IR-1/CR-1 Application with Dual-Citizenship?

[uyamak88 0]

Greetings!

I'm a U.S. Citizen with Japanese dual-nationality (US & Japan).

Me and my Japanese fiance are planning to get married in Japan as a Japanese-Japanese couple.

(aka: I will get married as a Japanese national to a Japanese woman).

My two questions are:

1. Can my wife still apply for an immigrant visa (Green Card) as spouse of a US Citizen, even though our marriage license in Japan says we are both Japanese?

2. Will our unborn child still be able to get a US passport, even though our marriage license says we are both Japanese?

Thank you so much!

Ben Uyama

[F & A 12]

Greetings!

I'm a U.S. Citizen with Japanese dual-nationality (US & Japan).

Me and my Japanese fiance are planning to get married in Japan as a Japanese-Japanese couple.

(aka: I will get married as a Japanese national to a Japanese woman).

My two questions are:

1. Can my wife still apply for an immigrant visa (Green Card) as spouse of a US Citizen, even though our marriage license in Japan says we are both Japanese?

2. Will our unborn child still be able to get a US passport, even though our marriage license says we are both Japanese?

Thank you so much!

Ben Uyama

I'm a US citizen by naturalization...and I was born in the Dominican Republic. I got married last December in DR my husband is also Dominican, and we got married as a Dominican-Dominican couple. I am now petitioning my husband(Green card), our case is on its way to the National Visa Center. So get marry, translate your marriage certificate to English and complete the require forms and good luck!

[Ryan H 3,810]

My two questions are:

1. Can my wife still apply for an immigrant visa (Green Card) as spouse of a US Citizen, even though our marriage license in Japan says we are both Japanese?

2. Will our unborn child still be able to get a US passport, even though our marriage license says we are both Japanese?

Yes and yes.

[uyamak88 0]

Thank you both for your replies!

It would be very helpful if someone could elaborate on my question, "Will our unborn child still be able to get a US passport, even though our marriage license says we are both Japanese citizens?"

Would anyone also happen to know the answer to the following:

I recently entered Japan as a foreigner on a student visa (with my US passport), but while I was here I obtained a dual Japanese citizenship based on my father's Japanese nationality (mind you dual-citizenship is technically not recognized in Japan, but I and many others have both anyway).

My question is, will I be able to leave Japan on my US passport without any problems? Does Japan have a right to deny my departure? I don't have a Japanese passport because I don't have enough time to apply for it.

Thanks!

[Ryan H 3,810]

Thank you both for your replies!

It would be very helpful if someone could elaborate on my question, "Will our unborn child still be able to get a US passport, even though our marriage license says we are both Japanese citizens?"

YES; your child will be able to get a US Passport, you apply for it when you file for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). BTW, it's your marriage certificate that indicates the citizenship, not marriage license.

Would anyone also happen to know the answer to the following:

I recently entered Japan as a foreigner on a student visa (with my US passport), but while I was here I obtained a dual Japanese citizenship based on my father's Japanese nationality (mind you dual-citizenship is technically not recognized in Japan, but I and many others have both anyway).

My question is, will I be able to leave Japan on my US passport without any problems? Does Japan have a right to deny my departure? I don't have a Japanese passport because I don't have enough time to apply for it.

Thanks!

Yes, you will be able to depart with no issues.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Ryan H

[uyamak88 0]

YES; your child will be able to get a US Passport, you apply for it when you file for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). BTW, it's your marriage certificate that indicates the citizenship, not marriage license.

Yes, you will be able to depart with no issues.

You have been tremendously helpful. Thank you kindly.

I see that in 2010 you switched from K-1 to CR-1.

From what you know, would you recommend that we go the K-1 or the CR-1 route?

We debated taking the K-1 route for a long time because it could possibly be quicker to get.

But we recently decided to go for CR-1 because it doesn't seem to take much longer than K-1.

BTW, my wife is in Japan and we are petitioning with I-130.

Any suggestions?

[Ryan H 3,810]

I see that in 2010 you switched from K-1 to CR-1.

That's kind of a long story and it's not relevant to your case. I will say that the switch occurred before any paperwork was filed and fees were paid.

From what you know, would you recommend that we go the K-1 or the CR-1 route?

We debated taking the K-1 route for a long time because it could possibly be quicker to get.

But we recently decided to go for CR-1 because it doesn't seem to take much longer than K-1.

BTW, my wife is in Japan and we are petitioning with I-130.

Any suggestions?

Are you living in Japan right now, if so I would recommend you go the CR-1 route. Here's why, right now, if a petitioner is living abroad when they file all the paperwork using foreign addresses, the file enters a queue where it will be automatically expedited (USCIS will deny such a queue exists). You may have a decision on your petition within weeks of it being received by USCIS. The NVC might be somewhat of a slow go at this time due to volume (and you can't control things on the NVC end); however, if you study up on that phase of the process and know what you need to submit when the time comes, then you get to the end of that phase of the process sooner and have an interview scheduled.