What kinda tax and other government things is she doing before she leaves? I want to make sure my fiance is aware of some of the things she needs to do before she leaves Japan.

She has to pay up the remainder of her taxes (as they get paid month by month the year after apparently) and file some paperwork about moving with the tax agency and her locality. Also she has to do something related to social insurance, which we have to continue to pay even though she will be in the US. About $140 a month in her case. I think she had mentioned some other things as well but I don't remember what. I can ask though, and I may have gotten some of this wrong so you should do your own research into the matter. Hope this helps as a starting point though. :)

Just submitted my I-129f today. I'm hoping the wait isn't too long. >_<

the remainder of her taxes I understand. I have never heard about social insurance. where did your fiance go to get this information? I can't seem to find much on yahoo and google. thanks

Not sure where she got that info but I can ask. Maybe its just an option to keep paying so you have that benefit when you retire. I will find out and post back here.

Sounds similar to us. We have also be discussing if we should continue the option of paying too.

If someone is looking for a little basic background info...i found this: http://www.sia.go.jp/e/index.html


...and a late congratulations to all who recently got their visas too!

Completely Off Topic - But Completely Funny

NSFW - "How to talk dirty, Nihongo version"
http://www.tricklife.com/view.php?id=523

4649

Update : Yesterday, Thursday Aug 21 we received a "Welcome to the United States of America" letter from DHS, giving us a USCIS reference number and advising us that we would hear within 30 days. In another forum I read that some posters received their SS card within a week. No such luck here. POE was on August 6, so still waiting for SS and GC.

Well I hope you will get them soon! :)
I have also read that it can take a while to get the GC and SSC. The more immediate need is the SSC as she will need it to get a license and to be able to work, if thats applicable. At least thats the way it is in Wisconsin.

All the best of luck! :)

Hi, that is absolutely correct here in Hawaii as well. I can't even add her to my Sam's Club and Costco accounts since she has no DL. And the DL she can only get with a SS#. Well, we figure, we waited nearly 18 months and made it, we might as well hold out the last weeks of this, right? Thanks to all, and special greetings to Wisconsin!!! By the way, did everybody made it at last Monday's interviews ( surely, but we are missing some responses. or? ). Good luck to all.

Well the only one I haven't heard from for the August 11th interviews is Sarudoshi. Maybe I just missed it though. I am not sure who's interviews might have been on this last Monday, but surely there were some here.

What part of Hawaii are you from? We were married in Kauai on Lydgate Beach. :)

you might of seen this 2 times now, I posted it in the wrong section before... here it is again...

I was wondering if anyone knows of some cheap airfare from Narita. I'm flying to Japan in Oct, and leaving November. I bought my ticket about 2months ago. well we got expedited, and her interview is at the end of September so she will have her visa before November. I want to try and get her on my same flight so we can fly together. I'm looking at one-way tickets that are almost $3,000.( WOW) I heard if you buy a round trip ticket and do not return, then they charge your card anyways. Any help on cheap airfare would be nice. Thanks

Don't know where you or wife will be flying from NRT, but a quick glance shows r/t fares to LAX at round $ 1000.00 on Northwest. Never by o/w fare. If our wife plans on returning for a visit sometimes within the next 6 months or so UA has a 1300.00 fare available. Also, don't forget to check the Japanese travel websites, sometimes one can purchase an al inclusive ticket ( flight, hotel, etc ) for less than a regular ticket. Use the hotel and just don't show up for the return flight ( best not to tell anyone in advance ). Use Southwest out of LAX to whereever your final destination is, no worries about luggage fees etc.
Let me know if you need further help. Good luck and take care.




Nowhere fancy, just plain downtown Waikiki, I own a condo directly opposite the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

EXCELLENT advice from YOUTOO.
Just adding a little...I fly a LOT. Sometimes several times a month and, I've never heard of an airline charging you for not using the second-half of a RT fare.
That is, you pay for the full RT fare, and that's it (obviously there's no option to pay for 1/2 a RT ticket). Using the return ticket is your business. They don't care.

Most airlines will allow you to change a ticket within a year (for a Fee).
So if you have an emergency in Japan within the next year, you should be able to use the return fare (as long as you pay the change fee, and there are seats available within the same class of service).

IMPORTANT - if you plan to use the return ticket at a later date, you MUST change the ticket to the furthest date the airline will allow (and possibly have to change it again).
If you picked a return date in December, it would expire after that date, and you would most likely have no recourse.

So if you can get a R/T from NRT to LAX for $1K, I think that's the ticket (pun intended).
Best I've found to Chicago is $1340 on AA or ANA. Guess which one I'd choose.

Good luck, and congratulations.

Thanks for the relpys. Ok, so I think I will buy a R/T ticket and just not have her return, that should save around $1,000 at least. I'm trying to get her a ticket for Continental Airlines because that is what I'm using to come back. I want her to fly with me to avoid any confusion for the POE, ( She has never been to the U.S. before) and if you arrive in Dallas or Chicago you can have trouble navigating around. I guess if my flight is full, I can change my return flight date to get one with her. Thanks everyone. I was told that you would be charged if you do not use the return ticket, it's nice to know you wont.

Thanks for the relpys. Ok, so I think I will buy a R/T ticket and just not have her return, that should save around $1,000 at least. I'm trying to get her a ticket for Continental Airlines because that is what I'm using to come back. I want her to fly with me to avoid any confusion for the POE, ( She has never been to the U.S. before) and if you arrive in Dallas or Chicago you can have trouble navigating around. I guess if my flight is full, I can change my return flight date to get one with her. Thanks everyone. I was told that you would be charged if you do not use the return ticket, it's nice to know you wont.
[/quote]

Let me give you a little bit more of an "inside" advice from a NW MillionMiler. You mention that you are on a CO flight, not sure via IAH or EWR. In any case, should you decide to book your wife on CO as well, don't overlook the options on NWA.com. If you search the "schedule" option, you might find that the CO flight pops up as a NW codeshare. Historically CO is more expensive than NW, so if you can grab the NW codeshare, you will save money and still be on the same flight. CO 6 NRT-IAH will show as NW 6006, CO 8 will show as NW 6008. I just did a random check and booking on the NW site netted savings between $ 600.00 - 1600.00. If you need some more help, pm me. Take care.

When I called WorldPerks (NWA) about this same stuff the lady said forget about one way tickets and just get the round trip and when she gets here just call and cancel the return. She said that doing that means that you won't get any miles but that it would be far cheaper then the one way ticket. And that was from an NWA employee. :)

YOUTOO, my wife was at Wikiki beach just before our wedding when she was waiting (almost all day) for my flight to come in before we went on to Kauai. She said she really liked it. I have never been there myself but I will bet we will be back in the future as we both had fun taking surfing lessons and would love to try it again. :)

back to page 1

Try Across Travel agents in Kobe. They recently booked for me a one way ticket from Osaka to DC by 120000 yen. This is called 3 day advance ticket. The airlines is UA.The guy who booked to me is Mr. Hirayama.
BNM

Quick update : My wife received her 2 year Green Card today in the mail, 23 days after POE in Guam. SS card is still pending.
Good luck to all.

I am glad to hear that the GC came! :) You must have been thrilled to get it! :)

I hope the SSC won't be long behind! :)

This doesn't sound like a good deal. 120K yen is about $1100 bucks.
We're seeing R/T tickets for about that much (+/- $200).

The idea behind an R/T ticket is that you can keep pushing the return date out up to a year. If an emergency comes up before the ticket expires, you just pay the change fee, instead of having to get a ticket in a short time period (same day tickets could cost $4,000 USD or more).

I am not saying it is the cheapest but my case is different and I use one way. I wont be back to Jp. R/T are always cheaper than one way. But fuel charge for two way is 56000 yen while for one way is half. besides those R/T with 130000 yen are fixed one month , it means you cannot push the return date. No refunds. If you want to make one year open then they surely have different rate. Those one day tickets are always expensive.

BNM

I padi $1,300 for my ticket R/T and $1,400 fore hers... but we are not planning on her return!

Hi Justin and Masako,

Sorry, was soooo busy didn't have time to open my PC. I'm here still alive.

Actually, we were sitting behind you at the Embassy.

Got the visa two days later, arrived in US August 18th. POE in Seattle, although there was an hour and a half wait in the line POE was painless just like the interview. The only question asked was what is my address in US.

By the way, you're the sweetest couple I've seen at the Embassy.

Sarudoshi

Hi Justin and Masako,

I haven't read all your previous posts yet, but with regards to your wife's Social Insurance (Shakai Hoken) not Pension (Nenkin)? which I assumed is automatically being deducted from her monthly salary is no need to pay once she quits job and comes to the state. While Pension (Nenkin) for future guarantee is your wife's choice whether she wants to continue paying or not.

In replacement for her Social Insurance although with less benifits like hospitalization she can apply for a National Health Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken) which she only needs to pay 3000yen/month if she declared she's jobless. I started paying this amount since June.

Hope this helps.

Sarudoshi

Understand your situation. That said, even with the cheap R/T flights you CAN change/push the return date. As with all restricted tickets, there is no refund.
Of course the airline industry is always changing, so this information could change and as they say, YMMV (your mileage may vary...your madness may vary).

I'll just be glad when we get the PCC and can complete the IV package.

Sorry for the late reply, I've been busy lately.
I am glad that your POE went well and I hope that we see the same thing when Masako comes in through Minneapolis. :)
Thanks for the complement! haha :D
We should have all gotten together for lunch or something. :)




I don't know too much about it so I am just going on what she says. I will have to ask her about the pension and the social insurance though. 3000 yen is certainly cheaper then the 14000 that we are looking at paying every month. She is actually covered under my insurance when she is here so that won't matter but she wanted to be covered when she goes back to visit. I didn't know that the pension didn't need to be paid after she quit. She said it was a government thing like social security and she needed to keep paying it. I might be getting things mixed up between the pension and the social insurance though as I am not that familiar with the Japanese government services.

Thanks for all your information! I will have to find out from her where I got things mixed up. :)

This update is for all CR-1 filers. From all the info on the forums we thought the SS card would sort of automatically
appear in the mail. Well, it doesn't. We finally went to the local SS office today and applied. Again, this is week 4
after POE. So, remember, the moment you receive the GC go to your next SS office and apply for the card/number.
Honestly, though, I am not sure if just the visa stamped into your wife's passport is sufficient. Then it could be done
any day after POE. You will need a SS# for banking etc.

Good to know. Did you request to have the SSC applied for automatically on whatever USCIS/NVC form it was? We did but it will be interesting to see if that means anything. I have seen other posts here that indicate that checking that box didn't get them a SSC either.

I told you the "fun" wouldn't be over after POE. ;) hehe :)

Thanks for the info and the update! :)

YOUTOO, Any more updates on the SSC?
Just wondering how long it takes to get it after you apply.
Also I hope things are going wonderfully for you two! :)

Thanks,

Need help!

Wife went to go get her police report in naha, japan (okinawa) and they told her she needs some form stating she needs the report. What form would she need to submit so she can get that report its all we need to complete the DS-230 pack? This is for an IR1 Visa and I have already paid the fee online just have'nt recieved the forms from the NVC i printed out the reciept and read the instructions on the forms needed I am so confused I have not heard of this.

Need help!

Wife went to go get her police report in naha, japan (okinawa) and they told her she needs some form stating she needs the report. What form would she need to submit so she can get that report its all we need to complete the DS-230 pack? This is for an IR1 Visa and I have already paid the fee online just have'nt recieved the forms from the NVC i printed out the reciept and read the instructions on the forms needed I am so confused I have not heard of this.

There is no form or letter. What we did is ask if they would take a copy of the NOA2 a proof and they did. This may differ based on the police station but its worth trying. You might need to provide a translation for it, I think we needed to but I don't really remember. Hope this helps! :)

I am in the military and my wife was told the same thing when she tried to obtain a police report. She went to the Legal Office on base and they gave made a letter stating the reason she needed it. After that it was no problem for her to get the report.

In just a few minutes I will be going to pick up my wife at the airport! :D
After almost a year of marriage we can finally be together for more then a few days! :D
I will post and let people know about the POE in a few days.
Later! :)

RIGHT ON JUSTIN!!!
Congrats.

Hi, How are you? I wonder how long it took for you to get EAD?

Thanks Ling Ling! :D

kazuki, We were I-130 so there is no EAD for us but I know there are others on this thread who did K-1 visas and they could answer that for you. :)

She had interview yesterday. They asked many questions but everything went well. Visa should arrive in 5 days!



not aure about the IR1 but we received a packet from the embassy and it had a form in the packet to bring to the police station.

HI AND MY APOLOGIES FOR BEING LATE. NOW THAT WE ARE "FREE" I DON'T COME BACK AS OFTEN AS BEFORE. BUT ANYWAY, WE WENT TO THE SS OFFICE ON SEPT 5 AND BY SEPT 12 THE CARD HAD ARRIVED. HOPE THAT HELPS. HOPE YOU GUYS ARE HAPPY AS WELL. WE ARE IN HEAVEN!

Hi YOUTOO,

We talked to the SSA but they said since we checked the box on the DS-230 we had to wait 6 to 8 weeks for them to get the info from the NVC and then generate the number and the card. :( Also did she get her green card yet? I called the NVC's automated line but it didn't say anything about the green card. Anyone know where to check on whether its been generated and sent?

Thanks,

We had checked the box as well, but when we were at the SS office, they lady went into our files and confirmed that nothing had been done to start a SS card generation, and that was four weeks in after POE. She said, usually they don't pay attention to the checked box and it was always a good idea to come by and apply in person. So, she took our info and as I said, we received the card a week later. The Green Card arrived about a month after POE, somewhere is my post about that if you need precise figures. As far as we know there is no way to check the status of the Green Card delivery, other than call them after you have received their letter advising you that they have received all paperwork and will generate the card. If I remember correctly, they tell you to contact them if the card has not arrived 90 days after their notice. Keep me posted.

Hi all, i'm just adding another data point of information. our experience was pretty much the same as YOUTOO. about 3 weeks for the green card to show up and we also had to apply for the SS card again as it appears that info on the DS-230 was not passed on.

we're already planning a new years trip back to japan - at least now we both can use the railpass.

Errrr, we got a approved yesterday...on our anniversary...we're pretty happy.
Looking forward to complaining about GC and SS

Can someone please help me
My japanese fiance needs a police clearance from canada because she once lived there for a few years. She must get her fingerprints taken from her local police and send them to the rcmp.
I am wondering on how to get a form from the canadian embassy in japan that her local japanese police needs in order for them to give her her fingerprints. She called the embassy once and they said like..... they cannot give her the form because she is not applying for a canadian visa, but then, someone here told me that they got the form from the embassy in japan.

Please help me on what she should tell the embassy, or anything on how to get this form. We are dead on luck and I cannot imagine losing her omg.

please someone help us, we desperatly need help. please

Congratulations Ling Ling! :D

Fingerprints are...fingerprints. The forms in theory, shouldn't matter much, as long as they come from an accredited police authority, and are sent to a police authority without a break in the chain of evidence. Use Skype (cheap way to call around the world) and find out
1. Will the RCMP accept any fingerprint file sent directly from the Japanese Police Department, if not can they send the appropriate form to you or your fiance.
2. Can the Japanese police facilitate sending fingerprints directly to the RCMP, if so what do they need your fiance to present to them.

Good luck...if you still have issues, you may want to post this in the K-1 forum for more visibility.

YOOTOO,

My wife's Social Security Card showed up on Saturday. So evidently checking the box worked for us. Good thing it showed up as we were going to go to the SSA office this week to get one issued. :) Now we just have to cancel her ITIN with the IRS and get them her SSN.

That was supposed to be YOUTOO, sorry. :)