logemon

31 minutes ago, inzazubon said:

Question, what was your process to request an earlier appointment date? Was it as simple as a phone call??

Hello Inzazubon,

I just went to the embassy site and used the form for requesting an appointment (right now:  https://japan2.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-ivapptrequest.html) and I made sure and mentioned in the note that we already had an appointment scheduled but wanted to re-schedule to an earlier date if possible. I received an email back a few days later (I think I made request on a weekend) with the new appointment date.

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23 minutes ago, heykatydid said:

Hey, thanks a lot! I'm finding a lot of conflicting information on the internet right now.

 

According to jp.usembassy.gov, it says "If you filed an I-130 in Tokyo or Naha, do not mail any documents listed in the checklist to NVC even though the DS260 confirmation page instructs you to do so.  Bring the documents to your interview. " (https://jp.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/family-immigration/how-to-apply-step-2/iv-checklist/)

 

Then on travel.state.gov, it says " Special Seal(s) / Color / Format:  Japanese Police Certificates are issued in a sealed envelope. If the seal is broken, the certificate is considered invalid. Visa applicants should not open a sealed envelope containing a Police Certificate.  The applicant must bring the original Police Certificate in a sealed envelope to the U.S. Embassy/Consulate at the time of his/her interview. Applicants do not need to mail their Police Certificate to the National Visa Center. " (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Japan.html)

 

I called the Embassy here in Japan today, and they were absolutely no help. The woman never really answered my question, but kept saying "you need the certificate" when I told her that we didn't have a letter to request one. So, do we have to go and get this and wait two weeks to send our documents to the NVC (which are ready except for this certificate) OR can we send our documents now and get the police certificate before the interview? Why are there so many different instructions that don't match? I'd prefer to send this off as quick as possible since the wait is already about two months, and then get the certificate once we get the interview approval letter... if that's possible.

Hello keykatydid,

I understand how it can be confusing as it was confusing for me as well, but we had worked on getting the police certificate as soon as we received the NOA2 letter so our situation differs from yours.  I can't provide any advice on what you should do in your case, only provide my experience, but maybe you can find what others have done by doing a board search (that is what I did as well).

Good luck

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31 minutes ago, heykatydid said:

A follow up -

 

Okay, I think I'm misunderstanding this. The NVC checklist says we need the police certificate, but the police say they need a letter in order to give us the certificate. Do we send our document package without the police certificate, and then wait for the letter that says we need it later? Or does our paperwork qualify as the letter, and we include the certificate in the full package of documents we send to the NVC? I'm so confused. I might try and call the police headquarters to see what they say. The official website says "Instructions sent to you by the National Visa Center"... but what does that mean? The checklist with our case number on it?

Hello heykatydid,

Here is what we did

1. Using the NOA2 letter (the one with the approval notice), went to the Prefecture police for the police certificate.  We did this before even receiving the NVC notices. It took about a week, but then it was ready in a sealed envelope.

2. Once we received the NVC welcome letter, sent the unopened envelope to NVC along with the other copies requested

3. Once we received the appointment letter, made an appointment for the medical and then prepared everything we needed for the interview

4. Went to the interview with the unopened medical reports, copies of documents, the original marriage certificate, birth certificates for our children, and family register extract

We did not need to bring a new Police Certificate (even though they mention it in the interview sheet they give you) because it was forwarded by NVC to the embassy.  Also, the police certificates are already translated in 5 languages so you do not need to translate it or have it translated.

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On 1/30/2018 at 4:53 AM, watahana87 said:

Hi! I was referred here from the June k1 filers group. 

 

I'm in the same boat as logemon. Our petition is "At NVC" right now status wise. We have our case number and invoice number, but police records, medical, and interview all want the letter, so we're waiting.

 

My fiance called Seibo yesterday and they said they have about a 2 week wait for appointments. Police records take about 10 days. Interviews are about a week out. 

 

My best-case scenario plan: 

 

2/5: paperwork fron NVC

2/6: Police station

2/16: medical

2/19: pick up police report

2/28: interview

 

I was told that we need the NVC letter to bring to the medical, so that is the main thing that is causing the delay. We are toying with the idea of scheduling the medical as soon as our NVC case status is updated to show its been sent to Japan, as it shouldn't take more than two weeks after that to get out letter. 

 

Does anyone have any other insights?

Here is my experience:

2018-01-30: Received appointment letter

2018-02-06: Medical appointment at Seibo.  I can't remember when my wife made the appointment, but it was after we received the email so not even a week to wait.  She received a flu shot at that time

2018-02-09: Called Seibo to find out results of antibody tests.  Everything came back fine, so no additional vaccines

2018-02-10: Received medical results by mail

2018-02-12: Requested an earlier appointment date (original was March 26) mentioning that we now have all the paper work

2018-02-13: Received updated appointment date

The police report we sent to NVC so they should have it and we are not planning to request a new one since the email says we only have to do so if the one we sent is over a year old

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On 1/19/2018 at 2:03 AM, DJWS said:

There are 4 clinics in japan specialized to the exam(2 in tokyo, 1 in kobe, 1 in naha). 

My wife called the kobe clinic which is actually located in the hotel.

She called to schedule an appointment the moment we found out we passed the NVC stage, but still didn't have a scheduled final embassy interview since there is a lag when NVC contacts tokyo embassy to find a interview slot.  

She didn't need a letter the moment she called to schedule an interview.  However, you must bring the letter on the scheduled date of your medical exam.

 

Our timeline:  Found out we had a case complete from the  NVC  in late july. Called immediately to schedule medical appt in late aug using our best guess that our tokyo embassy appt will be in Sept.

early mid aug found out our tokyo embassy appt was in early sept.  We called the clinic to reschedule.  The receptionist wasn't too happy doing the reschedule.

Wife brought the letter along with her vaccine records and a paid envelope from 711 to the clinic on the date of the exam. We got the exam results in the sealed envelope approx 5-7 days later so keep that in mind if you have a tight window between medical exam and embassy interview.

 

Thanks, I don't think I am bold enough to make an appointment without the letter.  I hope that decision does not come back to haunt me

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2 hours ago, AndresP said:

Hey everyone I have two questions.

 

I received my wife's criminal extract and it's in Czech as expected. Do I need the translation notarized and stapled withe the original or a normal translation is fine?

 

how long has it taken to get the tax transcript for others? It was mailed on the 28th of December according to the IRS rep and it is the only document I am missing . 

 

Thanks in advance 

Hello AndresP,

You need a translation, but it does not need to be notarized as long as the translator writes a statement indicating they are competent to make the translation.  Also, avoid staples since they scan everything.

As to the tax transcripts, I did not send one.  I simply sent my 2016 tax return and I had no problems.

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Hello all,

I am sure that this has been probably been answered somewhere, but I can't seem to find the information.  What is needed in order to schedule the medical exam?  I saw somewhere that all you need is the NVC case number, but the hospital websites say that a letter from the embassy is needed.  Which is it?

Thanks

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9 minutes ago, SJ0224 said:

Hi Logemon,

Yes, there is another place you should be looking. On the CEAC site, under “Immigrant Visa,” click “Check my visa application status” https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/

 

Once you put in your case number and verify the code then you’ll see a status.

 

I attached an imagine of what an “At NVC” looks like.  

 

Ah, that makes more sense now, I had not seen that link before and now it is bookmarked!

Many thanks

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Hello all,

I am a little confused about when you know you have a Case Complete status.  Everyone mentions that the status is at NVC when that is the case; however, that is what my case says and they just received all the documents about 2 weeks ago.  Here is what I see:

I still have the AOS line and when I called to confirm they received my documents they added them to their tracking so I know that I need to wait,  is there some other place I should be looking?

Thanks

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