Who can file here from 31 August 2026
Four posts split the United States between them by state, and Washington got thirteen plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Texas belongs to Washington, not to Los Angeles: that is the most common mistake people make when choosing a post.
What Washington calls permanent residence is a valid U.S. visa or a permanent resident card. A green card is not the only option: the line on the post’s page reads “valid U.S. Visa, Permanent resident Card”. A non-U.S. citizen needs, on top of that, a visa valid for at least six months and an employment letter carrying the wet-ink signature of an authorised officer or a manager. Pay stubs in place of the letter are not accepted, and an offer of employment is not considered enough; a student needs Form I-20, a self-employed applicant a business license or a business registration.
The embassy’s page and the application form disagree
The Thai foreign ministry circular said “replace”: the document showing current location gives way to proof of permanent residence. Washington rewrote its page on 1 September and kept both items at once. A client who assembles the package strictly by the form will arrive with the package incomplete. We put in both documents.
The criminal record certificate
An FBI Identity History Summary no older than three months, for all three DTV purposes and for dependants too; the post has written in no age exemption. As late as 31 August the same line allowed a state certificate — on 1 September it was taken out, so a Texas DPS certificate and other state ones are no longer named.
How the FBI side works: $18 per person, fingerprints are mandatory, form FD-1164. Apply online and the answer comes within 48 hours of submitting electronic fingerprints at a USPS location; by mail it takes up to 15 days. There is no expediting at all: “You cannot pay extra for faster service”. FBI-approved channelers work only with people physically inside the United States — from Thailand that route is closed.
The FBI does not put an apostille on the document; State Department authentication costs $20 per document, about five weeks by mail and seven business days if you go in person. An apostille does not work for Thailand yet: the Convention enters into force there on 28 February 2027. Documents issued outside the United States and Thailand are accepted by Washington with a certified translation and certification by an embassy or a foreign ministry — a U.S. notary will not do.
How filing works
- Everything online; the fee is $400, non-refundable.
- The post gives no number of days: “may take longer than usual”, and after a request for documents the status changes within three to five business days of the upload. Plan to file no later than 30 days before the trip and no earlier than 90.
- Finances: three months of statements with a balance no lower than 500,000 THB, or $16,000, at the end of each month. The actual equivalent on 3 September is about $15,158, but we build to the post’s larger figure. A sponsorship letter is allowed.
- Dependants: a spouse and children under 20, who are asked for residence and the certificate as well. For a minor: a birth certificate, the parents’ marriage certificate and a notarised parental consent for the child to travel alone.
- The embassy does not issue visas to anyone already in Thailand.
In two recent cases decisions came in 5 and 13 days, and the second went through one round of document requests. Two cases are a direction, not a statistic.
What else matters
Applicants report that the post comes back asking for an updated employment letter that mentions remote work in so many words, and for recent pay stubs — as an addition to the letter, not a replacement. From 15 September 2026 visa-free entry for U.S. citizens drops from 60 to 30 days.
What we track here
Whether the state certificate is gone for good or that was an editing slip. Whether a child needs the certificate when there is no age exemption. And whether Washington will keep both residence documents.
A package you have assembled yourself we check before filing — the Preflight Check: $300, a written report within two working days. Full support all the way to the visa is the Solo Route and Family Route.
The state of every consulate is on the live board, and the consulate assigned to your country is on the map.