Travelling after marriage

[confused in Japan 0]

I'm happy I found this site. until now we've been doing all of this on our own, letting our questions go unanswered at times.

So...My Japanese fiance and I are in kind of a bind. We are both currently living in Japan. We were planning on going to the States at the beggining of April, get married in May and then start our life together there. What we have realized, although a bit late, is that it would be better for me (the US citizen) to go to the States first and get a job/apartment, etc... before she heads over. My job here in Japan doesn't end until the end of March so I can't leave Japan until then.

Question 1: Is it true that we can only use the K-1 visa in the 6 months following the date it is issued to her? So for example if she gets it in November '06, she has to enter the States by May '07?

Question 2: If we decide to go to the US together in April, and continue with our plan to get married in May, can she then leave the US for a few months so I can have a chance to settle down with a job, apt. etc...?

All we are waiting for now is the results to get back from her health check which should be here either tomorrow or the day after. After that, we have to send in the fax to the Embassy and set up an interview date. It's strange and I never thought I'd say this but, unfortunately for us, the whole process from the I-129F form until now has gone way faster than expected. We sent out the I-129F in August and didn't enticipate it being processed for another couple months.

Your help is greatly appreciated!

[payxibka 10,045]

I'm happy I found this site. until now we've been doing all of this on our own, letting our questions go unanswered at times.

So...My Japanese fiance and I are in kind of a bind. We are both currently living in Japan. We were planning on going to the States at the beggining of April, get married in May and then start our life together there. What we have realized, although a bit late, is that it would be better for me (the US citizen) to go to the States first and get a job/apartment, etc... before she heads over. My job here in Japan doesn't end until the end of March so I can't leave Japan until then.

Question 1: Is it true that we can only use the K-1 visa in the 6 months following the date it is issued to her? So for example if she gets it in November '06, she has to enter the States by May '07?

Question 2: If we decide to go to the US together in April, and continue with our plan to get married in May, can she then leave the US for a few months so I can have a chance to settle down with a job, apt. etc...?

All we are waiting for now is the results to get back from her health check which should be here either tomorrow or the day after. After that, we have to send in the fax to the Embassy and set up an interview date. It's strange and I never thought I'd say this but, unfortunately for us, the whole process from the I-129F form until now has gone way faster than expected. We sent out the I-129F in August and didn't enticipate it being processed for another couple months.

Your help is greatly appreciated!

1) Yes it expires 6 mos after issuance.

2) A k-1 visa is a 90-day single entry visa. No real ability to leave for a few months and be able to come back without starting all over again

[confused in Japan 0]

1) Yes it expires 6 mos after issuance.

2) A k-1 visa is a 90-day single entry visa. No real ability to leave for a few months and be able to come back without starting all over again

Thanks for your quick reply. That's what I thought. One more question: Since my fiance hasn't sent in the final fax in order to set up the interview date, could she possibly hold off on sending it in until later on? Does she have to send it in at any particular time? For most cases, as soon as possible is obviously best. But for us, we are hoping for her to come to the States next September, but if she gets her visa interview next month, then obviously the 6 months will have expired by the time she wants to go to the States.

Thanks again

[payxibka 10,045]

1) Yes it expires 6 mos after issuance.

2) A k-1 visa is a 90-day single entry visa. No real ability to leave for a few months and be able to come back without starting all over again

Thanks for your quick reply. That's what I thought. One more question: Since my fiance hasn't sent in the final fax in order to set up the interview date, could she possibly hold off on sending it in until later on? Does she have to send it in at any particular time? For most cases, as soon as possible is obviously best. But for us, we are hoping for her to come to the States next September, but if she gets her visa interview next month, then obviously the 6 months will have expired by the time she wants to go to the States.

Thanks again

There is a time limit on the petition approval (I believe 6 mos) and can be extended by the consulate (I belive for another 4 mos). Each consulate is different so I do not know the exact mechanics involved in Japan on your specific question. I think it is wise to send an e-mail to the consulate to inquire about that procedure. Others who have direct experience with the Japanese consulate may have ideas as well.

[mendeleev 68]

OP confuses me a little.

His fiance hasn't " sent in the final FAX to set up the interview date", so maybe they do not in fact have the K1 visa yet? Perhaps they only have an approved I-129F petition?

I think the petition's approval expires after six months, right?

If I am inferring their situation correctly, and am correct on the process, it would seem that the Japanese fiance needs to get her interview by May. If the visa is issued then, she would have six months to enter the USA. They could wait until November. But once she enters, she cannot leave with re-entry privileges until she gets Advanced Parole.

[payxibka 10,045]

OP confuses me a little.

His fiance hasn't " sent in the final FAX to set up the interview date", so maybe they do not in fact have the K1 visa yet? Perhaps they only have an approved I-129F petition?

I think the petition's approval expires after six months, right?

If I am inferring their situation correctly, and am correct on the process, it would seem that the Japanese fiance needs to get her interview by May. If the visa is issued then, she would have six months to enter the USA. They could wait until November. But once she enters, she cannot leave with re-entry privileges until she gets Advanced Parole.

No confusion

[YuAndDan 153]

Question: Since you have residency in Japan, why did you not consider marriage in Japan and then DCF? She could have immigrated when you returned home and had green card in hand a few weeks later, instead of all the wasted time in the states waiting on AOS, AP, EAD... Having the greencard would allow work and travel.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=dcf

[zyggy 9]

Agreed.. I would go for DCF.. forget the K1. You can do DCF in Japan even if the USC is NOT resident in Japan...

Have you kept ties back to the US (bank accounts, voting, filed US Income taxes, etc.).. if so you may only need to get a joint sponsor and still be able to file in Japan before you leave.

[confused in Japan 0]

Sorry for the confusion. First, my fiance doesn't have the K-1 visa yet. We are waiting for the final paperwork to come in from her medical health check-up. This paperwork should be in tomorrow or the day after. Once she gets that paperwork all she has to do is send a fax to the consulate in order to set up her interview date. So, assuming she does this tomorrrow or the day after (when she gets the final completed paperwork in the mail), she should have an interview date by this November. If she has an interview this November, she will have to leave Japan within 6 months before the visa expires. The problem is we want to push that back so she doesn't leave Japan until September '07.

Would it cause a problem with the embassay if she doesn't notify them as soon as she has all her paperwork finished?

YuAndDan: Good question and thanks for the links. We could have done that and it would have made a lot of things easier in the long run. Again, we started this process without knowing too much about it. I did hear from others that it has taken a long time for them to get spousal visas to the US (as in years). That kind of turned us off from getting married in Japan.

Thanks for the responses, keep them coming!

[zyggy 9]

Sorry for the confusion. First, my fiance doesn't have the K-1 visa yet. We are waiting for the final paperwork to come in from her medical health check-up. This paperwork should be in tomorrow or the day after. Once she gets that paperwork all she has to do is send a fax to the consulate in order to set up her interview date. So, assuming she does this tomorrrow or the day after (when she gets the final completed paperwork in the mail), she should have an interview date by this November. If she has an interview this November, she will have to leave Japan within 6 months before the visa expires. The problem is we want to push that back so she doesn't leave Japan until September '07.

Would it cause a problem with the embassay if she doesn't notify them as soon as she has all her paperwork finished?

YuAndDan: Good question and thanks for the links. We could have done that and it would have made a lot of things easier in the long run. Again, we started this process without knowing too much about it. I did hear from others that it has taken a long time for them to get spousal visas to the US (as in years). That kind of turned us off from getting married in Japan.

Thanks for the responses, keep them coming!

Years..

nope.. try like 3 months from start to finish... You're not too far in to bag the K1 and go for DCF..

It's quicker and you get a MUCH better visa... (and you'd be spending the same amount of money for AOS in the US anyways)

Again.. I strongly suggest that you look into DCF... you'll be glad you did..

Edited October 16, 2006 by zyggy

[confused in Japan 0]

So for example: If we get married here and go for the DCF, she'll be able to travel freely to and from Japan afterwards? Do I have to be in Japan for the entire process?

Thanks for the info

[YuAndDan 153]

So for example: If we get married here and go for the DCF, she'll be able to travel freely to and from Japan afterwards? Do I have to be in Japan for the entire process?

Thanks for the info

Yes she would be issued a CR-1/IR-1 visa, and get a Green-card as soon as arriving in the states, be able to travel to Japan freely, and be able to work as soon as arrive in the states. You only need to be with her at the interview at the consulate.

The DCF is your best choice. I would be doing that if I were living in the country with my fiance, unfortunately that is not the case for us.

[confused in Japan 0]

Yes she would be issued a CR-1/IR-1 visa, and get a Green-card as soon as arriving in the states, be able to travel to Japan freely, and be able to work as soon as arrive in the states. You only need to be with her at the interview at the consulate.

The DCF is your best choice. I would be doing that if I were living in the country with my fiance, unfortunately that is not the case for us.

Sorry, can you help me out here...Is the CR-1/IR-1 visa the visa everyone receives after going for the DCF?

[zyggy 9]

Yes she would be issued a CR-1/IR-1 visa, and get a Green-card as soon as arriving in the states, be able to travel to Japan freely, and be able to work as soon as arrive in the states. You only need to be with her at the interview at the consulate.

The DCF is your best choice. I would be doing that if I were living in the country with my fiance, unfortunately that is not the case for us.

Sorry, can you help me out here...Is the CR-1/IR-1 visa the visa everyone receives after going for the DCF?

Yes.. please read our guides... the CR-1 visa is an immigrant visa. she will get permanent resident status upon her entry to the US...

Edited October 16, 2006 by zyggy