All Japan Filers

[Daveyamf79 0]

I just went to Japan to be with Chi during her interview and also to meet her parents. Everything went very well. We have visa in hand. Ours went relatively fast. I'm going back in a couple weeks to have a "good-bye dinner party" since her family will be unable to go to the wedding. This is only the beginning for us.

[Amastar 0]

Wow, I must have depressed the hell out of everyone. lol

My wife comes in just a couple days now. Wish us luck at the PoE!

First I just want to wish you guys luck! I look forward to your post about if there is any trouble or not. I hope everything will go smoothly.

Second, Man.... I can totally related with your previous post. I feel the same way about being away from my wife for so long. I was lucky in that my work let me take a couple of months off to come stay with my wife here in Japan but I go back to Texas in a couple of weeks and then its no telling how long it will be before I get to hold her or kiss her again. I saw her in November and then didnt see her again until January 17th and I felt like being away even for that long was stress on our relationship. I totally understand everything you wrote man. If we had a finish line to look forward to then things would be so much better.

Anyway, kuddos man. Great points.

[Daveyamf79 0]

I'm about to get married to a Japanese woman in the US and wanted to know if we need to register the marriage with the closest Japan Consulate (Houston) or the main embassy in DC and also does it need to be in-person or can it be via mail?

[Justin and Masako 0]

I'm about to get married to a Japanese woman in the US and wanted to know if we need to register the marriage with the closest Japan Consulate (Houston) or the main embassy in DC and also does it need to be in-person or can it be via mail?

Daveamf79,

First off, congratulations!

Yes you should register your marriage with the Japanese government. I am not sure if you can do it in the US but I would think so. My wife did it at her town hall while I was there in December. They needed a copy of my passport and our marriage certificate, and translations of both. You don't need official translations, my wife did it herself. A couple days later they called and told us that we were officially married in Japan.

[Justin and Masako 0]

Ok, so for all of you wondering about my wifes visit while having an I-130 petition in progress here are the details.

She took a train to Tokyo (from Osaka) and then flew directly to the Minneapolis St. Paul airport (MSP). The immigrations officer was polite and only asked a few questions. He did know that we had an I-130 in progress and asked if she was moving here. She said she would be eventually but we were still waiting for the NOA2 at this point. She also showed him a letter from her company stating that she had requested and been granted vacation days from March 5th through the 12th and that she was expected back at work on the 13th, she also showed him her employee ID card. He welcomed her to Minnesota and wished her a good visit. They didn't take her to another room for questioning, this was just in the normal line. She also had with her an employment certificate showing when she started at the company, her flight itinerary (showing her return flight), and copies of our NOA1 and Marriage certificate, though she never showed them to him as he didn't ask for additional evidence.

She said they were much nicer then the people at Detroit, and we decided that would be her POE from now on, even though its not as convenient and costs more because of the train to Tokyo. But the flight is also about 3 hours shorter which helps. She returned to Japan going from Minneapolis to Detroit to Osaka and had no issues there either as they only take your I-94 (I think) slip from your passport as you get on the plane.

The visit was great but far too short. I hope this can give hope to those of you looking at visits during the immigration process.

[Justin and Masako 0]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone knew of a good phone card for calling from Japan to the US. I have a good one that gives me 6 cents a minute to Japan and while you can get access codes to call from Japan to the US the rate that direction is $1.77. My wife spends a lot calling me (just using her normal cell plan) and I would like to make it cheaper for her. Maybe close to what I pay calling her. So does anyone know of a good phone card?

Mine is an Aldi (grocery store) branded International calling card, it uses Sprint service. I have had very good luck with it and $30 gets you a bit over 500 minutes.

Thanks for any replies,

[sarudoshi 0]

I'm using KDDI plus/world from Japan to US. Your wife can purchase it at any convinience store (Lawson, Seven Eleven, Family Mart etc.)

My husband is using Asia Express from US to Japan. You can buy it on line. Access to callingcards.com

Goodluck.

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone knew of a good phone card for calling from Japan to the US. I have a good one that gives me 6 cents a minute to Japan and while you can get access codes to call from Japan to the US the rate that direction is $1.77. My wife spends a lot calling me (just using her normal cell plan) and I would like to make it cheaper for her. Maybe close to what I pay calling her. So does anyone know of a good phone card?

Mine is an Aldi (grocery store) branded International calling card, it uses Sprint service. I have had very good luck with it and $30 gets you a bit over 500 minutes.

Thanks for any replies,

[Justin and Masako 0]

I'm using KDDI plus/world from Japan to US. Your wife can purchase it at any convinience store (Lawson, Seven Eleven, Family Mart etc.)

My husband is using Asia Express from US to Japan. You can buy it on line. Access to callingcards.com

Goodluck.

Thanks for the response sarudoshi!

Do you happen to know the rate on that card? (per minute)

Thanks again,

[Amastar 0]

Ok, so for all of you wondering about my wifes visit while having an I-130 petition in progress here are the details.

She took a train to Tokyo (from Osaka) and then flew directly to the Minneapolis St. Paul airport (MSP). The immigrations officer was polite and only asked a few questions. He did know that we had an I-130 in progress and asked if she was moving here. She said she would be eventually but we were still waiting for the NOA2 at this point. She also showed him a letter from her company stating that she had requested and been granted vacation days from March 5th through the 12th and that she was expected back at work on the 13th, she also showed him her employee ID card. He welcomed her to Minnesota and wished her a good visit. They didn't take her to another room for questioning, this was just in the normal line. She also had with her an employment certificate showing when she started at the company, her flight itinerary (showing her return flight), and copies of our NOA1 and Marriage certificate, though she never showed them to him as he didn't ask for additional evidence.

She said they were much nicer then the people at Detroit, and we decided that would be her POE from now on, even though its not as convenient and costs more because of the train to Tokyo. But the flight is also about 3 hours shorter which helps. She returned to Japan going from Minneapolis to Detroit to Osaka and had no issues there either as they only take your I-94 (I think) slip from your passport as you get on the plane.

The visit was great but far too short. I hope this can give hope to those of you looking at visits during the immigration process.

Wow!! thanks for updating Justin. Thats really great news and gives me hope maybe my wife can come visit me.

I know every place is different but I think Dallas, Texas is really laid back too and maybe there is a chance she wont have any hassle.

You said he already knew about the I-130 in progress and asked if she was moving here but did he ask to see the employment letter and stuff or did your wife just offer it to him?

Unfortunately my wife is not working now because she is pregnant. I wonder if she just brought a copy of her rental agreement or bills or something like that if it would be enough.

Thanks again man, this made my day.

[MATTODEC2007 0]

Try giving her a Vonage device. I took a Vonage modem to Japan back in July and now I can call my girl by calling a Los Angeles phone number. She now can call me using Vonage as well. FREE. Except for the monthly $24+ charge. My calling cards we adding up to around $60 dollars a month.

[k1visajapan 0]

We use skype.com to talk for free over the internet. All you need is a headset. Webcam is optional.

Anyone file for K1 in December (California CIS center) and hear anything back yet? Just curious.

[dbzman 0]

We use skype.com to talk for free over the internet. All you need is a headset. Webcam is optional.

Anyone file for K1 in December (California CIS center) and hear anything back yet? Just curious.

k1visajapan,

How is your reception?

Mine is not so good. We use Skype every weekrnd but we have trouble with reception.

[k1visajapan 0]

The reception is ok...not always great...I think it just depends on the day. She thinks it might have to do with the number of people online at the time. Calling a phone from skype is still pretty cheap and the reception is usually better.

[Justin and Masako 0]

We use Skype every weekend to video chat but we need to be able to call cell phone to cell phone too. Thats why I was asking about calling cards. The Skype call quality is usually pretty good but there can be issues with either the call or sometimes the client crashes or freezes. But that is pretty rare.

[handor 0]

As for phone cards, I use and highly recommend Brastel for anyone. My fiancee and I use it whether calling from Japan to the USA or vice versa. Once you have a card, it's rechargeable, can be registered for use with certain phone numbers to avoid having to enter an access code, and has rates that are just about as good as I've found with any other services.

The quality is almost always very good. There was a week or so last year which shook my faith, but aside from that it's been perfect nearly every time. (Note: It does use IP as a transport mechanism, but I've hardly ever been able to tell the difference.)