what about people who filed to CALI after they axed DCF but want to do DCF now????

[ufc_cat 0]

iluvmymac,

Are you saying you can have your visa in only 2 weeks??

Did your spouse have THEIR actual interview TODAY???

What about I-864?? Did they ask any questions about this??

Or did you just turn in the docs???

[iluvmymac 0]

iluvmymac,

Are you saying you can have your visa in only 2 weeks??

Did your spouse have THEIR actual interview TODAY???

What about I-864?? Did they ask any questions about this??

Or did you just turn in the docs???

Today was just the I-130 submission interview, and that 2 weeks is to get the I-130 adjudicated (approval). When you go into the embassy, you take a number for the immigrant section. When your number is called, you go to the window and submit your documents to a Japanese staff member (who speaks English, of course). He/she will thumb through the papers to make sure everything's there (and will remove staples, so no need to staple pages). If all's ok, you'll be directed to go to the cashier to pay the fee, and then you take the receipt back to the window. Then you'll wait to be called by the consular officer (who is an American official) who may ask some questions such as how you met, etc. (we've been married 14 years so he didn't ask us much, but we saw others talking to him about many things). Then the officer will tell you to go sit and wait for a little more, and the Japanese staff member who collected your papers at first will call you again to return your passports etc. and will then explain the next steps for you to take (medical, police cert., etc.) That's when we asked how long to get the I-130 approved, and he said 2 weeks. We even double-checked on that, asking him "really, only 2 weeks?" He was sure about it.

They did ask for my permanent residence card in accordance with the new rule, so make sure you have that as well.

My wife had her medical exam also today at the British Clinic, and next she'll apply to get the Police Certificate next week, and that takes about 1-2 weeks to get the result. As soon as we receive notice from the embassy of the petition approval, we can then schedule the visa interview. Well probably be all done with visa in hand by the end of May at the latest according to the info they gave us.

They didn't ask any questions about the I-864. Even though I'll have no income once I leave Japan, I have about $70,000 in assets. I brought the supporting evidence of the assets, but they really didn't look at it, he just gave it back to me. I even asked if he didn't need them, he said no.

I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself.

Edited April 5, 2007 by iluvmymac

[iluvmymac 0]

They did ask for my permanent residence card in accordance with the new rule, so make sure you have that as well.

Oops, my mistake, they asked for my alien registration card.

Edited April 5, 2007 by iluvmymac

[ufc_cat 0]

Thanks again iluvmymac for the update....its strange that we need a submission interview...but i guess it has to be done this way...(i need to get my bank statements from the us...so i can show them the money...)

2 weeks is great news and if you can get you visa in May thats awesome!!!

If they tell you adjudicated..does that your case is being approved???

[iluvmymac 0]

2 weeks is great news and if you can get you visa in May thats awesome!!!

I still can't believe it; it's like I'm having a dream. The embassy staff member who I talked with was a really nice guy. When he asked me the question about USCIS taking so long, he was smiling, almost chuckling. And the same when he told me it would take 2 weeks.

If they tell you adjudicated..does that your case is being approved???

I guess so.... I imagine that nearly all cases are approved, unless you have a criminal history or you're newlyweds and can't convince them of the legitimacy.

[muckson 0]

this is such great news for all of us in japan. i know EXACTLY what to do now.

i am starting this whole process again in tokyo. it's not as easy for me since i live all the way out in ishikawa, but i'll be doing this anyway. i want to get it done as fast as possible so we can go on with our lives.

thank you so much. i think this pretty much nullifies my thread.

[meauxna 15]

this is such great news for all of us in japan. i know EXACTLY what to do now.

i am starting this whole process again in tokyo. it's not as easy for me since i live all the way out in ishikawa, but i'll be doing this anyway. i want to get it done as fast as possible so we can go on with our lives.

thank you so much. i think this pretty much nullifies my thread.

woo hoo!

You mean my long-azz message to you was in vain?

Edited April 6, 2007 by meauxna

[takoyaki66 0]

We are in a similar situation and are wondering if refiling in Tokyo is worth it.

Our relevant details:

I-130 NOA1 - 2007-02-09

I-129 NOA1 - 2007-03-22

Looking to move to the US around 2007-08-01

Now waiting for some action on either I-129 or I-130.

We residing in Nagoya so we have the hassle and expense of going to Tokyo to consider.

With a few month start on the process I wonder if it is better to just wait out the I-130 or I-129 process or refile in Tokyo.

Incidentally I agree that the Tokyo office has not been very helpful with their "pay-for-help" phone service.

[iluvmymac 0]

We are in a similar situation and are wondering if refiling in Tokyo is worth it.

Our relevant details:

I-130 NOA1 - 2007-02-09

I-129 NOA1 - 2007-03-22

Looking to move to the US around 2007-08-01

Now waiting for some action on either I-129 or I-130.

We residing in Nagoya so we have the hassle and expense of going to Tokyo to consider.

With a few month start on the process I wonder if it is better to just wait out the I-130 or I-129 process or refile in Tokyo.

Incidentally I agree that the Tokyo office has not been very helpful with their "pay-for-help" phone service.

My NOA1 from USCIS Ca. is dated 2007-02-05, and we are looking to move to the US this summer as well, so my kid can be there to start school in Sept.

But it seems to me that USCIS Ca. has gotten bogged down with petitions, with the Adam Walsh thing and also now that Texas and Nebraska no longer process I-130s. My case at CSC hasn't been touched at all (even though that doesn't really mean anything; some cases have had no touches and then all of a sudden been approved), so the uncertainty was driving me nuts. And then after USCIS there is NVC, which is also slow.

So I decided to re-file. Went there last week, they told me the I-130 would be adjudicated in about 2 weeks. But I'm only 1 1/2 hours from the embassy, so it was an easy decision for me.

It may be worth it to re-file even in your situation, since you just filed in Feb/Mar and want to be in the US by Aug.

Best of luck to ya!

[ribki 0]

For anyone interested, I just filed my I-130 petition in Kyiv, Ukraine . I had made an appointment about 10 days ago. I had also filed CSC mid March. I had been told by the Kyiv consulate that I needed to withdraw my petition (which I did by USPS letter). At the petition submission, I was not asked about withdrawing the petition but the first thing they asked was about my residence in Ukraine. They did look through my passport for stamps to indicate residence for longer than 6 months. I've lived here 11 years so it wasn't hard to prove, but I do think they are going to enforce this residence requirement. They took my papers, no surprises--everything as their website indicates except they did ask for a copy of my passport though the website doesn't say to have a copy. I had extra copies of everything just in case. Then, after paying the fee, I had to wait a while for a very brief interview with the consular (he asked questions like where did we meet? how long have you lived in Kyiv? Do I speak Russian? when are we planning to move? he asked about one of the pictures I had submitted as proof of relationship, asked if we had children?). Then he said the petition was approved. I went back to the window where I submitted my documents and there I was given a case number. She said the background checks brought on by Adam Walsh take about 2 weeks. They send info electronically to the US for approvals.

Another American was there who had gotten caught up in Adam Walsh. He had had an interview Jan. 21 but it was canceled. They got their immigrant visa approval today. While I was there, no one was rejected it seemed. It also seemed everyone's process took at least two hours, or longer. So be prepared for that.

[takoyaki66 0]

My NOA1 from USCIS Ca. is dated 2007-02-05, and we are looking to move to the US this summer as well, so my kid can be there to start school in Sept.

But it seems to me that USCIS Ca. has gotten bogged down with petitions, with the Adam Walsh thing and also now that Texas and Nebraska no longer process I-130s. My case at CSC hasn't been touched at all (even though that doesn't really mean anything; some cases have had no touches and then all of a sudden been approved), so the uncertainty was driving me nuts. And then after USCIS there is NVC, which is also slow.

So I decided to re-file. Went there last week, they told me the I-130 would be adjudicated in about 2 weeks. But I'm only 1 1/2 hours from the embassy, so it was an easy decision for me.

It may be worth it to re-file even in your situation, since you just filed in Feb/Mar and want to be in the US by Aug.

Best of luck to ya!

Thanks a lot for the information. Since it looks like there is about a 7 month! wait at the California Service Center we will refile at the Tokyo embassy this month. At least we already have most of the forms ready from our previous two filings.

Cheers

[iluvmymac 0]

Just checked the status of my pending I-130 at USCIS, it's been approved!

But I'm expecting a notification from Tokyo embassy in a few days about my DCF pending petition, this will still be faster.....

[takoyaki66 0]

Just checked the status of my pending I-130 at USCIS, it's been approved!

But I'm expecting a notification from Tokyo embassy in a few days about my DCF pending petition, this will still be faster.....

We are in a similar situation since our I-129F was just approved today. I wonder if it is worth waiting on that process or to start over next week with DCF. There does not see to be much data to Japan filers of the k3 visa in the system here.

[iluvmymac 0]

So I decided to re-file. Went there last week, they told me the I-130 would be adjudicated in about 2 weeks.

Woo-hoo! I'm getting closer!

Received notice from embassy today, I-130 approved on 4/12, exactly 7 days. Submitted request for interview, just waiting for that. Pick up results for medical & police next week.

[takoyaki66 0]

Glad things are moving along so well for you. DCF (Tokyo) does seem pretty fast for you at least.

We will start our DCF process next Tuesday. Hopefully all will continue smoothly.

We are working on getting all of the required vaccinations so that the health check goes without a hitch.

Good luck with your May7th interview!