My wife just took the filled up DS230 to the doctor's office without the problem. I suggest call ahead and ask what they'd accept (that's what we did)

I believe they told my wife she needed to bring the appointment letter to the medical.

Makes me think that all appointments are for 9:30. Mine is for 9:30, too, although two weeks earlier. Is someone out there scheduled for 7/28 as well?

All my wife needed was the NVC case number. No letter, no forms, just the number. Good luck.

All we had to do was show up and provide our Case Number

Thanks for all the Info...still waitng for my NVC case #....its been almost 8 weeks since i got NOA2 =( Guess im just going to have to sit around and wait....

Ah, did i mention i hate the CSC?? How in gods name can it take 2 months to mail this stuff? *shakes fist*

Thanks for all the feedback though, i really appreciate it =)

I agree about the mail. Its like they are sending it 200th class and routing it through Kazakstan, Timbuktu and the South Pole by carrier pigeon before it gets to where its supposed to go. I take that back, carrier pigeon would be quicker, they must be using snails. :/

EDIT: No offense meant for anyone in, or with loved ones in, those places. :)

Hey everyone. Another Nihon filer here. Just sent out the I-129 form today and hopefully get my fiance Kenichi out here as soon as possible so he can be with me and his daughter. Of course since I'm filing through the CSC I'm not expecting it to happen anytime soon

There are a few of us Japan filers that want to know any fee's paid for medical... Thanks!

Tokyo British clinic--26,250 yen (no vaccines administered)

My girl got her vaccines when she visited me in the US, prior to the medical exam, and then once she got here on her K-1 Visa. She got TD, MMR, and written down that she had had chickenpox as a child. She got the TD and MMR in Arkansas for $5, prior to her medical exam. And then when she came here on the K-1, She got the TD and MMR again in Texas for $35. We used the public health clinic both times. Then we took all the records to a local USCIS doctor to get the vaccines put on the I-693. He charged us $20.

Here a quick update to the interview that my wife had today in Tokyo. The interview time was 09:30, we arrived at 9:15. Contrary to the time three weeks ago, when I was there for my passport, there was no outside line today. Before entering the building, she took a quick set of passport photos at the machine at the embassy. They require a white background, most Japanese machines don't provide that. The waiting room was crowded, nearly completely full. At 10:15 her number was called and the prelimary paperwork was done with the obligatory fingerprints. Then a two hour long wait started. At 12:30 she was called p to the interview window. She was asked when we first met, when we got married. Then a couple of questions which were specifically for our case and most likely will not pop up for others. Has to do with refused entry at ATL airport. My wife answered truthfully, the lady said that was good and in any case not a cause for ineligibility. The last question was where she would live in the U.S. and when she planned to travel. The interview took about 10 minutes, then she was told that the visa was approved and passport would be mailed within a week. I wish all of you the best of luck and speedy completion of this journey. Take care.

Congratulations YOOTOO!!! :D
I am glad to hear that everything went smoothly! :)

CONRATZZZZZ!! Tokyo Interview seem to go very well!

I received NOA2 today!!!!

Congratulations Moto-zutto! :)
I hope they will get it to the NVC quickly! :)

Update again. Today, mailman delivered Expack500 with my wife's visa stamped inside her passport and the envelope with instructions to be presented at US POE. Flight to GUM booked for 8/5. Good luck to all.

Thats great news YOOTOO! :D

Have a safe flight! :D

It's quiet a while.

No, no, I only paid 15,000 for the missing vaccine. So, the total for my med. was 60,000.

See you at the interview.

way to go! I bet that visa is a big relief for YOUTWO LOL!! congratz

Ahh, Ok. Well thats good to know. :)

We paid about 50,000 JPY and that was for same day results. But there was the shinkansen fee on top of that so it was actually more for the whole ordeal. :(

Still, at least its done. She had to get two vaccines and they said she was healthy. :)

See you at the embassy! :)
Actually of the, at least three, members who will be there at the same time I wonder if we will actually notice each other when we are there. I suspect we will all have a lot on our minds. lol :)

A huge relief, but now it feels like a post partum. After 16 months of waiting and waiting, there is nothing more to do than catch the flight next week. No more waiting, no more website checking, no looking for info, no more guessing. It's all pretty empty. Probably better so, but still we are not used to it. Just look at the passport with the visa all day long and look at each other saying "I can't believe it's over". Funny! I think it will all set in after we are off the ground heading home.

Well for a little while anyway, then you will have to deal with getting her SSN, drivers lic, Green Card (the physical one, which some here seem to be having issues getting), and of course don't forget life in general and the removal of conditions in a year and 9 months (if that applies to you). Don't worry, I am sure there will be plenty to keep you busy. :) And then there is also citizenship, if you decide to do that. :)

But at least you will be together! :D

Good points. Now it feels like the "good old" days again. Thanks for reminding me
Can't say, though, that I am looking forward to spending at least another $ 500.00 when
the removal of conditions is near in 2 years. It's an endless money pit. But, you are
right, we are together back in the states. But the two years living here in Japan was a
great experience as well. I will miss it, at least for a while. Tke care.

I think the fee for an AOS is around $1000 -1080. Thats AOS, EAD and AP combined I think, with another biometrics.... confusing stuff, I guess I will just do what the directions tell me to do.

I lived in Japan for 3 years. I loved it there. Really good and friendly people. My choice would be to stay in Japan, but I received orders back to the states

oh well, maybe again someday!

We arrived in Guam about one hour ago. My wife and I went through the U.S. citizen line, she with the big envelope in hand. We were passed along to secondary and processed. Just a question how long we were married, just to make sure that we were not entitled to a 10 year card yet. Fingerprints and an admonishment to make sure to apply for a removal of conditions before the two year anniversary ( of the admission stamp ). That was all. She was admitted as a spouse of a U.S. Citizen. By the way, the X-ray was not asked for. So, just a souvenir. Again I wish all of you best of luck.

Yikes you are right about the money pit and I was worried about the 455$ for the I129F applicaiton.

Tomorrow at 3 pm I'm on my way to Tokyo for our interview!!! :D
Wish us luck everyone! :)
See you there iceman and sarudoshi! :)

I've heard people talking about going to their fiance's country for the interview. Is this necessary? Because there's really no way for me to do that....Does it improve the chances of the Visa being approved or is it more for moral support?

It's not necessary at all. I know many USC spouses go for their interview alone and successfully receive the visa in a day or two.
I (a USC spouce) will go by myself as well because my husband will move back to the US before my visa gets approved.

Im really sorry Ive been slacking on this thread.
I cant remember if Ive posted since my wife's application got approved at the NVC but it was approved July 11th.
Called NVC tonight and they say her interview is set for 9:30 on Sept 29th.

Ill post more after the interview!
Thanks

Oh! And good luck to those of you whose wives have their interview today!!
We should all meet in Tokyo for a beer afterwards to celebrate.
But I know yall probably wont read this until after your back home.

Congratulations on getting your interview date Amastar! :)
I updated that info on the Dec. I-130 filers timeline thread.

I hope that your interview goes well! :)

Good luck to you all!

NVC tells me that my application/documents are on their way to the US Embassy in Tokyo.

After the Tokyo embassy receives documents from NVC, it sends out forms and checklist to fiance. What forms are included? Just the DS-230 Part 1?

My primary concern is doing the medical examination and interview because my fiance will only be in Tokyo for only a few days (as she is not from the Tokyo area). Has anybody done the medical exam and interview back-to-back? For example, do a next-day medical exam on Sunday & pick up the results on Monday morning before heading to the interview? (Is it even possible to do medical examinations on the weekend?)

I'm not sure if you can do it that fast. They will your fiance a date for the interview, once she completes the medical and police paper work. the faster she gets that done... the faster she can get the interview

You can pick the results next day at some clinics but you might have to pay additional fee.
As long as I know, Tokyo British Clinic is open Saturday morning, but I am sure none is open on Sunday.

Could you elaborate a bit more? The embassy will give a date for the interview only after she completes the medical and police paperwork? How would the embassy even know that we've completed the paperwork? I wouldn't need to submit the paperwork to the embassy before the interview (along with the DS-230), right? Furthermore, I thought the fiance schedules an appointment with the embassy, as opposed to the embassy issuing the interview date?

this will depend on your Countries Embassy. The way things are going for me is: NVC sent the case to Tokyo Embassy. Tokyo Embassy sends my fiance a packet to complete, she sends 1 of the forms back to the embassy and she goes to the police station and to get her medical done, once she is done with those, she sets up an interview appointment. You must bring the medical and police forms to the interview, so they must be finished before the interview. Some police stations require a 3-5 week wait for the paperwork.

Me and my wife (Japanese) went to the CR-1 interview at US embassy in Tokyo today (8/11). I want to share my experience.
Our scheduled time is 9:30 am, but we arrived at 8:45 am. There are no line at the security check so we went into the embassy directly.
Inside the embassy, we had to take a ticket number (seems like first come, first serve) and wait for our turn.
At around 10:15, we were first called and go to the counter to hand in the medical exam result and other required documents. Afterward we were instructed to wait.
At around 11:15, we were called again to go to the counter for fingerprint. Afterward we were instructed to wait.
At around 12:00, we were called the third time to go to the counter for the "interview", which we were only asked a few easy questions:
Question 1: Describe how you met
Question 2: When did you get married? did you hold a ceremony?
Question 3: Where do you plan to live after moving to US?
Question 4: Did you meet each other's parents?

We did not have to show any supporting evidence. After the questioning, the agent stamps and checks on some documents and told us my wife's visa is approved and should get her passport back within a week.

Conclusion: interview is super easy, but it took more than 3 hours since we had to wait for most of the time. Also, inside the embassy is very cold so a jacket is recommended if your wife is wearing a sleeveless dress.

From iceman.

My Fiance received packet 3 from Tokyo Embassy, she said she got:
DS-230 part 1, DS-2000, I-134and hospital papers. was she supposed to get DS-230 part 2? or is that later at interview? i'm not sure what the DS-2000 is??? I have already sent her the I-134. what will she need to mail back to the consulate? she is confused, and she is confusing me because i can't see what all she got in the mail. Thank you

more ????'s i posted on a different thread...srry.

ok some more questions.....

the packet told her to bring her passport, birth certificate, divorce certificate, police certificate, I-134, DS-156, DS 156(K), DS-157, passport pictures.

but the consulate did not send her a ds-156 or ds-156 (k) or ds-157....?????

thank you

I am not on VJ daily anymore ( well, hourly, actually ) since my wife got her visa approved and we were able to come home to the U.S. So, belatedly : Congratulations!!!

We got our VISA!!!! :D

Sorry I didn't post earlier but I didn't have a chance to do so until now.

Here is our interview description,


iceman 33 did a good job of saying what the three counter visits were for so I will leave that out.

It was a lot of waiting but we were only called up three times and the only questions they asked us were confirming our US address (to send the green card to), asking when my wife planned to make the move (to make sure it was within the VISAs validity period), and they asked me if I knew that I didn't have to be there (to which I stated yes, but I wanted to be there with my wife). The lady said our case was cleared in her system and she sent it to the printer. We got it in the mail two days later with the packet for the US immigration officer. :) As iceman33 suggested the interview was supper easy, it was a long wait in between counter visits though (which made me just a little bit nervous) but it all went smoothly so I consider it time well spent. :) I am sure I saw both iceman33 and sarudoshi but since I have no idea what they looked like its hard to say. If you guys saw the two silly people sitting in the second row back in the second collumn of seats from the first window side that was us. hehe ;)

I hope to see a response from sarudoshi here soon and I really hope they got their VISA as well! :)

Oh, and congratulations iceman33 and wife!!! :D

Justin and Masako, I was thinking of you guys today. Congratulations!!! It's been three weeks since we went thru the procedure ourselves , we remember it well.

So I'm in the military and deployed right now. I shoud get back home in early September. I will have a new hose when I get back so I will have a new address. My fiance's interview is at the End of September, should she put the new address on the forms she turns in at the interview, or keep the one we have now and tell them I have a new address? and who do I call about my change of address?

Thank you!

POLICE CERTIFICATES

Wife lives in Tokyo, born in Fukuoka.
Will the Tokyo police certificate cover all of Japan, or will she have to get a certificate from Fukuoka as well?

thanks,

The police certificate that will be issued in Tokyo covers her history, regardless where she was born.

Thanks for the fast response and favourable information.

Caveat for future readers, this may be country specific, that is, while a clearance from the Japanese police may cover the beneficiary's history for all provinces in said country, this may not be the case in all countries. Also, a beneficiary will need clearances from all other countries lived in for a year or more since the age of 16.

Thanks YOUTOO! :D

I just can't wait for her to be able to come here! :)

I hope you two will be united soon. It has been a long wait, but now you are close to the finish line. Did you guys get the ticket already?

No, not yet. We still need to figure out an exact date and that kind of depends on some other things like packing and shipping of her things and some tax and other government paperwork she needs to do. We are shooting for late September, maybe the 24th but we aren't 100% sure yet.

I hope everything is going well for you and your wife! :)

Just adding a point of reference for the great information received from YOUTOO

As posted on the US Dept. of State Website:
"Persons convicted of crimes in Japan may obtain court conviction records indefinitely. The headquarters' records section of the Metropolitan or Prefectural police issues certificates which include a nationwide criminal records check."