Spouse visa procedure from the US

My girlfriend (full Japanese) is currently in California with me but is leaving back to Japan in March. Due to covid, americans can't travel to Japan.

My girlfriend wants to get married here in California, USA. After this she will apply for visa for me to live / go to Japan with her.

Is this possible? What exactly do we have to do? Can she apply for my visa in califronia? What are the options?

(what will happen if I just go to Japan right now with her without being married, or what)

Please help.

As far as I know, currently with the COVID-19, no non-Japanese people without any long-term visa can enter Japan. So you�fd need to get married first (there is no fiancé type of visa for Japan), apply for a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) for a �gspouse of Japanese�h visa, get the visa (so far everything can happen in the US, if she can obtain some documents from Japan), then enter Japan with the �gspouse of Japanese�h visa.

It will take some time though – I don�ft know what documents the two of you need to get married in CA (whatever documents/certificates needed for a US marriage according to the US law), but you get married first, then she reports her marriage to you to the Japanese authorities after-the-fact through the Embassy of Japan/Consulate in the USA, wait till that is recorded in the Japanese records, then get the official copy of the records stating her marriage to you (a proxy in Japan – for example her immediate family – might need to do that). Then she (or her immediate family in Japan) will apply for a CoE for a visa for you as �gspouse of Japanese national,�h attaching the records attesting to your marriage, probably her income/savings statement (as she does not currently hold a job in Japan), your financial situation, records of your time together so far, etc., etc. Once those documents are submitted, the immigration authorities in Japan review that, and (after a few months�f wait, usually) issue a CoE, which you will take to the Embassy in the US and get the visa in your passport.

The above assumes that the two of you want to remain together in the US until your visa is obtained. If you get married first in the States, then with the American marriage certificate she travels to Japan and get the application going from Japan, that is another way (though this means waiting while being apart).

I suggest you�fd look into the CA law to see what is needed for an American and a Japanese to get married according to the local laws, and she into the Embassy of Japan in California website and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for the exact process. It might take time, but it can happen. Best wishes.

Hi

I live in California and had similar questions/issues.

I suggest getting married in CA first before going to Japan. It makes things a lot easier, since you are planning to get married any way. Go to the local County office and first get a marriage license (it is cheap). Wait the required days, if there is a waiting period, and then get married by the local justice of the peace. They will give you a marriage certificate. I suggest getting 2 additional copies, because you will probably need them for registering the marriage in the Japanese family registry and for the COE.

Then, register your marriage with the Japan Embassy or at the city office where the family register is located.

Obtain the excel spreadsheet from the Japanese government web site for applying for a COE of a spouse visa. Follow the instructions for getting the necessary documents in Japan.

At this point you have two options. The options will depend on where in California you are living. There are 2 embassies in CA: San Francisco and Los Angeles.

If you live in So Cal and have to use the LA embassy, have your wife go back to Japan and get the necessary Japanese documents and guarantee letter. The guarantor will probably be her parents or brother/sister. Have your wife submit the documents at the local government office that issues the COE. It may take 1 to 2 months to get the COE. Once it is issued, mail the COE to you, go to the LA Embassy and submit the COE. They will issue the spouse visa the next day (2 trips to downtown LA). Book your flight and go to Japan. When you go through immigration, they will photograph you and issue the hard copy card.

If you live in No Cal and must use the SF embassy, you are in luck because they will issue the COE and you do not need to submit the documents in Japan. There was a person on the forum who got the COE after only a few days. The embassy then issues the visa and you book your flight to Japan.

The COE process is not complicated or difficult for a US citizen (sorry people from other countries). They know you are not trying to fake a marriage to live in Japan. Just to be safe gather photographs of the two of you together over the years and during the marriage ceremony. This will show that this is a real relationship.

Good luck and happy marriage.

Hello, sorry for the brief reply but I would like to make a slight correction to what poster Bill said earlier:

When you are applying from the US (at least through Japanese Consulate in SF in NorCal), you DO NOT need to apply for an CoE nor will you be issued one.

You just submit all the documents to the Japanese consulate in SF and get issued a visa (assuming you will be applying for the visa "Spouse of Japanese National") within five days.

You can have a look at the Japan Consulate in SF official page: https://www.sf.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/e_m02_01_03.html , see the "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" section.

I have posted about my experiences in one of the earlier posts:
https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+173446 (see my reply from "2020/9/13 00:59")

Also, you may find the following useful:
https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+173680 ("My move to Japan in Oct during Covid times")

Also, when applying for "Spouse of Japanese National" visa you will be expected to show that you have enough money to support yourself for a year (the visa is given for one year to begin with, which you can extend later on in Japan).

I showed slightly over 30k USD in my account (for context: when I call them at one point I was told by whoever I was talking to that they want to see that I have around 3 million yen in my account, which is around 30k USD) and it was enough for the Consular officer that was checking my papers.

Sorry for the multiple messages, I am not a US citizen nor a green card holder, but because I was working in the US with a work visa (i.e.: I was not a tourist passing by), I was eligible to apply through Japanese Consulate in my area of living.