Mouthy Aussie Beer Mat Thief Denied Us Visa

[taxexile]

<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








</H1>

[britmaveric]

lol- good stuff!!

[November Rain]

HK Disneyland? Tokyo Disneyland? Both closer to Aus, anyway.

[dirtydog]

What is wrong with going as a tourist? Why did she need a non immigrant visa?

[killerbees]

HK Disneyland? Tokyo Disneyland? Both closer to Aus, anyway.

My thoughts exactly.

[S Landreth]

HK Disneyland? Tokyo Disneyland? Both closer to Aus, anyway.

My thoughts exactly.

Just maybe,….. she has a fear of visiting another Asian country?

[tuktukdriver]

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

Here we go again. The press trying to dig up sympathy using the kids.

F' her. The US doesn't need any more bar-mat-stealers.

[killerbees]

^^Somewhat understandable, I guess. But maybe having her daughters along for the ride (instead of a bunch of leathery old drunks) will keep her kleptomania in check.

[tuktukdriver]

What is wrong with going as a tourist? Why did she need a non immigrant visa?

Maybe she was just going through the new registration process. Everyone has to now. Either that or she is just trying to keep her new found fame up.

[Bung]

Could have got a visa "waiver" on arrival, no one would have cared but I think she likes the media attention, running off to tell them her latest tragedy.

Is she made of money? Trip to Thailand then off to the US a month later with 4 kids to go to Disneyland? In Aussie dollars you would be looking at 20 - 30k for a trip like that.

Probably got that amount for selling her story to the woman's magazines there.

Boo hoo, no one gives a shit.

[tuktukdriver]

Could have got a visa "waiver" on arrival, no one would have cared but I think she likes the media attention, running off to tell them her latest tragedy.

Is she made of money? Trip to Thailand then off to the US a month later with 4 kids to go to Disneyland? In Aussie dollars you would be looking at 20 - 30k for a trip like that.

Probably got that amount for selling her story to the woman's magazines there.

Boo hoo, no one gives a shit.

I think the whole thing was staged. No better target than the "evil Americans" to the Aussies. These are the same people who got all in a rage against America when a rumor started that the US denied importation of Vegemite.

[barbaro]

Weird story.

Many good points: tourist visa, VOA visa on arrival, Hong Kong or even France.

France has Euro-Disney, right?

Maybe they gotta see the original or somethin'


But a mickey-mouse ear hat. Hee-hee.

[Cujo]

I think the whole thing was staged.

Nonsense.

"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.

Do the Thais even make that distinction?

[dirtydog]

I just checked my passport, us nice non thieving English gentlemen get 90 days on arrival without visa, I'm sure thieving Aussie gits must be able to get a week or 2 on arrival.

[dirtydog]

Most Australians traveling on business or tourism for less than 90 days do not require a visa. For information regarding visa-free travel, see the details of the Visa Waiver Program.

Visas to the U.S.

Reckon the papers paid her to apply?

[britmaveric]

Think most countries will deny entry if you have a conviction on record...

[Mr R Sole]

HK Disneyland? Tokyo Disneyland? Both closer to Aus, anyway.

Better beer mats in the US...

[MustavaMond]

Most Australians traveling on business or tourism for less than 90 days do not require a visa. For information regarding visa-free travel, see the details of the Visa Waiver Program.

Visas to the U.S.

Reckon the papers paid her to apply?

Or just maybe she has to apply beforehand...


http://canberra.usembassy.gov/consular/visas/niv/vwp.html

>>>>>>

ESTA will assess your eligibility for travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. The assessment includes questions regarding previous arrests and/or convictions. If you have been arrested for or charged with a crime, including offences involving drink driving or the use of a controlled substance, you may require a U.S. visa and, in some cases, a waiver of ineligibility. If you choose to apply for electronic travel authorization via ESTA, the system will advise you whether you must visit a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to apply for a visa. For further details on ESTA and to see if you are eligible for the VWP please refer to the ESTA website.

[MustavaMond]

I think the whole thing was staged.

Nonsense.

"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.

Do the Thais even make that distinction?

The crime is considered more serious, because it was committed at night .

Plenty of innocent people have copped a plea to avoid lengthy Thai prison time..or waiting months to even have a hearing , particularly if they are tourists.

We all know this but somehow it's convenient to forget in this woman's case.

In addition she had a group AND the Phuket governor vouching for her innocence, yet was charged over a used rubber mat.
She was never charged with being abusive, physically OR verbally.

Look at how this topic was posted, the title ... " Mouthy....."

So the attitude is women are OK only as long as they're Thai and doing you "favors", but western, out on their own having fun, and worst of all - sticking up for themselves, really brings the misogynists out that seem to have made themselves a sort of last refuge of chauvinist's club in Thailand.

[phuketbound]

I don't know why the U.S wouldn't let her in..they seem to let anyone in..even terrorists.

[Jools]

The woman sounds rather spoiled, with a tendency to whinge, but the United States and other western nations do tend to have a "one size fits all" policy on "felonies". The true nature of the Thai justice system is ignored.

[phuketbound]

So the attitude is women are OK only as long as they're Thai and doing you "favors", but western, out on their own having fun, and worst of all - sticking up for themselves, really brings the misogynists out that seem to have made themselves a sort of last refuge of chauvinist's club in Thailand.

Amen to that.

[Rural Surin]

Think most countries will deny entry if you have a conviction on record...

And any person that's a darker shade of pale just gets denied.

[tuktukdriver]

Think most countries will deny entry if you have a conviction on record...

And any person that's a darker shade of pale just gets denied.

That's a stupid comment. It's not the skin, it's the economics. Most darker skinned people come from countries that are "developing". Lots of them tend to stay past the length of the visa. A black Englishman would have no problem. A black Nigerian would be a different story.

[tuktukdriver]

So the attitude is women are OK only as long as they're Thai and doing you "favors", but western, out on their own having fun, and worst of all - sticking up for themselves, really brings the misogynists out that seem to have made themselves a sort of last refuge of chauvinist's club in Thailand.

Amen to that.

She is rather mouthy. Why is this even in the press? Did she run to them with the story? How else would they have known?