Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and I have some questions that I hope someone can answer.
My fiancé and I were planning to marry in April in Japan. She is a Japanese citizen and lives in Iizuka city.
1. Do we have to marry before filing the I-130?
2. If we marry in Japan is there an overseas USCIS office that we could file at instead of sending it to the states?

I live in Tennessee.

Thanks for any help from anyone!

Clarification on my last post.

I was under the impression that (before the new law) I could file in Japan, while there to get married, since my fiancé lives in Japan. Was this wrong?
Was I supposed to file in the US since I live in the US?

Thanks!

1) YES

2) Filing location has always been based on the petitioner's place of residence. Some consulates would waive that requirement however.

if you plan on getting married in japan, than YES, you have to wait to get married before filing the I-130 petition. you generally have to file for the petition in your contry of residence.

Besides, I have heard the consular office in Tokyo is a pain to go through. Make sure you read information on how to fill out the I-130 when you go to japan so you can get all the information you will need from your wife, ie. photos, birth certificates, passports, etc. notarized copies will be required if you do not have the originals. when you return to the states, file the petition immediately and than wait.

an alternative would be to file a I-129 petition to bring your fiancee to USA to get married. and than she can stay in the states with you while you are applying for her K visa for immigrant status.

it all depends on your situtation and timeline. hope this helps.

cheers,
matt

Japan was one of the countries that allowed USCs who are NOT resident in Japan to file I-130 at the US Consulate there. That program is discontinued at the moment. If I were me, I would not be planning on a non-resident USC being allowed to file overseas in the future, however, there is no official word on that.

You are left with at least 3 choices:

-Petition your fiancee. This requires her to marry in the US & may not be a popular choice.

-Marry as planned and petition your (new) spouse. This will take 9-12 months before she can move to the US.

-Wait a couplefew weeks and see what new emerges regarding DCF and whether you will be able to file in Tokyo again, even though you do not live in Japan.


The normal procedure is that if you live in the US, you file your petitions in the US.

Thanks Meauxna. The information helps a lot.

I have another question that you may be able to help me with.

Would filing for a K-3, after filing for the I-130, shorten the time for my wife to come to the US to be with me?
I have heard that a K-3 is used to allow the wife to spend the time with the spouse waiting for the Immigration visa.
Is this true?
Would this reduce the time between when we marry and the time when we can be together in the US?

Thanks!

I tend to think that the K-3 is a bit of a trap at the moment. Yes, on paper it sounds like it will do what you want it to do.

BUT (there's always a but, isn't there)

The K-3 was created to process/complete in about 6-8 months. At the time, an Immigrant Visa (the I-130 alone) process took about 3 years, so 6-8 months seemed great!
The thing is, they are now doing the right job and the IV process is taking less and less time.. about 8-10 months or less. The K-3 still takes 6-8 months, and comes with significantly fewer benefits.

I do not think it reduces the time from marriage-->move to the US significantly. There are also indications now that if a person chooses the K-3 route, they must file for AOS to complete their process. This costs additional money, and if the person wants to go back home for the IV interview a few months later, they have to pay a new additional transfer fee.
Spouses have it rough right now, IMO. Sorry you have to make tough choices.

I have to wait until April to file the I-130 since we plan to marry on April 16th. Maybe by then something will have changed so that we can still file in Tokyo and have the petition checked at a local USCIS office.

Thanks for the information!