Hi all,

I just joined today and I'm happy to find this site, especially this forum.

I'm beginning to fill out my I129F form and want to ask you guys/girls out there if the example, http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;page=examples, in this site is useful? I look through the whole forum and there was not much being asked about filling out the I129F form. I just want to fill out a mistake-free form just like everyone else, as we all know it can cause valueable time for the process.

My question is for number 2. Let say my fiance is from Nakano, Tokyo. For the address part, it is usually be 123 Street, Nakano-shi. So for the Town/City part, I would think it will be Tokyo, but also Nakano could be here. So I'm not sure what is the correct answer.

Also for form G325A I know it have 4 forms that all look the same. Please let me know if there is something that I overlooked or need to be aware of.

The checklist on this site, http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1guide, is pretty much the same as any other site out there that discusses about fiance forum. Also please let me know if there is something that I need to be aware of from this list.

Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!

I want to congratulate all that got thier visa completed and for those that are still waiting, ganbate!

I am not sure on the address though I had to figure it out for my wife's address too. For her it went like this:

000-000 townname <- Address 1
placename-cho <- Address 2
placename-gun, province 000-0000 <- City, State Zip

I hope that helps a bit.

For the G325A they all get filled out the same. The have you do this because each of them goes to a different department or something. I know its a pain, I wish they would have set the fillable PDF form to auto fill the last three pages based on the first one. :/

Anyway, good luck on your visa journey! :)

Oh and, by the way, you can rust the examples and guides on this site but if you have questions make sure to ask in the forums like you did here. Also keep in mind that you should read the official documentation for each form/step as things can change and the examples might not have been updated yet. If you discover a change you should post about it so someone can update the examples/guides.

Thanks,

Hey,

I'm not an expert at all of this, but I do know that you should put the address where she will want her package from the U.S. gov't to go. If it's a K1 visa she'll need to be in Japan for her interview, medical check-up, and background check, so I would put the Japanese address.

As for the I129F I just filled it out as thoroughly as possible. I didn't use a sample from the website. If you have any specific questions about the form I'd be glad to try to help. I read through it 2 or 3 times more than I thought I needed to, to make sure I didn't miss anything.

It's been about a year and a half since I lived in Japan, but I think the address should go: the neighborhood/cho/machi name and number (usually it's something like tokyomachi 12-35), then the building number name and apt. # if applicable, then the city, then the prefecture, then the postal code.

G325A is very straightforward. Just fill out everything that applies to you and put N/A for anything that doesn't apply to you.

Ganbare!

Thanks for the reply Justin and Masako / k1visajapan!

But just to be sure, my fiance address is 123 (not real) Koyanagichou, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo, Japan 183-0013. This is the address we used to send each other mails.

Now for the question 2, I plan to fill out the following:
Address - 123 Koyanagichou, Fuchu-shi
Town/City - Tokyo
State/Country - Japan
Zip Code - 183-0013

But Fuchu-shi is the city. So should I just fill in Fuchi-shi for Town/City? Or leave it the way I have planned?

Thanks again for any help.

Just another idea, as we did the address something like this:
Address - 123 Koyanagichou
Town/City - Fuchu-shi, Tokyo

Like, 123 Koyamadacho, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo

123 Koyanagicho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo
just fine!

Godluck

I'm sure it would still get there because of the postal code, but you probably don't want to forget to include the prefecture after the city. Tokyo's a prefecture as well as a city, right? (sorry I lived in Kyoto and only went to Tokyo once for sightseeing).

Thanks to all that replied to my address question. It helps alot!



I believed that is true. At least for the perfecture part.


Do any of you include the birth certificate of the fiance on the initial I129F package? I know the checklist on this site only mention the U.S citizen. But my fiance insist on including her birth certificate with the package because she got the information from a few Japanese's blog saying that I should include it.

How about question 16, If your fiance's native alphabet uses other than Roman letters, write his or her name and address in the native alphabet,? Do I need to write hiragana here? Seems funny because I'm thinking the U.S. is processing the paper work and more than like they would not be able to read hiragana.

Thanks and have a good day!

i wrote my fiance's name in kanji. she has a very difficult name to write, but i did the best i could and the visa was still approved. i'm sure you could write it in hiragana if you want.

she also kind of freaked out because she read somewhere that she needed to include her birth certificate. we didn't include hers it and it was fine. she will need it for the interview at the embassy in japan, though.

I got RFE for my BC because my husband only sent the translation in Engish to think that nobody reads Japanese at the USCIS. But, later on they asked for my BC in original language. To be safe, just send them the certified copy of BC with its translation.

Name in native alphabet should appear as in BC (Koseki Tohon ) either Kanji, Hiragana or Katakana.

Goodluck

I'm going to include my fiance's birth certificate just to be safe. But I also have to translate the whole document?

Thanks

Yes, You or your Fiancee can translate the BC but translation should also be notarized. I translated my BC (from the original Koseki Tohon) and have it stamped (hanko) by Head of the Municipal Hall. Some City and Municipal Hall have English translation format, your Fiancee only needs to fill out the form in Romaji.

Hello everyone,

I should have known this thread while I waited for K-1.... anyways, please count me in!
I came to Florida with K-1 in early Apr. Now I'm wanting for AOS good news.... filed in Apr, just biometrics done.

Good to know many Japanese filers here! Yoroshiku onegai shimasu
K

I just sent off my I-864 in the mail! :)
I also just printed off my IV Bill coversheet for the DS-230 form! :)
Its so nice to have that online payment system! :)

I have a quick question. Should we file the DS-230 right away or do we need to wait for the package in the mail? Are there other things in the packet that we need to send back with it? I know we will need to have a medical report, a police cert, and a birth certificate but do we mail those back with the DS-230 or just bring them to the interview?

Thanks for any replies! :)

I can't help about when to send the DS230 package, we waited a long time for their coversheet to arrive in the mail. As for what to include in the package, look here:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3190.html

Thanks ahoka! :)

Hi All. Hope everyone is doing well!

I need some clearification on "proof of ongoing relationship". I search the topic on VJ and everyone mention the proof on ongoing relationship was only needed for the interview at the consulate/embassy. But the cover letter from VJ mention to include that part on the I129F petition. So I'm not sure when I should include it. Also in my case, I will be including passport documents and pictures that we have meet 13 times in the last 2 years, latest was May 5, 08. Can I create the topic, Met in person the last 2 years/ proof of ongoing relationship, on the cover letter since my evidence looks like it will cover both?

So close, but yet so far. So it seems like. Hopefully I be done by the end of this week.

Thanks for helping. Ja mattane.

You might want to include copies of emails, cards, letters, and postage (from gifts, letters) as well. You are allowed to black out any personal bits in these, as basically they don't really care about the contents as much as they care about you having sent them. I am not familiar with the I-129F as I am applying for the I-130 but I would guess they are similar. Oh, and also you might want copies of phone bills that show you calling your spouse/finance.

Good luck! :)

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you all know that I have submitted my I129F and say a big "ARIGOTOU GOZAIMASU" to you all for the help and support. I'm very excited to get the visa going and just hoping for the best right now.

American embassy in Japan says that only the case that US citizen stays is in Japan for 6 months they accept I-130 at the embassy. Does it mean if I get married in Japan and my husband leaves Japan to the US right after that, I can never live in the US ???

Do you mean direct filing? US Embassy in Tokyo requires US citizen to provide proof or residency of at least six months to be qualified to apply.


But you're applying for K1??? You only need is to adjust status when you get to the States. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Wouldn't choosing to get married in japan invalidate the K-1? I would think they would then have to refile as K-3 or CR-1.

Sarudoshi,

I asked the NVC about this and they said the translation does not need to be notarized. Only certified, meaning whoever does the translation has to write a short statement about understanding both languages and that the translation is correct. Then sign and date it. The original untranslated copy might need to be a certified/notarized copy though (meaning no photocopies).

This is what I was led to believe when I asked about it anyway.

I have a question
- What does my wife need from the NVC in order to get the Police documents? She told she tried to go once to the one in Tokyo but they said she needs something from the NVC.

We did our own translations and then got them notarized because of these instructions:
http://travel.state.gov/pdf/pk3_supplement...L-0001-0711.pdf

When you find out please let me know, we have the same problem. She went to get hers from Yuzaki (in Nara) and they also said she needed an official document requesting them.




Thanks ahoka. :) I had read that before but when I asked they said it wasn't necessary. I suppose better to follow those instructions though. Too bad its so expensive for a notarization in Japan. It was $40 USD per document the last time she did it. :( Though it is also not required to translate them as they are in Japanese and the Embassy is in Japan. Though they do note that it will speed up the process.

there have been japan filers who were able to get the police certificate with a copy of the NOA2, like myself, but maybe it varies from place to place? have you tried that?

as for the translations, yeah, at first we were all set to go with our own translations then we decided to play it safe and just get it notarized anyway....its only...money?

We were able to get ours with our NOA 2! :) We weren't sure we could be we were able to after all. We are just going with our own translations as my wife refuses to spend so much money on getting it notarized. Along the same lines, the Police Certificate comes sealed. I am guessing we can't open it to translate it anyway. Also we can't provide a copy of it if its sealed. Should we just send the sealed Police Cert or do we open it to translate and copy it?

Thanks for the info ahoka! :)

from the tokyo embassy website: http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-ivpolice.html
The important line being this.
"Note: Japanese Police Certificates are sealed. If the seal is broken, the certificate is no longer valid. Do not open the certificate prior to submission to the Embassy/Consulate."

I sent the original sealed police certificate to NVC with my DS230. So far, everything seems ok. I'm really hoping nothing gets lost when they forward to the embassy. It was my understanding that the police certificate includes an english translation...but i can't remember where i read that information from.

Ahh, ok. I hadn't read that. Thanks for the reply ahoka and its good to know you haven't hit any snags yet! :)

Just wanna share the good news that my case has been completed at NVC on June 12, 2008 . Hoping to get Interview date soon

Thanks to all who shared information and goodluck to all still waiting.

Sarudoshi

Thats great news sarudoshi! Congratulations! :D
I hope you can have your interview soon! :)

I am sorry that it has been so long since I posted on the site but I had some rough luck in April and I am just now getting back on track.
I had to have a pace maker in April; about the same time that my wife finally arrived in America from Japan. It was a total surprise for her!

In a previous post I promised to tell about our moving service after my wife’s items arrived in the US. They finally arrived a few weeks back and everything was in great shape. No container damage anywhere.

I am unsure what she paid but I can find out if anyone is interested.

Good luck everyone!

I just found this thread. If it's no answered yet, all you need is the NVC case number. We did it
for my wife a couple of weeks ago, no problem. Present your case number to the police department,
they dot it down and away you go to pick up the envelope within 14 days. Good Luck.

Our case was completed at NVC on June 10. I called and the recording says to wait 8 weeks. I certainly
hope this will not be the case. Looking at our Indian friends, I see they got scheduled within 4-7 after
case was complete. I see a some couples here with a similar completion date, let's keep posting updates.

Thanks Justin and Masako,

I will post once I got my interview date.

Your case is close to completion too! Goodluck

My babe got her learner's permit for driving today. In Arkansas you don't need a social security number to get a license. Anyway, we went to one DMV and she made a 64% on the test. We reviewed the questions she could remember and then drove to another testing location and this time she made an 80% which is the min passing score. Lucky!

I'm teaching her to drive everyday for about one hour. I have a manual transmission Honda Accord, so the learning is a bit challenging. After 30 days we can go back to get her examined by a policeman on the practical test. I don't know how it will work with her I-94 being expired, but hopefully by that time she will have EAD or greencard...otherwise, I doubt they will issue a license. But...the expiration date of the learner's permit goes way past her I-94 expiration date, so you never know. It seems in Arkansas they're pretty relaxed about the driver license, unlike Texas or Indiana.

Our case was completed two days after yours. Just called NVC today, interview date is on August 25th 2008.

Goodluck...

I hope they all aren't two months after for the interview. :/

I will be sending in our DS-230 in a couple of days and we were hoping for an interview date in August but from your timeline that doesn't look very likely. :(

Our case was completed on June 19, and the interview scheduled for August 18. They said mail confirming the details will come within 10-15 days.

The two month delay is pretty consistent with timelines on VJ, though it I seem to recall it once being closer to 45 days.

Yosh...add me to the list of Japan fiance's. My fiance and I met while I was living in Japan. Anyone from Yamagata? I lived there for 3 years. We got our first NOA on March 25th this year and have yet to see any touches or anything since then. Should I be worried? In the meantime, what should I be gathering for the next round. This whole process is mind numbingly boggling!

It's great that this forum is here!

宜しくね！

-Scott and Nozomi

Again, this is not good news. How can someone figure out why a completion date of June 12 ( sarudoshi ) gets an August 25, yet a June 19 completion ( JasonTrue ) gets an August 18 interview. How do these people work? I have a question for you : Did you find out about this by calling the NVC phone line? I am in Thailand now and waiting for an e-mail from NVC, which of course is not at all speedy. Waiting for 7 days now for a response.

Unfortunately, I also don't understand how NVC schedules interview. I was thinking it's the priority date (non-sense) when an applicant submitted the I130 but I was still ten days ahead from Jason True's application. He's just lucky to get a week earlier interview

My husband called NVC, talked to an operator and found out the interview date, he wants to make a flight arrangement and show up to the interview

Hope you get yours soon. Goodluck
Sarudoshi

my case was completed on 6/11 and I got a 8/11 interview at Tokyo...

Well, a day after I posted the above message, I unexpectedly received e-mail from NVC.
Our appointment at the Tokyo embassy is for August 19. So, it is true, they schedule not
only the second week of the month. Now we have to wait for the hard copy of the instructions.
But it surely feels much better now.

You see, this is why all these timelines and their scheduling make absolutely no
sense. You were approved one day later than us, yet have an interview date
8 days earlier than us. There is no reason to all of this.
But in any case, we have our interview dates and since he wait has been too
long as it is, the extra days make no difference anymore.
I hope everybody else waiting to be scheduled will receive good news soon.
And iceman, plese let us know when you receive hardcopy of the instructions.
I assume your wife is in Japan, so I would be interested how long the mailing
from NVC takes. Thanks.

I just heard that my wife passed her interview today at the tokyo embassy. i haven't gotten the details yet, but it was a very long wait (couple of hours) followed by a very short and easy interview. the interviewer (conducted in english) asked just a question of where and what the husband does for work. that's it. although she brought many documents and proof of relationship, no additional documentation or evidence was requested. very cool.

I happened to be at the Tokyo embassy this morning to have my passport renewed. There was a bomb
scare and everything stopped in the U.S. citizen services and Immigration visa section for a while. That
may have contributed to the long wait.
Congratulations to you and your wife.

Congratulatulations to you and to your wife.

Are there any other documents need to bring to the interview aside from med. exam result. As far as I remember all original documents were submitted to NVC and they forwarded it to the Embassy. Am I missing something ?

Any info. will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Sarudoshi

sarudoshi, one question for you. How did you find out that the docs were forwarded to the embassy and the date?
As far as docs are concerned, the way I read it, it is required that everything that was sent to NVC is again available
in originals at the interview. This excludes the police report. So, we are getting all Japanese docs like birth certificate,
wedding certificate etc. again from City hall, just in case.