My wife is planning to visit me here in Texas for about a month.
Ive heard\read mixed results. I know every place is different regarding POE.
Im hoping that she will be allowed to enter with no problems. There are several draw backs to this visit though. I would like to hear your opinions on if its a good idea or not.
1) Ive heard that some people bring papers from their work place or copies of their apartment leases showing they will return to Japan after the visit. Unfortunately my wife lives with her mother and doesnt have a job now because she is pregnant. Do you think its possible that they wont ask to see these things and still admit entry.

2) she is about 19 weeks pregnant. By the time she comes her belly will be pretty difficult to hide. Would the immigration officer see her being pregnant as intent to immigrate?

3) I've heard from another poster, Justin and Masako, that the officer was already aware of the pending I-130 before she even told the officer. I told my wife she should be honest about everything and let them know that we applied for her I-130 visa in December and have recieved the NOA1 and now are currently waiting for the rest of the process. I plan to mail or fax her a copy or the original NOA1 to show to the officer. I hope by doing this they will realize that she does intend to go back to Japan for the interview. She is just simply wanting to visit me and my family again for a short visit to help ease the pain of being apart. Do you think this will matter?

I just returned from Tokyo from a two month visit with my wife. When I passed through customs I asked one of the officers a few questions and he said he didnt think there would be any problem since Japan has the VWP. Im still nervous.

Any advice would be great

I guess it really depends on the immigration officer. If he wants to give you a hard time or not.
In case of running into an moody IO....well she does not show any proofs of her returning back to Japan...
Pregnant and Husband in the US, no job, not on a lease....

sorry for sounding so negativ but I just want you to be aware of the situation and so you won't be surprised in case things do not turn out the way you wish/expect.

Good luck!

One thing I'm thinking about in advance for when my own fiancee comes to visit: if you have the money (or enough credit in a mileage program), why not schedule your next trip out to meet her before she gets here? If there were a way to get your Japan-bound trip to be on the same airplane as hers, that'd be ideal, but even if not, having a (nonrefundable?) ticket to run over and visit her might look good.

That would also give you a chance to book a hotel (in her name) or make other plans that lend weight to her intention to return.

I don't know if anyone else has tried this in the past (if so, please let me know!) but it seems like it would certainly make a good impression and constitute circumstantial evidence of plans for her to return.

That's actually not a bad idea at all. As a matter of fact I DO intend on returning to Japan with her on the same flight when she leaves and then staying until our baby is born. Maybe a couple months after she gets back to Japan.

Are you saying I should just send her a copy of my itenerary to show the IO?

Yes, exactly. Especially, if the ticket you plan to buy is nonrefundable, be sure the document shows the fare basis (which should indicate the fact). If you have a paper ticket, send a copy of that, too. Basically, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for you to go over there if she wants to be with you badly enough to sneak into the country, and it raises the financial loss if she decides to miss her flight home. And again, this also gives credible reasons for additional evidence (hotel rooms, tour reservations, anything in her name really) that would corroborate her return.

On the other hand, you should also be careful that she's not trying to fly home too close to her due date. Remember, even if they believe she intends to go home as planned, they might be nervous if there's any indication at all that she might give birth before she leaves. You should also confirm that the airlines will be OK with her flying at whatever stage she is in her pregnancy. I don't know any of the rules, but I've heard that people in advanced stages may be discouraged (prevented?) from boarding.

Just a quick update,
I bought my ticket and my wife now has a copy of my itinerary showing that I will be going back to Japan with her. She will be arriving in two weeks.
I'll be sure to let you know how it went.

Please do! My fiancee will be coming in early May, so your experience may provide some insight into what I should expect.

What will her POE be? DFW? I'm a little uneasy, simply because my fiancee's had some minor holdups in the past at MSP (though once was our fault: somehow I failed to make sure she knew my address here, which made them pretty suspicious). Hopefully it all goes smoothly next time, for both of us. Fingers crossed!

good luck and let us know if there was any problems at the POE!

Tomorrow morning is the big day!
Her flight will arrive at 9:30 cst.
I probably wont post about what happens until Friday.
Man I hope they let her in.


Oh on a side note, my wife went to the doctor today in Japan. She found out we are having a little girl!!!!
Im so stoked!!

Congrats on both the imminent arrival of your wife and the news about your child! Best wishes, and please do post a note saying how things went after the fact!

So, I take it from the silence following the last update on this that everything went well? I hope so! My fiancée is coming on Sunday (come on, MSP, don't let us down!)-- fingers are fully crossed!

Quick note from me: Not a problem at all with the fiancee's entry on the VWP. Entered at MSP, wasn't asked for any kind of evidence or anything. What a relief! Now, if she could just get over the jetlag...

So as not to double post, please check out my post on this thread:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=122838

MSP is where my wife came in this last time ( early March) and we didn't have any issues either. Just asked her a few non-threatening questions and even welcomed her to Minnesota.