Getting married, need advice... no joke!

[Mulboyne]

This procedural change may result in a processing delay for some applicants. Currently, there is a six-month backlog in California for petition approvals, so applications should be sent in as early as possible. The Department of State recognizes and sincerely regrets the inconvenience this may cause.

That sounds like a nightmare. Perhaps they are aiming to break up as many international marriages as possible.

EDIT: This comment has moved the thread onto its fourth page. Look back to Omae Mona's previous post on page three for important information from the US Embassy about obtaining a spouse visa.

[AssKissinger]

The Department of State recognizes and sincerely regrets the inconvenience this may cause.

Fucking cunts.

That's six months just to get started.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Fucking cunts.

That's six months just to get started.

Yeah, whenever I get pissed at having to wait in line for a couple of hours at immigration here in Japan, I just remind myself of some of the shit I saw immigration in the US pull on international students when I was teaching there. US bureaucrats are some of the biggest cunts anywhere period.

[AssKissinger]

Dude, my passports are loaded with stamps and America has fucked me far more than all the others combined. My own fucking country!

[kamome]

Wow, that's a horrible development! They're now processing all apps through one center? They really don't give a fuck about US citizens abroad, do they?

Just make sure that you follow every requirement in the application to the letter. Check and recheck that everything they want is in the application. If you don't do it perfectly the first time, you'll be delayed even longer.

[AgentTofu]

[AssKissinger]

It has nothing to do with protecting anyone from sexual predators or stopping potential terrorists or anything besides bureaucrats receiving salaries they don't deserve for doing nothing. And other motherfucking scumbags getting crooked kickbacks. All they have to do to see if someone is has any kind of crime on the record is punch their name into a database. Takes one Goddamn minute.There's no reason why that should involve new forms, new waiting and new expenses. More American [SIZE="7"]BULLSHIT[/SIZE] is all it is.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Dude, my passports are loaded with stamps and America has fucked me far more than all the others combined. My own fucking country!

You and me both.

[Blah Pete]

Protection from sex offenders? What a load of bullshit.
What about the 99% that are legitamite. Sounds like the work of the right wing christian types.

My company has a ex-marine guy in the US and his J-wife can't get a US visa even though they have been married for like 7 years and the marriage was registered with the US military in Japan. He lost a few few fingers and half a leg in Iraq and they are treating him like shiat.
So much for serving your country...

[MarkD]

I did marry a Japanese girl thirty years ago. It's working out so far. Yes, another English Teacher marrying a student.

The only advice I could add is don't bother paying for "professional" translations of her family registry. We did our own - I can't remember if that was something the military required, or something the government required, but the paperwork was pretty quick considering we were trying to satisfy two governments, the Marine Corps, and the Catholic Church.

The whole thing took somewhere around three months, maybe less.

[jdm-justin]

[times-up]

I had my wife come on a tourist visa and we just got married and changed her status. Of course that's the short cut and most people won't recommend you do that but it worked for me without any problems whatsoever. At the immigration office during our interview there were no questions and we didn't have to prove that she had intentions of leaving after entering the U.S. We were asked two questions 1. Have either of you been convicted of a felony? No Have you ever been involved in any terrorist activities? No Stamped passport and we were out. If you have the necessary paperwork done you shouldn't have any troubles. I can't believe some people travel back and forth from country to country wasting time and money.

[Mulboyne]

I had my wife come on a tourist visa and we just got married and changed her status. Of course that's the short cut and most people won't recommend you do that but it worked for me without any problems whatsoever.

When was that, though, times-up?

[times-up]

When was that, though, times-up?

It was just short of 5 years ago. It was after 9/11 but the rules may have changed so that may not be a feasible route any longer. I'd look into it could they have abolished the whole changing of a person status altogether? Even then it wasn't the proper way to get things done but I saw it as a way to get things done without the ridiculous waiting and nonsense and it worked out for me.

[AssKissinger]

That never would have worked in my case because a tourist visa is only for 90 days and when we tried to schedule an interview in the states the wait was three years.

[JustInJapan]

I hope you guys aren't playing Captain Save-A-Hoe...

[times-up]

That never would have worked in my case because a tourist visa is only for 90 days and when we tried to schedule an interview in the states the wait was three years.

I'm pretty sure after you get married on the tourist visa and you apply to change your spouse's status then applying will allow them to remain inside teh U.S. until the interview. You just can't leave the country until the interview.

[times-up]

I hope you guys aren't playing Captain Save-A-Hoe...

Excuse my ignorance what is this you speak of?

[lolhahaha]

That never would have worked in my case because a tourist visa is only for 90 days and when we tried to schedule an interview in the states the wait was three years.

Tell me about it. I did my paperwork for my wife way back in 2000 when we left Japan and moved to the US. Then in 2004 we moved back to Japan with the paperwork still pending. Then in 2006 I got a letter sent to my old address in the US, which was forwarded to my mom's house, the letter said my wife was denied because she wasn't at the address we listed on our paperwork.

When we moved back to Japan we gave them our new address but they never updated our file so we are still waiting.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Protection from sex offenders? What a load of bullshit.
What about the 99% that are legitamite. Sounds like the work of the right wing christian types.

Actually, a lot of these new laws regarding international marriage have been pushed through by the feminist left. They want to do anything they can to keep American men from enjoying life.

[AssKissinger]

Actually, a lot of these new laws regarding international marriage have been pushed through by the feminist left. They want to do anything they can to keep American men from enjoying life.

Do you have any evidence of that or are you joking or what?

[AssKissinger]

To kind of answer my own question

http://coolbeanscool.blogspot.com/2005/12/international-marriage-broker-act-and.html

[AssKissinger]

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/7/emw138739.htm

The American male population is now overly exposed to the message that it is acceptable to desire and actually marry women "unspoiled" by American materialism and most troubling, "uninfected" by American feminism. This message may impede the progress of feminism here at home and give American men the idea that it is acceptable to not respect feminist principles that took so long to instill upon them.

The marriage broker websites promulgate the "message" that American men are highly desirable outside the U.S. and can have access to women not intent on upholding over 30 years of hard won womens' rights. These sites also offensively elaborate on the reasons for rejecting American women as part of a campaign to promote the desirablity of foreign women. We find this to be most appalling.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Yup, AK, that's what I was talking about.


http://usaimmigrationattorney.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=2

[maraboutslim]

I'm pretty sure after you get married on the tourist visa and you apply to change your spouse's status then applying will allow them to remain inside teh U.S. until the interview. You just can't leave the country until the interview.

Things may have changed but in my experience, the first part is correct but the second isn't.

Yes, as soon as you put in the application in the USA, your wife's passport will be stamped and she is legally allowed to stay in the USA as long as it takes for the application to be processed and permanent resident status given (green card).

But...one can indeed leave the country while an application is in process. You just have to file another form with immigration and have a decent reason for needing to leave the country. Health issue of a relative is one (may require verification), but the easiest to put through is the allowance for "business reasons." That's the one my wife used twice while her application was in process.

[AlbertSiegel]

Well... I got married last month.. I've been back in Miami for a few weeks. I filed the papers to get my wife in the country. Now it's just a matter of time.

[AssKissinger]

Congratulations.

If there's anything I can do to help or if your wife wants some advice or information from my wife give me a PM.

[halfnip]

Holy fucking shit... Here I was thinking it was going to be a clean 3 months to get a "greencard" for my wifey to enter the US and I read all this shit. I was pondering jumping back across the pond for a few years and figured I should start on the paperwork, but fucking hell, if it's going to take this long I should kiss that goodbye, eh?

[FG Lurker]

Holy fucking shit... Here I was thinking it was going to be a clean 3 months to get a "greencard" for my wifey to enter the US and I read all this shit. I was pondering jumping back across the pond for a few years and figured I should start on the paperwork, but fucking hell, if it's going to take this long I should kiss that goodbye, eh?

It has improved again since. I think the apps can go through the Embassy again now.

Best to check their web site for up to date information.

[ttjereth]

It has improved again since. I think the apps can go through the Embassy again now.

Best to check their web site for up to date information.

I could be wrong, but I also think it is different for newly weds and people who have already been married for 5 years or more.