All Japan Filers

[JGG5 39]

1 minute ago, TaKane said:

@JGG5 Yes, indeed. All issued and good to go! It has been a long journey. 

Fantastic news! Congratulations! 

[TaKane 53]

Just now, JGG5 said:

Fantastic news! Congratulations! 

Thanks! Next step...searching for flights! 

[JGG5 39]

2 minutes ago, TaKane said:

Thanks! Next step...searching for flights! 

I hear that. I tried to get my wife out on the next flight out but it was pretty expensive. We ended up waiting about a week and saved about $1,500. Plus it bought her a little time to spend with friends and family. Now that travel restrictions are easing hopefully more routes open and prices drop. Hopefully. I know the flight from NRT to BOS was packed. Good luck!

[TaKane 53]

9 hours ago, JGG5 said:

I hear that. I tried to get my wife out on the next flight out but it was pretty expensive. We ended up waiting about a week and saved about $1,500. Plus it bought her a little time to spend with friends and family. Now that travel restrictions are easing hopefully more routes open and prices drop. Hopefully. I know the flight from NRT to BOS was packed. Good luck!

Thanks for the info. Yeah, flight options are still somewhat limited especially for non-stop fights unless one is flying to the hubs. Pricing is still expensive for flying within the week. We are looking for couple weeks out for more reasonable priced flights. 

Edited September 2, 2020 by TaKane

[exitlizard 1]

On 8/21/2020 at 6:13 PM, 2020ParkTower said:

Hello,

I filed an I-130 for my wife in October of last year, and it was approved in June of this year. We received the NVC account information on June 11th. I was able to submit most of the documents by the 14th. I wasn't aware of the recommendation to wait until all documents were ready, so I submitted what I had on the 14th. The one thing that took significantly longer than expected was a police report. I finally got the police report last week, and submitted that on August 15th. Now I'm waiting for DQ. 

Update

Today I received 4 notices in my NVC mailbox. 

1 rejection of my wife's police report (country other than Japan).

1 comment regarding my wife's Japanese police report.

1 request for proof of domicile in US

1 request for W2 forms. 

 

The rejection of the non-Japanese police report just told me to upload an acceptable police certificate. This was the biggest worry because this document took the longest to obtain due to covid and the caprices of the global postal service. I didn't know what they meant by "acceptable police certificate". So I called the NVC and waited an hour on the phone to speak with an agent. It turns out that the police report from outside of Japan should be opened, scanned, and uploaded (whereas the Japanese police reports explicitly say the document is void if opened). What I had done was just scan the envelope of the foreign police certificate, because, as with the Japanese police certificate, I assumed the foreign one would similarly be nullified if I opened it instead of the NVC. So the person at the NVC assured me the non-Japanese police report should be opened and scanned. I asked about the Japanese police report, and she said it was fine as is (I had just scanned the sealed envelope). So with some trepidation I will open up the foreign police certificate, scan it, and hope for the best.

 

I was slightly nervous about the comment about the Japanese report, because it said "The police certificate required for JAPAN is not needed in order for the interview to be scheduled. However, the police certificate must be obtained and uploaded before the visa interview." Very confusing because I had already obtained it and uploaded the sealed envelope as instructed. So..its already uploaded, but again here is a message telling me I must upload it. 

 

Domicile I think I can square this away. 

W-2 forms... I live and work in Japan, so I have no W-2 forms. But I do have my Japanese and US taxes done professionally, so I have all necessary information included in my tax filings. Its a headache because I'm torn between sending my Japanese wage statements (源泉徴収票), which I am happy to do, but then I have to get them translated which will take more time and money. Or, do I just translate the relevant bits myself and then submit. In either event, the NVC already has the information, because they have my completed tax forms (in English). There is nothing on the Japanese wage statements that isn't already documented in my tax filings. 

 

Anyway, on the one hand I was happy to get the package reviewed in about 2 weeks after submitting the last of the required documents. I started submitting them in June, but only had the final bits ready on August 15th. I was expecting to maybe not hear from NVC until October. So the process is moving ahead of what I expected. But the vague instructions, the instructions telling me to do things I have already done, the replication of effort, and the  consequences of doing something slightly wrong are so punishing in terms of time required to resubmit - it's not good for the nerves. 

 

Anyway, I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

[CS_Bradshaw 55]

26 minutes ago, 2020ParkTower said:

Update

Today I received 4 notices in my NVC mailbox. 

1 rejection of my wife's police report (country other than Japan).

1 comment regarding my wife's Japanese police report.

1 request for proof of domicile in US

1 request for W2 forms. 

 

The rejection of the non-Japanese police report just told me to upload an acceptable police certificate. This was the biggest worry because this document took the longest to obtain due to covid and the caprices of the global postal service. I didn't know what they meant by "acceptable police certificate". So I called the NVC and waited an hour on the phone to speak with an agent. It turns out that the police report from outside of Japan should be opened, scanned, and uploaded (whereas the Japanese police reports explicitly say the document is void if opened). What I had done was just scan the envelope of the foreign police certificate, because, as with the Japanese police certificate, I assumed the foreign one would similarly be nullified if I opened it instead of the NVC. So the person at the NVC assured me the non-Japanese police report should be opened and scanned. I asked about the Japanese police report, and she said it was fine as is (I had just scanned the sealed envelope). So with some trepidation I will open up the foreign police certificate, scan it, and hope for the best.

 

I was slightly nervous about the comment about the Japanese report, because it said "The police certificate required for JAPAN is not needed in order for the interview to be scheduled. However, the police certificate must be obtained and uploaded before the visa interview." Very confusing because I had already obtained it and uploaded the sealed envelope as instructed. So..its already uploaded, but again here is a message telling me I must upload it. 

 

Domicile I think I can square this away. 

W-2 forms... I live and work in Japan, so I have no W-2 forms. But I do have my Japanese and US taxes done professionally, so I have all necessary information included in my tax filings. Its a headache because I'm torn between sending my Japanese wage statements (源泉徴収票), which I am happy to do, but then I have to get them translated which will take more time and money. Or, do I just translate the relevant bits myself and then submit. In either event, the NVC already has the information, because they have my completed tax forms (in English). There is nothing on the Japanese wage statements that isn't already documented in my tax filings. 

 

Anyway, on the one hand I was happy to get the package reviewed in about 2 weeks after submitting the last of the required documents. I started submitting them in June, but only had the final bits ready on August 15th. I was expecting to maybe not hear from NVC until October. So the process is moving ahead of what I expected. But the vague instructions, the instructions telling me to do things I have already done, the replication of effort, and the  consequences of doing something slightly wrong are so punishing in terms of time required to resubmit - it's not good for the nerves. 

 

Anyway, I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

from which country she need to have the police certificate if i may ask?

it might just my thought, maybe because you uploaded the Japanese police certificate separately and not submitted with other documents? NVC system might not work properly that way, idk.... but maybe you can try to upload again because you have received an instruction now from them. I was only uploaded the envelope of my Japanese police certificate as well and it was fine.

[AyeB 5]

46 minutes ago, 2020ParkTower said:

Update

Today I received 4 notices in my NVC mailbox. 

1 rejection of my wife's police report (country other than Japan).

1 comment regarding my wife's Japanese police report.

1 request for proof of domicile in US

1 request for W2 forms. 

 

The rejection of the non-Japanese police report just told me to upload an acceptable police certificate. This was the biggest worry because this document took the longest to obtain due to covid and the caprices of the global postal service. I didn't know what they meant by "acceptable police certificate". So I called the NVC and waited an hour on the phone to speak with an agent. It turns out that the police report from outside of Japan should be opened, scanned, and uploaded (whereas the Japanese police reports explicitly say the document is void if opened). What I had done was just scan the envelope of the foreign police certificate, because, as with the Japanese police certificate, I assumed the foreign one would similarly be nullified if I opened it instead of the NVC. So the person at the NVC assured me the non-Japanese police report should be opened and scanned. I asked about the Japanese police report, and she said it was fine as is (I had just scanned the sealed envelope). So with some trepidation I will open up the foreign police certificate, scan it, and hope for the best.

 

I was slightly nervous about the comment about the Japanese report, because it said "The police certificate required for JAPAN is not needed in order for the interview to be scheduled. However, the police certificate must be obtained and uploaded before the visa interview." Very confusing because I had already obtained it and uploaded the sealed envelope as instructed. So..its already uploaded, but again here is a message telling me I must upload it. 

 

Domicile I think I can square this away. 

W-2 forms... I live and work in Japan, so I have no W-2 forms. But I do have my Japanese and US taxes done professionally, so I have all necessary information included in my tax filings. Its a headache because I'm torn between sending my Japanese wage statements (源泉徴収票), which I am happy to do, but then I have to get them translated which will take more time and money. Or, do I just translate the relevant bits myself and then submit. In either event, the NVC already has the information, because they have my completed tax forms (in English). There is nothing on the Japanese wage statements that isn't already documented in my tax filings. 

 

Anyway, on the one hand I was happy to get the package reviewed in about 2 weeks after submitting the last of the required documents. I started submitting them in June, but only had the final bits ready on August 15th. I was expecting to maybe not hear from NVC until October. So the process is moving ahead of what I expected. But the vague instructions, the instructions telling me to do things I have already done, the replication of effort, and the  consequences of doing something slightly wrong are so punishing in terms of time required to resubmit - it's not good for the nerves. 

 

Anyway, I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

We had the same issue with W-2. When my husband (USC) first submitted his tax documents (copy of his tax return docs) he put a comment saying "I do not have W-2 since I have been working in Japan". But of course NVC sent us a message saying they need his W-2. What we did is submit his Japanese 確定申告書. We thought of submitting his 源泉徴収票 as well, but for us 確定申告書 was easier. I did translate it on my own which was such a pain. When I googled "源泉徴収票　英訳", I got some websites that show English templates of 源泉徴収 so I recommend you do that if you want to save money. Good luck! 

[exitlizard 1]

 

Thanks for the messages

2 hours ago, CS_Bradshaw said:

from which country she need to have the police certificate if i may ask?

 

She needed a police report from the land down under. I'll give it a go again tonight. The Japanese report was uploaded fine. I was just puzzled by their message that said basically, "you do not need this, but you will need it soon". It seemed almost deliberately confusing. (And on the NVC site it has "accepted" notice and the green check mark next to the Japanese police certificate). 

 

2 hours ago, AyeB said:

We had the same issue with W-2. When my husband (USC) first submitted his tax documents (copy of his tax return docs) he put a comment saying "I do not have W-2 since I have been working in Japan". But of course NVC sent us a message saying they need his W-2. What we did is submit his Japanese 確定申告書. We thought of submitting his 源泉徴収票 as well, but for us 確定申告書 was easier. I did translate it on my own which was such a pain. When I googled "源泉徴収票　英訳", I got some websites that show English templates of 源泉徴収 so I recommend you do that if you want to save money. Good luck! 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I think I will translate the 源泉徴収票  myself and upload them tonight. I find it frustrating that each request for further information is another opportunity for NVC to decline something, or to ask for it to be submitted in a different format, or some other request - each time potentially adding weeks to the process, which means that the documents already provided become that much older and out of date. 😱

 

[MJ&YY 130]

Updated today:
 

https://jp.usembassy.gov/visas/
 

The U.S. Embassy  in Tokyo, and the consulates in Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo resumed certain nonimmigrant visa services, including:  F, M, certain J categories (alien physician, government visitor, international visitor professor, research scholar, short-term research scholar, specialist, secondary school student and college/university student),   C1/D, E, I, O and P visas , K Fiancé(e) Visa, and certain immigrant visas including IR1, IR2, CR1, and CR2. The U.S. Consulate in Naha resumed certain immigrant visa services, including: IR1, IR2, CR1, and CR2. While the Embassy and Consulates aim to process cases as soon as practicable, there is likely to be increased wait times for completing such services due to substantial backlogs.

[CS_Bradshaw 55]

3 hours ago, MJ&YY said:

Updated today:
 

https://jp.usembassy.gov/visas/
 

The U.S. Embassy  in Tokyo, and the consulates in Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo resumed certain nonimmigrant visa services, including:  F, M, certain J categories (alien physician, government visitor, international visitor professor, research scholar, short-term research scholar, specialist, secondary school student and college/university student),   C1/D, E, I, O and P visas , K Fiancé(e) Visa, and certain immigrant visas including IR1, IR2, CR1, and CR2. The U.S. Consulate in Naha resumed certain immigrant visa services, including: IR1, IR2, CR1, and CR2. While the Embassy and Consulates aim to process cases as soon as practicable, there is likely to be increased wait times for completing such services due to substantial backlogs.

awesome!! 

[CS_Bradshaw 55]

On 8/28/2020 at 7:33 PM, AyeB said:

Yes, they emailed me. They had scheduled my interview for mid September but it didn’t work for me so I sent them a request to reschedule the appointment via their online system. They got back to me the next day and scheduled my interview for a date that I requested for, which is mid October. 

I got an email from the NVC about my interview date last week, it will be in the beginning of October. 

[exitlizard 1]

Seems like very fast turnaround times. Its making me optimistic about my chances for DQ this month, and an interview in October. 

(I submitted Japan wage statements with translations, as well as domicile info and police report on the 3rd of this month).

 

[AyeB 5]

1 hour ago, CS_Bradshaw said:

I got an email from the NVC about my interview date last week, it will be in the beginning of October. 

Great! Thanks for the update. So you will be going to an interview before me  Have you picked a place to have your medical? 

[CS_Bradshaw 55]

1 hour ago, 2020ParkTower said:

Seems like very fast turnaround times. Its making me optimistic about my chances for DQ this month, and an interview in October. 

(I submitted Japan wage statements with translations, as well as domicile info and police report on the 3rd of this month).

 

yeahh, i got my interview date 3 weeks after the DQ. hopefully they will accept your documents soon. good luck!

share it with us here if you have an update^^ 

[CS_Bradshaw 55]

1 hour ago, AyeB said:

Great! Thanks for the update. So you will be going to an interview before me  Have you picked a place to have your medical? 

yeaahhh.... was thinking to change the date too, but trying to fly there in the end of this year if everything goes well, so i didn't change it, lol.

 

yes, i think they only accept the medical check up from 2 hospital for Tokyo area, so i am going to the one that closer from my place, gonna do it this Friday.