<H1>Aussie bar mat mum Annice Smoel denied US visa

By Brendan Roberts
Herald Sun
June 12, 2009 12:01am



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No-go zone ... Annice Smoel had planned to take her four daughters to Disneyland. Picture: David Caird


  • Annice Smoel denied US entry visa
  • Ineligible because she is a convicted criminal
  • Could be barred from US for 7 years

BAR mat mum Annice Smoel's dream family trip to Disneyland is in tatters after she was denied a US visa because of her conviction in Thailand.

Ms Smoel had planned to take her four daughters to Disneyland to make up for the family's Thai nightmare.

The trip was all but cancelled after the US embassy knocked back her application for a non-immigrant visa, the Herald Sun reports.

Ms Smoel is ineligible because she is listed as a convicted criminal after she was jailed for stealing a bar mat in Phuket.

The 36-year-old Melbourne mother said her daughters - aged six to 12 - would be shocked by the latest drama.

"They are going to be devastated, absolutely devastated by this," Ms Smoel said.

"They've been having nightmares and coming into mum's bed at night since I got back.

"It would have been the perfect way to take their minds off all of what's happened."

Ms Smoel received a conviction, a six-month jail term suspended for two years and a small fine after she agreed to plead guilty to theft in exchange for her freedom.

She was given her passport and allowed to leave Thailand after 18 days.

At a meeting with the US embassy in Melbourne yesterday, Ms Smoel was told her conviction for stealing rendered her ineligible for a non-immigrant US visa.

She could be barred from travelling to the US for up to seven years.

"They told me that normally you have to wait five years after a suspended sentence expires to be eligible for this type of visa," Ms Smoel said.

"That's seven years away, my girls will be grown up by then."

Ms Smoel's only recourse relies on the wording of the Thai theft charge.

If her conviction is for a misdemeanor charge and not a felony charge, she may get a reprieve from US authorities.

"I've got to get all the Thai court documents translated into English and hope the charge is a misdemeanor and not a felony, but I'm not very hopeful," she said.

The family was originally to fly to the US in May when Ms Smoel was trapped in Thailand after the bar mat prank.

A US embassy spokesman said it did not comment on specific cases








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