TRanger

My fiancee, while she knows English well, was more comfortable speaking in Japanese during her K-1 interview. Early in the interview the CO asked her if she would rather speak Japanese and the remainder of the interview was conducted that way.

My fiancee and I traveled to Tokyo together and met up with a fellow VJ'er on Monday. They were both approved for a K-1 Visa on Tuesday. This website was instrumental in helping us through the process and helped us find a friend in the same boat as us. Misery does indeed love company.

Special thanks to TokyoBelle for the excellent embassy review with detailed, useful information and responding to all of my annoying questions. Also thanks to pushbrk for a voice of logic when things looked grim.

Oh, and we're not done yet... we'll be relying on the this site to help us through the remainder of the process.

Thanks!

Congratulations!

Just be sure she doesn't return to the Philippines before heading to the US or she may get stuck in the Philippines. She she is found trying to leave the Philippines with a US Immigrant Visa (K-1 is dual intent) then she will need CFO Clearance which they will not issue to a K-1 holder who is still married in the Philippines.

Not an issue, we will be on a US-bound flight in a matter of days. (I took a risk and bought her ticket before getting the Visa). We both want to visit the Philippines, and thanks to this website, are aware of the situation you mentioned. I brought her parents to Japan to spend time with my fiancee and me at Christmas time last year. As soon as we can afford it, and are sure there are no issues, we will visit her family in the PI.

Thank You!

This website does something that other Visa sites cannot do, it gives hope. Other sites have fellowship but lacks a timeline. The timeline gives hope. I would check this site every day, OK more like 5 times a day. As I saw others getting there NOA2, I would think "maybe tomorrow." Then, today at 7:29pm, I received two text messages (one for my wife and one for her daughter). This is truly a blessing from God. I pray God will bless everyone here, as He has done for me. Now the busy work begins.

This website has been a wonderful resource for us too! Yeah, it will be busy from now until you're on the plane. My fiancee and I are busy packing and thinking about a sayonara party! It's good to have that #$%@!! visa behind us.

I think you'll find the primary need will be addressed by the answer you already got from the Consular IV unit in Japan.... you're going to be together in the USA ....

Right on the money! She was approved yesterday!!!! A ton of weight was just lifted from our shoulders.

I am not amazed your case was NOT approved.

Red flags:

- Fist face-to-face meeting lasts 10 days during which you get married

- Met online

- Difference in ages (woman being older)

- Difference in religion

Have you only seen your husband ONE time in your life? I mean, this would be pretty strange in any Embassy, but particularly in one high in fraud as Casablanca. As others have suggested, you could move in with your husband and live together as you wait for the case to be returned and evaluated by USCIS. Basically, build a marriage and live together in order to fight back at the Embassy at a later date.

Good luck.

You made four red flag points. Items 2, 3 and 4 don't look like a problem to me.

My fiance is having her medical exam next Monday and according to the slec site, you have to wait 7 days after your period to have the exam. How strict is this requirement?

If the last day of her period is the Sunday or the day of the exam, can she still go through the exam and if they don't do the physical on Monday, would they allow her to have it Tuesday?

If neither, can she go the day before her interview to have the physical...would they be able to forward the updated results to the embassy by the following day? Or would she need to do it a certain amount of days before the interview?

Her interview is the 28th.

Thanks in advance!

Brian

I don't know if this is really relevant given the different venues, but my fiancee just finished her medical so thought I would pass on her experience. She did hers in Kobe Japan.

The nurse stated that the problem with the menstruation is the effect on the urine sample. I spoke with the nurse several times about what would happen if she was on her period. They would not directly answer, only saying "the doctor will let you know what to do". Thankfully she had her period a couple of days after the exam - it was close. We figured that in the worst case she would have to go back for a urine test and that it may be possible to do the urine test locally.

After the exam was finished they told her it would be about two weeks to get the results.

I have heard of several cases where approval was given pending the medical results.

That's everything I've included so far. Not enough? To much? A lot of people seem to like using bording passes from flights or passport stamps. We haven't included any passport info or tickets of that nature.

No, photos are definitely not enough no matter how many you have - they are only secondary evidence. Boarding passes and passport stamps are primary evidence. People don't use them because they prefer to use them - they are required. You only need to prove that you met once in the two years prior to your filing of the I-129f. More evidence is not required. I provided passport stamp info, a boarding pass and about 5 pictures.

Good luck

Does anyone have an example of a letter of employment??

and in the question # 8 of I-134..when they talk about wholly dependant and partially dependant?? what do they mean with that? my co-sponsor and my fiance have kids (under 18), are they wholly dependant or partially dependant??

Thanks!!!

Look for Marklovetina (VJ member) and other members who have been through annulment. They might be able to help you more. Annulment is the only way for you two to be together the legal, albeit long and expensive way. Whether you marry her in the US or the Philippines, CENOMAR is required in both countries.

I think you are incorrect. A CENOMAR is not required in Japan - this I know for a fact. A person who is free to marry anywhere is just as free to marry in the US. On that basis, I think that a CENOMAR is NOT required in our case. You are entitled to your opinion, but should not present it as fact.

From your earlier post, "She divorced this man in Japan." kind of implied that she was the petitioner in the divorce. I know the Philippine Gov't does care who initiated the divorce, if the Japanese system doesn't distinguish then I can't guess how they will handle it.

I understand wanting to move forward with your lives but haste is what created this situation (her not taking the time to get her Japanese Divorce Recognized in the Philippines) and further haste & impatience can make it much worse.

Is she never planning to return to the Philippines?

I know a couple who have a situation where the Philippines will never recognize their US Marriage because she (a filipino) divorced her first husband (filipino) in the US while she was here and then Married her current (USC) Husband. Her first husband passed away less than a year after never knowing that his wife had remarried. She's no longer a bigamist but the Philippines doesn't recognize her current marriage so when they travel to the Philippines he can't get the 1 year authorized stay that the rest of us can and they're worried about their ability to retire to the Philippines (him getting the resident visa) because of it. She waited for her first husband to pass away to travel to the Philippines also out of concern for being prosecuted for bigamy.

Haste and impatience are judgmental words and I don't think they are appropriate for the case. She has been separated from her first husband for maybe more than ten years. It took years for her to obtain a divorce in Japan, her country of residence. If she was going to live in Japan for the rest of her life then why seek an annulment in the Philippines? Also consider that annulment is a lengthy and costly exercise.

So along comes the American (me)and screws up her plans. We are in love and we want to spend our lives together. We talk about where we will live and what procedural BS we have to go through. The US makes the most sense, mostly for economic reasons driven by obligations that I am bound to. So we proceed down a "journey" that has been almost two years and counting. We are not lawyers and we are certainly not immigration experts. We read the rules and interpret them the best we know how. And we think we are proceeding legally and morally correctly. There is only one problem.

We didn't know all the rules and ramifications when we started and we certainly don't know them now. I have never seen more conflicting information than on this topic.

I'll assume you are trying to be helpful. So thank you for your input.

Since she is the petitioner in her divorce she will never be able to get the Philippines to recognize the foreign divorce. That only works when the non-filipino spouse is the petitioner and the filipino is the respondent.

For getting Annulled in the Philippines you will still have problems. She will need to return to the Philippines and if they get wind of her new marriage then they can prosecute her for bigamy. To compound problems, if you marry her before the first marriage is annulled then she will not be able to get the Philippines to recognize her marriage to you!

Just to be clear, she is not the petitioner in the divorce. In Japan the process is a mutual divorce although that may not make a difference.

We will try to figure out what our options are in the Philippines. One thing we will not do, is delay being together.

*** An update for those in similar circumstances ***

There is a bewildering amount of conflicting information regarding Philippine law and visa requirements on the web and also on VJ, but I think ( ) we have this sorted out.

I wrote to the embassy in Tokyo and received an encouraging response. The question and answer are below:

"Question

We are very confused about the requirements for the K1 visa with regards to the following statement: "Both the U.S. citizen and the K-1 visa applicant must have been legally free to marry at the time the petition was filed and must have remained so thereafter. The marriage must be legally possible according to laws of the U.S. state in which the marriage will take place." My fiancee was married in the Philippines to a Japanese. She divorced this man in Japan. We know that she is free to marry in Japan and in the US and know the she is NOT free to marry in the Philippines. We have obtained I-129f petition approval. The US embassy in Japan asks for a CENOMAR as part of the K1 process. The Philippines will not issue a CENOMAR, but rather a document showing her marriage. Is this, in combination with her divorce documents, sufficient evidence to meet the requirement? What, exactly, are the criteria required for obtaining the K1 Visa for an individual in her situation?

Answer

In this case, please provide the Certificates of Marriage (CEMAR) issued by NSO which provide a chronological listing of all applicant’s marriages along with the applicant’s original divorce certificate issued by respective Japanese authorities.

Upon receipt of the above described documents, a consular officer will determine whether the evidences are sufficient to meet the requirement."

I'm breathing MUCH easier now. We intend pursue an annulment or petition for recognition of foreign divorce in PI, but we can do it while we are together, not as a condition for the K1.

The "extreme hardship" and "violation of customs" statements are meant to address situations where you have not been able to meet because of either of those reasons. They specifically asked for the passport and that may be all that is needed.

I had an RFE asking to prove the meeting requirement and their request for the passport was in bold type.

Good Luck

My fiancee just received her packet 3 from the embassy in Tokyo. The want a CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage) sent from the Philippines along with her birth certificate. The problem is that she was married in the Phil. to a Japanese man and then divorced him in Japan so she does not qualify for a CENOMAR. As I understand it she is free to marry in Japan, the US and anywhere except for the Phil.

Is CENOMAR a firm requirement? If so, I don't know why.

We talked about getting an annulment before going into this process. It is slow and expensive. Most importantly, we didn't know it was required.

One option I've seen while browsing thru the web is to file for Recognition of a Foreign Divorce in the Phil.

Needless to say we are both very upset about another hurdle and another delay - we were so close!

Any advice?

Met in person, I'm 50 and she's 41 (but looks 31). :-)

hey everyone i just got home and my visa is approved

hi TRanger, did you receive your NOA2? I suggest you call NVC first and ask when did they forward/if they forwarded your case to Tokyo Embassy. I actually have my medical after I received my packet 3. send me a private message if you have more questions.

Congratulations on your approval!

Yes, I did receive the NOA2. Also, your embassy review is very helpful for those of us with giajin fiance(e)s in Japan. :-)

Ok, so I went ahead and did the DS-156 online form and now have a barcode number. Next I went to the embassy site and used the number to get an "institution" and confirmation number. I haven't paid it yet, but it looks like there won't be an issue (fingers crossed)....

Tokyobelle, my fiancee is a filipina living in Japan also. We want to get as much paperwork done as soon as possible - we've waited a long time already.

We want to have her do the medical exam on Monday 16th in Kobe, since I will still be here in Japan, but we haven't received packet 3 yet. Do you think this will be an issue? I called the clinic and wasn't totally clear on their information.

Thank You

I'm currently with my fiancee in Japan, but will have to leave in the next two weeks. We've received I129F approval as noted on the USCIS web site on May 9th. What I would like to do is file the online DS-156 form before receiving the Package 3 from the embassy in Tokyo. If I can get this filed while I'm here, we can also take care of the Visa processing fee. Note: The barcode from the DS-156 is needed to use the "Payeasy" system for the Visa fee. I'm just trying to take care of some of the details while I'm here, not so much jump-start the process - although that wouldn't hurt.

Does anyone have any input on whether this will cause any problems?

Thank you!

So relieved that after 179 days we finally got approved.

I'm sitting in Japan and know that it is close to quitting time in California so I checked the status at breakfast and had no news. After taking my fiancée to work I checked it again and voila!

We had an RFE detour because my fiancee is a resident alien, not a national, of Japan and I did not provide evidence that she was in Japan when I was there - satisfying the proof of meeting criteria. The RFE asked for a copy of her passport. We provided the passport copy, which showed her permanent resident status and also a copy of her resident alien card and an English translation of the same.

Just that she was in Japan when I was there. The request for evidence was regarding "proof of having met in the past two years". They asked specifically for all of her passport pages. The thought occurred to me when I filed, but I thought, nah - I don't need that, she lives there. It would have saved me at least a month in round trip processing of the RFE.

Hello there,

I really need help please

I have my fiancee living with legal residence in Argentina but her citizenship is from Chile. Do I need to include in my I-129F package any documentation that proof her legal residence in Argentina? I didn't find anything from USCIS about this. I just stating her address in the I-129F.

THANKS!

I think it is a good idea. Somehow you must prove she was in Argentina when you were, assuming that is where you met. I am processing an RFE because of a similar circumstance. My fiancee is a Filipina living in Japan. I provided no proof that she was in Japan when I was there. We are sending her resident alien card in Japanese and a translated version as well as a copy of her complete passport. The passport shows her residency stamp as well as when she entered the country last.

Ok, so I received an RFE while I'm on the road and have a few questions. I'm in China so I haven't even seen it directly, my family back in the US read it to me. It seems as though there are two problems. One is with translation of a Japanese divorce document and the other is regarding evidence of meeting in person. It is the latter that has me stumped.

I provided photocopies of visa stamps in my passport for nine different trips to Japan , pictures together during four of those stays(I know this isn't primary evidence) and I also provided one boarding pass for one trip. If I knew I was going to need my boarding passes at the time I would have saved them. Since the requirement is to only have met once I can't understand why the evidence provided was insufficient. My fiancée is a Filipina living as a resident alien in Japan. I did not provide evidence that she was in Japan (other than the pics), after all she lives there. Should I have provided pics of her passport or original and translated papers regarding her resident alien status?

It seems as though the passport stamps prove that I was in the country she resides in. Other than a picture how do I prove we occupied the same space at the same time?

Timing is critical now because I won't be back in the US until maybe the middle of May to send a response. I want to make sure I get this thing right to avoid a second strike.

Any help appreciated.

I should have been more clear. When entering Japan.

I've been to Japan nine time in the last 1-1/2 years, most trips have been work related. I noticed that if I indicated that I was staying with my girlfriend that more questions were asked. So, I've been giving the name and phone number of the hotel that I usually stay in for business and there have been no questions since. I still indicate "visiting friends" or whatever the form states. I suppose I'm misleading them, but it sure makes me less nervous at the airport. The hotel is just a few km from her place. I suppose if I were to be discovered, I would tell a white lie and say that my gf offered for me to stay with her to save some money and I agreed.