dphyled

So, at the interview, we don't need to worry about BRINGING anything that we previously submitted the originals for, correct? There were a few docs that the originals were submitted for, but i am especially wondering because of the Police Certificates... they took a long time to come after she requested them, and they were in that "Do not open" sealed envelope so we couldn't make copies. Anyway, all the docs that were previously submitted are supposed to have been sent to the consulate where the interview will be right? I am still going to send my wife copies of as much stuff as i can so she can bring them to the interview, but we don't need to worry about things like the police certificates right?

Police certificates expire after certain period, accordingly I am bringing new one for the interview. Other documents( birth certificate, etc) are valid. So getting a new police certificate is a good idea

yep..that is still very valid for as long as it remain sealed...my interview will be on february too in tokyo...

Cool! Good luck for the interview!! So for the police certificates, you just sent the sealed envelope with the DS-230 and are hoping that they will have it there at the interview with everything else that was submitted? Not getting new ones to bring to the interview, correct?

Ann, thank you for the reply! On the US embassy in japan website though, under the immgrant visa area it says that Police Certificates are valid for one year, and my wife just got hers about four months ago, so they technically will still be good by the time of the interview in February. Not sure how it is for other countries, but at least should be ok for Japan i guess.

In general though, for my original question, will the original documents submitted with forms be enough?

So, at the interview, we don't need to worry about BRINGING anything that we previously submitted the originals for, correct? There were a few docs that the originals were submitted for, but i am especially wondering because of the Police Certificates... they took a long time to come after she requested them, and they were in that "Do not open" sealed envelope so we couldn't make copies. Anyway, all the docs that were previously submitted are supposed to have been sent to the consulate where the interview will be right? I am still going to send my wife copies of as much stuff as i can so she can bring them to the interview, but we don't need to worry about things like the police certificates right?

My wife's I-130 was approved at CSC last March, however they didn't forward it to NVC because they thought that she was still in the country (for one question on the I-130, "Is the beneficiary currently in the country", we put yes because she was here for our wedding, however we also put the date that she was going back to Japan to wait for immigration)...

They said that we should apply for Adjustment of Status, or fill out an I-824 for further processing if we were going to apply from outside the country. However, i read that the I-824 could take a really long time (like, more than an extra half year), so I knew i didn't want to do that, and we were never qualified to just do AOS (which is why we got into the whole CR-1 path in the first place).. After going through a bunch of phone calls and letters and stuff, each time it seemed like they were going to fix the misunderstanding and forward the case to NVC (according to workers on the hotline, and supervisors at USCIS), but it never did. After signing up for an InfoPass meeting, the lady there confirmed that it was a mistake on the part of USCIS and our case should have been forwarded to NVC as soon as it was approved (we indicated on the I-130 that we were going to be processing in Japan).. But all she could suggest was to write another letter.. Still nothing. Finally, i wrote to my Congressman, and after waiting a long time, I finally got a response from him, saying that the response he received from USCIS was that we should apply for Adjustment of Status... I have since written a letter back, explaining (again, i had already explained it in much more detail than i have done here), that they had originally said we should do AOS, but also that we were unqualified for AOS, according to what USCIS told me before my wife and i even got married... I asked him if I should just have my wife come back to the US and we should file for Adjustment of Status the way USCIS keeps saying, even though USCIS originally kept telling me that we would get in trouble for immigration fraud if she came into the country and tried to do that.

So now I'm waiting to hear back from him again. Any suggestions as to what i should do?? I would love if i could just tell my wife to come back, and that we don't have to be separated anymore... that we can just do AOS instead. But USCIS had originally told me that she couldn't enter the country to do AOS and try to stay. We've already wasted like 6 months trying to figure this out and get the case forwarded to NVC... I don't want to waste any more time. If we had just filed the I-824 in march, it might almost be done now, but i didn't because the USCIS people on the phone kept being so "understanding" and saying that it would be fixed/forwarded to NVC... grrr.

Thank you so much to people that sent private messages! It is very much appreciated.

Also, just bumping this in case anyone else that didn't see it yesterday might have other ideas suggestions.

Thank you again! And good luck to all.

My wife's I-130 was approved at CSC last March, however they didn't forward it to NVC because they thought that she was still in the country (for one question on the I-130, "Is the beneficiary currently in the country", we put yes because she was here for our wedding, however we also put the date that she was going back to Japan to wait for immigration)...

They said that we should apply for Adjustment of Status, or fill out an I-824 for further processing if we were going to apply from outside the country. However, i read that the I-824 could take a really long time (like, more than an extra half year), so I knew i didn't want to do that, and we were never qualified to just do AOS (which is why we got into the whole CR-1 path in the first place).. After going through a bunch of phone calls and letters and stuff, each time it seemed like they were going to fix the misunderstanding and forward the case to NVC (according to workers on the hotline, and supervisors at USCIS), but it never did. After signing up for an InfoPass meeting, the lady there confirmed that it was a mistake on the part of USCIS and our case should have been forwarded to NVC as soon as it was approved (we indicated on the I-130 that we were going to be processing in Japan).. But all she could suggest was to write another letter.. Still nothing. Finally, i wrote to my Congressman, and after waiting a long time, I finally got a response from him, saying that the response he received from USCIS was that we should apply for Adjustment of Status... I have since written a letter back, explaining (again, i had already explained it in much more detail than i have done here), that they had originally said we should do AOS, but also that we were unqualified for AOS, according to what USCIS told me before my wife and i even got married... I asked him if I should just have my wife come back to the US and we should file for Adjustment of Status the way USCIS keeps saying, even though USCIS originally kept telling me that we would get in trouble for immigration fraud if she came into the country and tried to do that.

So now I'm waiting to hear back from him again. Any suggestions as to what i should do?? I would love if i could just tell my wife to come back, and that we don't have to be separated anymore... that we can just do AOS instead. But USCIS had originally told me that she couldn't enter the country to do AOS and try to stay. We've already wasted like 6 months trying to figure this out and get the case forwarded to NVC... I don't want to waste any more time. If we had just filed the I-824 in march, it might almost be done now, but i didn't because the USCIS people on the phone kept being so "understanding" and saying that it would be fixed/forwarded to NVC... grrr.

Out of interest, have you called the NVC just to check if your case may have been forwarded?

Another touch on your case may mean they might have got their act together at last and forwarded you .... a touch after approval normally means your case is being closed at USCIS in preparation for forwarding to NVC

It's just a thought .... they may be able to help and advise you.

Thank you for the response! Yes, i have tried calling a few times, but it's still just "we have no record of your case" or whatever that message is... But yeah, right now, i am just hoping hoping hoping that that's what the last touch meant. Hopefully they actually read my letter and are busy passing my case along to NVC.

If that's not what it meant though... if my approved case is really still just dead in the water at USCIS, i dunno what to do. If I still haven't heard back or gotten any updates within the next two weeks or so, the only two choices that i can think of right now are (1) try writing to my congressman (as i've read of people doing before), or (2) quit my job and move to japan for a while... wait the six months, then try doing DCF. It's kind of an extreme fix, but i don't want to wait an extra half a year for an I-824 to process, just so that we can continue waiting the extra 2-3 (4?) months for NVC processing, then finally interview and everything..

Anyway, thanks again for the response! If anyone else has other ideas, aside from my two choices...

Thank you!

Ok... i don't know what to do. I've been stuck at the same place in the process for a while now. Please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

The I-130 for my wife's CR-1 was approved at CSC back in mid-March, however they weren't going to forward it to NVC because they believed that my wife was in the country (at the time that we filled out the forms, she was here on a 90-day visa-waiver program visitor status so we could get married--so that's what we had said on the "is the beneficiary currently in the US" question along with listing the expiration date of her 90-days, but we had also designated that she was going to apply from Osaka). They said she should apply for AOS since she was here, or if we decided to apply from outside the country, then we should file an I-824... However, she has been in Japan waiting since last December, and I found out that the I-824 can take a really long time to go through (they are currently working on ones from October, i was told). So, we really don't want to go through that long wait, just so that they can finally forward our case to the NVC...

After receiving this notice back in March, i went through a long series of adventures on the USCIS phone line with all the different people telling me different things, none of which worked out. Finally, i signed up for an info pass appointment. The lady there confirmed that it is not my fault, USCIS messed up and the case should have been forwarded to NVC right when it was approved because we indicated that we wanted it to be processed in OSAKA, Japan.. So, she told me i should send a letter with a copy of our I-130 and the approval notice to CSC. I did this as soon as the info pass appointment was finished (on May 5)... Then later, I received an envelope with everything i sent, along with a generic letter from USCIS saying that they have their web-service available for checking case status, or that i can call USCIS with any questions (and gave me the same useless phone number again...). This was postmarked May 12, but then on May 15th, we received a "touch" according to the website... Now it's been about 2 weeks since then. No real response from USCIS, except that i can call the hotline again (but it's been nothing but headaches and misinformation/lies every time i call them)... no updates. We've already lost over 2 months with our case stuck at USCIS when it should've been forwarded to NVC. I don't want to waste any more time.. What can i do??? Any suggestions?

Thank you very much!

Kel

Ok, a quick background...

we got our I-130 approval on march 19, but it said they weren't going to be forwarding it to NVC because "the applicant is in the US so you should file Adjustment of Status"... but my wife has been in Japan since December (she was here in the US when we were filing, but it was just on the 90-day tourist visa waiver program thing, so we wrote that she was here but the visa was expiring in December so she was going back to wait for the visa). We did this because i had called USCIS a bunch of times, and also read here that she would have to go back to Japan to wait and if she stayed here while waiting, then we would get in trouble.

Anyway, after receiving the approval notice with that message, i called USCIS to explain the situation and hopefully have the application sent to NVC.

The first time, i talked to a lady and she said i should send a fax (approval notice and cover letter with explanation) to the CSC office and it should be cleared up within a few days. I did that, waited a few days, no response, so i sent another one... Still no response, so i called back..

Second time, the lady told me she didn't know what that number was and they aren't supposed to give out numbers like that, then passed me on to a supervisor. The supervisor was really helpful, and after i explained the situation, he said he would put in paperwork to have it forwarded... He said i should have a response within 30 days, and gave me a confirmation number that i could call back with to check on the status.

So, i've been waiting almost 30 days already... I tried calling back a while ago, and basically USCIS said that the WTC confirmation # i had was an NVC #, so i should call them. After calling NVC, they said they don't use any WTC numbers, so it must be a USCIS thing... Was stuck with that...

Tried calling back today, and the USCIS guy said that they don't have any WTC numbers and he doesn't know what the "supervisor" guy was talking about. Also, he was saying my only option was to either file a I-824 to have the case forwarded to NVC (but that takes more money and more time--he said they are currently working on ones filed in October 2007, OMG no way... that's when we first filed the I-130)... or to file the I-485 Adjustment of Status... wait, huh?!?! He said that my wife never would've had to leave, even though she was here just on the 90-day tourist visa waiver program before, she could have just gotten married and we could have filed the AOS stuff... And he said even now, if she came to the US legally on a 90-day tourist visa waiver thing, we could just file the AOS with our approved I-130 and she wouldn't have to go back to japan.... Is this true???? She never actually had to go back to japan to wait in the first place???? And even now, she could come back on the visa waiver stuff and we could just file the AOS and she could stay here?? What about immigration fraud and stuff?

I don't know what to do... For one thing, what if the whole "supervisor" thing is actually real and no-one else on the "help-lines" really knows about it... Should i wait a few days just to make sure (still a few days shy of 30)?? Or does anyone know if there's a special place to call back with WTC numbers?

Or should i go home tonight and tell my wife to book a flight back to the US and hope that she enters ok with the visa waiver program?? Then try to do AOS??

So confused. Please if anyone has any ideas, let me know.

Thank you.

Hey there everyone!!

Quick question: are Japanese Police certificates for the entire country, or are they just for the local prefecture? Like, if my wife grew up in Osaka (until about age 18 (16+)), then lived in Tokyo for a while, and is now back in Osaka waiting for visa, does she just need one Police Certificate? or is she supposed to get one from Tokyo and one from Osaka?

Just wondering because of the "lived in a different part of their country of nationality for more than 6 months" part from the instructions on the site.

Also, would my wife probably be able to go down to the prefectural police station with just a copy of the NOA2 and her passport and request the Police Certificate? or does she really need to wait until the packets come from NVC?? Saw a few different stories, but was just unsure what we should do...

awwww, no one knows about WTC confirmation numbers? : (

well, heh... if anyone sees this within the next few days, please let me know!!

So, my wife's I-130 was approved in March, but there was something wrong and they weren't going to send the application to NVC because they thought she was going to apply for the visa here in US... So i called USCIS to clear it up, and the lady gave me a fax number and said to send the NOA2 with a cover letter explaining the situation and said it should be cleared up within a few days... then i waited a while and after getting no response, i tried sending again with a new cover letter, as well as the old cover letter and NOA2... still no response, so i called back and the lady i talked to that time told me that they aren't allowed to give out fax numbers and she couldn't confirm anything about fax numbers, then she actually let me talk to a supervisor.

The supervisor guy was really nice and really helpful, understood the issue immediately, and said that he would put in the paper work to forward our case to NVC like it should have been. He said it could take up to a month before i got a response, but he also gave me a "confirmation number" that he said i could call with at any time to check on the status.

So, that was a few weeks ago, and since i hadn't received any notification, i decided to try calling back with the confirmation number.

However, when i called USCIS, the lady told me that a WTC number is for NVC so i need to call NVC with the number... so next i tried calling NVC and after waiting a while, i got through to a customer service person, and she told me they don't have WTC numbers at NVC and she wasn't sure what the number was for...

Soooooo, i still have another week or so before the "within 30 days" that the USCIS supervisor told me is done... but i was just wondering, does anyone know where to call with a WTC number?? I am pretty sure it is for USCIS and the first lady i talked to today just didn't know... so also, which combination of numbers for the automated system gets through to the department that actually uses WTC??

Thanks everyone and, as always, good luck!!!!!!

Love will prevail!! also, Heavy Metal!!

take care.

oh, nah, all that stuff is fine... I researched all of this back in September before she came back to the US, when we were still planning and trying to figure out what to do (deciding whether to wait 6 months for K-1 then get married, or get married then wait for K-3 and do AOS, or get married and wait for CR-1). It is totally fine for foreigners to come to the country to get married, as long as they leave afterward. The issue is the "intent to immigrate" at POE, meaning coming in and staying. It is ok that we got married here, and only would've needed the K-1 if she was going to try to stay after we got married. But we decided that it would be better to just get married (here or in Japan), then both go back to our home countries to wait through the I-130 process. So it ended up that she came here on the 90-day visa (they didn't even ask her any questions at POE... there are so many Japanese tourists coming in every single day, so they barely check, even though she had all her paperwork showing that she was returning to Japan in December ready just in case), then we got married, got all the paperwork together for the I-130 and sent it, then had some time to wait together before she had to go back in December without staying past the 90-day expiration date.

Hrmmm, anyway... I think the problem was just that they saw the "beneficiary is in the US" part and thought she was still here (even though the visa expiration date was passed) so they thought we needed to do AOS. However, we never had the option of her doing AOS because we followed the legal route in order to avoid the immigration fraud problem.

Ok, soooo, i just got my NOA2 (Approval letter) for I-130 in the mail, which is of course a very good thing... However, on the bottom it says

"The above petition has been approved. The petition indicates that the person for whom you are petitioning is in the United States and will apply for Adjustment of Status," then talks about going to USCIS to get the AOS form... Of course we didn't say she was going to be applying for adjustment of status, that is why we were doing this whole I-130 process. However, when filling out the form, she WAS in the US on the 90-day tourist visa (visa waiver program) because she had come in early September so we could get married on September 28th, then she was going back in early December before the 90-days were up... So, for the question about "is the beneficiary in the US" and "when does the visa expire", we wrote that stuff. Since it clearly stated that the visa would expire in December, i don't know why they assumed that she was going to stick around in the US for the immigration stuff (isn't that illegal to stay over the expiration date?), plus she can't do AOS now (since she is outside the country) and couldn't even have done it back when she was here because she entered the US while we were planning to get married (intent to immigrate) so if she stayed and tried to adjust status, it would've been "immigration fraud", right??

Anyway... i dunno. I called the customer service number and explained to the lady and she said to fax a letter to the CSC. Hopefully it works out, but the lady said it might take a few extra days for them to sort it out before it gets sent (hopefully) to NVC.

Just wanted to let peeps know though... For anyone that happens to read this that is in the same situation while they are filling out I-130, be extra careful to be clear about the situation.

Kel

so, two years later, do all these shortcuts still apply and work correctly?? No big changes to the NVC system that would make these not work anymore?

Wooohooo!!!!!! I just posted this morning about being touched finally (first since January), then came back and checked after lunch and it says they sent APPROVAL NOTICE!!! yay!!! : )

Everyone else that's still waiting, yours will be there soon too!!!!

Good luck to everyone!

OMG, that just made my month... whew. :D

congrats!!! where did you file at CSC? or VSC? for i 130?

It was at CSC.

Wooohooo!!!!!! I just posted this morning about being touched finally (first since January), then came back and checked after lunch and it says they sent APPROVAL NOTICE!!! yay!!! : )

Everyone else that's still waiting, yours will be there soon too!!!!

Good luck to everyone!

OMG, that just made my month... whew. :D

Woohoo!! Touched!! First time since January. It's so good to see our group getting approvals and stuff finally. Congrats to everyone that has been approved, and a "we're almost there!!" to all the rest of us that are still waiting and checking every hour. Heh. And of course, GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!

Thanks!! Exactly what i was hoping for.

What is actually required to be sent with the DS-230?? On the guides, under "Pre-interview" stuff, it mentions the Of-230... is that the same thing?? (or a typo or something??)

I have sent our I-130 package, but want to make sure i have all the "supporting evidence" and documentation ready to send with the next packets... Does that list in the guides include pretty much everything we need for DS-230 and I-864 too?

Check out this page http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3176.html - select your embassy or consulate and it will give you details of everything you need to collect.

What is actually required to be sent with the DS-230?? On the guides, under "Pre-interview" stuff, it mentions the Of-230... is that the same thing?? (or a typo or something??)

I have sent our I-130 package, but want to make sure i have all the "supporting evidence" and documentation ready to send with the next packets... Does that list in the guides include pretty much everything we need for DS-230 and I-864 too?

hey! Yay October!! I'm filing this week! Our marriage certificate finally came in the mail yesterday, so i am finishing up getting everything together and planning to send it off to California within the next few days... Good luck everyone!

Kristy,

Heh, i went through the exact same thing too... and came to the same conclusion. After waiting soooo long, waiting an extra month or two (hopefully not three or four...), getting the CR-1, and avoiding all the AOS stuff afterward seems more worth it. I haven't seen an October CR-1 filers thread yet, but i'll be on it too!! Getting all the stuff ready right now and should be sending very sooooon.

Good luck!!

(And i hope gregg is right about CR-1 being about same as K-3 right now!! let's go CR-1!!!)

Kel

hrmmm, wow... haha, i thought i had my mind made up on the K-1 fiancee visa, but after checking the waiting time stuff for IR-1/CR-1, i'm not so sure again...

I had somewhat dismissed the IR-1/CR-1 earlier because i had checked the AVERAGE waiting time, which was like 420 days... the IR-1/CR-1 sounded pretty sweet because she would come in as a permanent resident AND able to work once it was done, but the waiting time looked too crazy. However, it says that the average time FOR JAPAN, between NOA2 and interview is only like 77 days!!! As opposed to the 175-300days for most other countries. So, average 13 days for I-130 to NOA1, average 107 days for NOA1 to NOA2, and then average (maybe) 77 days from then till the interview...

so, yep... I had made up my mind, decided to just go with the K-1 and start getting everything together so i could get the ball rolling... but now that i see that, i need to think some more. Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmm....

Hello all nihon filers!!

I am brand new to this site (just joined yesterday... have been reading stuff for the past 24 hours or so. hah).. anyway, just wanted to say hi to everyone. My girlfriend Tomoko and I are actually still in the pre-stages of the process: deciding which route to take...

She was here in Hawaii (flavorgreetea, what part of hawaii you from?!?) for the past 2 years on student visa and we were going out pretty much from the time she got here... then she was going to have to go back soon, but I proposed and she said yes! She is actually back in japan right now, and we are trying to decide if (1)we should do K-1 visa, (2)I should go there and get married, then come back and start K-3 visa, or (3)she should come here on tourist visa and we marry, then she go back and i start K-3 visa... I was thinking that it might be best to do K-1 visa because it looked like the waiting time would be the shortest, but i just noticed that the Japan part of the waiting time for IR-1/CR-1 is actually really short (right now it says 77days average, as opposed to 176-300 for most other countries).... anyway, still trying to figure it out... I asked on a different thread already and got some good responses/explanations, but any one have Japan-specific advice as to which one might be the best way???

thank you everyone very much for the ongoing discussion!

pushbrk, thank you for the posts! After seeing your posts all around the site, i was hoping that you would comment on mine... and you did! it is a little disheartening that what you had to say went in the opposite direction from what others were saying, but thank you still!!

Don't worry, i don't plan to go the "visa fraud" route.... although that was (unknowingly) our original plan, we don't really want to go through the risks... we want to do things right so there is less stress. Plus i'm a bad liar and don't have 5 years to waste in prison.

Anyway, here's where i'm at right now... i had originally read through all the guides (a few times each) and tons of posts before i decided to make my own post. But at the end of reading, not enough had stuck in my brain to really feel like i knew what i was doing (so i posted). Since then though, i have read through them countless more times and tried to kind of sum them up for myself...

1. K-1: I send in I-129F, we wait, she goes to interview, comes here gets married. Then AOS and other stuff. Average wait time to see eachother (based on current overall average FILING TO INTERVIEW processing times listed on this site): about 192 days, then flying time.

2. K-3: I go to Japan, get married, come back and file I-130. Wait. File I-129F. Wait. Probably the I-129F will go through first and she can come here, then do AOS and stuff. Current average estimated wait to see eachother: about 225 days, then flying time.

3. IR-1/CR-1: I go to Japan, get married, come back and file I-130. Wait a long time probably. Average right now on this site says 441 days... a really long time, but then once it's done she arrives here as a permanent resident, and able to work, so everything is pretty much done.

When I was talking to her last night, we kind of felt that her coming here for just the wedding might not work because she would have lots of trouble showing "proof" of her intent to return to japan at the end of her visit (she has been here going to school for the past two years... doesn't really have anything going on in japan right now. Her parents and sister are there, but she has no job, no house, no college or anything. So she couldn't bring any documented proof of her intent to return). However, i may be overthinking that a bit... like you said in your last comment, pushbrk, she could just say she was here for a friend's or family member's wedding... Plenty of people come here (especially from Japan to Hawaii) every single day. I don't think it would be that big of a problem.

Nonethelesss, i think we may go the K-1 route... I keep jumping back and forth (and I'm really sorry my posts keep ending up so long... i think i am really just trying to get my thoughts out and organized... bleh), but today I am kind of back on the K-1 visa route mentality again. The IR-1/CR-1 sounds good because everything would (pretty much) just be finished once it went through... But it's just so long to wait... Just waiting the 6-7 months for the K-1, and then bringing her here and going through everything else together... That just sounds the best right now. Fastest. Easiest. And we can do everything together once she arrives (gathering documents, planning, etc). So 6 months of doing our own thing and waiting around, talking on MSN at night time, missing eachother, (planning the wedding)... Then together from then on.

Still open to any other comments, but for now (today at least... or until i talk to her again tonight, at least), i think i'm kind of settling on the K-1 route.

Once again, thank you to everyone that helped me figure this out!!!!! Good luck to everyone!!!