US citizen living in Japan - trying to bring my girl to the States

[USboundJapan 0]

My situation is a little weird and I'm hoping to get some guidance from the good folks on this website.

First, some context:

I'm a US citizen from New Jersey who moved to Japan back in early 2013 to teach English. About a month into teaching, I began dating this girl who also was working as an assistant language teacher and who had been living in Japan with her parents for about a year and a half before I got there. Fast forward to 2015 and we are mad for each other and want to get married.

I visited the states for the first time for Christmas 2014 and after several lengthy talks with my family I have decided that Japan can't be a permanent thing. I have decided to move back as soon as I can to begin my career teaching English in public schools, perhaps ESL given my recent work experience.

Of course, I have discussed this with her and although she is reluctant to move to the US (she really loves the Philippines and wants to be able to visit every year), she wants to be with me and recognizes it would be better financially and career-wise (teaching English in Japan is a dead-end vocation) to move. It is also important for her to meet my family before we marry, and they are still based in the US.

To that end, and for the purpose of seeing the US for the first time, we decided we should visit the states together for a week before we return to Japan to tie the knot.

Here's the rub: she's a citizen of the Philippines. I've been reading that they do not receive tourist visas easily.

My main question is: how should I proceed? Should we wait in Japan for a few years and save as much as we can, get married and go to the states with a spouse visa, risking the possibility that she won't like it there?

Would it be easier/cheaper/faster to have her come to the States with a fiancée visa? Can visitors to the states with fiancée visas use that visa just to visit, and then leave without getting married? Is that option a huge waste of money, other options considered?

Which of these routes is cheaper, or do they cost about the same amount (from what I've been reading, around $2000)?

Are there any other routes that I have not considered?

Is there any advantage to my having been (I am still) in Japan with her for the past few years? Because we have both discussed (although we are not exactly happy with) the idea that I could go to the states to set myself up financially and then petition to have her brought over after a year or so, once I've secured a financial/vocational foothold in the tri-state area.

As you can see, I have a lot of questions and am pretty perplexed by the whole thing. Any advice at all from your collective wisdom would be appreciated.

Edited January 13, 2015 by USboundJapan

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from K1 Process & Procedures to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum; OP is considering different visa paths.

[NikLR 13,227]

You can certainly try for a tourist visa for her and go from there. A K1 visa requires an intent to marry, however it is possible to not get married and leave before the 90 days are up if you decide not to get married at that time. But a K1 still takes some time to get.

I would try for the tourist visa first.

Just a little side note: if she had a green card, she could certainly still visit the Philippines almost as much as she wanted but she would need to spend more time in the USA than out. It only takes 3 years of residency and marriage to a USC to become a citizen, so both of you could easily move around the world after that point as long as you're filing US tax returns. (US tax returns are based off citizenship, not residency. So even while living in Japan, you must file a US tax return. You would use form 2555 to exclude your foreign income so that you would not owe any taxes.)

[USboundJapan 0]

Thanks for the advice! I suppose a tourist visa is worth a shot, but overwhelming anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that I definitely should not get my hopes up.

Since this thread has been moved to this forum which I previously did not see, I am reading the guides and finding answers to a lot of my questions. This forum really is amazing! Thanks so much to everyone involved.

I am intrigued by the DCF option, since it is on the cheaper side and definitely the fastest. I will have to contact the US consulate in Japan to see if DCF is available and if I am eligible.

One question: What factors into financial qualification for sponsorship? I'm a young professional and although I have a home in the States, I am not exactly a Rockefeller, especially according to my own bank account. A large part of the why I am going back is so I can make more money than I am here. How much does one need to have in order for one's spouse of fiancée to be eligible for these visas?

[Ryan H 3,812]

Thanks for the advice! I suppose a tourist visa is worth a shot, but overwhelming anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that I definitely should not get my hopes up.

Since this thread has been moved to this forum which I previously did not see, I am reading the guides and finding answers to a lot of my questions. This forum really is amazing! Thanks so much to everyone involved.

I am intrigued by the DCF option, since it is on the cheaper side and definitely the fastest. I will have to contact the US consulate in Japan to see if DCF is available and if I am eligible.

One question: What factors into financial qualification for sponsorship? I'm a young professional and although I have a home in the States, I am not exactly a Rockefeller, especially according to my own bank account. A large part of the why I am going back is so I can make more money than I am here. How much does one need to have in order for one's spouse of fiancée to be eligible for these visas?

DCF is not available in Japan, there is no USCIS field office there.

Your income, assets, or a combination of both must be greater than or equal to 125% of the poverty guideline for your household size as defined by the most current version of the I-864P.

[Pheebs1201 269]

Is it an option to move elsewhere together that does offer DCF?

[USboundJapan 0]

Ryan H:

Thanks for that information. I am seeing that for a household size of 2, I am required to have or be making 19,662. Last year on my taxes I reported an income exceeding that amount. In my savings account, however, I have far less than that.

Are income taxes showing my income from the last year as above 20,000 USD enough for me to qualify as a sponsor? My other question is, if she and I are planning to temporarily move back to my parents' house to get our start before we move to our own apartment, does this change how our "Household Size" should be defined?

I am guessing that if my income is not enough to qualify me for sponsorship, my mother who lives in the States could qualify as a sponsor, especially since she met my fiancée on a trip to Japan last year (a meeting of which I have several photographs).

Hey there Pheebs, thank you for joining in on the discussion--We are both working in Japan and if DCF can't be filed here then it can't be an option for us. Moving to another country to be married and file for a DCF would be way more trouble than the other options available!

Thanks all

[Pheebs1201 269]

Good luck with however you choose to proceed!

[Ryan H 3,812]

Ryan H:

Thanks for that information. I am seeing that for a household size of 2, I am required to have or be making 19,662. Last year on my taxes I reported an income exceeding that amount. In my savings account, however, I have far less than that.

Are income taxes showing my income from the last year as above 20,000 USD enough for me to qualify as a sponsor? My other question is, if she and I are planning to temporarily move back to my parents' house to get our start before we move to our own apartment, does this change how our "Household Size" should be defined?

I am guessing that if my income is not enough to qualify me for sponsorship, my mother who lives in the States could qualify as a sponsor, especially since she met my fiancée on a trip to Japan last year (a meeting of which I have several photographs).

More answers:

• Current income determines whether or not you qualify. If your current source of income will not continue after arriving in the US, then you can't count a cent of it when completing the I-864. You will need a joint sponsor since your assets alone will be insufficient (just an FYI, to qualify on assets alone, their value total would have to be greater than or equal to the amount for your applicable household size on the I-864P multiplied by 5).
• Moving back into your parents' house does not alter your household size, it's still 2.
• Whether or not your mother has met your fiancee or not has no bearing on her qualifications as a joint sponsor. Her qualifications as a joint sponsor will be determined solely by her income, assets, or a combination of both.

[VOL 425]

Getting a Tourist Visa at Japan Embassy should be easier than getting a Tourist Visa from Philippines Embassy.

Have you ever explored the process of moving to Philippines and teaching English there?

Lots of Koreans go to Philippines to try to learn English.