[Radim]

I feel like I'm not helping you guys much, because my circumstances may have been unique, but the honest answer is:

Not much negotiation needed. My uni had what I'd call an "old school AI department", grounded in linguistics / semantic web and RDFs / expert systems, that type of research. I was more into statistics, Bayesian inference and vectors. The mutual impact was lukewarm, and completing my thesis remotely not an issue.

[zerr]

Did "PhD" pedigree help in anyway? I mean you could do your research outside academia, since your department was not helping you (in research). But I guess US PhD stipend could be considered as a good salary in Thailand.