In US ally Thailand, feelings of betrayal after Trump’s visa freeze

Bangkok, Thailand – For Thai nationalist Khaochat Mankong, 2026 was meant to beryllium the biggest twelvemonth of her life.

After filing the indispensable paperwork with the United States embassy successful Bangkok, Khaochat, 27, was poised to commencement a caller beingness with her American hubby successful California.

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Last week, Khaochat watched those plans evaporate successful an instant arsenic US President Donald Trump’s medication announced an indefinite intermission connected the processing of migrant visa applications from 75 countries, including Thailand.

The US Department of State said it had suspended applications for the targetted countries due to the fact that their migrants claimed payment benefits astatine “unacceptable rates”.

“I’m shocked; I ne'er thought they would interfere with imperishable visas oregon matrimony visas,” Khaochat, an English tutor successful Bangkok, told Al Jazeera.

“But present everything has to beryllium paused for who knows however galore years.”

Khaochat said she had hoped to rise a household successful the US and had nary volition of claiming immoderate payment benefits.

“If they privation to surface people, past test language ability, cheque fiscal accounts,” she said. “I have the language skills, I person money. Why should I beryllium blocked from surviving with the idiosyncratic I love?”

The Chao Phraya River and metropolis skyline are seen successful Bangkok, Thailand, connected May 17, 2024 [File: Amaury Paul/AFP]

Similar stories of punctured dreams person flooded Thai societal media in caller days.

Married couples person expressed fears of being separated for the agelong word oregon having their children denied the close to stay.

Prospective migrant workers person besides voiced their dismay astatine the changes, which person enactment a frost connected EB-class employment visas arsenic good arsenic the K-class spousal and babelike visas.

Songtham Artsomjit, 26, said he could nary longer spot a pathway to the US after paying a Thai agency $800 to commencement the paperwork for an EB-3 unskilled enactment visa.

“I was going to enactment connected an assembly enactment making flat-bed trailers successful Wisconsin,” Artsomjit told Al Jazeera, describing his program arsenic a hoped-for “turning constituent successful life” that would pb to imperishable residency.

“Instead, I’ve taken a occupation successful a supermarket successful Israel,” helium said, adding that helium was much acrophobic of poorness than “the risks of warfare there”.

While some would-be migrants are holding connected to hopes that the suspension volition beryllium lifted, Trump’s pause appears to be part of a long-term strategy to severely restrict ineligible migration to the US.

Thailand, 1 of lone 2 US pact allies successful Southeast Asia with a ceremonial diplomatic narration dating backmost to 1833, has expressed disappointment astatine being included connected a database that includes galore overmuch poorer, conflict-afflicted countries specified arsenic Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and Myanmar.

Last week, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, a campaigner for premier curate successful Thailand’s wide elections adjacent month, said helium had met with US Charge D’Affairs Elizabeth J Konick to question clarification connected the suspension.

Phuangketkeow said helium had queried the logic of including Thais successful the freeze, fixed their contributions to the US system and closeness of Washington and Bangkok’s ties, saying “these questions are not bully for the relationship.”

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow attends a quality league successful Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, connected December 22, 2025 [Azneal Ishak/AP]

For galore Thais, the consciousness of injustice has been shaped by the relative success of the Thai diaspora successful the US, many of whom built lucrative businesses after migrating to instrumentality up low-paid jobs in restaurants, warehouses and factories.

The median yearly income of Thai-headed households successful 2023 was $82,000, higher than the nationalist mean of $75,000, according to the Pew Research Center.

Once a cardinal basal successful the US combat against communism and, much recently, an state against China’s expansive claims successful the South China Sea, Thailand has had an increasingly strained relationship with its oldest pact ally since Trump’s instrumentality to office.

Like other export-reliant countries successful Southeast Asia, Thailand has weathered significant economic upheaval due to Trump’s tariffs.

Thai exports to the US person been taxable to a 19 percent tariff since August, portion talks connected a broad commercialized woody person faltered implicit US demands for opening the section marketplace to its elephantine nutrient producers.

“The Trump medication is not respectful of the relationship; it has a transactional worldview,” Phil Robertson, a US national based successful Thailand and the manager of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates, told Al Jazeera.

Robertson called Trump’s argumentation “crass and cruel” and predicted that the medication would “create truthful galore hurdles and truthful overmuch reddish tape” that it would go intolerable to migrate to the US.

Not each Thais instrumentality contented with the changes.

Noi, who lives with her American hubby in Niceville, Florida, said she supported the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict payment claims by migrants.

“Ever since the Trump administration, determination person been efforts to halt utilizing our taxation dollars to enactment immigrants from assorted countries,” Noi, who holds a green card entitling her to unrecorded successful the US permanently, told Al Jazeera.

“Of course, this impacts the assorted countries that are being banned. But radical are waking up and seeing what’s been happening.”

For Khaochat, the illness of her dreams is loaded with a bitter irony.

“My spouse voted for Trump,” she said.