On May 30, 7:56 pm, John <gh14...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 1- Document that proves you born in the U.S (translated).
> 2- Document that proves you are not married (translated).
> 3- An interview to certify where we met and why we are getting married.
> 4- You need two persons to sign a form ( witnesses )
> 5- In the City office, everything is like going to pay your "gas or
> electricity". You go to a machine, by a ticket, make the line,
> receive the documents, sign and finish: YOU GOT MARRIED.

The actual legal process is surprisingly simple. What's complex and
expensive is the ceremony and stuff involving the families and
friends!

> I guess #1 is a birth certificate.  I have no idea what kind of document
> #2 is except for a personal letter stating I'm not married.

I don't recall being asked for #1, but the information is in your
passport and on your alien registration card, so that should be enough
right there. Check with the city office. For #2 you need a notarized
form letter. Either the embassy has form or you can download it from
their web site... I forget. It's just a one page thing. They don't
require any proof -- you just swear that it's true ("Me? Not
married... No way..."), they notarize it (bring your passport and some
cash) and that's that. The document is good for 30 days, if I remember
correctly, so you'll need to complete the rest of the formalities
within that time. When I got mine at the embassy I was in and out in
15 minutes.

> How long before the ceremony should we finish the documents at the city
> office?

The ceremony is legally irrelevant. You could have it before or after.
All that matters is taking the documents to the city office. You'll
need to get a form that the witnesses sign... I seem to remember
getting that at the city office. You just take it to whatever desk
handles marriages, wait while they do whatever they do, and presto --
you're married.

> Do I need an official hanko? I've been in Japan for a number
> of years and have been able to sign pretty much every document I've ever
> needed to, so I've never gotten around to getting a registered hanko.
> Is this a case where I will need one?

Nope. You can just sign it. As can the two witnesses. The witnesses
don't even have to be Japanese, so you could have one of your parents
sign and one of hers, etc.

> Also, my fiancee will probably take my name, which I've heard is a good
> bit of extra work.  Any one had experience with name-changing?  I was
> told we can take up to three months after getting married to change her
> name.  Is this true?  Or should we take care of it at the time of
> getting married?

Not sure about this. The best place to check would be your city
office. Also as someone said, definitely do check the information on
the embassy web site. They tell you what you need to do. And hang onto
that document that the city office prints up for you... it's the only
"marriage license" you'll get, so you will need it to prove your
marital status!

Note that simply getting married in Japan won't automatically entitle
your wife to any special visa status in the US. You'll have to go
through a whole big process for that (if you think you might want to).
See the embassy web site for all the gory details.