Accepted a job back in the US without knowing much about visa wait times. Am now panicking.

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

1 minute ago, Tyrant150 said:

Our reservation at the embassy is in 2 weeks. Is this enough time to back file and get that information ready?

All US citizens and legal residents are required to report world-wide income if it meets the threshold for filing.  You will have to show that you back-filed if you were required to file.  Copies of the tax return packages you have sent should be sufficient.  However, the consulate might want to see transcripts.  Good luck.  

[Tyrant150 14]

Okay, we went to the Embassy in Akasaka yesterday and turned in our forms. The request has been put through! Now the hard part is over, we just need to hope we can finish everything else in time.

We are now waiting on an email that says our I-130 submission has gone through so I can fill out a DS-260 online. Once I have submitted the DS-260, I will be allowed to make a reservation for my wife's medical examination. We will also be able to head to the prefectural police station, where we can get something called a 'police certificate' once I submit the DS-260. Those two documents (medical exam result and police certificate) seem to be the last two pieces of the puzzle.

Once we have those documents, we can schedule an interview for her at the Embassy. We should get our result that same day.
We have 29 days until we are supposed to fly to America. Not entirely confident we can finish all of this in time, but I am going to do everything as fast as I possibly can! Any advice is appreciated!

[Tyrant150 14]

I got the email for the DS-260 on 11/22, one day after the last update. Immediately filled it out and called the designated hospital to make an appointment. Turns out it takes a few days to register the DS-260 in the system, so I called back on 11/25 and managed to get an appointment for her medical exam on 11/30. The results take about a week to be processed and they go directly to the embassy so no worries about them getting lost in transit.

 

In the meantime we headed to the prefectural police station and requested the police certificate. We go back on 12/5 to collect this.

 

Also got extremely lucky and snagged an interview time for her at the embassy on 12/11. Somehow some way, it looks like everything will come together within a few days of each other.

 

Assuming everything goes well with her interview, we should have her visa ready to go just before our flight out of here on 12/20. Crazy that about a month ago I was panicking about all of this, and it all just worked out. Particularly in thanks to @Crazy Cat, who told me about direct filing literally moments before I submitted online. Feels like we pulled off the heist of the century or something.

 

Will post a final update once everything goes through and we are (ideally) at home in America.

[millefleur 5,047]

11 hours ago, Tyrant150 said:

Assuming everything goes well with her interview, we should have her visa ready to go just before our flight out of here on 12/20. Crazy that about a month ago I was panicking about all of this, and it all just worked out. Particularly in thanks to @Crazy Cat, who told me about direct filing literally moments before I submitted online. Feels like we pulled off the heist of the century or something.

That's great news! DCF is a boon to anyone who can get it, I'm glad it worked out for you!