Embassy's will no longer accept I-130

[ufc_cat 0]

I agree with Maiki, it sucks living in Japan and they wont help or answer basic questions unless you pay almost 20 bucks..I live in osaka where we have a US consulate and they wont help you if you any immigrant visa question.They would say call tokyo but they dont tell you there is a fee. Plus, i have to go to tokyo for my interview so thats an extra 200 bucks.

[maiki 0]

Yeah, all in all with transportation for interviews, fees, medical exam, paperwork expenses ... I figure we'll have spent more than $1500 by the time we get the visa.

[maiki 0]

Just got this form letter email reply to my inquiries from the Tokyo embassy:

"Thank you for using the U.S. Embassy Visa Information Service.

Please allow us to inform you as follows:

Due to the recently passed Adam Walsh Act, there has been significant

changes in the I-130 procedures for American citizens resident abroad.

1) Where has the petition been sent for re-approval and when was it sent?

If petition is still in Tokyo, when will it be sent and where? (Bangkok,

California, etc.?)

Your petition which was initially approved by consular services was

forwarded with top priority to the appropriate USCIS office by the

Embassy for screening on January 31st. The USCIS has advised the

Embassy to direct applicants wishing to know the office responsible for the

screening to the USCIS website overseas office locator.

http://www.uscis.gov

2) Approximately how long will re-approval take for an average petition

with no problems? (3-6 weeks? 3-4 months?)

Responsibility for the acceptance and approval of immigrant visa petitions

rests solely with USCIS. The Embassy cannot predict the time it will take

for screening at the USCIS.

3) If re-approval wait is very long, is there any way to track the progress

of my petition?

Due to the change in the petitioning procedure, currently there is no

system to track screening of consular approved petitions. The USCIS is

trying to process the cases as early as possible and kindly requests

applicants wait until they are contacted by the USCIS or the Embassy

regarding their case.

4) It's been more than 2 weeks now without any further updates on the

Tokyo embassy website. Will you update those of us waiting for re-

approval via the website, via another method or will you only contact us

after our petitions have been re-approved or denied?

We will update when information becomes available. For information

under USCIS jurisdiction, please see the USCIS website.

When a petition is approved by the USCIS, it will be returned to the

Embassy. Once we receive it, we will contact you to inform you that you

may request your visa interview.

We understand the inconveniences these changes may cause, however, the

law is clear and we must process cases accordingly. We kindly ask your

patience and understanding."

I'm confused about the line "applicants wishing to know the office responsible for the

screening to the USCIS website overseas office locator". New petitions from Japan

must be sent to California, but they say nothing about whether petitions waiting for

re-approval will be sent to California or an overseas field office. The overseas office

for the Asian region is Bangkok, but there's a sub-office in Seoul that covers Korea

and Japan. I'm going to try emailing Bangkok and Seoul and see if they can tell me.

Anybody out there with new updates on their re-approval situations?

[iluvmymac 0]

Thanks Maiki for sharing this. This situation is crazy. However at least you now know that your case is "top priority" (if that has any weight) and that your approval will come back to the embassy for you to continue the DCF process. I fedexed my petition package on 1/31 to CA per the Tokyo embassy instructions, but I don't know if my approval will come to the embassy or go on to the NVC (where they are very slow and charge $70 to file the I-864).

If it's any consolation, my wife thinks that you didn't get your money's worth for this e-mail response. Her word was "Hidoi!"

John

Just got this form letter email reply to my inquiries from the Tokyo embassy:

"Thank you for using the U.S. Embassy Visa Information Service.

Please allow us to inform you as follows:

Due to the recently passed Adam Walsh Act, there has been significant

changes in the I-130 procedures for American citizens resident abroad.

1) Where has the petition been sent for re-approval and when was it sent?

If petition is still in Tokyo, when will it be sent and where? (Bangkok,

California, etc.?)

Your petition which was initially approved by consular services was

forwarded with top priority to the appropriate USCIS office by the

Embassy for screening on January 31st. The USCIS has advised the

Embassy to direct applicants wishing to know the office responsible for the

screening to the USCIS website overseas office locator.

http://www.uscis.gov

2) Approximately how long will re-approval take for an average petition

with no problems? (3-6 weeks? 3-4 months?)

Responsibility for the acceptance and approval of immigrant visa petitions

rests solely with USCIS. The Embassy cannot predict the time it will take

for screening at the USCIS.

3) If re-approval wait is very long, is there any way to track the progress

of my petition?

Due to the change in the petitioning procedure, currently there is no

system to track screening of consular approved petitions. The USCIS is

trying to process the cases as early as possible and kindly requests

applicants wait until they are contacted by the USCIS or the Embassy

regarding their case.

4) It's been more than 2 weeks now without any further updates on the

Tokyo embassy website. Will you update those of us waiting for re-

approval via the website, via another method or will you only contact us

after our petitions have been re-approved or denied?

We will update when information becomes available. For information

under USCIS jurisdiction, please see the USCIS website.

When a petition is approved by the USCIS, it will be returned to the

Embassy. Once we receive it, we will contact you to inform you that you

may request your visa interview.

We understand the inconveniences these changes may cause, however, the

law is clear and we must process cases accordingly. We kindly ask your

patience and understanding."

I'm confused about the line "applicants wishing to know the office responsible for the

screening to the USCIS website overseas office locator". New petitions from Japan

must be sent to California, but they say nothing about whether petitions waiting for

re-approval will be sent to California or an overseas field office. The overseas office

for the Asian region is Bangkok, but there's a sub-office in Seoul that covers Korea

and Japan. I'm going to try emailing Bangkok and Seoul and see if they can tell me.

Anybody out there with new updates on their re-approval situations?

[peter n peyton 0]

Hi Maiki and John,

I'm in Osaka and in the same situation: I have to pay $15 to hear that there is no update to the situation yet. Very frustrating.

A quick question: I sent my application to the Cali USCIS after the DCF laws changed and I included a $190 US money order from Japan Post. My application was returned yesterday with a letter attached saying that American banks could NOT accept that money order. I'm thinking of going with a Citibank money order when I re-send it. What kind of money order did you send with your petition?

Cheers,

Peter

Thanks Maiki for sharing this. This situation is crazy. However at least you now know that your case is "top priority" (if that has any weight) and that your approval will come back to the embassy for you to continue the DCF process. I fedexed my petition package on 1/31 to CA per the Tokyo embassy instructions, but I don't know if my approval will come to the embassy or go on to the NVC (where they are very slow and charge $70 to file the I-864).

If it's any consolation, my wife thinks that you didn't get your money's worth for this e-mail response. Her word was "Hidoi!"

John

[iluvmymac 0]

Peter,

I sent my package to the Cal address as did you, and I also sent a Japan Post money order. No problems here. I guess you could try a Citibank money order instead.

Hi Maiki and John,

I'm in Osaka and in the same situation: I have to pay $15 to hear that there is no update to the situation yet. Very frustrating.

A quick question: I sent my application to the Cali USCIS after the DCF laws changed and I included a $190 US money order from Japan Post. My application was returned yesterday with a letter attached saying that American banks could NOT accept that money order. I'm thinking of going with a Citibank money order when I re-send it. What kind of money order did you send with your petition?

Cheers,

Peter

Thanks Maiki for sharing this. This situation is crazy. However at least you now know that your case is "top priority" (if that has any weight) and that your approval will come back to the embassy for you to continue the DCF process. I fedexed my petition package on 1/31 to CA per the Tokyo embassy instructions, but I don't know if my approval will come to the embassy or go on to the NVC (where they are very slow and charge $70 to file the I-864).

If it's any consolation, my wife thinks that you didn't get your money's worth for this e-mail response. Her word was "Hidoi!"

John

[maiki 0]

If it's any consolation, my wife thinks that you didn't get your money's worth for this e-mail response. Her word was "Hidoi!"

Honma ni hidoi wa. (Gotta practice that Kansai dialect).

Now today they just sent me a bizarre email saying, "We regret to inform you that we are not yet able to schedule an IV appointment for your at present in accodance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act." with an MS Word attachment of the very same Adam Walsh letter they snail mailed me 2 weeks ago.

The Bangkok USCIS office is 10x better with communications than the Tokyo embassy. Sent Bangkok an email yesterday and they replied the very next day free of charge.

"We are conducting the necessary namechecks on the petitions forwarded to USCIS. They should be done within a few weeks and returned to the U.S. Consulates

in Japan."

BTW, are we Japan guys the only ones left on this thread?

[maiki 0]

My application was returned yesterday with a letter attached saying that American banks could NOT accept that money order.

That sucks. I know for sure the Department of Education accepts Japan Postal money orders, since they accept mine every month for my student loan payments. One sure fire method is if you have a checking account back in the States, then just write a check. If, like me, you have a checking account back home with near zero money in it, you can transfer money into it from Japan and then write the check.

[maiki 0]

I don't know if my approval will come to the embassy or go on to the NVC

My understanding is that petition approval would be sent to the embassy, since it's your wife in Japan who needs to interview for the next step after that. And then the embassy would contact your wife to set up the IV interview. I could be totally wrong, but that's my best guess from all the bits and pieces of info. I've come across.

[Elle 0]

What was the e-mail address for the Bangkok USCIS office? I'm having trouble accessing their website. TIA

The Bangkok USCIS office is 10x better with communications than the Tokyo embassy. Sent Bangkok an email yesterday and they replied the very next day free of charge.

"We are conducting the necessary namechecks on the petitions forwarded to USCIS. They should be done within a few weeks and returned to the U.S. Consulates

in Japan."

BTW, are we Japan guys the only ones left on this thread?

[maiki 0]

What was the e-mail address for the Bangkok USCIS office? I'm having trouble accessing their website. TIA

e-mail address for Bangkok office ...

BKKCIS.Inquiries@dhs.gov

Bangkok office info. here on USCIS locater ...

https://egov.immigration.gov/crisgwi/go?act...r.statecode=abk

[Elle 0]

Good stuff Thank you! I read on here Sydney petitions are to be fwed to Bangkok so I'm wondering if this is true and it they have received any yet.

e-mail address for Bangkok office ...

BKKCIS.Inquiries@dhs.gov

Bangkok office info. here on USCIS locater ...

https://egov.immigration.gov/crisgwi/go?act...r.statecode=abk

[jah434s 0]

Hello, I've just gotten engaged and am new to this process. I've been searching around the forum and it seems as though DCF is the best option for getting my fiancee a visa/greencard. Or at least it used to be? I'm pretty confused about the recent happenings with the new law passed and all. She is from Japan, so do you know if we can still file the I-130 from Japan? If so do you think it would still be a faster way for her to get a green card? Or do you think it would be better just to try and get a K1 fiancee visa and go through the waiting associated with that? Any info or help would be GREATLY appreciated. TIA!

Josh Heath

[sooperspryte 0]

BTW, are we Japan guys the only ones left on this thread?

Even if so, please keep posting. I'm in Sapporo applying for my Japanese husband- I-130 approved in December, notified that our interview was cancelled two days after we'd bought the plane tickets to Tokyo (nonrefundable, of course, so donate another $200 to the visa process).

I'm in the same boat, trying to figure out what kind of work I can get after March since I have no way of planning how long I'll be here.

Maiki your posts have helped me very much. I got a similarly uninformative response to my 1200¥ email to the embassy. Is it definite that our stuff went to the Bankok USCIS office? The Tokyo Embassy just said that they had sent it to "the appropriate USCIS office" and that they have no idea how long it'll take or what to do next.

Here's hoping for some good news soon. But at this point any news at all is helpful, so please keep posting!

[dbzman 0]

Hello jah434s,

I’m in the same situation that you find yourself in. I have recently gotten engaged to a Japanese woman and we had planned on a wedding date of April 16th.

We were going to file the I-130 in Tokyo after the wedding but now we are being told we have to file in the US.

I am hoping that US Immigration will change this policy and allow the overseas consulates to request a background check from the US office but adjudicate the I-130 in Tokyo.

I would be very interested in knowing anything that you discover about how and where we go in this process.

Good luck with your visa journey!