Justin and Masako

Jennie-Ammar,

That is great news! Sorry I am so late in replying and your husband must be here by now. I hope everything went well with entry! I will update the timeline tomorrow if I have time. I think you were pretty much the last that we were tracking. Thanks for the update and enjoy your lives together!

Thanks for the responses all!

Oh, and sorry that I posted in the wrong forum!

Yurika & Jim, I will.

Hi all,

I have read through the I-751 guide ( http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;page=751guide ) about what we need to have when we file but my wife was wondering if we needed any documents from the Japanese government. I didn't see anything in the guide about it but I felt it would be a good idea to ask anyway. Are there any documents that she might need from her home country either to file the I-751 or to take to the interview? ( Birth Cert, tax records, etc. ) We want to know because she is back visiting family right now and it would be a good time to get them if they are needed.

Thank you for any replies!

おめでとございます！

Congratulations Chris&Kirara!

Well she passed the interview Monday She told me she had a very nice American lady and spoke English the whole time. She said she saw some people speaking Japanese. The lady asked her who (enter my name) was, and Kirara started giving her a bunch of information. She told them I was her fiance, where we met, how me met, how long we had, been together, etc. Then the lady asked were we would live at. Asked her, "isn't Arkansas in the middle of nowhere?" Asked how both of our familys felt about our engagement. Asked how I proposed. I think that was it..... Then the lady told her congratulations you are getting a visa. She told me that she saw the file that I made and the lady was looking through it. She wasn't asked to show any other proof, but she take a photo book from Snapfish, just incase they asked. We "practiced" a lot of questions, so she would feel more comfortable answering questions. Instead of giving one or two word answers, I tried to get her to volunteer a little bit of information. I reminded her not to lie, and tell them to repeat the question or tell them that you do not know. We are pretty "simple case" We dated for almost 4 years before I proposed and met through mutual friends at college. She didn't get there until 9:00 and had to wait about 3 hours all together. Thanks for all the advise!

I will have to tell her to look into the kijun kantokusho. She was reading something on the company website about possibly a fine for quiting early. She is a "national worker" or something like that. She talked to her boss' boss and he told her he would have to let her know later when she can quite. She wants to do the "right thing" and leave on good terms, but they are making it difficult for her.

Have to start prepairing for AOS now

My wife told her company that she would be moving to the US and would be quitting but she gave them a good 7 months of notice. Even then they wanted her to finish the year with them. Still she left under good circumstances. We are going back for New Years and she is staying thru January, she mentioned that to a friend who works in the same department she did (as she wanted to get together for dinner with her) and she was offered a short term (1 week) job during January to help with end of year accounting stuff. But from what I have heard from many others that isn't the most common place. I have heard a lot of horror stories about employment in Japan. Mostly having to do with foreign workers at Japanese companies but also heard a few about Japanese workers.

Thanks you two. My fiance is in a similar situation as osakalove's fiance. I have been telling her the same thing, but her boss is very degrading telling how childish and selfish that she is. It makes her start feeling guilty, but I have been telling here the same stuff as you and more. She finally went in and told them she might just stop showing up, but they were telling her they would call her and come to her house, blah, blah, blah and try to make her come back. She is starting to get more aggravated at them and starting to take the more "American Culture Approach".

Hi all!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I'm gonna propose in December when my girlfriend comes to visit me again. We want to get married in the end of summer, but neither of us know what to do about the visa...There's a guide on here, but I still think we'll get lost...I don't know what do at all!

You'll do ok. Read the guide through as many times as it takes and anything you have a question on has probably been answered somewhere here. Also don't be afraid to ask questions, even ones that seems silly. There is a lot of silly ( other words apply here too, but I'm being PG rated. ) things with immigration so there are plenty of really valid silly questions. The first thing you will want to decide is what type of VISA you are going to apply for, I-129 (Fiance) or I-130 (Spouse), as the type changes a lot of things including how long until you can be together.

Good luck and welcome to VJ!

Thanks Justin and Akiko! I had looked into Maui some because the person in charge of my local bank told me that was her favorite and it was beautiful, but they all look great. We decided on doing a small beach wedding since we won't have many people there.

Justin, was it hard getting a slot on short notice, or did you two plan way ahead allowing a lot of time to get the visa? Again thanks again everyone for the information!

Hi Chris & Kirara,

Sorry for my late reply.

We planned a few months ahead of time so it wasn't an issue but you can always call and ask. I think they have a scheduling calendar on their websites as well. We didn't have to get a Visa as Masako was returning to Japan after our wedding so that we could apply for the I-130. Japan is a visa waiver country so we didn't have to apply for one for her to come visit.

You will want to schedule with someone there to get your marriage license at least a couple weeks before so that you know you can get it taken care of before your wedding.

I'll try to hop on VJ more often if you have more questions.

My fiancee and I are are planning our wedding already too. We are wanting to do a destination wedding in Hawaii. I have a large extended family, but only 10-15 people will be in Hawaii because of the financial burden that it would place on them to fly out there. I was shocked when I saw that it takes two months to get a wedding certificate. I was getting a little depressed because I wanted to start the AOS as soon as possible and I didn't want to have to wait that long to put her on my work insurance, etc. The expedite process is a live saver, but it looks like it is their way to make a little extra money from all the weddings out there.

Akiko and others from or been to Hawaii, any suggestions as far as which island, hotels, or wedding planners? I have never been to Hawaii before.

Also it looks like we MIGHT be getting our NOA2 sooner than expected. So we started looking into the stuff for the Tokyo embassy. It looks fairly simple compared to what some other members are needing for their interviews. I was also reading that it was a very easy embassy. Do we have to wait for her to receive the packet from the embassy before she gets the police reports and medical exam? Any idea how long the current waiting list is for an interview? Is it over a month?

Hi Chris & Kirara,

Masako and I got married in Hawaii. We needed to get the certificate faster and we accomplished that by calling the office of Health and Human Services I think. I will look it up. We were married in Kauai and used this service: http://www.kauaiislandweddings.com/ They were very easy and accommodating to work with and we also stayed at a little Inn that they manage: http://www.kauaicountryinn.com/ Mike and his wife were both great to work with and we enjoyed the stay very much. I highly recommend both the wedding packages and the Inn. Just remember if you call to look up what time it is in Hawaii. They were always easy to get a hold of and easy to work with. I wouldn't mind staying at the Inn again, though it doesn't have an ocean view, it was nice and comfortable.

I will try to find who I called to move things along with the certificate and post that info as well.

Thanks Gary! That's reassuring.

So do you think at any point in the process it will become an issue? I guess maybe just after she receives the Visa and comes here we will need to go to the Social Security office and apply for a new card (with the same number as previously issued)?

No. Except that she will need eventually to find that number, she will not get a new one, they are issued for life. an SSN is not required for the AOS, but it is required for such things as bank accounts, insurance policies, etc. I would imagine the SSA can look it up for her. When she arrives you can go to an SS office and show her ID and they can get the number for you. Until then it really is not an issue or material importance. The card isn't even so important, I lost mine decades ago and haven't needed it yet. Alla put hers in her document folder and hasn't needed it since. The number is the important thing.

For some reason the Wisconsin DMV requires the card to issue an original license. So you might need to order a replacement card at some point for something. But Gary and Alla are right, the number is going to be used far more often then the card.

Hi everyone!

Just dropping in to say hello. We have finished our packet 3 requirements and have an interview coming up on 2-Nov. I am going to visit her in Japan during this time. Won't be attending the interview of course, just going for the emotional support. Hope everything goes smoothly! I'll be so relieved when we have that visa in hand.

I have been reading some of the embassy reviews for Tokyo, and most seem to be very quick and easy.

Best of luck to all!

Regards,

Deryck

Deryck and Miho,

Glad to hear things are moving along for you!

I second what vny said. I would accompany her to the interview. I went with my wife and, though they asked if I knew that I didn't have to be there, I believed it may have contributed to things going as smoothly as they did. We had to wait a bit between visits to the counter but we were never asked any unusual questions and the counter visits went really quickly. If you want to know more look up my time line and you can read about our experience. Also as vny said, get there early. There will be a long line.

Good luck! I'm sure everything will go just fine!

Any more progress Jennie-Ammar? Or anyone else?

Still in AP...

Man that sucks!

Have you tried talking to your congress critter? We weren't in AP but it did help move things along for us. Might be something to try. Or a senator or the USCIS ombundsman (spelled wrong I'm sure) or even try writing to Obama. Couldn't hurt.

Good luck to you. And let us know what happens.

Hi all! Glad to see things are moving along for everyone!

Just wanted to stop in and say hi. Glad to see lots of new posters in here.

Next year we get to do the removal of conditions. It will be nice to have all of this done with, at least for 10 years.

I saw that a couple of you are from Hawaii. How is the job market down there these days? My wife would love to live there someday so I'm always keeping an eye out.

My wife found places online to watch through VEOH and Keyhole TV as well. She is able to watch some Osaka shows now which makes her happy as well.

Any more progress Jennie-Ammar? Or anyone else?

AP for us

Bummer!

I hope you will be back on your way soon!

Hi all!

I haven't posted in a while so I just wanted to stop in and say hi!

Anymore updates to be added?

We just got TV Japan and my wife is really liking it. We got it through Dish Network and I paid for the equipment up front ($149) so that we could avoid a contract if she didn't like it. We only got TV Japan so our monthly is about $31. Its pricy for a single channel (actually there are others included, but we only watch TV Japan) but its worth it to make my wife more comfortable.

Thanks Uncle Wally!

Hi all,

I was wondering what options there were for Japanese TV programing in the US? I know about TV Japan ( http://www.tvjapan.net/en/ ) but are there any others? I also know about a couple of the websites like Veoh that offer some Japanese content but we looking for more options like TV Japan. Also has anyone watched TV Japan? Is the programming fairly good?

Thanks,

Quiet around here lately. I know everyone must be busy with life, including me, but since I had a moment I thought I would just post a little question for purely curiosities sake.

How often does your Japanese spouse visit (or plan to visit) Japan and for how long?

My wife went back because of some health problems with her father, she left Feb. 25th and will return May 11th. We were planning a trip of April 2nd to May 11th but as I said, health problems moved it up. We had always been planning two trips a year, 1 for a month at new years and 1 for a week or two in the summer some time, maybe August.

How about you?

Updated: March 24th, 2009

Updated: Jennie-Ammar (Int. Date), rgb404 (New, All)

Member Name ------ I-130 Sent ------- NOA1 Gen ------- NOA2 Gen ------- NVC Rec ------- AoS Bill Pd ------- I-864 Rec ------- * NONE * ------- NVC Comp ------- Int. Date ------- Emb. Rec ------- Approved

---------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- DS-3032 Rec ------- IV Bill Pd ------- DS-230 Rec

desiboy2k4 ---------- 12/03/07 ------- 01/29/08 ------- 04/23/08 ------- 04/29/08 ------- 05/05/08 ------- 05/10/08 ------- *NONE* ------- 06/06/08 ------- 07/14/08 ------- Unknown ------- 07/14/08

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 05/05/08 ------- 05/18/08 ------- Unknown

Leedah --------------- 12/11/07 ------- 02/05/08 ------- 07/28/08 ------- 08/05/08 ------- Unknown ------- 10/08/08 ------- *NONE* ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- Unknown ------- Unknown ------- 10/13/08

Desilu ---------------- 12/14/07 ------- 01/31/08 ------- 08/25/08 ------- 08/28/08 ------- 09/10/08 ------- 09/15/08 ------- *NONE* ------- 10/09/08 ------- 12/11/08 ------- Unknown ------- 12/11/08

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 09/16/08 ------- 09/17/08 ------- 09/18/08

Jawswinger ----------- 12/20/07 ------- 02/19/08 ------- 04/11/08 ------- 05/05/08 ------- 05/16/08 ------- 06/11/08 ------- *NONE* ------- 07/24/08 ------- 09/22/08 ------- Unknown ------- 09/22/08

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 05/22/08 ------- 06/11/08 ------- 07/01/08

j.debonis ------------- 12/20/07 ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- *NONE* ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

Justin & Masako ---- 12/24/07 ------- 02/11/08 ------- 03/28/08 ------- 04/15/08 ------- 04/30/08 ------- 05/23/08 ------- *NONE* ------- 07/09/08 ------- 08/11/08 ------- Unknown ------- 08/11/08

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 05/16/08 ------- 05/20/08 ------- 06/30/08

Martiniolive ---------- 12/24/07 ------- 02/04/08 ------- 04/18/08 ------- 04/30/08 ------- 05/16/08 ------- 05/12/08 ------- *NONE* ------- 07/22/08 ------- 09/29/08 ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 06/03/08 ------- 06/08/08 ------- 05/12/08

Amastar ------------- 12/24/07 ------- 02/13/08 ------- 05/01/08 ------- 05/06/08 ------- 06/04/08 ------- Unknown ------- *NONE* ------- 07/11/08 ------- 09/29/08 ------- Unknown ------- 09/29/08

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 05/15/08 ------- 06/30/08 ------- Unknown

ulfie2001 ------------ 12/08/07 ------- 02/04/08 ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- *NONE* ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

htownboy25 -------- 12/30/07 ------- 02/07/08 ------- 11/18/08 ------- Unknown ------- 12/14/08 ------- 12/21/08 ------- *NONE* ------- 01/12/09 ------- 02/02/09 ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 12/21/08 ------- 12/26/08 ------- 12/29/08

Member Name ------ I-130 Sent ------- NOA1 Gen ------- NOA2 Gen ------- NVC Rec ------- AoS Bill Pd ------- I-864 Rec ------- * NONE * ------- NVC Comp ------- Int. Date ------- Emb. Rec ------- Approved

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- DS-3032 Rec ------- IV Bill Pd ------- DS-230 Rec

esquivias ------------ 12/14/07 ------- 02/08/08 ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- *NONE* ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

---------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

Edward&Denise -----12/26/07 ------- 02/06/08 ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- *NONE* ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

Jennie-Ammar ------ 12/21/07 ------- 02/4/08 ------- Unknown ------- 02/21/08 ------- 12/17/08 ------- 01/16/09 ------- *NONE* ------- Unknown ------- 04/27/09------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 12/08/08 ------- 01/20/09 ------- Unknown

Mike and Viena ------12/20/07 ------- 02/08/08 ------- Switched to K-3

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- Switched to K-3

Ted and Emma ------ 12/16/07 ------- 02/04/08 ------- 04/11/08 ------- 04/22/08 ------- 05/16/08 ------- Unknown ------- *NONE* ------- 07/17/08 ------- 09/02/08 ------- Unknown ------- 09/02/08

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- Unknown ------- 05/23/08 ------- Unknown

iceman33 ------------ 12/30/07 ------- 02/06/08 ------- 05/02/08 ------- 05/07/08 ------- 05/13/08 ------- 06/04/08 ------- *NONE* ------- 06/11/08 ------- 08/11/08 ------- Unknown ------- 08/11/08

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 05/09/08 ------- 05/13/08 ------- Unknown

Ilya R. ---------------- 12/13/07 ------- 02/02/08 ------- 08/28/08 ------- 09/05/08 ------- 09/11/08 ------- 09/16/08 ------- *NONE* ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 09/11/08 ------- 09/17/08 ------- ??/??/??

aalam2 --------------- 12/23/07 ------- 02/04/08 ------- 04/17/08 ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- *NONE* ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/?? ------- ??/??/??

ed_and_sue --------- 12/21/07 ------- 02/04/08 ------- 04/04/08 ------- 04/15/08 ------- Switched to K-3

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- Switched to K-3

prashp1 -------------- 12/11/07 ------- 01/03/08 ------- 06/13/08 ------- 06/18/08 ------- 06/25/08 ------- 06/27/08 ------- *NONE* ------- 08/14/08 ------- 10/24/08 ------- 09/19/08 ------- 10/24/08

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 06/23/08 ------- 07/13/08 ------- 07/15/08

rgb404 --------------- 12/14/07 ------- 02/06/08 ------- 07/05/08 ------- 07/07/08 ------- 07/15/08 ------- 08/04/08 ------- * NONE * ------- 10/18/08 ------- 11/26/08 ------- Unknown ------- 02/23/09

--------------------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- * NONE * ------- 07/23/08 ------- 08/22/08 ------- 08/20/08

Jennie-Ammar, Best of luck on the interview!

rgb404, Thanks for popping in and letting us know. I added you to the list for comparison, let me know if any of the dates are wrong.

Is there anyone else with updates for the list?

Thanks,

Sorry I haven't updated the timeline yet. Life got busy for me almost immediately after my last post. I will update it for both of you tonight.

Sorry again,

My Hubby got a e-mail yesterday from the NVC, he has his interview April 27. I cant believe it... finally. Im so excited!!!

Thats great news!

I will update the timeline tonight.