Tyrant150

Having the same issue right now as well. Trying to pay the immigrant fee. Embassy suggests I pay this before flying out (flight is in 5 days) so I really hope they get it together before then. Absurd that they have no alternative methods to handle this, absolutely no email to get support, and not even a phone number you can call from outside the U.S. (even if you DO call from within the U.S., you're just dealing with an A.I. receptionist..)

I got the email for the DS-260 on 11/22, one day after the last update. Immediately filled it out and called the designated hospital to make an appointment. Turns out it takes a few days to register the DS-260 in the system, so I called back on 11/25 and managed to get an appointment for her medical exam on 11/30. The results take about a week to be processed and they go directly to the embassy so no worries about them getting lost in transit. In the meantime we headed to the prefectural police station and requested the police certificate. We go back on 12/5 to collect this. Also got extremely lucky and snagged an interview time for her at the embassy on 12/11. Somehow some way, it looks like everything will come together within a few days of each other. Assuming everything goes well with her interview, we should have her visa ready to go just before our flight out of here on 12/20. Crazy that about a month ago I was panicking about all of this, and it all just worked out. Particularly in thanks to @Crazy Cat, who told me about direct filing literally moments before I submitted online. Feels like we pulled off the heist of the century or something. Will post a final update once everything goes through and we are (ideally) at home in America.

Okay, we went to the Embassy in Akasaka yesterday and turned in our forms. The request has been put through! Now the hard part is over, we just need to hope we can finish everything else in time. We are now waiting on an email that says our I-130 submission has gone through so I can fill out a DS-260 online. Once I have submitted the DS-260, I will be allowed to make a reservation for my wife's medical examination. We will also be able to head to the prefectural police station, where we can get something called a 'police certificate' once I submit the DS-260. Those two documents (medical exam result and police certificate) seem to be the last two pieces of the puzzle. Once we have those documents, we can schedule an interview for her at the Embassy. We should get our result that same day. We have 29 days until we are supposed to fly to America. Not entirely confident we can finish all of this in time, but I am going to do everything as fast as I possibly can! Any advice is appreciated!

Well, I may have hit a snag again. I was under the impression that since I wasn't making any income in the states, I wouldn't need to file taxes in the US. Apparently this is not the case, and I have no IRS tax statements to show on the I-864. I can provide my Japanese tax statements but something tells me that will not be enough. Questions for users from the US in particular: Our reservation at the embassy is in 2 weeks. Is this enough time to back file and get that information ready? Is there any chance the I-864 would be accepted without US tax statements? Am I totally out of options here, forced to wait?

This past month I received a job offer for a great opportunity in my home state. The start date is January 2nd. I figured since my Japanese partner was legally married to me it would be no big deal to just get her a temporary visa while we wait for the i-130 (just submitted this today) to go through and get her a green card. I am quickly realizing I may have messed up by being so confident. Is there any route to take here? I cannot leave my wife behind in Japan while I go work this job. What are my options?