All Japan Filers

[vny 0]

Yumi loves the U.S. and wants to stay here, but she is not interested in naturalization either. If she were to become an American citizen, she would lose her pension.

Hey guys...Hisashiburi...

Johnny & Yumi - got a question... Is that true that she will lose her pension if she become a US citizen??? Do you know for sure. Have heard it both ways and we may have to make a decision soon too so would like to know for sure. My aunt who became a US citizen and is also from Japan told my wife that she could still collect her Japanese pension if she becomes a US citizen. But I've seen it here and some other places where people said they would lose the pension if they became a US citizen.

If anyone else knows for sure, would really appreciate it.

Just wondering because I've been offered a job in Japan and if it works out, we may be there from 3 - 5 years so if she still just has a GC, things may get all messed up. Will be working for the Gov't and I heard that there was some sort of expedited citizenship for that, so we're just exploring all our options.

Thanks for any info,

vny

[tokyo.lovers 6]

i heard that japan and the USA have a sort of treaty. you can work for 10 years in japan, earning pension, then go to the USA, work 10 years, go back to japan, and add that 10 years of usa work to your japanese pension and things like that.

or she can just continue to pay into the pension from abroad.

anything is okay.

[Johnny & Yumi 0]

Hey guys...Hisashiburi...

Johnny & Yumi - got a question... Is that true that she will lose her pension if she become a US citizen??? Do you know for sure. Have heard it both ways and we may have to make a decision soon too so would like to know for sure. My aunt who became a US citizen and is also from Japan told my wife that she could still collect her Japanese pension if she becomes a US citizen. But I've seen it here and some other places where people said they would lose the pension if they became a US citizen.

If anyone else knows for sure, would really appreciate it.

Just wondering because I've been offered a job in Japan and if it works out, we may be there from 3 - 5 years so if she still just has a GC, things may get all messed up. Will be working for the Gov't and I heard that there was some sort of expedited citizenship for that, so we're just exploring all our options.

Thanks for any info,

vny

Hey vny,

I asked Yumi again about that and she said that she didn't know for sure that one would lose their pension if they became a US citizen. I tried looking it up online and found a few sites that said that it is possible to become an U.S. citizen without losing their pension. However, I guess the Japan Government would have the final say on this.

That's cool that you had a job offer to work in Japan! But yeah, since she's a GC holder and they expect you to live in the U.S. for more than half the year, this could get a little tricky. But I would guess there could be exception in your case. Good Luck!

[tokyo.lovers 6]

ii think the best information is on japanese only sites. my man did some researching on the pension stuff too, but it was all on japanese sites.

and i am not gonna spend the time trying to translate them! haha

[honbako 1]

Hi everyone,

I just noticed this area in the forums after seeing one specifically for Canada. I had started wondering where all the Japan filers were at.

I have a post NOA2, packet 3 question (for the K-1 visa) and am curious to hear of others' experiences.

My fiancee is planning on visiting me here in the States around August near Obon, but it's looking like (according to the predicted timelines) the NOA2 would have been issued then and she would have likely received Packet 3 from the Tokyo Embassy. My current thoughts are to send out Packet 3 a day or two before she travels here, but I'm wondering if her traveling here at that point in the process is wise or not (as far as the Embassy and interview timing would be concerned, not necessary POE issues).

I've read in other threads of the possibility of her being denied entry, but it seems that it would be worth the risk since one of the reasons for her (short) visit would be to finalize some things for our wedding.

Any thoughts or advice on this? Thank you kindly!

[tokyo.lovers 6]

i hear you cannot travel into the USA while you are awaiting a visa. (at least for CR-1 not sure about fiance)

if you do want to travel you have to provide a lot of evidence that you currently have a job and intend to return back to your home country etc etc.

i think it is a real pain.

you also have to file some sort of petition i think.

do a bit of research.

my spouse did not come visit me at all for the past 7 months because we know how much of a heachache it would be for him to come during the visa process.

[honbako 1]

i hear you cannot travel into the USA while you are awaiting a visa. (at least for CR-1 not sure about fiance)

if you do want to travel you have to provide a lot of evidence that you currently have a job and intend to return back to your home country etc etc.

i think it is a real pain.

you also have to file some sort of petition i think.

do a bit of research.

my spouse did not come visit me at all for the past 7 months because we know how much of a heachache it would be for him to come during the visa process.

Thank you for the information. I did read about some travel restrictions with the CR1/IR1 while the visa is being processed ... there seems to be quite a number of different experiences that I've read on the forums here. From the information I've gathered so far for the K-1 visa, there aren't really any restrictions (i.e. she could even come visit right now while we're waiting on the NOA2); the prerogative for entry into the United States seems to lie solely in the hands of the Immigration Officer. I'm debating on calling the Embassy in Tokyo to find out concretely.

[redglasses 1]

Thank you for the information. I did read about some travel restrictions with the CR1/IR1 while the visa is being processed ... there seems to be quite a number of different experiences that I've read on the forums here. From the information I've gathered so far for the K-1 visa, there aren't really any restrictions (i.e. she could even come visit right now while we're waiting on the NOA2); the prerogative for entry into the United States seems to lie solely in the hands of the Immigration Officer. I'm debating on calling the Embassy in Tokyo to find out concretely.

The answer is on the website of the US embassy Japan.

http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-niv-kfaq.html#thirteen

[honbako 1]

The answer is on the website of the US embassy Japan.

http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-niv-kfaq.html#thirteen

Thank you.

[Moltar 0]

Hi everyone,

I just noticed this area in the forums after seeing one specifically for Canada. I had started wondering where all the Japan filers were at.

I have a post NOA2, packet 3 question (for the K-1 visa) and am curious to hear of others' experiences.

My fiancee is planning on visiting me here in the States around August near Obon, but it's looking like (according to the predicted timelines) the NOA2 would have been issued then and she would have likely received Packet 3 from the Tokyo Embassy. My current thoughts are to send out Packet 3 a day or two before she travels here, but I'm wondering if her traveling here at that point in the process is wise or not (as far as the Embassy and interview timing would be concerned, not necessary POE issues).

I've read in other threads of the possibility of her being denied entry, but it seems that it would be worth the risk since one of the reasons for her (short) visit would be to finalize some things for our wedding.

Any thoughts or advice on this? Thank you kindly!

I wouldn't even bother having her come to visit at this point. Too much of a headache. You don't want to plan and spend the money to come over here only to have something go wrong at immigration just to have her put back on a plane and sent home. Besides, once she gets her visa, she'll be here for a while. Instead, you should go and visit her. That's what I ended up doing, and it was a heck of a lot less stress.

[Yurika & Jim 77]

My fiancee is planning on visiting me here in the States around August near Obon, but it's looking like (according to the predicted timelines) the NOA2 would have been issued then and she would have likely received Packet 3 from the Tokyo Embassy. My current thoughts are to send out Packet 3 a day or two before she travels here, but I'm wondering if her traveling here at that point in the process is wise or not (as far as the Embassy and interview timing would be concerned, not necessary POE issues).

I've read in other threads of the possibility of her being denied entry, but it seems that it would be worth the risk since one of the reasons for her (short) visit would be to finalize some things for our wedding.

Any thoughts or advice on this? Thank you kindly!

I visited my fiance (now husband) between Packet 3 and interview (Japan's Golden Week) with no problem.

That was in 2007, so I'm not sure if it's harder now or not...

Immigration officer didn't ask about K-1 visa and I answerd purpose of visit "Sightseeing" as usual and showed passport and return ticket. That's it!!

I know ticket is expensive around Obon and as was Golden Week. But I wanted to be with him as much as I could. I know your fiancee's feeling

But as Moltar said, saving travel expense is wise too

[honbako 1]

I wouldn't even bother having her come to visit at this point. Too much of a headache. You don't want to plan and spend the money to come over here only to have something go wrong at immigration just to have her put back on a plane and sent home. Besides, once she gets her visa, she'll be here for a while. Instead, you should go and visit her. That's what I ended up doing, and it was a heck of a lot less stress.

I have already gone twice to see her actually and it may be impossible for me to go again due to my work schedule. It was because of the "can't take an extensive vacation time until the whole country does" phenomenon that things fell into Obon. Things aren't 100% set in stone at the moment (haven't received the NOA2), but it's nice to know what options are available.

[honbako 1]

I visited my fiance (now husband) between Packet 3 and interview (Japan's Golden Week) with no problem.

That was in 2007, so I'm not sure if it's harder now or not...

Immigration officer didn't ask about K-1 visa and I answerd purpose of visit "Sightseeing" as usual and showed passport and return ticket. That's it!!

I know ticket is expensive around Obon and as was Golden Week. But I wanted to be with him as much as I could. I know your fiancee's feeling

But as Moltar said, saving travel expense is wise too

Thank you for sharing your experience. Much of the visa and immigration procedures are brand new to her and I know it helps her understand things better (and not worry as much) when she's aware of what the situation is. She somehow managed to find a relatively in-expensive ticket during Obon (possibly because she leaves a few days before the official holiday starts); we'll be making our decision before the month is over.

[tokyo.lovers 6]

i would say not to waste money on a trip to visit. like other said, you should go to japan and have a final good bye or something like that. once they enter the USA they can only leave with special permission for 2 years!!

i am going to go to tokyo to visit and escort my man home once we have our visa!

[vny 0]

Hey vny,

I asked Yumi again about that and she said that she didn't know for sure that one would lose their pension if they became a US citizen. I tried looking it up online and found a few sites that said that it is possible to become an U.S. citizen without losing their pension. However, I guess the Japan Government would have the final say on this.

That's cool that you had a job offer to work in Japan! But yeah, since she's a GC holder and they expect you to live in the U.S. for more than half the year, this could get a little tricky. But I would guess there could be exception in your case. Good Luck!

Thanks Johnny,

Just wanted to check because we are hearing both sides. My wife said she found on some Japanese blog site that it is okay to become a US citizen and she can still collect her pension. To me that makes sense, afterall she did still pay in real money all those years. But I guess like all this immigration stuff, things don't really have to make sense.

So now it looks like we will be going to Japan in the September timeframe so she will find out when we get there. She told me she was only about a year away from her 25 years of paying into the pension system too. So I guess when we move there, she can finish off her years.

Anyways, thanks again,

vny