All Japan Filers

[ahoka 0]

...but the last item the, self-address prepaid envelope (expack500), should be brought to the interview too.

That's a great suggestion. It's funny, too, because I just applied for a new passport. I brought an expack 500 with me,

but to my surprise, they said they didn't need it.Postage comes out of the embassy's ( and my taxpayer's ) pocket. Funny,

they request a prepaid envelope for the visa matter.

And one last question since we are curious. We assume the envelope from the medical, which includes x-ray pictures, is

not small. It will not fit the expack 500, right? Do they return it to us at the interview in a larger sealed envelope? Do they

look at it for the interview? This one needs to be brought with us to the states for presentation at POE.

during the embassy interview, the medical exam results and the x-ray are separated, they will take the medical exam results but they will give back the x-ray.

[ahoka 0]

Ahoka, thanks a lot for your reply.

JandM :my wife made the medical appointment yesterday. They told her about 10 things to bring. The appointment cover

letter from NVC is required. It has the NVC case number on it, that's what they need. Don't worry about the rest, the hospital will tell you over the phone what is needed. Passport, photos, immunization records etc. Again the letter is important.

as YOUTOO said, i feel its best to talk to whichever facility you choose to see what they require. but at least for our case, they did not specifically ask for the appointment letter. they did want our NVC case number, but that could be gotten from any document from NVC.

[sarudoshi 0]

Congratulations!

Same here, husband received an appoinment letter from NVC on July 3rd but at the same time received an e-mail from Embassy that our interview is re-scheduled on August 11.

Received appointment letter today. Life is getting much, much better

[YOUTOO 2]

Congratulations!

Same here, husband received an appoinment letter from NVC on July 3rd but at the same time received an e-mail from Embassy that our interview is re-scheduled on August 11.

Wow, congratulations. Now you are ahead of me. Wish I would get an e-mail from the embassy as well. We have not yet received the appointment letter in Japan, only in the US.

[YOUTOO 2]

This got me thinking, where on the paperwork does it show my e-mail address to communicate with? I looked at the DS-230, but I can't find it. NVC must have it, since we communicated. But I am not sure if that becomes part of the record. So I am not sure if my lawyer ever put my address anywhere. Bummer. A week or two earlier for the interview would be nice instead of 40 days waiting.

[sarudoshi 0]

When I sent a Choice of agent e-mail to NVC. I included all the petitioner and benificiary's telefax. nos. and e-mail addresses.

This got me thinking, where on the paperwork does it show my e-mail address to communicate with? I looked at the DS-230, but I can't find it. NVC must have it, since we communicated. But I am not sure if that becomes part of the record. So I am not sure if my lawyer ever put my address anywhere. Bummer. A week or two earlier for the interview would be nice instead of 40 days waiting.

[YOUTOO 2]

Aha, my inept attorney didn't do that, so no chance to get rescheduled. Another reason why it makes no sense to

hie a lawyer for normal applications.

[YOUTOO 2]

Quick update. My wife found an appointment rescheduler on the Japanese language Tokyo embassy page, which does

not show up on the English language site ( that's strange isn't it? ). Anyway, I sent an e-mail and voila, 1 hour later I

received confirmation that our appointment has been rescheduled for July 28, We are definitely very, very pleased :thumbs:

[JasonTrue 0]

Actually, I'm not so thrilled with the August 18 interview date because it's on my wife's birthday, which means I need to find a way to budget for a trip so we can both fly back to Tokyo together... Spending the last two weeks of August in Japan is not my ideal (I usually prefer fall or spring).

If there was any thought at all, the week earlier may be because we already have done medical with the K-3. But I doubt that there's much logic behind it.

There's not much rhyme or reason in general to either NVC or USCIS dates. My K-3 was held up at NVC for about 4 or 5 weeks before they pushed it to the embassy; others were done in 48 hours. The CR-1 case completion was done faster than we expected (I think it was 2 weeks after our documents were in). There were people who applied to USCIS months after me who are done with everything already.

[Justin and Masako 0]

Our case is completed at the NVC and our interview date has been assigned!!!

DS-230 completed: 7/9/2008

Interview Date: 8/11/2008

I am sooooo happy right now!!!!

I can't wait to tell my wonderful wife!!!

I just hope we can fit the medical exam in, as we will need our appointment letter for it.

I also have to book a ticket quick!

[YOUTOO 2]

Actually, I'm not so thrilled with the August 18 interview date because it's on my wife's birthday, which means I need to find a way to budget for a trip so we can both fly back to Tokyo together... Spending the last two weeks of August in Japan is not my ideal (I usually prefer fall or spring).

If there was any thought at all, the week earlier may be because we already have done medical with the K-3. But I doubt that there's much logic behind it.

There's not much rhyme or reason in general to either NVC or USCIS dates. My K-3 was held up at NVC for about 4 or 5 weeks before they pushed it to the embassy; others were done in 48 hours. The CR-1 case completion was done faster than we expected (I think it was 2 weeks after our documents were in). There were people who applied to USCIS months after me who are done with everything already.

It is absolutely correct that there is no rhyme and/or reason to anything at USCIS or NVC. I am looking at the next poster, who was approved July 9 and got an August 18 appointment, while I for example was complete on June 10 for an August 18 appointment. Also scheduling took forever, while some other people got things done within a couple of days. I will be so happy when I am out of this mess. The removing of conditions will be my next step and from what I read that will not be smooth sailing, with over a year backlog. End of August can be brutal here in Japan, this year for the first time in three years, I will be home in Hawaii. Best of luck.

[YOUTOO 2]

Our case is completed at the NVC and our interview date has been assigned!!!

DS-230 completed: 7/9/2008

Interview Date: 8/11/2008

I am sooooo happy right now!!!!

I can't wait to tell my wonderful wife!!!

I just hope we can fit the medical exam in, as we will need our appointment letter for it.

I also have to book a ticket quick!

Good luck on the ticket. It will not be cheap, bad timing, but surely no choice. As far as the medical appointment goes, we did not need the appointment letter. Just the NVC case number was sufficient. We never got the appointment letter here in Japan, but my U.S. nitwit lawyer got it and although he did nothing for us, except taking a lot of our money, he at least emailed us a copy. But again, hardcopy was not needed. Good luck to both of you.

[Justin and Masako 0]

Good luck on the ticket. It will not be cheap, bad timing, but surely no choice. As far as the medical appointment goes, we did not need the appointment letter. Just the NVC case number was sufficient. We never got the appointment letter here in Japan, but my U.S. nitwit lawyer got it and although he did nothing for us, except taking a lot of our money, he at least emailed us a copy. But again, hardcopy was not needed. Good luck to both of you.

Thanks YOUTOO!

I have been saving up for the ticket for a while now as I was hoping for an late July/early August interview date. Not because of the time of the year but because I felt it was the earliest reasonable date we would get it. So I was prepared for the expense when I started saving. I hear they are charging an extra $15 just to have checked luggage now, not that it really matters as I only every bring a small carry on. I don't like lugging around a lot of stuff when I travel.

Does anyone know if I have to contact the Tokyo embassy about attending the interview with my wife?

Thanks,

[YOUTOO 2]

The checked luggage fee is applicable only for U.S. domestic flights, International has not ( yet ) changed. I guess, if you are out of Wisconsin, shop around, you might get a decent deal out of Milwaukee which is common rated with Chicago. Nowadays it is sometimes to your benefit, if you are a late booker, although this year it's crazy because of the Olympics.

Still you should snatch something around $ 1200.00 roundtrip, maybe on Continental. Thankfully I have status and was able to get a couple of tickets home the long way via Guam on short notice. Nothing direct to Honolulu from Tokyo was available in that time period.

The Embassy states that it is not necessary to accompany your wife to the interview, sort of saying they don't want you there. One of the reasons is that it is quite a tiny space and usually filled with people. On the other hand as an U.S. citizen you have a right to enter the Embassy, so if you feel like it, tag along and enjoy the show. It is suggested that you don't approach the window with your wife, but rather stay in the background. Some posters remarked that it was helpful, when some sort of connection was displayed while the spouse was at the window, making the interviewer aware. Some posters said that it went into the opposite direction and the couple was grilled more thoroughly, especially the U.S. citizen. I will be there during my wife's interview as well, because we live far outside Tokyo and travel together anyway, but only for moral support, without making any efforts to let my presence be known ( that is unless I am asked to ).

[sarudoshi 0]

That's great to hear

Goodluck

Please don't forget to post your interview experience.

Thank you....Yoroshiku.

Quick update. My wife found an appointment rescheduler on the Japanese language Tokyo embassy page, which does

not show up on the English language site ( that's strange isn't it? ). Anyway, I sent an e-mail and voila, 1 hour later I

received confirmation that our appointment has been rescheduled for July 28, We are definitely very, very pleased :thumbs: