Introduction and Requesting Some Advice

[Aniki 0]

Hello! I've lurked around here for a while but this is my first post. It might be a bit rambly but I appreciate any input from the experts on here! My name is Chris and my partner's name is Yosuke and he is from Japan. Currently he lives and works in Canada on a working-holiday visa that is set to expire in November. For the past year or so, we've been seeing each other just about every week with either me going to visit him in Canada or him coming to the US (the joy of living on a border city!) However, recently customs has started to give him more of a hard time every time he crosses and his visa in canada will expire soon so we are starting to explore our options.

The original plan was for me to go with him to Japan at the end of his stay in Canada and work in Japan again (I previously lived there for about two years) and then work on getting him a visa to the US during/after however, I didn't realize until browsing around here that foreign income can't be counted on an affadavit of support so now I'm trying to figure out what to do. Going back to Japan for a while is a must for him due to some family business and so on and I want to live there for perhaps another year or two too but I don't want to do anything that would force us to be apart while I build up a year of income in the US again.

Some other potential complicating factors of our situation: 1) Same-sex marriage does not exist in Japan so if we are to get married, it has to be somewhere else 2) The only person I know with assets who would be willing to consponsor (my mother) hasn't worked in the last year or so 3) I currently make enough to pass the requirements of the affadavit of support myself however, in previous years my income was much lower and this will be made to 0 if I go work abroad again 4) Customs knows about our relationship and it seems like every time he comes to the US, it seems to take longer and longer for them to review his file and decide to let him in so I'm worried if him being here so much will affect any possible determinations in the future.

With all of this, the questions swirling in my mind lately have been "Should we try to get married in Canada now and go the CR-1 route or wait and go the fiance visa route?, How does getting married in another country affect the visa process? Although I know it's legal, are there any other special things same-sex couples need to watch out for? Would I even be able to submit all the necessary documents and work on applications if I was living in Japan? "

Obviously, I know some of these things I have to work out on my own but I'd appreciate any opinions or help! Thanks for taking the time to read my story and I look forward to being a part of this community!

[AnnaMaria 68]

Good news for you then. I did a little research while waiting on my action juice (Coffee) to finish and came up with the following information that might help you.

First, if you do not want to feel forced into marriage at this point just so you have a relationship that is recognized for U.S. immigration purposes while you are in Japan, you don't have to! Here is some info on the K-1 Fiancee visa he can apply for so you can get married in the states at your own convenience!

-US citizens may sponsor their same-sex fiancé to come to the US with a K1 visa; regardless of the state of residence of the petitioning US citizen or the country of residence of the foreign born fiancé. For example, a US citizen is engaged to his or her fiancé who resides abroad. The US citizen resides in the state of Arizona, where same-sex marriage is not permitted, and the intending immigrant fiancé resides in country where same-sex marriage is also not recognized, such as China, Russia, Japan, or Saudi Arabia. - See more at: http://www.hooyou.com/familybased/same-sex-immigration.html#sthash.eLJOOg3i.dpuf

Second, in the event that you go ahead and DO get married in Canada, it still makes no difference where you live afterwwards. USCIS will honor any same-sex marriage that was DONE in a country which allows it.

-A person who is married to a U.S. citizen of the same-sex can qualify for immigration as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, regardless of the place of marriage or current place of residence. Under federal guidelines, USCIS will honor the ‘place of celebration’ when determining eligibility for immigration benefits for same-sex couples; meaning that so long as the marriage was solemnized in a place where such a marriage is legal, USCIS will honor such marriages as valid.

3) Your current income needs to be able support the intending immigrant, and your 2013 taxes should reflect that. If the taxes don't reflect it, then your pay stubs and letter from employer should be sufficient if you meet the requirements. Otherwise, if you do not make the minimum requirement to sponsor two people, and if your mother does not make the minimum requirement income, she also cannot Joint Sponsor you (There are no co-sponsors, either you or a Joint Sponsor needs to show 125% over the poverty level) Also, you said your mother hasn't worked in the past year, she needs to have filed taxes in 2013 if she was required too for any reason.

4) As far as customs and looking out for anyone, I would say if his papers are legit and everything is how it should be, you just have to deal with humans. Unfortunately, we're unpredictable and too opinionated for our own good sometimes and when you give someone more authority than they deserve, they can often take advantage of that by abusing those powers against innocent couples. I suppose you just gotta keep your head up regardless of who you encounter in customs that might give you a hard time, and get it, and come back home. Make sure if anyone gives you any unnecessary grief or drama, and you feel it has violated your rights in any way, to document the encounter, get their identification number, and anything you might deem helpful to file a report with the agency in question. Sadly, this goes for straight couples too, some people just like to cause problems.

Let me let you read this first, i'll see what you can and cannot do in Japan about working on documents and applications.

here is my source for the information provided so far http://www.hooyou.com/familybased/same-sex-immigration.html

[AnnaMaria 68]

Ok, so you already know that wherever you get married, it will not be recognized in Japan. That being said, you are working with the U.S. Embassy in Japan, not the Japanese government, in obtaining a visa. Therefore, the U.S. Embassy in Japan should respect all of the rights of the U.S. for immigration purposes when applying for a U.S. visa.

As far as documentation and applications, the only documentation the beneficiary will need is their Birth Certificate, Police Certificate, and you'll need to check if there are any country specific documents. Thinking of it, the only time anyone asked us here in Romania what we needed something for was at the Police Certificate and we wrote "U.S. Visa" as the reason and did not get a single question. So, I don't think you'll have to share why you need these documents in detail, just make sure its understood it is for a U.S. Visa and be on your way.

I don't know anything about what you can and cannot do online in Japan that would constitute "wrong" in terms of filling out the few online forms you have to do with the immigration. I also don't know what kind of memoirs you can or cannot have in your residence in Japan that could cause trouble. Assuming they simply just don't recognize a gay marriage, then there is nothing you cannot do (I would think) as far as getting everything together for the visa. Remember, in the U.S. embassy your rights are protected, and according to our government, the right to same-sex marriage for immigration benefits is accepted, so that is the only time you should go into full detail about your relationship, show pictures together, and anything proving a Bona Fide marriage.

Hope this helped.