Japanese spouse IR-1/CR-1 coming in August

[ChrisPr 0]

Hi - I'm new here and all the information has been super helpful.
However, I was wondering if I could get some basic advice about how to begin the process.

Basic Info:
-My wife is a Japanese citizen; we met in a US college and we started dating and we both graduated in Spring 2011. I could provide a graduation photo of us together + scans of diploma to show the date.

-We took two trips together to Korea and Thailand in winter 2011-2012, for which we have photos and passport stamps.
-We lived together from August 2012 to August 2016. We could get the Japanese "juminhyo," or residency certificate, which would show our old address and names together in Japanese.

-We got legally married at a city office in Japan in December 2015, but our wedding was in late November. We have a copy of our marriage certificate.

 

What other documentation should we provide besides the i-130 and g-325a? Are pictures + proof of travel together enough? I saw on boards here that the sworn affidavits from friends (which we could get from friends who were at our wedding and our in the photos, friends who are not family members and currently live in other states, which I suspect might be good proof of bona fides).

 

I also have statements from a USA savings account we opened together in late 2015 that I can provide.

If possible, I'd like to avoid getting the "juminhyo" residency document for our old address in Japan, since it will be a bit inconvenient for my wife and I suspect Japanese documents will be less useful. Will photos, marriage certificate, evidence of travel back in 2011-2012, and a shared bank account be sufficient?

I can certainly get sworn affidavits, of course, before the interview, etc.

We are hoping for her to move here in August if possible, and I plan on being over there over the summer, and hopefully we will come back together.

Does anyone have any idea of when the embassy interviews usually happen?

Thanks so much.

[Ermin&Zijada 141]

If August is your goal, I would get the paperwork sent asap as the CR1 can take up to a year for her to have the visa in hand. 

 

I cannot comment on the rest of your questions as I feel others would know more. 

 

Best of Luck! 

[NikLR 13,220]

1 hour ago, ChrisPr said:

Hi - I'm new here and all the information has been super helpful.
However, I was wondering if I could get some basic advice about how to begin the process.

Basic Info:
-My wife is a Japanese citizen; we met in a US college and we started dating and we both graduated in Spring 2011. I could provide a graduation photo of us together + scans of diploma to show the date.

-We took two trips together to Korea and Thailand in winter 2011-2012, for which we have photos and passport stamps.
-We lived together from August 2012 to August 2016. We could get the Japanese "juminhyo," or residency certificate, which would show our old address and names together in Japanese.

-We got legally married at a city office in Japan in December 2015, but our wedding was in late November. We have a copy of our marriage certificate.

 

What other documentation should we provide besides the i-130 and g-325a? Are pictures + proof of travel together enough? I saw on boards here that the sworn affidavits from friends (which we could get from friends who were at our wedding and our in the photos, friends who are not family members and currently live in other states, which I suspect might be good proof of bona fides).

 

I also have statements from a USA savings account we opened together in late 2015 that I can provide.

If possible, I'd like to avoid getting the "juminhyo" residency document for our old address in Japan, since it will be a bit inconvenient for my wife and I suspect Japanese documents will be less useful. Will photos, marriage certificate, evidence of travel back in 2011-2012, and a shared bank account be sufficient?

I can certainly get sworn affidavits, of course, before the interview, etc.

We are hoping for her to move here in August if possible, and I plan on being over there over the summer, and hopefully we will come back together.

Does anyone have any idea of when the embassy interviews usually happen?

Thanks so much.

For evidence provide the photos and anything which shows you lived together.  The savings account if also good.  Also use whatever legal wedding certificate you have, if that's from December, that's fine.  Don't worry about the affidavits, they're very low on the evdience scale and you have much better evidence.

 

You wife will not be moving in August unless some sort of miracle or disaster happens.  CR1 visas generally take 10-18 months with a year being average.   You have a lot of things to do and stuff that needs to happen before the file ever gets to the embassy. 

[NikLR 13,220]

~~moved to process and procedures from progress reports. ~~

[ChrisPr 0]

1 hour ago, NikLR said:

For evidence provide the photos and anything which shows you lived together.  The savings account if also good.  Also use whatever legal wedding certificate you have, if that's from December, that's fine.  Don't worry about the affidavits, they're very low on the evdience scale and you have much better evidence.

 

You wife will not be moving in August unless some sort of miracle or disaster happens.  CR1 visas generally take 10-18 months with a year being average.   You have a lot of things to do and stuff that needs to happen before the file ever gets to the embassy. 

Thanks for your advice.

Would it be worth considering a K-3 Visa with an adjustment of status? It certainly wouldn't be the end of the world to wait 10-18 months, but is a K-3 visa faster?

Thanks again.

[Ryan H 3,795]

7 hours ago, ChrisPr said:

Thanks for your advice.

Would it be worth considering a K-3 Visa with an adjustment of status? It certainly wouldn't be the end of the world to wait 10-18 months, but is a K-3 visa faster?

Thanks again.

 

Current USCIS and State Department procedures have made the K3 visa virtually unobtainable; a K3 actually being issued these days is a very rare occurrence.

[NikLR 13,220]

8 hours ago, ChrisPr said:

Thanks for your advice.

Would it be worth considering a K-3 Visa with an adjustment of status? It certainly wouldn't be the end of the world to wait 10-18 months, but is a K-3 visa faster?

Thanks again.

As Ryan H mentioned they're rare (less than .1% get them) and take the same amount of time anyhow. You save maybe a few weeks or a month, and theyre more than twice as expensive.  The CR1 really is the superior visa. 

[ChrisPr 0]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I ended up submitting it with various forms of evidence and have already received the I-797C Notice of Action.

The receipt number online says to check the I-797C for the next instructions.

The form says "The I-130, Petition for Alien Relative has been received by our office for the following beneficiaries and is in process:"
and then accurately lists my wife's information.

It says to confirm information and contact if any changes are necessary.

What should I do next? What other forms, biometrics, criminal backgrounds checks, etc., should I go ahead and start on while this processes? Or is it better to wait for the next update on the online case info?

Thanks again.

[ChrisPr 0]

Oh, and they also confirmed that it has been sent to the Texas Service Center for processing.