All Japan Filers

[Chris&Kirara 0]

My fiancee and I are are planning our wedding already too. We are wanting to do a destination wedding in Hawaii. I have a large extended family, but only 10-15 people will be in Hawaii because of the financial burden that it would place on them to fly out there. I was shocked when I saw that it takes two months to get a wedding certificate. I was getting a little depressed because I wanted to start the AOS as soon as possible and I didn't want to have to wait that long to put her on my work insurance, etc. The expedite process is a live saver, but it looks like it is their way to make a little extra money from all the weddings out there.

Akiko and others from or been to Hawaii, any suggestions as far as which island, hotels, or wedding planners? I have never been to Hawaii before.

Also it looks like we MIGHT be getting our NOA2 sooner than expected. So we started looking into the stuff for the Tokyo embassy. It looks fairly simple compared to what some other members are needing for their interviews. I was also reading that it was a very easy embassy. Do we have to wait for her to receive the packet from the embassy before she gets the police reports and medical exam? Any idea how long the current waiting list is for an interview? Is it over a month?

[Kyle and Krystel 0]

hello Japan filers! im joing the club now hehe..im new to diz site and i have couple question im juz confused on my packet 3 and website..wat do i really have to send back to the embassy? im really confused i need some advice/help pleaaseee....

[vny 0]

hello Japan filers! im joing the club now hehe..im new to diz site and i have couple question im juz confused on my packet 3 and website..wat do i really have to send back to the embassy? im really confused i need some advice/help pleaaseee....

[Kyle and Krystel 0]

i have my timeline now:)

[Justin and Masako 0]

My fiancee and I are are planning our wedding already too. We are wanting to do a destination wedding in Hawaii. I have a large extended family, but only 10-15 people will be in Hawaii because of the financial burden that it would place on them to fly out there. I was shocked when I saw that it takes two months to get a wedding certificate. I was getting a little depressed because I wanted to start the AOS as soon as possible and I didn't want to have to wait that long to put her on my work insurance, etc. The expedite process is a live saver, but it looks like it is their way to make a little extra money from all the weddings out there.

Akiko and others from or been to Hawaii, any suggestions as far as which island, hotels, or wedding planners? I have never been to Hawaii before.

Also it looks like we MIGHT be getting our NOA2 sooner than expected. So we started looking into the stuff for the Tokyo embassy. It looks fairly simple compared to what some other members are needing for their interviews. I was also reading that it was a very easy embassy. Do we have to wait for her to receive the packet from the embassy before she gets the police reports and medical exam? Any idea how long the current waiting list is for an interview? Is it over a month?

Hi Chris & Kirara,

Masako and I got married in Hawaii. We needed to get the certificate faster and we accomplished that by calling the office of Health and Human Services I think. I will look it up. We were married in Kauai and used this service: http://www.kauaiislandweddings.com/ They were very easy and accommodating to work with and we also stayed at a little Inn that they manage: http://www.kauaicountryinn.com/ Mike and his wife were both great to work with and we enjoyed the stay very much. I highly recommend both the wedding packages and the Inn. Just remember if you call to look up what time it is in Hawaii. They were always easy to get a hold of and easy to work with. I wouldn't mind staying at the Inn again, though it doesn't have an ocean view, it was nice and comfortable.

I will try to find who I called to move things along with the certificate and post that info as well.

[Akiko 0]

Hi Chris & Kirara,

That is great that you two are planning your wedding in Hawaii! My husband and I actually got eloped because of financial situations and so on but that is because we were both raised here and live here. But Hawaii is a place where a lot of people come to get married. It would certainly be an experience of a lifetime.

I was raised on the island of Maui but I now live on Oahu. I would suggest the island of Hawaii (Big Island) or maybe Maui. I am not too sure on the wedding planners but there are many available. It would also depend on what kind of wedding you would want (beach wedding, church wedding, hotel wedding, etc.). I would start with what island to get married on and work your way from there.

Best wishes to the two of you!

[Akiko 0]

Oh, and you may expedite your marriage certificate. When you go to get your marriage license at the State Department of Health, they give you a form where you can fill out and send in to receive the marriage certificates faster. Its costs a little but it is a lot better than waiting.

[Akiko 0]

Hey guys!

My AOS packet is taking me longer to put together than I thought it would too. It may or may not be because of the big distraction sitting on my couch playing video games right now. My new, more realistic time goal, is to have it out by Monday or Tuesday.

The medical paper we apparently have to submit has me disgruntled. What did you do for the medical paper, Akiko, did you just cross your fingers and send in the vaccination records you got in Japan or did you get an American doctor to write the paper for you? And if you don't mind, how much did they charge you to write the paper (if that's the route you took)?

And did it really take that long to get a certified marriage certificate (lol) for you guys? We civil ceremonied it (for now) and got ours the same day.

I just sent in the vaccination records. It was such a bother to visit the doctor again. And it did say that K-1 visa holders only needed vaccination information, if I'm not mistaken.

Good luck with your AOS.

[Kyle and Krystel 0]

hello japan filers,.im new on this site..me and my fiance a lil bit confused on wat do we really have to send back to the tokyo embassy cuz on the packet 3 i got they dont specific on wat they want me to return to them..im guessing that only ds230 ryt? advice me pleasse im totally confused.

[Chris&Kirara 0]

Thanks Justin and Akiko! I had looked into Maui some because the person in charge of my local bank told me that was her favorite and it was beautiful, but they all look great. We decided on doing a small beach wedding since we won't have many people there.

Justin, was it hard getting a slot on short notice, or did you two plan way ahead allowing a lot of time to get the visa? Again thanks again everyone for the information!

[vny 0]

hello japan filers,.im new on this site..me and my fiance a lil bit confused on wat do we really have to send back to the tokyo embassy cuz on the packet 3 i got they dont specific on wat they want me to return to them..im guessing that only ds230 ryt? advice me pleasse im totally confused.

Hey Kyle and Krystel,

Now that you have your timeline....lol....just kidding... (but it does help figuring out what you are doing). Anyway, I guess you are going for K-1 visa. Sorry, I did CR-1 so processed a little differently. Maybe Akiko or one of the others can help you out. But try looking at the Tokyo embassy website. http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-niv-k.html They have a lot of information there. Also look at the Guides section of VJ. Look up....up some more....(hihihi), there is a "Guides" link right under the .com of the VisaJourney.com title above. Hopefully that will help a little too. There is a lot of info on this VJ website. If you go back a little, even on this Japan thread, I think you may find the info you are looking for. It takes a lot of reading going through this immigration process, but just do it, and make sure you do it right the first time. But mostly, you must have patience in this whole process.

Good Luck. Hope you will find what you are looking for.

vny

[Anonymous 57 0]

Hey guys!

Akiko - I thought about it but I'm afraid to risk it. You're right, they're not specific, but apparently half of the people who didn't use form 600whatever got RFEs and we want our EAD as soon as possible. We have an appointment in an hour, there are a lot of civil surgeons in the area and we found one that could get us in right away. I guess we'll just see what happens

Kyle - Unless they asked for additional documents (which they normally do not), just send I-230. Then wait until they e-mail you and tell you that you can schedule an interview, they'll give you instructions about what else to do at that time.

[M -and- A 3]

Progress update...

After waiting 26 long days to receive the DS-3032 packet.. it finally came today. DS-3032 has been emailed back, paid the $70 AOS bill online, and will mail the DS-3032 hardcopy tomorrow.

[Kyle and Krystel 0]

thank you so much vny and lauraandfrogger for such a good info

[vny 0]

Progress update...

After waiting 26 long days to receive the DS-3032 packet.. it finally came today. DS-3032 has been emailed back, paid the $70 AOS bill online, and will mail the DS-3032 hardcopy tomorrow.

Hey, Congratulations Mike & Sachie. You are well on your way. I guess your next step is DS-230, then to wait, wait, wait again for an interview date. Hopefully yours will come faster than ours, but it does eventually come. Just keep the faith and I know I keep telling everyone this, but patience really is a virtue in this process. Hountoni, gomen ne, for keep on repeating this, but I cannot stress it enough. I just hope the process gets better and faster for those of you after us, but we did finally make it through the process too.

Good Luck and Best Wishes. Gambatte ne!!!

vny