Limey

That's not a red flag at all. USCIS is only interested in whether the relationship is genuine. They aren't there to pass moral judgements.
 
When I first met my now wife she was (unhappily) married, and when we started our relationship she was separated from her ex, but still married.  It wasn't a problem with USCIS at all, and I was never asked about it at any point of the immigration process.
 
In our case we had to wait over a year until her divorce was finalized before we could start the k1 (NC law requires at least 1 year separation). I think that tends to add to the evidence of a genuine relationship, it meant we'd had 4 or 5 visits to each other by the time we filed the k1 application. A scammer would probably prefer to find someone who is available to marry immediately and not bother with multiple meetings.

I moved from the UK, not Japan, but some issues will be the same
 
1) I moved most of my cash to the US. During our first tax return together I had to declare if I'd had more than USD10k in foreign bank accounts during the preceding year. I had to fill in some forms to declare this, and explain the reasons (obviously in my case the reason was that I was a UK citizen, resident in the UK at the time. I declared all the accounts and amounts, and was never followed up about this (this was 2-3 years ago). This is separate to the tax return, google "FBAR foreign asset reporting" for more info. It was a little tricky to details all the accounts as I had money spread in several that I then consolidated in one account in order to send to the USA in one transaction.
 
I'm not a tax expert but I imagine that the Feds are familiar with what happens when someone moves to the US, and that they might have had assets in overseas accounts for entirely legitimate reasons.
 
2) The above responsibility is ongoing, so you may find it easier to ensure that you have less than USD10k in overseas accounts once resident in the US to avoid reporting in following years.
 
3) Any income or interest from overseas assets must be declared as income on your tax return.
 
4) In terms of moving physical assets, I had some personal possessions that didn't have massive financial value that I wanted to ship to the USA (several electric guitars, a grand father clock that I inherited etc). I arranged with a specialist shipping company to ship these from the UK to USA. They sent me a load of forms from US customs that I had to fill in with details of my visa, inventory of the items being shipped etc. Since I could show I was immigrating to the USA there was no taxes to pay (though as I recall there were relatively small customs charges to pay for inspections etc). The cost of shipping and paperwork probably outweighed the value of the items I was shipping, but these were sentimental possessions.
 
5) When you enter the USA on your k1 visa you might have to fill in the customs form that tourists and other visitors are given. This asks whether you have items worth more than (I think) USD200 that will remain in the USA. Obviously everything you are carrying (clothes, laptop, jewelry etc) will be staying in the USA. I didn't complete that part of the declaration and asked the customs officer what I should put as I was entering on a k1 visa to live permanently in the USA. He said its fine, and just took the card from me. As above, I think the system understands that new immigrants are going to have assets on them of well above the USD200 value.

 

Not sure, if I'm an exception... but I had absolutely no problem with being unemployed for months. Lol
 
When I arrived, I tried to make myself feel at home. I tidied up, cleaned, painted every room of the house, fixed broken things, started woodworking, built shelves, worked in the yard, and so on... I did everything that I never had the time or energy for when I was still living in Germany.
 
I live in a very rural area. So, I also explored the woods, went hiking, etc. Then after a few weeks, I also adopted a dog from the shelter and spend all my free time with him. I built him a fence, bed, an agility trail, etc...
 
Time actually flew by.
Wish I could have been unemployed even longer. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done 😁

OP changed the original story from “she knew full well she wasn’t going back to home country” to your quote. By his own admission she intended to comit fraud when entering on an ESTA

Even though there are more red flags in this case than I can count, I can’t help but think that she will probably get away with it and you are able to provide her with the grand prize she was after. At this point, I am not even sure if/when USCIS even looks into these cases.
 
Maybe it’s the heat, but I am starting to lose my faith that these (pretty obvious) cases of immigration fraud actually get noticed.. It just gets me down.. So many of us here had to jump through all the hoops and be patient in order to do this right, while others just play the system and get away with it.
 
I have no advice for you, you seem to be very aware of what is happening and no matter what we would tell you here, you will most likely continue with the process, so what do you want us to say really? Our remarks/questions will be answered with a “Yes, but…”, so we are not adding any real value here. Nobody here wil help you to justify what is happening..

You have now changed your story: 
 
 
Sorry, I'm out.  This thread is devolving into TOS territory.  Good luck.

Be very careful. Conversations about marriage while you have not even met in person could be a sign of a scam. I am not saying that this person is a scammer, but be cautious.

I haven't been there yet... I was asking what to do and in what order... this is so confusing to me

Plus I believe immigrant applicants can’t opt out of vaccines including COVID at the time of the medical so in any way they will have to be vaccinated against COVID 

Nope.
 
The K1 is one of the most strictest visas with immigration. The only person she can obtain legal status from now is the person who applied for her K1. After 90 days, she will be out of status and deportable, yes, even if she marries you instead.
 
The proper course of action is for her to return home. Then you can petition for her. But be warned, she will get heavily scrutinized the next time because it look like she is using Americans to obtain a visa. But for now, there is nothing you can do to help her. 

You must be fully vaccinated with the primary series of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to travel to the United States by plane if you are a non-U.S. citizen, non-U.S. immigrant (not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or traveling to the United States on an immigrant visa). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/noncitizens-US-air-travel.html#:~:text=You must be fully vaccinated,States on an immigrant visa).

Why do you think you need an immigration 'service'?   It is no less work for you, nor is it faster.

As you go through the online form it will ask for you to upload things in different sections (like tax document, relationship proof and stuff depending on how you fill out the form) It should be fairly at the end if I remember correctly.

HI all,
 
I applied for naturalization in August last year & had my interview today in Detroit.  
Everyone from security check point, check-in desk and my interviewer were super friendly!!
After my name was called we went into the office & before starting, swore I would tell the truth.
She asked to see my identification (driver's license, passport, permanent resident card & SSN card if I had it & I did).
Made sure my info was correct (address, name).
 
Asked 6 civics questions:
What is the highest court in the United States?
Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
Name one state that borders Canada
Where is the Statue of Liberty?
 
A sentence came up on the tablet in front of me and I had to read it out loud.
Then , she verbally said a sentence which I had to write out on the tablet.
 
She went over a few of the personal questions on the N400 (parents, my current and previous jobs within 5 years).
Then asked (I think most?) of the Yes/No questions on the second half of the application, which there was no issues with.
 
Made some small talk, but I kept that to a minimum I just wanted to get through the main part of the interview!
Then she told me I passed!  I brought a binder of evidence to prove my marriage and residency but none were asked for.  
Said I should get a letter with an oath date & it would be at that field office.  Unfortunately guests still aren't allowed to accompany us but maybe that will change by that date  
Overall great experience. 

It depends on the civil surgeon.  Many will not sign the I-693 if you do not re-do the medical exam.  You may search for a civil surgeon who will not require you to undergo another medical and will charge only for documenting vaccinations, but that is up to their discretion.  That's why VJ members recommend K1 applicants to complete their vaccinations at or prior to their visa medical, to avoid that hassle entirely.
 
 
No need for DS-3025 when you submit the I-693.
 

Let's say we apply for the fiance visa now. While the process is going my fiance decides to move to Italy and we get married there. Could we still keep the fiance visa process and get married again in America once I receive the visa ? 

No because you’re always told NOT to make any major life changes (job, education, property) until visa in hand. 

This would be plan b, if immigrating to the states doesn’t work. If you both love each other and want to be together don’t rule it out. 

I AM asking because that is vital information required to provide helpful advice.  Giving advice without all the information would be useless.

Do the CR1 for sure.
 
Be prepared to answer some tough questions during the interview just incase.

We are a lesbian couple and it is illegal for same-sex couples to get married in her country. Thank you!

I read about a case here on VJ where the visa holder actually said something idiotic.  When asked by the CBP officer about getting married within 90 days, the visa holder said something like, "Maybe or maybe not."   He was turned away at the airport with his K1 visa.
 

Well nothing to be done now, see how things go after your visit.

I'd just write the letter yourself (typed), and then email it to him to print and sign. He can scan it or mail it back to you. It doesn't need to say very much at all. From what I recall mine just stated that I was free to marry, and intended to marry {wife's name} after entering the USA on my k1 visa in line with the time and other requirements of the visa. Make sure he understands what the letter means as its never good to get someone to sign something they don't understand.

If he wants to foot the bill for the lawyer he can knock himself out. Otherwise you’re the petitioner and this is YOUR petition. I can’t tell you how many times people come running and crying to VJ because their lawyer messed up (many times on some BASIC stuff) and it caused them a lot of problems.