Does wife need GC?

I see, interesting points.

We want to live in the states for one year so that she can have a chance to learn more English, as well as for myself to be close to family for 1 year before starting our life in Japan.

The reason for going for the K3 visa would simply be because from the way they explained it, it would take potentially much less time to receive the visa (2-4 months vs 6-12 months).

I don't know about whether that 2-4 month window is actually possible, but seeing as how things would be processed on the Japanese side, I can believe that they could make those time frames.

We have no plan to stay in the US past 1 year, and so the green card isn't worth much to us. What is worth it, is the chance to spend time with my family before starting a family in Japan, where our ability to travel back to the states will be much more restricted.

It may seem like a waste of a green card, but that time is worth more then the processing fee to me by far.
 
DiscipleX said:
We want to live in the states for one year so that she can have a chance to learn more English, as well as for myself to be close to family for 1 year before starting our life in Japan.
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Then that sounds like a good fit for those 1-year English as a Second Language programs, which are available at numerous community colleges and universities across America. Of course, if using this option she should get the student visa and fly to the US before marrying, in order to avoid being rejected because of being married to a US citizen.

While the K3 visa is useless because it requires you to already be married and takes about the same time as the green card, the K1 visa has the advantage in that it is a fiancee visa. So assuming you don't plan to get married right now, you could file the K1 visa right now, and then later this year when it is approved that's when you would move to the US and get married.

The K1 requires getting married within 90 days after entering the US; once getting married, she would file the next stage of the green card process (I-485) so she can stay longer than the 90 days. If they don't approve the green card within the year while you're there, you could cancel the pending I-485 so it won't cause trouble with future visits. Or if they do approve it, the card can be officially surrendered at a US embassy via the I-407 process (it will be invalidated anyway after 1 year outside the US, but voluntary surrendering is preferable if she wants to convince them on future visits to the US that she really does not want to stay).

I assume that you either have Japanese citizenship, or have already worked out the implications on the Japanese side if you left Japan for a year, so you don't run into trouble with Japanese Immigration after an absence of a year.
 
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That's an interesting idea, and definitely one worth considering.

If we went that route, would it be possible to apply and get that visa before marriage, and then marry after receiving it? Or do you think we'd run into trouble getting in on that visa afterwards if we married in Japan?

I suppose in theory, we could do that with the student visa, and then marry in guam or hawaii, both of which are relatively close to Japan.

I'm not sure about the application period for student visas, are community colleges alright to use? If we did that, how much time would she have to spend at that community college? I suppose that's another topic altogether I should research. If we tried for a student visa, then the fiance visa or the K3 visa wouldn't be needed at all I'm assuming, even if we got married in the US like a day after arriving.
 
Since the K-3 is a 2-year, multiple entry, non-immigrant visa, can't the OP's future wife apply for one, go to the US for a year and return to Japan without applying for AOS?

Is there any reason someone on a K-3 cannot attend school full-time in the US?

DiscipleX - the F-1 visa application does ask for family information, including information about the applicant's fiance/e.
 
Jackolantern said:
Being eligible for VWP doesn't automatically disqualify somebody from getting a tourist visa. The VWP only allows up to 90 days, and tourist visas allow up to 6 months. So there are some people with a legitimate need for a visa, even though they're eligible for VWP.
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Only if they needed more than 90 days stay or had overstay before, otherwise they especially , the US embassy/consulate in Japan, will return the application at the window.
She doesn't want to go with B visa as there is high chance of denial. VW is the best option, as POE most prbably won't ask marital status.

When it comes to the student visa, it also depends on her age. There are a lot of Japanese, female particularly, got F visa denied due to the fact that they are in their late 20's to early 30's, because consular officers suspect the marriage intent(even though there is no marriage plan at that time of appilcation). If you read the immigration board that Japanese are participating, you can read a lot of those stories.
 
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as far as I know, once you file I-130, she will not be able to come on a visa waiver. I could be mistaken, but I was under the impression that you can use a visa waiver only if you didn't demonstrate immigrant intent quite so obviously.
 
LucyMO said:
as far as I know, once you file I-130, she will not be able to come on a visa waiver. I could be mistaken, but I was under the impression that you can use a visa waiver only if you didn't demonstrate immigrant intent quite so obviously.
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I don't think there are any clear guidelines on CPB side. Using non-immigrant visa to enter the US while having immigration intent is fine as long as they won't immigrate through the entry with said non-immigrant visa.
They will determine with their discretion at POE.
 
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GotPR? said:
I don't think there are any clear guidelines on CPB side. Using non-immigrant visa to enter the US while having immigration intent is fine as long as they won't immigrate through the entry with said non-immigrant visa.
They will determine with their discretion at POE.
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I was talking about a visa waiver, not about a non-immigrant visa. A person who is not eligible for a visa waiver, needs to apply for a non-immigrant visa.
 
LucyMO said:
I was talking about a visa waiver, not about a non-immigrant visa. A person who is not eligible for a visa waiver, needs to apply for a non-immigrant visa.
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You can replace "non-immigrant visa" with "visa waiver" in my post and it still doesn't change the big picture.
Filing I-130 doesn't prohibit ones from visiting the US with non-immigrant visa or visa waiver.
 
Just to confirm, if we get married in Japan, after that will she then be unable to get a student visa?

For example:

- Apply for student visa
- Get Married
- Stay in America 1 year
- Return to Japan

If we can show that she is not intending to stay in America for longer then the student visa permits, wouldn't it be allowed, even if she is my wife?
 
It's all up to USCIS and DOS and we cannot predict, but you should have plan B in case of denial.
If you can convince them that she won't stay beyond visa term or immigrate to the US, she can get it.
 
GotPR? said:
You can replace "non-immigrant visa" with "visa waiver" in my post and it still doesn't change the big picture.
Filing I-130 doesn't prohibit ones from visiting the US with non-immigrant visa or visa waiver.
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There is no outright prohibition, but it makes it harder to convince anybody you're not going to immigrate. People get denied visas every day for lesser reasons.
 
DiscipleX said:
Just to confirm, if we get married in Japan, after that will she then be unable to get a student visa?

For example:

- Apply for student visa
- Get Married
- Stay in America 1 year
- Return to Japan

If we can show that she is not intending to stay in America for longer then the student visa permits, wouldn't it be allowed, even if she is my wife?
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If they believe she won't stay in the US after the visa expires, she can get the visa. The difficulty is getting them to believe that after she has married you (or they know that she plans to marry you).

Once you get married, the burden will be on you to show that you BOTH will return to Japan when her student visa expires, because if you stay in the US, the logical expectation is that she won't want to leave the US. You will have to prepare a pile of evidence to show that you both have VERY STRONG ties to Japan, and she will have to present her case very articulately and convincingly.

To make your case very credible, you should have permanent residence or citizenship of Japan, or at least have such an application in progress, because if you are in Japan only on a temporary visa then they will be less likely to believe that you will be able to return to Japan. If you have already lived in Japan for several years and can prove it, that also helps a lot.

And as far as community colleges are concerned, yes the student visa can be obtained for community college, or for those specialized English-only programs (which may or may not be tied to a college).
 
National Visa Center

Hi this question is for my brother he is a permanent resident. He had filed I130 for his wife. I130 was approved quota number is available and he has already mailed the packet that was sent to him from National Visa Center. He wants to know what kind of background checks will they do they on his wife? Will they do those checks before sending the file to Islamabad embassy, or they will do those checks after the interview?? Any information about the time it takes to do these checks would be very helpful.
Thanks.
 
ZKHAN said:
Hi this question is for my brother he is a permanent resident. He had filed I130 for his wife. I130 was approved quota number is available and he has already mailed the packet that was sent to him from National Visa Center. He wants to know what kind of background checks will they do they on his wife? Will they do those checks before sending the file to Islamabad embassy, or they will do those checks after the interview?? Any information about the time it takes to do these checks would be very helpful.
Thanks.
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Yours is a very different situation from what is being discussed in this thread. Please start a separate thread.
 
Hi DiscipleX,

Congratulations for finding the one!

Here is my suggestion:
You two get married in Japan and apply for GC in Japan.
(You can start to prepare GC application before marriage
but apply it after marriage.)
It is said that applying GC in Japan is a lot faster than doing that in US.
My friend did this and got her GC in a month.
With the GC, she can work and go to school in US.
When you guys finish staying US, make sure to let your wife acquire a re-entry permit.
It will keep her GC active for 2 years after she leave US.

- Can we move to the US before she has her official GC on a visitors visa, or some other temporary visa?

Plan a.
She gets K1-> go to US-> married there ->Then she needs some status to stay in US, usualy, GC.
Common strategy when they want to have awedding in US. Note that GC application in US will takes long and waiting time for GC is very stressful.

Plan b.
She gets F1-> go to US-> married there ->as long as her student status is active, she can stay in US without applying GC.

There is a risky way that I don't find any reason for you two take it.
Plan c.
She goes to US as a traveler without any visa->after 2 months or so, get married there->apply for GC (This will be considered to be against the rule. She is supposed to acquire K1 to go to US to get married. You guys may have some problems.)

If you two are OK not to stay with throughout the year, she may visit US as a traveler many times (maximum stay is 90 days). But, immigration officer may suspect her (repeatedly visiting US in a shorttime->crime activity?, has a husband or boyfriend in US->going to get married and stay?) and send her back to Japan. Many Japanese fiances/spouses worry about this.
 
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