Pros and Cons of Citizenship (Japanese to American)

[coip 1]

Soon I will be marrying a Japanese, in Japan, and then beginning the paperwork for a visa to bring her to the U.S. to live permanently. However, I see there are both an immigrant visa and a non-immigrant visa spouses of American citizens (me). What are the pros and cons of her giving up her Japanese citizenship and becoming an American? I imagine it affects such things as her ability to recieve a pension in the U.S. (social security) or Japan, as well as property inheritance rights and taxes (if I were to die), and so on.

[beejay 125]

Not sure if you are asking for now or later down the road but if you take the K-1 route or or the CR-1 route the end result will be your wife becoming a permanent resident not a U.S citizen. She can apply for US citizenship based on her marriage to you after 3 years of residency as an LPR (legal permanent resident). So she has some time to weigh the pros and cons of applying for citizenship.

[sms78 18]

Soon I will be marrying a Japanese, in Japan, and then beginning the paperwork for a visa to bring her to the U.S. to live permanently. However, I see there are both an immigrant visa and a non-immigrant visa spouses of American citizens (me). What are the pros and cons of her giving up her Japanese citizenship and becoming an American? I imagine it affects such things as her ability to recieve a pension in the U.S. (social security) or Japan, as well as property inheritance rights and taxes (if I were to die), and so on.

Funny you're thinking about that from now. Once you married in Japan, you will do CR-1 which is a non-immigrant visa. Your wife will come to US with the visa and upon arrival she will be granted a permanent residency (green card). If your wife decided to get American citizenship (losing Japanese citizenship), she can apply for naturalization after 3 years of marriage(marriage based) or 5 years of having a GC.

You should search on this site about getting citizenship or not. There has been a lot of discussions on this topic.

For Japanese pension you cannot receive it if you lost your Japanese citizenship. I won't have much pension money to receive but there is NO WAY I will lose my Japanese citizenship Your wife might develop this kind of mentality if she lived long enough in US too. Who knows? FYI, many Japanese immigrants keep their JP citizenship for many reasons. Just let her decide when time comes. Either way...it's not something you need to worry about right now. Applying for a green card won't give her a US citizenship.

[coip 1]

Funny you're thinking about that from now. Once you married in Japan, you will do CR-1 which is a non-immigrant visa. Your wife will come to US with the visa and upon arrival she will be granted a permanent residency (green card). If your wife decided to get American citizenship (losing Japanese citizenship), she can apply for naturalization after 3 years of marriage(marriage based) or 5 years of having a GC.

You should search on this site about getting citizenship or not. There has been a lot of discussions on this topic.

For Japanese pension you cannot receive it if you lost your Japanese citizenship. I won't have much pension money to receive but there is NO WAY I will lose my Japanese citizenship Your wife might develop this kind of mentality if she lived long enough in US too. Who knows? FYI, many Japanese immigrants keep their JP citizenship for many reasons. Just let her decide when time comes. Either way...it's not something you need to worry about right now. Applying for a green card won't give her a US citizenship.

Thank you for your reply. I think we will do the immigrant visa, not the non-immigrant visa, right? She wants to live permanently in the U.S.

As for her citizenship, yes, I agree that is her decision. I was just confused by the forms (immigrant vs. non-immigrant) and thought she needed to choose one now, but even if she wants to keep her citizenship, getting a green card is still an immigrant visa application, I believe.

You say you would never give up your Japanese citizenship, why? Other than the pension, what other benefits would she get if she keeps it?

[akihon 129]

The US does not encourage dual citizenship, but will not force your wife to renounce her Japanese citizenship.

According to Japanese nationality law, you automatically forfeit your Japanese citizenship upon obtaining a new citizenship .. so it sounds like she just needs to decide after three years permanent residency.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

You should take this journey one step at at time.

Three or four or five years from now, your wife will have made up her mind whether she wants to spend the rest of her life in the United States or considers moving back to the overcrowded island eventually.

If she has no doubt in her mind that paying $1,800 mortgage for a house in your neighborhood makes more sense then spending $18,000 rent on the same house in Tokyo, she may very well decide to become an American . . . or not. If she considers moving back eventually, then staying a permanent resident is the way to go.