Black Unicorn

Because I asked while we went through the process. Helps to ask questions directly to the consulate and not just depend on forums.

Highly recommend you look for a job in the States while in Japan. It can be done using LinkedIn or other sites depending on your field. Explain to potential employers that you are still working in Japan but will relocate back to the states for the right position. Most companies including schools/universities will do the entire interview process online and send a offer. If you accept an offer then file for DCF in Japan (or Scotland if you have residency there) and go that route. We filed DCF in Frankfurt, Germany due to a job offer in the US that I got while living abroad. The entire process was virtual so I know it can be done. Hope this helps! Best of luck to you both!

We were kinda unsure of the social media question as well since my husband has FB but barely uses it. We listed his handle/URL for FB and LinkedIn and that's it. I listed my social handles as well. We had no issues with it. The Frankfurt consulate did a light search but nothing too deep. Also, they don't access deleted accounts or private content socials for the interview.

Frankfurt consulate does not allow the spouse to attend unless approved to come for translation purposes or active US military personnel spouse.

Congrats on getting the visa!!🥰 It's possible that your spouse has a time limit to enter the US, usually 6 months from the time your spouse completed the medical. I know my husband was told he had six months to enter after his visa was issued. He entered the US at the 6-month mark and everything was smooth. He was given the entry stamp in his passport and was told that it was a temporary Green Card valid for one year.

Thanks @Chancy for the info and providing the link. I had no idea it existed and it's very helpful to have. @Alex&Nayden I really appreciate you sharing y'alls experience it put things in perspective and what I was looking for feedback from others in our situation! Thank you!

How long does it take to receive the GC & SSN in the mail after entry into the U.S? Is there a way to track this stuff? Bit of background - we paid the mandatory immigrant fee a few months prior to my husband's arrival to the states and when completing the I-130/I-130A application he selected to have his SSN generated upon arrival to the U.S. He came in on a CR1 visa and after our 2 year anniversary. Forgive me for not knowing all the proper terminology on here. Kinda sending a quick question to the forum. Thanks y'all in advance!

Keep in mind that the process for DCF is a bit different for each embassy based on the country the DCF is filed in. The Embassy /Consulate provides clear instruction on how to make payment, the amount, and process once they allow you to file in person. Regardless, the fee is the same amount across the board for an immediate family member. With that in mind some embassies allow you to pay in US dollars or using debit/credit. When we did DCF in Germany we had to mail in a US cashiers check with the I-130, I-130A and requested documents. For most this is tricky if you are living in the country where you filed DCF. This is when you ask family/friends to get the cashiers check for you and send it to you so you can make payment if it has to be mailed to the embassy and they don't take in person payments.

In my experience I asked HR for a proof of employment letter that outlined that I had to be state side to continue to work remotely. HR gave me a very nice letter that included this, salary, my date of hire, position and verification that I work for them with all the contact details listed for the HR rep. It worked! No issues at all. Of course it must be on company letter head and signed. Short, sweet and to the point works best😊

Not sure if this will help but here goes. I (petitioner) included a letter that I typed up stating that I was not aware I had to file taxes while abroad. However, once I found out I filed the must recent (2021) back taxes. I put all that in the letter. I also included a copy of my 1040 tax return that I used H&R block to complete. My husband submitted the letter, tax return, and employment verification letter I got from my employer. In your case submit what they are asking for. Don't over think it because they know what they want and are willing to take. There are other couples in your same situation that were successful. Good Luck!! Oh, and I did mail the tax return to the IRS in the states.

Short answer...NO, your not! However, you do have to prove that you have and will continue to have the income necessary to sponsor your spouse. Without solid proof of income y'all will have a tough time getting approved. As for the job thing, folks switch companies all the time for a multitude of reasons like higher pay / higher salary offer. It's normal!

As long as there are available appointment dates when you're using the online system you can change the date for one that's available. We saw a two month window of dates when we had to change the date. There was no problem doing so.

I'm sharing this for someone who may need it in the future. It took us 4 months to go through the DCF process in Frankfurt. Our situation is very much unique as I haven't seen many discuss this on this forum. I'm an American with residency in Germany and Ghana, my husband is a Ghanaian national with residency in Germany but still active military in Ghana, so he works in Ghana. My job wanted me back in the states but allowed me to work remote so I was working for about 4 -5 months before applying for the DCF process. The embassy was very good about responding to emails and providing information before my husbands interview so the process up until the interview was seamless. We had to send in the requested original docs, US cashier check for payment, I-130 and I-130A via mail. Once received the embassy sent an email of approval to proceed with the process (packet 3) and they sent a separate email to set up an account with CEAC online and schedule the interview appointment via that site. All original docs for packet 3 had to be brought to the interview appointment in person. Not mailed. We had the choice of scheduling the interview appointment as early as Dec. 9, 2022 but we wanted to ensure that my husband competed his medical appointment prior to the interview. It was hard initially to find a medical appointment in Berlin, we eventually were able to schedule the medical for Dec. 12, 2022 in Frankfurt. Since we had planned to do some travels for the holidays we scheduled the interview appointment for Dec. 27, 2022. The medical cost 390 euros for the exam and he paid an additional 132 euros for 3 vaccines that they said he didn't have, all given the same day, payment made before the exam. The blood work was an additional 15 euro and the invoice was mailed. Now at the medical the doctor asked my husband if he had a criminal record which was completely inappropriate as he has no tattoos or anything else that may indicate this. Needless to say he took this heavily loaded question with grace and let her know that he has never broken any laws in any country and he is a legal resident of Germany. I'm sharing this for others who may find it of value to prepare. On the day of the visa interview his appointment was at 8am we arrived at the embassy at 7:15am and there was already a line. It was freezing. I left and waited at the McDonald's not far from the embassy. He took all the documentation and his cell phone into the embassy. After checking in at the outside visa window he was then led in where he was told to turn his phone off and proceed on to wait and then on to window 1 to make the $325 payment (he paid with euros). He was then asked for the documents and a few questions about his travel, wait some more, then on to window 2 where the visa officer conducted the interview. He said the interview felt like a conversation and he talked a lot about our relationship, how we met, cultural difference, and how/where we got married. Since I lived in Ghana with him there was lots of discussion about this as well. He gave her all the original docs including the affidavit of support, my pay stubs, 2 months of bank statements, lease and my 2021 tax return (I gave him a copy of the taxes I filled and sent to the IRS in september). The interesting thing they didn't even ask for the tax forms. I guess they saw my salary and bank statements and realized financial support would never be an issue. We thought we had prepared and had all the documents they would ask for but we did not. They asked for his military record which he did not have and did not understand what they wanted, because non-western countries don't provide the American style military record. This is where things get super weird. He was given the info about abuse and things and they explained to him the whole process of entry into the US and handing over the packet that he will receive with his visa. Shortly, after they gave him the 221g form and told him that they have to have the military record and that once he gets it they can move forward. At this point they never returned his passport. After being at the embassy for four hours he was finally done with the visa appointment. It took about 2.5 weeks for my husband to find out what the equivalent of a military record is/was for his country. He finally got it sent via DHL from Ghana. The delivery should have taken 3 - 4 days but they lost it. It took about a week for us to find the package and get our hands on it. Once we did we tried to take it to the embassy and they refused to take anything. After my full American came out they finally told me to take it to the same Mailbox etc that the embassy uses for visa pickup. We did this and the embassy received the docs the next day. It took 4 business days after this and my husband received an email that the visa was issued. A separate email was sent with info for the pickup. We were able to pick up the passport with the visa inside on Jan. 27, 2023. I do want to add that after he was given the 221g the embassy was not responsive via email. It took them almost a week to respond to any email.With that said, even with the 221g, my husband still managed to get the visa so there is always hope