takoyaki66

Yes, I have a visa and have lived in Japan for over 8 years now. I had to show proof of residency at the initial I-130 intake interview so they do check.

For moving our stuff we went with Shipmates Japan and have been happy so far. The came and gave us an estimate then packed up everything into 82! boxes. The invoice matched with their estimate so no problems there either.

In 2 months our 82 boxes should hopefully arrive in Vermont.

Cheers

Thanks for the kind words!

K stick in there, once you reach a real person in Tokyo I expect that it will improve. During our two visits they were very nice and treated us well.

I cannot say that I have had the same positive experience with the US centers. Just trying to cancel our pending I-129f and I-130 applications is proving to be a pain. I just want to cancel them so that we do not take up valuable time from other applicants. The folks on the phone were no help and they were not sure which centers I should contact to withdraw our applications.

Good luck to everyone. At least we all filed before the fee increase

Here is a short summary of our IV interview in Tokyo.

On 6/4/2007 we went to the Tokyo embassy for the IV final interview. Our interview was scheduled for 0930 and we arrived around 0800 anticipating lines. To our surprise there was almost no line and we quickly made it inside to get our number. It turns out that we were number 11 even though we arrived 1 1/2 hours early.

They were processing people as we arrived and the entire process took us just about 2 hours to complete. We were told (only the spouse seeking the visa gets to go up to the counter for the final interview) at the end that the visa was granted and would arrive in a week.

The passport with the visa arrived in the mail the next day!

A few tips for others who stumble upon this message:

1. Arrive early as they seem to start processing as soon as folks arrive and do it on a rolling basis. YMMV. Afternoon appointments might not be the same.

2. Although the instructions for the IV interview tell you to bring things that you have already submitted at the I-130 interview (bio forms, tax returns, support doc, birth certificate, etc). once you arrive they give you a paper that says you do not have to resubmit anything you submitted before.

3. There are no phones allowed inside but there is a pay phone in the waiting area just in case you need to reach someone.

4. There is a photo booth in the waiting area so if you forget (or have improper) your pics you might not be out of luck.

Good luck everyone and thanks for the support.

6/5/07 Visa arrived in the mail!

Done and ready to move!

My wife had her exam at the British Clinic in Tokyo and had no problems. The people were nice and the doctor could speak a little Japanese. The clinic was not very busy that day and the entire process took around 30 minutes.

The passport with visa was delivered today! Only one day!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!

Grats! It must be a load off your minds to have the visa in hand.

i was looking for the best place to get the medical check for the visa. i remember that there was the british hospital in tokyo but i can't find the info on the site. if possible hit me up with the details so i can check the place out when i go to tokyo this monday (may 7th).

thanks.

My wife got her immunizations locally (much cheaper than at the British Clinic) and scheduled an appointment this Wednesday at the British Clinic. Once she finishes we will post our experience there.

My wife just got back from the Tokyo embassy. They only asked one question at the interview: "So, you were here just 4 weeks ago to apply?" (that's when we went to submit the I-130)

He then said the visa will be put in her passport and it will be returned (by special mail delivery) by the end of the week.

Grats!

Thanks for the kind words!

We are now working on the medical and police clearance (yes, it turns out that you can do these before you get the official approval of the I-130 on paper).

Hopefully this will help someone.

Here is a short summary of our experience with the Toyko Embassy for the initial DCF filing of our I-130. Overall it was a surprisingly good process where they made you feel like people rather than case numbers. We were approved on the spot in under an hour.

The line

Arrive early for your appointment. We arrived one hour early and due to the long line were worried that we might not clear security in time. You wait outside so be prepared for the elements, especially if you have little ones with you. They tell you this on the webpage.

Security check

It is similar to an airline screening. You cannot bring in liquids, computers, cameras, cell phones, electronic dictionaries, etc. You leave them at the front and pick them up later. Overall the screening was not too bad and they treated you as people not criminals. It was a good first impression.

Inside

The people with appointments file into the waiting room after security. You get a number from a touch screen computer. Look for the computers when you enter the room.

Initial submission

When your number is called you go up and slide your documents to a kind, Japanese staff member who is VERY well versed in the details of the process. She was very professional but also put us at ease. A good second impression.

One point on the documents, it is best to complete everything rather than leave a blank. For example, one form asks for the address of your intended residence. Since we do not have our house yet we only put the city. We were told to just put a street address even if you do not intend to actually reside there. YMMV but it seems that a complete form was important.

You do not need to submit the Japanese marriage certificate since that information is already provided on the family registry. This point was not clear on the homepage but we were specifically told this information at the counter. Again with any of this YMMV.

Interview

After they process your papers (about 15 minutes in our case) you are called to another window for an interview with an American consulate officer. He asked us some basic questions like how did you meet, where do you call home, recent trips together, etc. Although it was an interview it felt more like a conversation with a person. It was a very good third impression of the process.

The people who had more questions seemed to be dealing with the financial aspects of the application. I could not hear much but I think there were questions about assets, etc.

At the end of the short (5 minute) interview we were told that our I-130 was approved and that the next stage would be an FBI check for the sponsor. Following that they would contact us for the final interview.

Final stage

After a few more minutes waiting you get called back to the first window where they return your original documents (passports and such) and answer questions about the process. I asked when the 2-year period from the marriage is calculated and was told that it is the date of entry into the US not the date the visa is issued. You might take this into account if your 2 year anniversary is close to your intended date of entry.

Overall it was a surprisingly pleasant experience. Hopefully it goes as well for future VJ applicants.

Thanks for the info! (Grumbles about having to dig up all those dates.)

My wife just reminded me that we have visited an average of 3 times per year for the past 12 years. That is a lot of extra entries.

Cheers

For DS-230 Question 25 (List dates of all previous visits to or residence in the United States) what should we list if my wife has visited many times over the last 12 years? We visit at least once per year sometimes twice.

Thanks for any help!

we just made the appointment for may 8th because next week on tuesday was full. was that you takoyaki? did you nab my appointment time. /:(

all the money is collected, taken care of, and ready. all the paperwork is filled out. i'm still waiting on the IRS but who isn't. i'm sure they will accept a copy of my tax return as filed for the I-864, but i still have a few weeks for a response from the IRS. i even have a job waiting for me for when i get home now.

i suppose all i have to do is wait at this point. i don't think i'll be able to make it back to america around the 1st of august, but maybe we'll be close. the way things are rolling for iluvmymac (ibook g4 in the hizzy here) i think it won't be too long after before we are able to get going.

Muckson keep checking the appointment dates. I found that it would let me register sometimes and not others. Also I found I had better luck using IE rather than firefox.

Good luck with it all. As an alternative the I-129f route seems to be pretty fast as well. Ours was approved in a relatively short time. Of course we are waiting on the next step now though.

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!

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.

Also, the vaccinations at the clinic are expensive (¥8,000 each). Your wife should be prepared in advance. My wife had a blood test to find out what vaccs are in her immune system, and then got vaccinated at our local clinic for much cheaper. Then she took the papers from the local clinic to the British Clinic as evidence so that she didn't need to get the shots from there. The clinic has the information on it's website. They can send the results by takyubin so you don't have to make an extra trip, or you can pick it up on the day of your second interview at the embassy.

http://www.tokyobritishclinic.com/visa_us-j.html

Thanks for the tips! This is great to know.

I guess this fits into "off topic" however the reason I posted this is because many of the forms we have complete like g-325 do not let us save our information.

I accidentally found that when I opened the forms in foxit I could save my info. Again I hope this helps out someone else

Cheers

Hi takoyaki, yes, you can. My I-130 appointment was at 2:00 pm, and my wife went to the British Clinic in the morning and was done in 30 minutes. Then we met up to go to the embassy together. There's no rule when you can or can't have the exam. The results are good for 1 year.

Among the Japanese in the discussion board that my wife is in, the British Clinic is the most recommended. They only require 4 vaccinations, (measles, rubella, chicken pox, mumps) but the other clinics may require more. The phone receptionist there has a reputation for being kind of mean, but the rest of the staff is nice.

Have your wife call and find out what is needed.

Thanks a lot for the info! We will schedule the exam in the morning before the I-130 appointment. Good news about the British Clinic.

What is the Japanese board that you have been checking? The more information the better I figure. I will also post the site that we are using once I get home from work.

Cheers

Sorry I was not sure where to post this.

Angry with the important pdf forms that do not let you save your information? (Why would they do this anyway?) Accidentally I just discovered that when I used the foxit pdf reader I was able to save my information.

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

YMMV and other restrictions apply

Hope this helps someone!

Cheers

Is it possible to take the medical exam before you have your initial I-130 interview? I ask because of timing we would like to take care of medical exam in the morning since we could only get an afternoon interview. (We live in Nagoya so a day trip is preferable to 2 days off work).

Thanks for any input.

PS for others that find this post, the Japanese discussion boards suggest that the International Catholic Hospital is more "friendly" in the exam than the other options. We have no personal experience yet to evaluate this claim.

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

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.