Advice on which visa

[patom]

Need some advice on which O-A visa to apply for. I'm a US citizen married to a Thai National for 15 years. My wife has a US green card.

We purchased a house in Hua Hin in Jan. 2017. I just sold my business and now want to spend six months in Hua HIn. The green card

requires that we return to the US for the other six months. I'm applying to the New York consulate soon so I can be there in Nov. My 

question is should it be a single entry or multiple entry O-A. Any replies or other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[BritTim]

The main choices are:

• Non immigrant O-A (long stay) visa. This is valid for a year, giving a full 1 year permission to stay each time you enter Thailand. In fact, by entering Thailand just before the visa expires, and using reentry permits to keep this last entry valid, you can cover your visa needs for almost two years. The requirements are a little onerous, and you probably do not need this.
• Multiple Entry Non O based on Thai spouse. In the US, this is easy to get. It gives you unlimited 90-day entries into Thailand for a year. Thus, for a six month stay, you would do a border bounce to get a fresh 90-day stay. see also my comment on extensions below.
• Single entry Non O. This only provides a single 90-day stay, and you would be planning to use it in conjunction with an extension of your permission to stay. This is applied for at an immigration office in Thailand. There are two flavors of interest to you
  a) 60-day extension to visit your wife - easy to get with your wife with you
  one-year extension of stay - depending on the immigration office, a bit of a pain to get, or a nightmare
  You can also apply for an extension when you entered using a multiple entry visa.
  The main advantage of a one-year extension is that you do not need to do border bounces.
• Multiple entry tourist visa ... ignore this option ... it has no advantages in your case
• Single entry tourist visa (60-day stay), extension to visit wife (60-days), border bounce for visa exempt entry (30 days), extension to visit wife (60 days) = total of up about 7 months

My inclination would be the multiple Non O or the tourist entries + extensions option.

[elviajero]

2 hours ago, patom said:

My question is should it be a single entry or multiple entry O-A. Any replies or other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

A single entry is all you need, but I don't think many, if any, Embassies issue them.

 

If you are you planning the same 6 months in Thailand every year it is probably easiest and best, once in Thailand, to apply for 1 year extensions of stay based on your marriage and renew it each year. As long as you have an income in excess of 40K baht per month or 400K in a bank in Thailand they are very easy to get. You need to have a non immigrant visa to start this process.

[ubonjoe]

11 hours ago, patom said:

The green card requires that we return to the US for the other six months.

She can get re-entry permit and stay longer than 6 months. Reading what it states here a re-entry permit is only needed for a stay longer than a year. See: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/B5en.pdf