Are you a U.S. citizen who lives in Japan and who wishes to move to the U.S. with your Japanese spouse or significant other? Are you wondering how to help an adopted child through the U.S. immigrant visa process? Do you want to become a U.S. citizen or to obtain a certificate as evidence of your U.S. citizenship?
Some folks are surprised when they discover how much the U.S. government fees can be, and how long their process might take.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) adjusted certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees earlier this year. The final rule went into effect on April 1, 2024.
While USCIS did lower some of its fees, the cost for many applications and petitions went up.
For example,
*the fee for I-90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, paper filing, with biometric services) decreased from $540 to $465,
*the fee for I-129F (Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)) increased from $535 to $675,
*the fee for I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative, paper filing) increased from $535 to $675,
*the fee for I-131 (Application for Travel Document) increased from $575 to $630,
*the fee for I-751 (Petition to Remove Condition on Residence) increased from $595 to $750,
*the fee for I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization, paper filing) increased from $410 to $520,
*the fee for N-400 (Application for Naturalization, paper filing) increased from $640 to $760,
*the fee for N-600 (Application for Certificate of Citizenship, paper filing) increased from $1,170 to $1,385, and
*the USCIS Immigrant Fee increased from $220 to $235.
You might be able to take advantage of a $50 discount for filing your U.S. form online rather than by mail (in paper form), if your form is available for online filing and if you do not fall within the limited circumstances where the discount might not apply.
In our experience, the $50 incentive is enough for some people to choose online filing over paper filing. However, some people might have concerns about reliable internet access, digital literacy, computer glitches, or technical difficulties. And some people might simply feel more comfortable working with paper at this point.
In addition to noting fee discounts, you might look for fee exemptions. Our law office recently helped on a N-600 (Application for Certificate of Citizenship) case where our client, who is adopted, was exempt from the $1,385 filing fee. According to the Federal Register, January 31, 2024, “DHS recognizes the unique vulnerability of adopted children and the overall costs that adoptive families face and wishes to reduce the burden on adoptive families.”
Also, if you are going through the U.S. immigrant visa process from Japan, see if you can obtain an exemption from the Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support) requirements through Form I-864W (Request for Exemption for Intending Immigrant’s Affidavit of Support). For example, if you are a U.S. citizen petitioning for your spouse, and your spouse worked for 10 years in the U.S., your spouse may be exempt from filing the Form I-864. Or, if you are a U.S. citizen petitioning for your adopted child, who will automatically become a U.S. citizen under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 upon admission to the U.S., your child may be exempt from filing Form I-864.
If you find your form in the USCIS “Check Case Processing Times” webpage, you may find out that it can take USCIS many months to process your case. Once you have determined where you might minimize the costs of U.S. government fees, you might consider strategies for reducing your wait time.
In our experience, thorough preparation of your petition or application package can help lower the chances of requests and concerns that can lead to delays or unfavorable outcomes.
If you are a U.S. citizen living in Japan, and you are thinking of petitioning to help a foreign national with the U.S. immigrant visa process, you might check to ensure that you have been properly reporting your income to the U.S. For example, if you are attempting to prove that you have a bona fide marriage, but your IRS Form 1040 filing status has been “Single,” you might want to discuss your filing status with your tax professional. It can take time to address tax compliance issues, so we suggest contacting a tax professional sooner rather than later.
In our experience, the standard U.S. immigrant visa process (i.e., starting with submitting the I-130 petition package to USCIS and ending with an interview at the U.S. Embassy Tokyo or U.S. Consulate Naha) can take a very long time. For example, it can take USCIS over a year to process your I-130 petition, which is just the first of 12 steps for the U.S. immigrant visa process. However, in exceptional circumstances, you may be able to reduce this wait time significantly if you can file the I-130 directly with the U.S. Embassy Tokyo or U.S. Consulate Naha. A consular officer at the Embassy or Consulate may, but is not required to, accept the local filing in exceptional circumstances. Our law office has helped various clients pursue this “exceptional circumstances” route, including (i) when a U.S. citizen petitioner, living and working in Japan, received a job offer in the U.S. with little notice for the required start date, (ii) when a U.S. citizen petitioner adopted a child in Japan and had an imminent need to leave Japan, and (iii) when an individual struggled with gender discrimination and threats to personal safety in Japan.
If you are a Japanese national who is married to a U.S. citizen and who is thinking of changing your family name to your spouse’s family name, it might be easier and more efficient for you to change your Japanese family register and Japanese passport before you start the U.S. immigrant visa process. If you start the process with “Suzuki,” but later decide that you want “Smith” to appear on your permanent resident card (green card), it can become time-consuming and costly, depending on when you make the decision.
Gary O. Haase is a U.S. immigration attorney admitted in California and Japan (licensed foreign attorney). This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact a qualified legal professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue. The opinions expressed are those of the individual author and do not reflect the views or opinions of any nonprofit organization or government agency.
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