handor

Quick note from me: Not a problem at all with the fiancee's entry on the VWP. Entered at MSP, wasn't asked for any kind of evidence or anything. What a relief! Now, if she could just get over the jetlag...

So, I take it from the silence following the last update on this that everything went well? I hope so! My fiancée is coming on Sunday (come on, MSP, don't let us down!)-- fingers are fully crossed!

My income fell into three categories: income earned from a foreign organization (which ended in August 2007), then 1099 (Schedule C self employment) income and subsequently W2 (salaried) income from a single company (in other words, I worked a contract for this company until I was hired by them in November). about $27k of my income (including about 60% of my contract income from this US source) was deducted from my taxable income above line 22 on the 1040.

Currently, I have a $67k/yr salary as a permanent employee with that same employer. This has been the case for about 6 months. By the time I need to submit my I-134, that will be closer to a year. I can verify that number with a letter from them, of course, as well as showing my paystubs.

Naturally, last year's foreign income won't continue this year, but anyone who changed jobs would be in the same situation. The difference is, in their case, that income will still show up on line 22 and in their AGI, whereas mine does not. That's the part that makes a judgment based on line 22 of the tax return silly and unfair.

Hopefully, if my most recent paystub shows that I have earned, say, double the 125% number year-to-date when I submit my I-134, that will be enough.

Ugh, I just went back and checked my records.

125% of the poverty line for two people seems to be about $17350. But line 22 of my 1040 is only $15,200 or so. In order to see my real income situation, you have to add lines 7 and 12 ($43k total). The difference is because I was out of the country for 2/3 of 2007 and the income earned there was excluded. Do you think that they'll read a letter of explanation if I provide one?

I really don't want to have to line up a third party sponsor if I can help it. This process is intrusive enough on me and my fiancee as it is. What I can show is that I've probably earned more than the 125% level already this year, which will show on my pay stubs... I hope that's enough. Sigh.

Sure, but the same thing applies to any job change at all, not merely an international one. In my case, I have already returned from abroad and am currently in the US working at a job I intend to keep and use to support my bride-to-be. Assuming the paystubs and letter from the employer are solid, then, would you say I shouldn't worry about a very misleadingly low AGI on a previous year's tax returns? Or should I be prepared to send extra evidence (an explanatory letter or something)? I'd rather not be denied and put into AP because of this...

Minimum wage varies by state (federal: $5.85 until July). The national poverty line varies by circumstance but stands at $13,884 for a couple under 65 years of age with no children.

I just really hope that my income of 3-4 times the poverty level doesn't get second-guessed on the basis of too narrow a focus on AGI. Groan...

Wait, wait... They look at AGI? Why?? In my case, my AGI was only about $10,000 because I had a significant amount of income subject to the foreign income exclusion.

In other words, $30k wages plus $13k Schedule C business income, for a total of $43k actual income, with $27k of that excluded because it was earned while overseas. That, plus the fact that I will have a letter documenting my current salary in the $60k's.

And yet, does this mean I may not meet the criteria for I-134??

Bump? Any advice on changing an address which seems to get the job done? I'd just change it online if that were an option, but I don't want to deal with calling them or sending additional forms unless it seems like it might be a problem. I guess it's also possible that there'd be some delivery problem with an incorrect postal code under some scenario I haven't encountered yet...

Congrats on both the imminent arrival of your wife and the news about your child! Best wishes, and please do post a note saying how things went after the fact!

Yeah, it's quite windy in the Cities here today, too. That takes a little of the sting out of the whole not-having-a-grill pain on what would otherwise be a nice chance to eat outside.

Let's see, at 2 1/2 hours you must not be too far from the Hayward Area. I haven't been up there yet myself (except on my way to the Apostle Islands) but I've heard about the snowmobiling up there all winter from a coworker. Sounds like a nice area!

Waiting on the NVC sounds bad, but I'm waiting on CSC, which doesn't sound much better. I guess that's what we signed up for, though.... Anyway, good luck with it!

You saw my reply in your other thread about this, didn't you? They're just telling you that based on the CSC processing times reports, I'm almost certain. There are no guarantees, but it's highly unlikely that it will take as long as that. They told you that on the basis of a September 9 processing date, but if you look at Igor's list, they're already processing some Nov/Dec applications.

So you could get yours within weeks (although it could also, possibly, be a lot longer than that-- you can never tell). But don't do anything rash based on an 85 day figure.

Wow, TimJ, is your local office Saint Paul as in MN? Looks like Justin's, too? Anyone else?

Among the (relatively) few America-Japan VJ couples active at the moment, I'm a little surprised at the concentration of Midwesterners. I'm currently at my office in Saint Paul-- lovely weather we're having here. Time for a barbecue...

Of course it'll probably snow again in a day or two. Oh well!

Don't sweat it. September 9 (current processing timeframe as per CSC publications) plus 85 (days they told you) = Dec 3 (day before your reported NOA1). I don't think it's a secret what they were using as a basis to give you that number.

If you just got married and she's in the US, I don't even think she'll need a K-3. You might be able to proceed directly to AOS so that she can get her green card. As long as it's sufficiently clear that she didn't sign up for the student visa just so she could come and marry you and live here, I should think your case will be pretty simple.

Though, ah, I am not an immigration lawyer...

Again, my intention would not be to move there, nor is it hers. A visa in itself, of course, doesn't do anything except serve as a document at the port of entry. But I would like the freedom to enter the country and conduct professional activities there without needing to worry about my status as an alien.

I guess the way to think of it is, she'll still be a Japanese citizen, but with her green card she'll have freedom to come and go-- and work-- as she pleases. Although we will have our permanent residence here, I would like to facilitate my entry there. Also, isn't it possible that we may want to own assets in both countries in the future, whether those be bank accounts in my name or property?

I understand it's a complex situation, but intuitively (ha! a nice word-- I'm not sure it has any meaning in the visa world) it seems like there should be some way to do it. The idea of being a perpetual tourist there despite having half my life there... well, it kind of rankles.

I'm the USC half of our I-129F petition. I hope that our case is processed and resolved quickly, but in the meantime I'm thinking about the next steps and evaluating some options for each. This is a ways out, but I'm hoping someone can offer some advice.

My fiancee is Japanese, and I have spent a fair amount of time in Japan in matters both in the context of our relationship and independently. After our K1 is approved, we plan to marry in the US (of course) and live here indefinitely.

Now, if possible, I would like to obtain a Japanese spousal visa after we are married, despite living in the US permanently. We will also be traveling back to Japan rather often (as long as we can afford it). Also, more importantly, I am considering trying to do some small business in Japan. I am a software developer by trade and may have both the software and the professional contacts to carry on a small operation without the overhead of establishing a full international company. A standing visa would not be the only barrier to overcome, but it would certainly be one item off the list. In the near future, most of my visits will be social (i.e. touristy), but I wouldn't want to have problems if I have the opportunity to conduct some business on the side.

What I see online seems mostly to pertain to people who are moving to Japan permanently. Does anyone have any experience with this? Am I simply out of luck, or do you suppose there's something we can do? Thanks!

I have a related question, but it's a bit different: I made a very small mistake on my Japanese fiance's address on the 129F. The last two digits of the postal code are ~39 but I wrote them as ~59.

(Actually, we've been together for over 3 years, and all along I've thought it was the latter and used it as such to send packages and things, which have in fact arrived there. Only when I sent her a copy of the application packet did I learn I'd been wrong all along... yikes. But an online address verifier silently cleaned it up without protest, so it doesn't seem like a big impediment.)

So, since this is an actual error and may not match up if/when she submits other official documents, should I be worried about this? It's almost something that seems too small to matter, but I don't want it to be a sticking point at the last moment if we can get it changed without undue delay. Any advice?

Please do! My fiancee will be coming in early May, so your experience may provide some insight into what I should expect.

What will her POE be? DFW? I'm a little uneasy, simply because my fiancee's had some minor holdups in the past at MSP (though once was our fault: somehow I failed to make sure she knew my address here, which made them pretty suspicious). Hopefully it all goes smoothly next time, for both of us. Fingers crossed!

I'd just send email or call the closest match. Even if they can't help you themselves, they might know someone who can. I've had to deal with the same thing to try to locate Japanese/English bilingual clergy in the Catholic Church-- it's a harder prospect than I'd thought. In my case, I may need to investigate inviting candidates from Japan....

I don't know much about the specifics of the situation in Vietnam-- I understand that they supposedly enjoy religious freedom, but that the reality is a bit less rosy. Anyway, if you can find a group that operates in the country, or has some other ties to the country, you might be able to track down someone to help you that way.

All this might be more work than you want to put in, but for those who take the religious angle pretty seriously (as I do), I think some creativity is required.

Yes, exactly. Especially, if the ticket you plan to buy is nonrefundable, be sure the document shows the fare basis (which should indicate the fact). If you have a paper ticket, send a copy of that, too. Basically, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for you to go over there if she wants to be with you badly enough to sneak into the country, and it raises the financial loss if she decides to miss her flight home. And again, this also gives credible reasons for additional evidence (hotel rooms, tour reservations, anything in her name really) that would corroborate her return.

On the other hand, you should also be careful that she's not trying to fly home too close to her due date. Remember, even if they believe she intends to go home as planned, they might be nervous if there's any indication at all that she might give birth before she leaves. You should also confirm that the airlines will be OK with her flying at whatever stage she is in her pregnancy. I don't know any of the rules, but I've heard that people in advanced stages may be discouraged (prevented?) from boarding.

One thing I'm thinking about in advance for when my own fiancee comes to visit: if you have the money (or enough credit in a mileage program), why not schedule your next trip out to meet her before she gets here? If there were a way to get your Japan-bound trip to be on the same airplane as hers, that'd be ideal, but even if not, having a (nonrefundable?) ticket to run over and visit her might look good.

That would also give you a chance to book a hotel (in her name) or make other plans that lend weight to her intention to return.

I don't know if anyone else has tried this in the past (if so, please let me know!) but it seems like it would certainly make a good impression and constitute circumstantial evidence of plans for her to return.

First, doesn't your fiancee already have some ideas about this? If she's Japanese, she can probably do better than I. That said, here's a stab at it.

I'm not an expert (being the American half of my K1 situation), but I do know my way around a fair amount of kanji. My guess is that the closest you could get would be by piecing together a JO or JOU, ON, and ZU.

It's made a bit more difficult because Japanese surnames use the KUNYOMI of kanji somewhat more than the Chinese ONYOMI. This makes the selection process a bit more difficult. Here's one possible formulation which gets close:

浄 JOU (onyomi) pure; clean.

奥 ON (onyomi) heart; interior.

津 ZU (kunyomi) port, harbor.

Perhaps better is to take a looser construction, which might make it sound slightly more authentically Japanese. Again, I'm no expert, but you could go with JO(U)-AN-ZU. In that case, you could take a real Japanese name JOU-AN and tack on 津 (ZU), which is frequently encountered in names. Here are a couple I'd recommend looking at:

1. 常安: You can find this on the web in name combinations 常安橋 JOUAN-BASHI and 常安寺 JOUAN-JI.

2. 浄安: This one also exists online, particularly in combination as 浄安寺 JOUAN-JI.

The full name would become:

1. 常安津 - Means something like "Port of continual peace/tranquility"

2. 浄安津 - Means something like "Port of pure (in the sense of clean) peace/tranquility"

Note that the translations are rough, and I wouldn't expect the meaning to be an enormous factor. After all, lots of Japanese surnames have meanings like "Dog Mountain" or "Black River".

Good luck!

As for phone cards, I use and highly recommend Brastel for anyone. My fiancee and I use it whether calling from Japan to the USA or vice versa. Once you have a card, it's rechargeable, can be registered for use with certain phone numbers to avoid having to enter an access code, and has rates that are just about as good as I've found with any other services.

The quality is almost always very good. There was a week or so last year which shook my faith, but aside from that it's been perfect nearly every time. (Note: It does use IP as a transport mechanism, but I've hardly ever been able to tell the difference.)