redglasses

Just past medical history. At Tokyo British Clinic, a nurse asks you if you had certain diseases/disorders in the past. You will just need to answer yes/no to the questions. Mine took about 30 minutes in total.

Congratulations

I believe US citizens are supposed to file taxes no matter where they are living...I read that somewhere in the IRS's 300 page guide but unfortunately can't remember where (probably b/c it was 300 pages long!!). If you do a search here I think you'll see others say the same.

It must be IRS Publication 54.

Yes, you need to file tax returns no matter where you live as long as you are a US citizen or a permanent resident.

US taxes are subject to worldwide income.

what's the word with the PCC?

Police Clearace Certificate

We call it police certificate in Japan, but I guess it is called police clearace certificate in some other countries. I often see the word used in other forums.

Hi everyone, not sure if this the right forum but here goes. My gf is aiming to come over from Japan to the US on a K-1 visa. We received the NOA2 on 8/2 and she's at the point where she's almost ready to schedule an interview at the embassy in Japan. However her 1-year stay in Canada is still requiring her to get a Canadian police certificate according to the checklist. Unfortunately we didn't plan ahead for this, and now we're not sure we can get this in time, as I've read of a 120 day processing time for applicants outside of Canada looking to get this certificate. The standard way is for her to get fingerprints done in Japan, then to send the prints and her request to some office in Canada. I was hoping to see if anyone out there has had to deal with this problem and whether they found a way to either get this done quicker than the 120 day turnaround time (outside of getting on a plane and doing it in person in Canada) or whether it's possible to work around getting it done at all. I'm really open to suggestions and appreciate any advice anyone can give. This site has helped me a lot up until now, so I was just hoping someone out there might have any experience with this too. Thank you everyone for all the past help as well as anything anyone can provide here.

osaka2nj

This digital fingerprinting sounds a lot faster than the snail mail process for PCC from Canada.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/223382-digital-fingerprinting-for-those-who-have-lived-in-canada-but-currently-do-not/

Congrats!

We had the same situation. My husband (USC) returned to the US a month before my final interview and moved to a different place from what was listed on all of the immigration papers, but we didn't report the address change to the embassy. Instead, we filed I-865 (sponsor's address change) after I had moved to the US. As long as your wife provides the right address you will live at in the US at the time of her final interview, USCIS will mail her GC to the address regardless of the addresses listed on the I-130, G-325, DS-230, etc.

Thank you so much! I see on your timeline that you waited almost a year to have the final interview. How long can you wait after the I-130 is approved before you do the interview?

Thanks again.

An approved I-130 expires in a year. However, the embassy can keep your case active indefinitely if you contact them at least once a year. Here is the embassy's answer to your question. Hope it helps. http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-ivfaq.html#faq3

I was wondering about the residence requirements to do DCF in Tokyo. I am wanting to obtain a US spousal visa for my husband who is a Japanese national. I was under the impression that you had to reside at least 6 months in Japan in order to do the DCF filing. I have been living in Japan for almost 1 1/2 years with my husband but have returned home to a few time for visits (Christmas, summer break). I came back to Japan in July from a trip and will be going out of the country again in Oct. for a wedding. Does this mean I have to live a continuous, 6 month time period in Japan with no trips abroad, or does it mean just have residence (Japan spousal visa, foreign registration card, work, etc). I have a friend in a similar situation and she said that you have to be in Japan for 6 months and not travel abroad. I'm really confused now. Please help!

Thanks so much!

J.T.

As long as you have a legal resident status in Japan more than 6 months, you are qualified for DCF.

My husband had visited his family back in the US a few months before he petitioned I-130 at the US embassy Tokyo, but it didn't raise a flag at all.

Good luck!

It depends on the interviewer. Some ask you which language you prefer, and the others don't.

My interviewer (White American officer) started off in Japanese without asking me which language I prefer, but switched to English as soon as he realized I speak decent English.

They ask you pretty straightforward questions like how you met your fiancee, how the relationship has developed, names of your fiancee's family members, etc..

If he doesn't have any problem communicating with you in English, he would likely to have no problem at the interview.

Good luck!

Ditto to Jim.

I am guessing the Japanese police certificate is written in English because the envelop indicates it is specifically for the US embassy.

Whether my guess is right or not, it doesn't need to be translated.

I translated my birth certificate myself, but it didn't raise a red flag.

Congrats!

Congrats!

computer specialist

Yes, the US embassy website in Pakistan is the best source for the information you need.

As for fees, you need to pay $355 at the time of your I-130 petition and $404 at the beneficiary interview.

Hi,

You don't have to provide the number to the embassy. They will assign you a new A number upon approval. I also had an A number and didn't provide it on my immigration papers, but I faced no problem during the whole visa process. Good luck!

The place of residence doesn't matter.

You will get a 10-year GC when you are married to a USC more than 2 years.

Cape Town

If you are going to Canada, you don't need a tourist visa as long as you have a GC.

I would call them now to see if there is any wait for the interview. It is best to set up an interview after you have all papers, but you could collect them while you are waiting for the interview if there is, let's say, a month wait.

At the interview, you will need to pay the visa application fee and security fee, which are $400 in total until July 12, 2010. Yes, the new fee schedule will be effective on July 13, 2010. It's not a big difference for IR1/CR1, though. It's $404 in total. Here is the announcement from DOS : http://www.travel.state.gov/news/news_5078.html

It's too bad you are not free from this VJ hassle even after the approval.

At least you know that you are approved and that your visa is on its way (kind of).

Congratulations!

Congrats! Hope you will get the hard copy soon.

Milk allergy

NOA is a form I-797C, which comes in the mail.

Congratulations!!!