Legal Question in Immigration Law in Washington

J-1 Visa/Mrriage/Status - Confused or making it to complicated????

Hello, my girlfriend and I are planning to get married this August. She came here from Japan on a 1 year J-1 visa in December, 2007. She got 1 year extension to her J-1 Visa in December 2008, but she never got another visa. The reason for this is because anytime after her extension she never went to Visit Japan. Her original J-1 Visa papers say that she is not required to reside for 2 years in Japan before coming to stay in USA, but it doesn�t say it anywhere in her extension papers�� I might be getting paranoid here, but should her extension papers also state that? Please let me know�.. I might be making it more complicated than it already is�� I just don't know the LAW... Thank you in Advance....


Asked on 2/19/09, 4:10 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Caridad Cardinale Pastor & Associates, P.C.

Re: J-1 Visa/Mrriage/Status - Confused or making it to complicated????

You are right to inquire as to the visa situation because this is a very important part of your future plans. The extension is governed by the rules of the original visa so your fiance does not have the two year requirement. Please email us if you have any more questions.

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Answered on 2/20/09, 9:54 am
Amir John Showrai The Pacific Law Firm, PLLC

Re: J-1 Visa/Mrriage/Status - Confused or making it to complicated????

I do not think you are paranoid, you are just cautious and rightfully so. Immigration law is often needlessly complex for an attorney, much less a layperson such as yourself.

As far as I can tell from what you wrote, your girlfriend has legal status here through December 2009. The waiver of the two year residency requirement in Japan does not need to be restated. That has not changed.

Once you are married, you may file to obtain a green card for her without her having to leave the United States. If you are interested in hiring counsel to handle that for you, when the time is right, please feel free to get in touch with me and I'd be happy to provide a free telephone consultation after which you will have enough information to make an informed decision about how to proceed.

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Answered on 2/19/09, 8:17 pm


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