What happens (legally) when an American and a Japanese person marry?
First think I will say is that, yes, the process is a bear. You are dealing with a government bureaucracy. It is completely manageable, though, and should not stop you from getting serious with someone from another country. We (well, I) did it all ourselves (myself), no lawyer. The process went smoothly. The initial paperwork went in min-February of 2007, and we got the green card in August. She (Kenyan) was in country already (as I’ve mentioned) and I am a natural born citizen. Forms, forms, forms! File the following (you can submit them all at once, all form links are to PDFs), check all linked forms for required supporting documentation: • I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, which establishes your relationship, as far as the USCIS is concerned. • G-325A, Biographic Information, one for each of you. •
Some of the previous answers were not based on experience in Japan, so here’s my $.02. I’m in the middle of the process now. We got married and then I started compiling the paperwork for the I-130 petition. That’s the petition that you submit in order to be able to file the actual I-130 application for an immigrant visa. It’s a big big pile, see details here http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-ivi130check.html. When you have the paperwork ready, file online for an interview in Tokyo or Naha. Tokyo offers them on Monday and Wednesday; Naha on Tuesday and Thursday. Show up with all the papers and the $355 application fee (yen is OK), and turn them in. They send your information to Seoul, where they do a background check on you (required since 9/11); when that check is finished, and if everything else is OK, they will send you a letter w/in a week or two saying that your petition is approved and that your spouse may submit an application. Your spouse does not have to accompany you on
