ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresTrusted Immigration Attorneys for Applying for CR-1 Visa

I'm a U.S. citizen currently living with my wife and working in Japan. My wife is Japanese and we are planning on starting the application process for a CR-1 visa in January 2014.

 

In April 2013 we visited my hometown, San Diego, and were legally married in the U.S. She was there with me on the 90 day visa waiver program. After that we returned to our home in Japan and registered the U.S. marriage certificate there as well.

 

Anyway, now we actually want to move to San Diego and I'm looking to hire a lawyer to help us through the visa applicaiton process. I know that it's something that we could do on our own, but because of the nature of the bureaucracy involved, I'd rather just pay someone who has a lot of experience doing it than risk making some mistake that could potentially get us hung up.

 

I was wondering if anyone on the forum had had any positive experiences with a trustworthy immigration lawyer or firm that helped them. Any advice or suggestions would really help! Thank you!


reinsterlingNot TellingJapan2013-12-31 04:17:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-130 Cover Letter Check

Oh, for some reason I could have sworn I read somewhere they needed a copy of the beneficiary's birth certificate and the family register is pretty much the equivalent of that in Japan.

 

Now I've looked again at the list of documents in the I-130 instructions and the step by step guide on VJ and I guess it's not required. I just figured they would need it or something to verify her identity.

 

It lists our marriage as being registered in Japan, so maybe I'll include it down under the evidence of a bona fide marriage.


reinsterlingNot TellingJapan2014-01-20 21:52:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-130 Cover Letter Check

I've read that it's not technically required, so you should be okay, but it's recommended I think as a kind of table of contents to help them sort out what's included. Anyway, I'm sure you should be fine.


reinsterlingNot TellingJapan2014-01-20 11:30:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-130 Cover Letter Check

Hi, I've looked through the forums a bit for ideas on what to put in the cover letter for the I-130 packet, but I'd like to know what anybody thinks just in case there are suggestions out there. I'm not sure if I've included too much or too little in the way of evidence of a bona fide marriage. Anyway, here it is:

 

January 24, 2014

 

[Petitioner's name]

[Address in Japan]

[Email Address]

 

USCIS

Attn: I-130

131 South Dearborn ? 3rd Floor 

Chicago, IL 60603-5517

 

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

Enclosed, please find my Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on behalf of my wife, [Wife's Name]. Please note that I am currently living with my wife in Japan on a work visa that I renew every three years. However, I own a residence in the U.S. where we plan to live. A copy of the deed is included in this packet. The documents included are in the following order:

 

  1. Personal check in the amount of $420

  2. I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (2 pages)

  3. Copy of Birth certificate (Petitioner) (1 page)

  4. Copy of Beneficiary?s Japanese Family Register and Translation (2 pages)

  5. Copy of California Marriage Certificate (1 page)

  6. G-325A (Petitioner) (2 pages)

  7. Passport Style Photo (Petitioner)

  8. G-325A (Beneficiary) (2 pages)

  9. Passport Style Photo (Beneficiary)

  10. Evidence of a bona fide marriage:
    1. Affirmation letter from myself (Petitioner) explaining my relationship with my wife (Beneficiary)

    2. Notarized affirmation letter from my mother, [Mother's Name], as a witness to the genuine nature of my relationship and marriage to [Wife's Name].

    3. Notarized affirmation letter from a family friend, [Friend's Name], as a witness to the genuine nature of my relationship and marriage to [Wife's Name].

    4. Our first holiday card as a married couple.

    5. Printed pages from our wedding website and honeymoon registry. Feel free to visit the indicated URLs to verify them.

    6. Pictures from our wedding in San Diego, wedding photo-shoot in Japan, and various other times in our relationships.

    7. Copies of pages from our passports to show entry to the U.S. and return to Japan every year for Christmas and New Year?s.


  11. A copy of the deed to my residence in La Mesa, CA as proof of a permanent domicile in the U.S.

 

Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this matter.

 

Respectfully,

 

 

Petitioner


reinsterlingNot TellingJapan2014-01-20 10:58:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresCopies of Official Documents

Hi, I'm working on putting together the I-130 packet to petition for my wife's CR-1 Visa. I just have a question about what kind of copies of official documents are acceptable:

 

  • I have a photo copy of my American birth certificate, but was wondering if it needs to be a certified copy that I have to get from the County Clerk's office in the US.
  • Also, I have my official copy of our California Marriage Certicate, but was wondering if I can submit a color photocopy of it instead of the official one. I'd rather not have to send in my only official copy of it in case the packet gets lost in the mail or something.

 

Oh, and one more question unrelated to copies of documents. Should I submit the I-864 Affidavite of Support forms with the I-130, or should I wait and send them at a later time?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.


reinsterlingNot TellingJapan2014-01-17 11:27:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresSubmitting Tax Return with I-864 without W-2s

I'm putting together the Affidavit of Support for my wife's CR-1 visa. I'm not currently living in the US and all of my income for the last few years has been foreign earned, so as I understand, it won't count towards the AOS financial support minimum. Because of that I'm having my father fill out a separate I-864 as a joint sponsor which should more than fulfill the requirement on its own.

 

I know that even though my I-864 won't fulfill the financial requirement, I still have to submit either my Tax transcript or photocopy of the most recent year's tax return. I've been trying to order the transcript from the IRS website, but have hit a snag with something in my address not matching what's in their system. I even tried calling their 1-800 number, but when I enter my social security number, it says they can't process it. Very strange.

 

Anyway, I luckily have a copy of my most recent tax return saved as a PDF on my computer from when I printed and filed it earlier this year. My question is this: since the I-864 instructions say that if you use a photo copy of your tax return that you need to include all W-2s and form 1099s that relate to your return, and since I didn't have any W-2s or form 1099s since I've been living abroad and all of my income fell under the foreign earned income exemption, do I still need to include some record of my foreign earned income? Or can I just submit the copy of the tax return by itself?

 

Sorry if that was long. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!


reinsterlingNot TellingJapan2014-09-06 08:58:00