Rravenwood

Hi all,

I have a few questions about getting married in Tokyo and doing the DCF for
the Immigration Visa:

1) I'm almost embarassed to ask this, but it's a "better safe than sorry"
kind of thing... On the "Affidavit of Compentancy to Marry", is there any
reason why I can't put "N/A" for Local Address, since I don't live in Japan?
Or do I have to put my fiancee's address?

2) My fiancee went to college in the US and worked for a couple years after
graduation, before returning to Japan (all legally - no visa
issues/problems)... Has anyone had a similar circumstance, and if so, did it
delay the approval of the I-130 when submitted in person at the Tokyo US
Embassy? I just wonder if they will want to do some extra investigation or
something...

3) After receiving the packet 3 & packet 4, how long does it usually take to
obtain the police clearance (Tokyo) & medical exam letters?

4) Aside from the aforementioned letters, plus the I-864 to be submitted
with them, do packets 3 & 4 specifiy any other documents or requirements to
be completed before the interview (the Tokyo US Embassy website says "Among
the documents..." implying that there could be more)?

Thanks in advance for the answers! From everything else I have learned
(from this newsgroup and from various websites), it seems like my fiancee
and I should be able to get everything together in order to get married and
file the I-130 in Tokyo within the next month or so... but I really want to
make sure that I'm doing everything right!

Thanks again,
--Scott

jcsutton

Hi Scott,

I'll try to answer a couple of questions though I don't have any experience in Japan, we DCF'd in South Africa.

1) " Affidavit of Compentancy to Marry" I have no idea what this is, we didn't have one. I suspect your n/a would be fine since you don't live there.

2) This shouldn't be an issue for you. Any irregularities would show up in the background check and since everything was legal, don't worry...

3) Start working on getting your police report now. This is usually the longest part of the process. There is no need to wait for packets 3/4 to get the report. The medical can be scheduled after the consulate has approved packet 3.

4) http://k1.exit.com/dcf.html
http://usembassy.state.gov/tokyo/wwwh7136.html

The first site has a lot of information on the DCF process, though it may not be totally up to date. When in doubt contact the consulate, which brings me to website #2 for the Tokyo consulate.....Good Luck.....
P.S. found another site that has some Tokyo info:
http://www.kamya.com/intro/dcf.html#JP

meauxna

Hi Scott,
First, if you haven't found it yet, here's a post from Andrew who was waiting for the interview in Tokyo as of March 25. http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...04ax.com#link2

I haven't seen him since, but finding him would be your most up-to-date, first-hand information. The particular thread above has v. good info.

For your 'free to marry document', which I'm guessing you want for your marriage licence, I used my foreign address as I was claiming 'temporarily abroad'. Since Japan does not have the USC residence rule, you can put either your fiance's or n/a.

As regards your I-130, keep in mind the purpose of that petition: 1) to prove *your* citizenship and 2) to prove your family relationship (spouse). Period. The only 'investigation' done w/regard to that form is about the USC. *However*, I urge you to have *all* your forms ready. A DCF gal in Malaysia has recently been 'set back' because she only got the I-130 ready, and could've been assigned an interview on the spot if she had had all documents ready. Depends on how much time is of the essence for you.

Your Q3/Q4: see above. There are more documents than the medical and police. The first thread I gave you mentions some; check the k1.exit link from jc (hi jerry & paula!) for the others.

I recommend you read some DCF experiences to get an idea of what to expect; it is quite different than most of the posts you read in the NG. The kamya site has loads, and while it varies from country to country, you will get an idea.

My firmest recommendation is that you get everything possible ready for that first visit to the Consulate (or 2nd, if you're going in for a free to marry paper). In fact, when I went to get my free to marry paper, I introduced myself to the staff at the Immigrant Visa section and got the entire Packet 3 and 4 at that time, to complete at my leisure. When we went in for the I-130 filing, we had everything ready and got a provisional file opened. Our filing took 33 days from I-130 to visa in hand.

Just waiting for the DAH to get back from his visit to the UK...I finally feel the pain of separation you all talk about..and it's only been one week!

Scott, let us know if you have more questions.
mo

Rravenwood

Thanks for your thoughts. The www.kamya.com link was especially informative
    


"jcsutton" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi Scott,
    > I'll try to answer a couple of questions though I don't have any
    > experience in Japan, we DCF'd in South Africa.
    > 1) " Affidavit of Compentancy to Marry" I have no idea what this is,
    > we didn't have one. I suspect your n/a would be fine since you don't
    > live there.
    > 2) This shouldn't be an issue for you. Any irregularities would
    > show up in the background check and since everything was legal,
    > don't worry...
    > 3) Start working on getting your police report now. This is usually the
    > longest part of the process. There is no need to wait for packets 3/4
    > to get the report. The medical can be scheduled after the consulate
    > has approved packet 3.
    > 4) http://k1.exit.com/dcf.html
    > http://usembassy.state.gov/tokyo/wwwh7136.html
    > The first site has a lot of information on the DCF process, though
    > it may not be totally up to date. When in doubt contact the
    > consulate, which brings me to website #2 for the Tokyo
    > consulate.....Good Luck.....
    > P.S. found another site that has some Tokyo info:
    > http://www.kamya.com/intro/dcf.html#JP
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Rravenwood

Hi meauxna,

Thanks for your advice! I certainly do plan on having all the forms ready
that I can before we go... although I'm sure my fiancee will still have to
wait for her interview, since the Tokyo Embassy has told me that there is no
way she can get the police & medical clearances done in advance (require
official letters which will be supplied in packets 3 or 4 - for the police
clearance, I have confirmed that with the instructions given on the Tokyo
Metro PD website
[http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/...ly/tokoue.htm])

I was also able to contact Andrew, and he has been helpful as well.

--Scott


"meauxna" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi Scott,
    > First, if you haven't found it yet, here's a post from Andrew who was
    > waiting for the interview in Tokyo as of March 25. ]http://groups.g-
    > oogle.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&frame=right&th=d07a2782586-
    > 7b9c5&seekm=pihk8vg7i21qpgqge9208t7tamghs64ir1%404 ax.com#link2[/url]
    > I haven't seen him since, but finding him would be your most up-to-date,
    > first-hand information. The particular thread above has v. good info.
    > For your 'free to marry document', which I'm guessing you want for your
    > marriage licence, I used my foreign address as I was claiming
    > 'temporarily abroad'. Since Japan does not have the USC residence rule,
    > you can put either your fiance's or n/a.
    > As regards your I-130, keep in mind the purpose of that petition: 1) to
    > prove *your* citizenship and 2) to prove your family relationship
    > (spouse). Period. The only 'investigation' done w/regard to that form is
    > about the USC. *However*, I urge you to have *all* your forms ready. A
    > DCF gal in Malaysia has recently been 'set back' because she only got
    > the I-130 ready, and could've been assigned an interview on the spot if
    > she had had all documents ready. Depends on how much time is of the
    > essence for you.
    > Your Q3/Q4: see above. There are more documents than the medical and
    > police. The first thread I gave you mentions some; check the k1.exit
    > link from jc (hi jerry & paula!) for the others.
    > I recommend you read some DCF experiences to get an idea of what to
    > expect; it is quite different than most of the posts you read in the NG.
    > The kamya site has loads, and while it varies from country to country,
    > you will get an idea.
    > My firmest recommendation is that you get everything possible ready for
    > that first visit to the Consulate (or 2nd, if you're going in for a
    > free to marry paper). In fact, when I went to get my free to marry
    > paper, I introduced myself to the staff at the Immigrant Visa section
    > and got the entire Packet 3 and 4 at that time, to complete at my
    > leisure. When we went in for the I-130 filing, we had everything ready
    > and got a provisional file opened. Our filing took 33 days from I-130
    > to visa in hand.
    > Just waiting for the DAH to get back from his visit to the UK...I
    > finally feel the pain of separation you all talk about..and it's only
    > been one week!
    > Scott, let us know if you have more questions.
    > mo
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com