BowseRx

Hey everyone, sorry if this has been asked before but I couldn't find anything on it. My (now wife, yay!) Is Japanese and in Japan, they start paying social security every month once they turn 20, regardless of having a job or not. In Japan it's called 厚生年金. Her mom says they stopped paying it in Japan but we need to start paying it in America. Am I missing something? I thought we only pay in America once we start working.

Thank you for the help guys!

Not sure if I am missing something, once we receive a case number, do we do anything besides complete the I-134 form? And from the sounds of the step by step guide here, https://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide/ , we mail our Fiance, the beneficiary in my case, all of these documents correct? I just want to make sure we aren't overthinking things. When are we supposed to fill out the DS 160 form? Or is that a long way away? I think I might be confusing it with the DS 260 form.. Thanks everyone and best of luck to you all moving forward!

16 minutes ago, JoelThai said:

And that is the most difficult part, nearly every step is out of our direct control.  The reality is that even after the USCIS reaches a particular date in their processing, it may take them 2 or 3 months to completely clear out that date.   For example, on the leading edge, the USCIS is close to approving October 20th filers, but there are still filers also waiting from September, August, July, and maybe even a few from June.

 

So mentally try to prepare yourself to be flexible as to when the USCIS says they are ready for you.   I would recommend that that you put a contingency plan in place to visit Japan for Christmas if it appears that the USCIS is not going to cooperate.  I have witnessed the stress levels of some petitioners get to the point of considering dropping their petition due to stress related health issues

 

Also, you may want to track @Naes timeline, as she has just received her NOA2 and is a beneficiary from Japan.   Her fiance originally submitted his I-129f in September 2017.    She is very active here, helpful, and posts frequently in the September 2017 K1 thread (and elsewhere).   She is now entering the NVC stage and preparing for interview at the Japanese embassy.   I think she said current interview scheduling is about 2 months after NVC sends documents to the embassy in Japan.   So, if things continue the way they have, I am sad to say that a Christmas Miracle may just be that.   But fingers crossed for you.

Very true, and very well said! Im hoping since December isn't really a realistic option (or at least not 100%,) January might be. Based on her job and timelines, January would be great. She has to quit her job on December 30th for various reasons, and insurance wise I could cove her when we get married. Also safety (crazy ex) is a concern for us. That along with other things makes January or December way better than waiting until February. But we will see, and we will make it work no matter what month they approve it :).

Yeah, we kind of changed the plan when we found out it was a little longer than we expected. We kept researching and people were saying 8 months is average. So filing on April 1st is perfect (or so we thought). Little did we know, sounds like 9 or 10 months is more reasonable. Oh well, such is life, and such is love! 

Thanks! I just followed her profile, I dont see many Japanese beneficiaries here! You have been awesome, and so helpful!  My mind feels much more relaxed now.

7 minutes ago, JoelThai said:

Yes, try your best not to stress out.   I think it is also useful to know that if there is anything that the USCIS does not find satisfactory with your submission, they will give you an opportunity to correct it.   If they find something they have issue with, the will send you an RFE notice (Request for Evidence).   Maybe 20-30% of petitioners receive these and are considered normal and are typically easy to respond to as they are very specific in their instructions.  Once you have received your NOA1 (Notice of Acceptance), expect to wait at least 6 months before hearing anything back from the USCIS.   Monitor the forums and Visa Timeline for indications of progress by the USCIS.

 

The hardest part is waiting.   Good luck and do your best to relax!  

Thanks, I will relax until I hear something back. Hopefully will be getting my NOA1 any day now, but i know it can possibly take a few weeks. I was stressing earlier about timelines, as we were hoping to have everything done by roughly Christmas time, but that might be pushing it. I was worried an RFE would 100% ruin that Christmas Miracle dream! haha

I agree, waiting is driving us both crazy. But it will be worth it.  And good luck to you too!

30 minutes ago, JoelThai said:

You should be good.   The question on the I-129F does not ask about how you first met, but to describe the circumstances of the in-person meeting during the prior 24 months.  So, if your meeting in Colorado occurred sometime during the 24 months prior to your submission of the I-129F petition, all is fine.  You should have also provided evidence to support the meeting, such as photos, reciepts, passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel reservations, etc that provide supporting evidence of the meeting.

 

There is no need to discuss the conditions of how you originally were introduced, unless it also qualifies as your in-person meeting in the past 24 months.  Some petititioners choose to include this information (called front loading), but specifically is not required until requested by the Embassy that will perform the interview with the Beneficiary.

 

Specifically here are the instructions for questions 53-54 for the I-129F form, 

 

'Item Numbers 53. - 54. Have you and your fiancé(e) met in person during the two years immediately before fling this petition? Indicate whether you and your fiancé(e) have seen each other in person during the two year period immediately before fling your petition. Select “N/A” if the benefciary is your spouse.

If you respond “Yes” to Item Number 53., use Item Number 54. to describe the circumstances of your in-person meeting. Attach evidence to demonstrate that you were in each other’s physical presence during the required two year period. If you need extra space to complete this section, use the space provided in Part 8. Additional Information."

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf

Ah thank you, so maybe I am just overthinking everything. I haven't gotten much sleep, I was super stressed filling all  this out because I was on a very tight timeline! I did include 5 or 6 photos of us together in colorado with landmarks, as well as 5 photos with me in Japan with her family. So thank you all for re-assuring me! 

2 minutes ago, Alabamak1 said:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/photos.html 

Ah thank you! So looking at those rules, the jewelry isn't mentioned at all. Thats interesting, because when I got mine taken at a professional place, they made me take off my necklace. But thank you nonetheless! 

Hello! Sorry to bother everyone, I couldn't find a simple answer by googling or searching here right away, so I figured I should ask here! I believe I made 2 mistakes, and I would like to correct them as soon as possible but I'm not sure how..

1. We included passport photos for myself and my Beneficiary with the initial petition, as requested on the I-129f instructions. However, my Beneficiary's hair was not tucked behind her ears (I have heard this is a rule) and also she may have had 1 earring showing. Is this a big issue? If so, it won't be any problem to have her retake them, as I visit her again at the end of next month.

2. The 2nd mistake, is that when I input the way we met, I guess I misunderstood and input about her traveling here. I put that she flew to Colorado, what dates she came here, and what we did, but never how me first met. We initially met on a language exchange app (HelloTalk) and then became friends from there. So I need to correct that on the I-129f form.

Is there any way to update those 2 things and submit them before an RFE is sent to us? As in is there somewhere I could mail the updated info to? Or would I have to wait for an RFE for those and then send the information (Just trying to make the process as quick and painless as possible. Thank you all and have a good one! 

I sent in my petition with a tracking number and got confirmation it was received on April 2nd. Good luck everyone!

Hello again everyone! I am gathering documents with my fiance as we plan on filing in 3 weeks! I did have another quick question however. In Japan, they do not have birth certificates. Births are recorded on a Koseki Tohon from my understanding. But on the USCIS website, it says they need either the original or a ceritifed copy. Does anyone have any idea how to get a certified copy of something like that? And any idea how long it would trake?

Another question is about the police certificates. Neither I nor my Fiance have ever comitted any crime, so do we still have to send in a police certificate for her? And if so, do we send it with the initial packet? Or does she only need to bring it to the interview much later on?

Thank you everyone for your help, you have all been so amazing!

2 hours ago, JennaL said:

I had a similar issue, my fiancé's native language is Persian, so I went ahead and just filled in 49a-50f in English and then had my fiancé hand write his address in Persian on a sheet of blank paper and scan/email it to me. I then indicated in Part 8 Additional Information that I was attaching his address hand-written in his native language.

Thabk you, that is a good idea! Did you get any acceptance letters yet or not yet? Just curious if this worked out for you!

Hello again everyone. I am preparing the I-129f form  and in part Item numbers 49a - 50f, The instructions state to put My fiancé's name and address in her native alphabet. When she tries to type in Japanese in the form, the program crashes. I downloaded a Japanese keyboard to use and it crashes when I do the same as well. I tried typing in English in those fields and it works just fine. Any ideas on how to remedy this?

One other quick question I had was that she worked a part time job at a hotel in 2014, for 3 weeks, but she can't find the exact dates she worked. Can I just put unknown for the start and end dates there, or will that result in a RFE?

23 minutes ago, Naes said:

In japan, if she can show the proof of them being her parents she should be able to ask to at the city or ward office for a 戸籍謄本 of her parents (I'm not 100% sure but they do give to relatives as long as you can prove you are a relative)

 

Personal opinion; Japanese parents usually soften if they see the other person trying to interact with them, meeting them and respecting their culture. If you want to try -unless they're stubborn....elderly Japanese are also known to be stubborn...so good luck with that if that's your case..

Awesome, thank you! I screen shotted it and sent it to her.

And thank you for the advice. I definitely want to meet them and show them i respect their culture and value them! Its a long story, but they said to her "If you passed your Nursing licence exam, then we will,at least meet with him. If you didnt pass, we wont meet with him until you do. So the whole situation sucks.

27 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Ancestry.com?

I wasnt sure if that works for Japanese familes too. I guess thinking about it, it should. Does ancestry.com show birth places? I have never used it.

Hello, so I am trying to fill out this I-129F form with my Fiance, and she doesnt know her parents' birth place. She has asked them, but they are somewhat against her marrying a foreigner (Old school thoughts in Japanese Culture I guess). So they refuse to tell her their towns of birth, in hopes that the process will fail. Is it okay to put unknown in that field? Has anyone come across this before? I couldnt find anything when doing some quick searches.

Thank you for your time, and have a good one!