I'm a legal alien (with my re-entry sticker, yay)

[dr4b]

Hey, it looks like someone has been reading my Livejournal from the computer at GEOS... and it wasn't me. HELLO JON AND ERI!! Care to say hello?

Anyway, today I went down to Shinagawa and got my re-entry permit for my America trip. Turns out it really isn't that hard; it just takes a whole lot of time and a chunk of money. First the time to get to Tennozu Isle or Shinagawa station; I chose Tennozu Isle and walked to the Immigration Office from there, and boy was THAT an experience, it's literally on this island that is filled with shipping companies and industrial seaports and is polluted as all hell.

Once you get into the building, believe it or not, there are VERY few useful signs in English. I had to go downstairs and ask the information desk what the hell I was supposed to do, and they ALSO didn't have anyone around at the time who spoke English (though they said I could go wait at another desk to be helped by an English speaker), so I just explained what I wanted to do in Japanese, pointed to the kanji for "re-entry permit", and she told me to go buy a stamp at the AM-PM convenience store for 3000 yen, and then go get a waiting number and fill out a bunch of forms upstairs.

My number was #666, go figure.

I watched the Koshien senbatsu while waiting, since it was on NHK. So that was a bonus. The Seikou-Okinawa game had just started. And so I don't remember how long it was before they called my number -- when I got there they were up to number #598 or so. I went up, gave them my forms, the stamp, etc, they took my passport and put a sticker in it, and that's it.

When I left the building, the bus to Shinagawa station happened to JUST arrive, so I got on. It took maybe 15 minutes to the station, then another 40 minutes on the train, and I got back up north around 4:30, I guess.

Out of curiosity, does the US have this kind of thing? Like, if a foreigner with a valid visa is living in the US, and wants to go out of the country for a few days, do they have to apply for a permit to get back in before their trip (and pay like $30 for it)?

Comments

[dleung8.livejournal.com]

It may depend on your country of citizenship, and maybe my friends just don't tell me that they need to get a permit, but to my knowledge, there's no permit thing to exit and re-enter.

I don't think so.

[the2belo.livejournal.com]

And I think it's pretty ridiculous to have to do such a thing if you're registered and have a valid visa, and will return before the visa's expiration date. I'm a permanent resident; I don't HAVE an expiration date. Why do I have do pay 3000 yen just to go home? It's a foreigner tax.

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

Sometimes in the US you have to apply for advance parole papers to leave the country and come back in. This mostly applies to people who were on a temporary visa and applied for immigrant status, though. And it only applies while they're waiting for the permanent status to come through. It seems like it also applies to people on student visas, but this page doesn't mention that.

Edit: And apparently the cost to file for a travel/re-entry document is $305. Yikes. (source)

[wednesday]

GUH. I knew advance parole was onerous, but not that it was expensive. Remind me not to have to leave the US for anything when that becomes an issue.

[jacquilynne.livejournal.com]

Yes, the US does have that for some visa classes. Ask Aya and Rob about it, as they're going through it right now with his visa.