northern Thailand and this is 335 miles long. It originates from Ping River.

The longest river in Thailand is the Chi River which is 765 km but the water flow is very low. It runs through the Yasothon province of Thailand.

Chao Phraya runs for 372 km from Bangkok to the Gulf of Thailand. It bifurcates into two in a place called Chainat. The main portion of the river, known as the Chin River, flows parallel to Chao Phraya and ends in the Gulf. It is called by many names. In Chainat, it is called Makhamthao river and when it passes through Suphanburi, it is called Suphan. It becomes Nakhon Chaisi river when it enters Nakhon Pathon and after that it is known as Tha Chin river when it reaches the mouth of Samut Sakhon. Many canals are diverted from Chin River and the water from the canals is used for irrigation.

Nonthaburi Uthai Thani, , Singburi, Nakhon Sawan, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya and Chainat Pathum Thani are the cities along the flowing river. Nakhon Sawan is the city where the two major rivers Nan and Ping meet. Ang Thong is an agricultural land and Chao Phraya and Noi River meet in this city.

Check Out More Articles:

Alpena Vacation Getaway, Lake Hubbard Vacation Rentals, Fun Things to do on vacation ,

Thailand Travel - 10 Interesting Facts About Thailand

It's certainly the mesmeric land of Thais that attracts more visitants than any other country in the Southeast Asia. Thailand is the country known for beguiling scenic beauty, stunning beaches, impressing culture, commendable hospitality, fantastic temples, ruins & souvenirs of fabulous ancient kingdoms, gastronomic riches, and lovely, smiling, and welcoming people.

Thailand certainly the destination that appeals you, bewitches you, captivates you, enthralls you....! It's the place that makes you visit it again and again. It's the vacation destination that you dream of. Surely, you can find oodles of interesting things in Thailand, but here are the 10 most interesting facts about Thailand.

It is often nicknamed as the "Land Of Smiles," because of the perceived gentleness of its people. The country is really populated by smiling, inviting, and receiving people. Thais are really gentle, polite, soft spoken, friendly, and hospitable human beings.

Siam was the old name of Thailand. It was the official name of the country until 1949, when it was changed to Thailand by official proclamation. 'Thai' in the Thai language means 'freedom'. So, Thailand means "land of freedom" or "land of the free".

The Mon ruled over what is now known as Thailand. The area was also held by Khmer. The Mon Empire was a great Buddhist empire, and the empire had trading relations with Indians for centuries.

Thailand retains much of its original culture, because it is the only Southeast Asian nation that has never been colonized. Thai culture is kin to the Cambodian culture & religion, which was adopted by Thais in the 13th century, after the fall of the Khmer Kingdom.

King Rama I, the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, established Bangkok as the capital in 1782. Bhumibol Adulyadej, the current King of Thailand, is also a Chakri Dynasty ruler. He is also known as Rama IX. He is the longest serving monarch in the Thai history.

95% of the Thai people are Buddhists of the Theravada tradition. 4.6% of the people are Muslims. Malays are mainly concentrated on the southern tip of Thailand. 0.75% of the people are Christians, mainly Catholics. Sikhs & Hindus are tiny, but influential. The nation also has a small Jewish community.

Thailand is also known as the "Land of white Elephant." White elephants were highly esteemed and valued by the Thai Rulers. Elephants are still highly revered in Thailand. They are considered as the symbol of peace and prosperity.

Thais do not like someone touching them on head. They believe that soul, which is considered extremely sacred, resides in head. So, don't ever touch a Thai on the head, not even a Thai child.

Thailand is the 49th country area wise, with its total land area of 514,000 km² (198,000 sq mi). It is comparable to the size of France, and it is somewhat larger than the California State of the United States.

Thailand has 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which include Ban Chiang Archaeological Site near Udon Thani, Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai Forest Complex, Historic City of Ayutthaya & Associated Historic Towns, Historic Town of Sukhothai & Associated Historic Towns - including Kampang Phet and Si Satchanalai, and Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Author writes for Holiday Velvet, a website providing listings for Hotels, Villas, Holiday villas in Thailand, and Holiday villas worldwide.