Same-Sex American/Japanese Binational Couples (Consular Processing)

[Ted Grinewich-Yonashiro]

My Japanese husband and I got married in New York. Our two year wedding anniversary will be this April, 2013. We are looking to relocate to San Francisco. We are currently living in Osaka, Japan.

We just filed our I-130 in August and got a receipt number. We are currently playing the waiting game for the next step. From the USCIS website detailing waiting times looks like it might be a year before we get a response on our I-130.

Any other same-sex couple going through this process looking to connect? Anyone else been through the consular process in Japan recently? It would be nice to connect with some couples who are, or who have, been through similar circumstances.

Also, We live in Osaka and think we might need to travel to Tokyo for the interview. Unfortunately, I think we might not hear anything about the interview until next August (a year sounds like a long time to wait!).

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you all.

[kelvinzmartin]

Same-Sex American/Japanese Binational Couples (Consular Processing)

I am not in a same sex marriage, but I am married to a Japanese citizen.
I filled my I130 in May and still have received anything.
So if I understand your post correctly... It going to take a year before I even get a response to my I130? How long do you think for the entire process? I trying to estimate how long is it going to take for my wife to join me here in the states.

[Ted Grinewich-Yonashiro]

Hi, and thank you for your reply! From what I have been seeing, all centers are taking eleven to twelve months to process 1-130 applications--if things stay as they currently are. Who knows if things will speed up. My husband and I are planning on a year and a half before he has his green card and we can start making preparations to move back to the United States.

Luckily, he and I are both in Osaka living together while we are waiting for the green card process to complete. We decided to do it without a lawyer since the cost was more than we wanted to spend. We were told that there was a way we could immigrate to the US sooner through requesting a 'change-of-status' but, from what we understood, this would take around six - ten months and while in the states the immigrating spouse can not return back to their home country or work. We were sure that if we took that route we would want a lawyer--and need one to make sure there are no bumps along the way.

Eventually we decided to do consular processing since not being able to return to Japan for six - ten months is not an option for us--we have a lot of older family members and wanted to be able to travel back to see them, or for a funeral, in case anything happened. Also, not being able to work for six - ten months would be hard on my husband (he would feel like he is in limbo of some sort). Thus the consular process.

We did talk to a lawyer about both options and he did say consular processing, though longer, is a cleaner way to go about the process especially if you don't want a lawyer or can't afford the cost. A year and a half is okay for my husband and I--we can wait but we are together here in Osaka.

Hope my comment has helped!

I am not in a same sex marriage, but I am married to a Japanese citizen.
I filled my I130 in May and still have received anything.
So if I understand your post correctly... It going to take a year before I even get a response to my I130? How long do you think for the entire process? I trying to estimate how long is it going to take for my wife to join me here in the states.