Mid-Ocean

Yeah I went online yesterday after I found our reference number and it says a decision was made yesterday. I'm just going to wait for that notice to see if we're approved. I didn't get anything with a checked box when we left, but we had such an easy interview with little scrutiny I'm guessing we we approved as long as we showed up. My paperwork was pretty good thru this whole thing and I sent them certified copies of most everything with the AOS packet.

Ok, so we went to our interview and here's what happened.

1. Got called in and had to do an oath we were going to make true statements.

2. Asked to see IDs and had us sign a document about the I-751 making sure we'll submit paperwork to remove conditions off the greencard within 90 days of it's expiration. (I think that's a good sign).

3. The interviewer went through the I-485 forms information checking that my wife's info was accurate and she answered the statements about being involved with the communist party, being a terrorist, etc were correct.

4. Verified my name, where I work, and what my job was.

5. Asked if I had anything I wanted to submit. I gave them a copy of our rental agreement, joint bank statements, things showing my wife is on my medical plan as my spouse.

Interviewer said thanks, you'll get something in the mail about the decision.

Today I remembered something that I forgot to do while I was there was to give them the I-693 I had done by a civil surgeon two weeks ago. My wife got a TDAP shot when we had them transfer the information, so I'm not sure if I should go back and give them that tomorrow.

Our interview is March 7. As for preparation I did a joint filing of taxes today, so I guess that can be considered some kind of preparation. Other than that I've only made some copies of stuff I've already sent in, and grabbed the originals of those docs. I'm not sweating the interview questions because we're older than most people probably going through the process and our backstory is pretty believable. We've made it this far without any RFE problems, so my paperwork is probably good. If they bring up anything funky I'll inundate them with papers.

appreciate the advice, especially from Kristen. That's what I needed to hear. I called a civil surgeon here in Honolulu and the dumbass receptionist keeps telling me that we'll need to get the TB and all that ####### done, but what else would you expect. I think I'll call around and see who will do the transcription only.

Got a quick question. Do you need to get a new medical for the interview. We didn't get another one before filing the AOS paperwork since our vaccination records were checked as complete on the DS-3205 or whatever we had. Basically, we never sent in an I-693, we just used what the civil surgeon gave us. However, now that our interview is scheduled, and the paperwork says to bring an I-693 if not already submitted. So, do we really have to go through the medical with a civil surgeon again?

Hello everybody!

I am waiting for my NOA2 and it should come soon...

However, I would like to visit my fiancé in the US for ~ 2 weeks. Things are crazy at the moment and we need to figure out some things while being together.

What happens if I get the NOA2 while I'm there? Is that a bad thing?

Since I will only stay for a couple of weeks I should be back on time for the consulate notice.

I'd appreciate an answer to my question! You guys are awesome, so glad I found this!

Annika

Not a bad thing. Just remember the clock is ticking on your 129F approval notice once you get the NOA2. That approval has a 4 month window, but you should be able to get everything done as long as you don't stay too long. And, even if you run into something during the process, you just file for an extension of the petition approval.

My fiancee (the beneficiary) came to visit me for a month about three weeks AFTER I got the NOA2. That happened because we were expecting the time between the NOA1 and NOA2 to be a few months and she bought a plane ticket to visit me right after the NOA1. Much to our surprise, the NOA2 came 19 days after the NOA1! We weren't going to throw away that non-refundable ticket, so she came to visit. We got a little lucky that her packet 3 got to her before she came here, so she filled that out and mailed it to the embassy. While she was here we didn't do anything for the visa process except her online DS-156 and I gave her the financial supporting documents & other relationship original docs. We could have scheduled her interview while she was here, but we waited until she went home and did her medical exam. Her interview is scheduled for Monday and we have 6 weeks left on our approval notice even though we waited a month in there.

To answer what is probably your next question...her experience going through immigration wasn't too bad, but they did give her a little of the "bad dog" look. They let her enter the US after a couple frowns by the immigration agent. The agent asked her twice if she was going to marry during the trip, then said to her, "you should not do this." But, they let her in anyway. It's perfectly legal to visit while you're in the visa process, however it puts the immigration agent in kind of a "you make the call" position and they don't like that. I think it was clear she was late in the process and probably in the system as a K1 applicant with an approved petition because we had an NVC case number.

Good luck guys.

Hopefully my fiancee will schedule her interview for June. We were working on the DS 230 last night and scheduled her medical for the day after she returns to Japan. Her return ticket from this trip has a connection in Tokyo with a night layover, so we decided to move the second leg back to Fukuoka about 6 hrs and get the medical done while she was there. If you guys have any advice on what to bring to the medical it would be appreciated because she's going directly to it after being here for a month. I don't want her to forget to bring something because she can't go home to remember it. Damn, it's maddening to think of how things are going to happen when you don't have the instruction packet yourself.

I kinda wish we didn't schedule her trip to visit me in April because we could have been done with this in May. I guess we'll use that time together to plan out a better wedding.

Called the NVC today and they said the petition was received and they mailed it out to the embassy in Japan already. I think they said they mailed it on the 29th, but they might have said they received it on the 29th and mailed it on the 30th. I didn't care, I was so excited and glad the thing was on its way to Japan. It looks like she'll probably get her packet before she departs to come here We can always schedule her medical and interview from here to get that done quickly when she returns. Super psyched about this process moving so fast and smooth. This board has been a major help in lowering the anxiety of the whole process so far. I can't imagine how awful it would have been if I had to wait 5 months for the NOA2. To all the people still waiting, hang tough. And, don't worry, I paid my karmic debt for the ungodly fast NOA2 - my moped was ripped off the next week. I knew my luck didn't change THAT much.

hi Mid-Ocean, I also got my NOA2 the same time as yours so perhaps your fiancee and I would be getting the packet around the same time too.

based on what I have seen in the forums, the packet 3 contains instructions only and the forms can be downloaded from the Tokyo US Embassy website and you need to fax the filled out form to them. here is an excerpt from the website about the next step:

here is the link for it for reference

assuming that the instructions will come from the consulate/embassy, i think they would be using regular postal mail. normally documents are not left in the mail box so to be safe, i think your fiancee could go to her post office and apply for "fuzai todoke." here is some information about it from the Japan post website:

should your fiancee need instructions in Japanese, here is the link for it

it would help if somebody around here could clarify here if we are gonna receive the packet 3 from embassy (what type of mail).

Thanks for the info on the fuzai todoke. I called the embassy and they said the packet is sent regular mail, so I think we're going to have someone take it out of her mailbox for us. She has a fellow teacher that lives in her building. We'll probably get her to show us the intstructions from the packet over skype and then we'll fill out the 230 and mail it back.

One last thing, have you called the NVC and found out if they received your petition yet? I've been calling their automated system but they still have no record of receiving my petition. Hopefully they got it and just haven't recorded it yet. I'd love for her to get packet 3 before she takes her trip here.

Also, anybody know what the "Request for Provisional file" document is good for in Visa Journey's Example Forms section? http://www.visajourney.com/content/examples

Could I send one of those to the Embassy in Japan and have them send her packet 3 before the NVC sends them the petition?

Congrats on the approval. I'm pretty sure you don't have to marry by July 24th. The marriage has to take place within 90 days of her entering the country on the K1, if that's what you're doing. I think that 4 months timeframe is the time the Embassy keeps your 129F petition active. I'm guessing it is the time you have to have your interview done by, or maybe the time you have to apply for the actual visa by. You can file for an extension if you need more time. I called them the other day and asked if you have to have your interview within that 4 month time period and the girl said she wasn't sure, but maybe that's right. She said a lot of people file for extensions because they aren't ready to marry or move yet...basically some people need more time.

Secondly, she can't go back right away if she comes in on the K1. You have to get your adjustment of status stuff done. I'm not at that point yet, but I'm pretty sure I read that here somewhere.

When is she coming to Hawaii?

If she can, she can wait the packet 3 and make a reservation for an interview before her flight, then fly there and spend time with you for a month or so, then come back to Japan and have the interview?

Well she's going to be here mid-april to mid-may. Judging by other's timelines, it doesn't look likely that she'll get packet 3 before she leaves. Packet 3 is probably going to arrive just after she leaves Japan. The ticket was purchased after we sent off our I-129F in the last week of February. I figured the approval wouldn't be given within the first 2 months, let alone within 3 weeks. As it stands, the petition hasn't been recorded at the NVC yet, but I'm assuming it will be there sometime soon since already received my hard copy NOA2 (dated March 21st). That arrived on the 25th. My guess is the NVC will send it to Japan the week she leaves Japan.

Hey guys, I'm hoping someone with some experience of getting a K1 for their Japanese significant other can help me out. I'm not sure the pay 2199 yen per question system for the US embassy in Japan will answer it, so I'm asking here.

My situation:

Filed the 129F in late Feb. My fiancee bought a ticket to come to visit me in Hawaii for a month. To my surprise, we got our NOA2 on March 21st! I called the NVC and they don't have it recorded yet, so I'm guessing it is going to be sent to the embassy in Japan right about the time she is going to be coming to Hawaii for her visit.

What I'm curious about is this, how is the checklist packet with the information she must return to the embassy mailed to her address in Japan? Is sent in a way that she has to be there to sign for it? Or is it mailed and left in her mailbox. From looking at this site and the embassy's site it looks like you only have to send back part I of the 230 form, a copy of your passport, and something else I'm forgetting. Has anybody here sent stuff back to the Japanese embassy while not being in Japan? Could we print off the form somewhere and mail it back to get the process rolling?

Basically, we're worried that she'll get that checklist packet sent to her and she won't be there, and then it will be a month before she can do anything with the information. It was a blessing to get our NOA2 so fast, but it has kind of thrown a monkey wrench in her travel plans. I'm thinking we should cut her trip short by a week or two so she can get back there to send back forms, get the medical and schedule her interview.

Any help would be appreciated.

So...I'm guessing you translated your boarding passes? Or did you not have any? I have about 8-10 passport stamps so I guess I'll need that done. I thought the translated documents need that certification statement. I'm sure anyone can do it and use that statement though.

Screw it, just to be safe I'll get anything with Kanji translated. Shouldn't be that much more than getting the koseki done.

Ok, for anyone with experience getting a K1 for a Japanese or Chinese fiancee, did you get your boarding passes translated? The boarding passes I have from Japan have kanji on them, but they also have English on them for the gate, times, locations & names, etc.; so, do you think they really need to be translated? The translating of a birth certificate is pretty much the last thing I need to do before filing.

I have a couple questions about the forms and what exactly the petitioner and beneficiary should sign.

1. Should the petitioner and beneficiary both sign the I-129F cover letter, or is it alright for just the petitioner (me) to sign it?

2. For the actual I-129F form, does your beneficiary have to sign anything at all? I was only going to sign the form, but I am also submitting it with an extra page as the I-129F Supplement for Part B: Q18 (Have we met & seen). I have 4 dates on there about when we have gotten together. Would it be wise to make my fiancee sign it? And, should I date the supplement?

3. On the G325A. As far as the name field goes, my name has a suffix. It appears in my passport, so I'm wondering how I should format it or should I just leave off the suffix since there is no field asking for it. There is only Last Name, First, and Middle. Any experience with name suffixes?

Here are the options I guess:

a) last name, III

or

b) last name III

It appears in format "b" in my passport. I'm sure they'll figure it out, but I'd hate to get RFE'd for a silly misake.

Thanks for the insight guys. This thing is getting mailed out next week.

Mid-Ocean,

One copy for you, one copy for your beneficiary and one copy sent to USCIS Dallas Lockbox. Make sure that that your Filed copy to USCIS has original signatures on the I-129F and related G-325A's. Everything else could be copies as USCIS will request originals if they desire. Hope this helps and any feedback from other members is most appreciated.

E&R4ever

Appreciate the response. Can't believe I'm finally going to get this started.

Congrats guys, I might be a filer this month but I have a feeling it will more than likely be in February. Anyway, I have one quick question for previous filers. I seem to recall reading somewhere on here that you should make 3 copies of your packet - is that just for you to keep a copy for yourself and your fiancee, or do you actually mail off 3 copies of everything to them? I'm guessing it is mostly for your own benefit and the USCIS only needs one packet. Is that correct? I know what documents I should send them, I'm a little confused on how many copies I should be sending when I file.