US Immigration from Japan

Hi everyone,

I've been a permanent resident of the U.S. through marriage to a U.S. citizen for a decade now. I haven't applied for American citizenship, because I'm Japanese and Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship. However, I don't go there often and haven't been there for some years now..

Currently both my husband and I are interested in moving to Europe. We could only achieve this if I get a job in Europe and get him a spousal visa. I'm not even at the stage yet where I have a job in Europe, but I want to start looking. If at all possible, I want to move sometime next year after the summer.. I have details on how I might be able to get a job there for my profession; that's not my question here.

What is complicated for me is that I'm not a U.S. citizen, and I don't know how long we would be in Europe. Hopefully the rest of our lives, but it all depends on how long I can hold a valid visa there and if they will approve visas to both of us at all. I know that if I live in an EU country for 5 consecutive years, I can become a citizen there, so I guess as long as I can hold a visa for 5 years in one country, I will have a home. But if I can't, we will need a place to go back, which would be the U.S. (I doubt that we will ever live in Japan; I've been keeping my Japanese citizenship because my whole family is there and for some time during the pandemic, only citizens were allowed to enter Japan)

I'm very much aware that if I leave the U.S. for more than a year without prior permission from the U.S., I will lose my green card. I was wondering...

• How easy and fast would it be to get approval before leaving the U.S.?
• Do I need to have a job offer (reason for leaving the U.S. for more than a year) in Europe at the time of applying for the permission to re-enter the U.S.?
• Do I need to know at the time of applying for permission how long I will be out of the U.S.?
• Could I extend my stay out of the U.S. after leaving the U.S. if I have the permission to re-enter?
• If my husband successfully moves to Europe with me after, would we still be able to move back to the U.S., up till how many years after?

The thing is, we really don't know how long we will be out or whether it would be permanent. Has anyone here moved back and forth between the U.S. and another country with a green card?

Probably the safer option for me is to just give up my Japanese citizenship and become a U.S. citizen first (but would love to hear more about the above option first because my parents are getting old in Japan) Currently I meet all the requirements to qualify for the citizenship. But if I do that,

• How long would the naturalization process be?
• As a naturalized citizen, would it really not matter where my permanent residence is in the world if I was to come back in the future?
• Would I have to live in the U.S. for a certain period of time after obtaining the citizenship?

Another possible option is to just go to Europe and lose my green card. If I do that,

• Would my husband be able to petition for me again for another green card in the future?
• Would he have to be in the U.S. at the time to petition for me?
• If I fail to obtain another green card in the future, could I still come to the U.S. as a tourist, or would I be forever banned from the U.S.?

Currently I'm just brainstorming every possibility, so please only be informative. Thank you in advance!!

Just returned from marrying my spouse in Japan and hoping to have I-130 submitted soon. Is now the time to change her last name? I noticed the I-130 form asks for the beneficiary's current legal name. The marriage certificate still says her maiden name.

Also, what translation company/service do you recommend for translating the marriage certificate.

Hi all,

My wife has a 10-year GC and a 2 year reentry permit expiring next year. We have been back and forth between the US and Japan a number of times since receiving the re-entry permit. She has an ill relative that we have been assisting, and it has been easier to have the kids in school in japan (not in public japanese school, in private school). We would like to process one more re-entry permit to continue to assist - it is unlikely a longer period will be needed.

How long before the existing re-entry permit expires is it recommend to apply for the second one? How long are they taking to get approved these days? I assume that if more convenient, we could use the online rescheduler to change her biometrics appointment (if needed again?) to Guam?

Thank you.

Hey all, working on finishing up gathering the evidence and filing but am unsure on a few things if anyone has any advice. For evidence that there is many months of (ex. bank statements), did you all send every single month? Or something like one statement per quarter? I was gathering together banking documents and it is super thick for all of them lol

The only utility we pay at our apartment is electric, and we could only get it in one name. Should we not include utilities/bills in this case? Phone bill is is one name only as well.

Lastly, I was recently laid off and have since found a new job, but health insurance will not kick in for 3 months. Wife is on her company's insurance individually now and I'm looking for a marketplace option during the interim. It was not an option for us to both go on her health insurance since the monthly premium for the two of us would've been insane. Should I not include anything health insurance related?

I just uploaded all of the requested documents to ceac, photographs, passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, all police certificates required. also submitted the I-864 with all supporting documents for me and joint sponsor.

Any optional Documents I need to upload? it says the U.S. Embassy or consulate may require additional documents. I checked the "where to obtain documents" and didn't notice anything new.

My wife has a passport from a different country, but she was never issued a US visa.

Im assuming I dont upload it.

Do I need to upload our kids CRBA again or will they get that from the I-130?