A bit confused...

[Adhesive]

[Andocrates]

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Can't think of any real cons of having the child here in Japan. Much like anywhere in the world there is good hospitals and bad. There is plenty of Japanese BBs out there which would help your wife pick a good one.

Also for a first child in Japan there is a nice 300000 yen kickback to help cover any costs. You might have to check the fine print on it to see if you would qualify, don't see why not though.

[omae mona]

[Samurai_Jerk]

Get an immigration lawyer.

[kamome]

Get an immigration lawyer.

That's exactly right. These issues are very complicated, especially in the post-9/11 world. While many members here are pretty well informed through personal experience about visas and the like, you really should consult an immigration attorney about these issues. There is too much at risk (your child's citizenship, your wife's residence status, etc.) to rely completely on a public forum.

[omae mona]

Get an immigration lawyer.

That's exactly right. These issues are very complicated, especially in the post-9/11 world. While many members here are pretty well informed through personal experience about visas and the like, you really should consult an immigration attorney about these issues. There is too much at risk (your child's citizenship, your wife's residence status, etc.) to rely completely on a public forum.

I agree, but getting an immigration lawyer is no substitute for doing your own homework. Here's my experience with immigration lawyers:

Lawyer #1 (a few years back): After spending an hour trying to convince me that there was no way for my wife to apply for a green card at the U.S. embassy in Japan and that I needed to go through a much more expensive and time-consuming process that would take many extra months, As this (and other info the lawyer gave me) conflicted with what I read on my own, I fired the lawyer and did the process on my own. I was right. This was even pre-9/11 before everything got confusing, so there was really no excuse.

Lawyer #2 (recently): surrounding the issue of my wife's permanent green card application that is all gummed up due to being in Japan at the moment: he told me that it sounded like I knew what I was doing and, he couldn't provide any additional advice or help beyond what I was already doing. No charge. It was nice to get confirmation, though.

From what I can tell (though I will defer to actual lawyers here), immigration lawyers are mainly around to help people who are really in trouble. In terms of simply providing info, they sometimes have access to better inside information, but almost all information you can get from the embassy, state dept, or INS yourself. That's not to say it's not very nice to get confirmation from a lawyer, but don't be shocked if they don't tell you anything new. And please bear in mind that these folks can screw up too (as I learned).

[Adhesive]

Thanks to all who replied. Looks like it will be a little trickier than I had anticipated.

[hakuman]

I can think of two cons to having a baby in Japan:

1) while you might be entitled to a 300 000 yen payout for your baby, that doesnt take into account the fact that you have to pay 300 000 to have a baby in the first place. This means that some people come out at zero if they qualify, while the rest come out at minus 300 000

2) they dont give birthing mothers drugs for the pain in Japan. This isnt a problem though for some people who dont want them in the first place, and since your wife is Japanese and grew up with this mentality, it might not be a problem for her.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Get an immigration lawyer.

That's exactly right. These issues are very complicated, especially in the post-9/11 world. While many members here are pretty well informed through personal experience about visas and the like, you really should consult an immigration attorney about these issues. There is too much at risk (your child's citizenship, your wife's residence status, etc.) to rely completely on a public forum.

I agree, but getting an immigration lawyer is no substitute for doing your own homework. Here's my experience with immigration lawyers:

Lawyer #1 (a few years back): After spending an hour trying to convince me that there was no way for my wife to apply for a green card at the U.S. embassy in Japan and that I needed to go through a much more expensive and time-consuming process that would take many extra months, As this (and other info the lawyer gave me) conflicted with what I read on my own, I fired the lawyer and did the process on my own. I was right. This was even pre-9/11 before everything got confusing, so there was really no excuse.

Lawyer #2 (recently): surrounding the issue of my wife's permanent green card application that is all gummed up due to being in Japan at the moment: he told me that it sounded like I knew what I was doing and, he couldn't provide any additional advice or help beyond what I was already doing. No charge. It was nice to get confirmation, though.

From what I can tell (though I will defer to actual lawyers here), immigration lawyers are mainly around to help people who are really in trouble. In terms of simply providing info, they sometimes have access to better inside information, but almost all information you can get from the embassy, state dept, or INS yourself. That's not to say it's not very nice to get confirmation from a lawyer, but don't be shocked if they don't tell you anything new. And please bear in mind that these folks can screw up too (as I learned).

Ok. Let me restate that. Get a good immigration lawyer.

[kamome]

Omae Mona,

As with everything, it is "buyer beware" when it comes to consuming legal services. You are right that it is in your best interest to do your own homework first. I'm surprised by the service you received from your particular immigration lawyer. If you felt that the lawyer was being dishonest, you could have reported him/her to the Bar Association of the state where he was licensed for disciplinary procedures. But I think it's safest to caution people that we only have our own personal experience to offer and that a lawyer should be consulted on these issues. Besides, this guy has to contend both with US and Japanese immigration law.

For doing homework, one idea is to go to the websites of some good immigration lawyers. They usually have links to important articles and resources so that people can do their own research and determine whether they need legal help. Here's one reputable one that I know of in Southern California: Enter the USA.