Naturalization in Osaka: submitting the papers
Paperwork was all submitted today. I have a case number, but still no caseworker.
This was my third visit. Again the take-a-number machine indicated zero waiting. It appears that there are 5 booths for consulting, but I was there today from 2:30 to 4:30, and there was only one other person who came in for consultation during that time, and one person who was leaving as I arrived. So from 2:30 till closing, the 5 staffers in the outer room dealt with a total of 2 applicants.
The staffers for consultation here in Osaka certainly seem lower on the ladder than what has been described elsewhere. They go through the document checklist and look for a few key points, but he never even glanced at any of the foreign docs or their translations, and he barely skimmed my motivation essay.
When he was satisfied that I had all the docs on the list (70 pages of various forms or translations and 40 pages of copied passport pages plus the same number for duplicate copies) he had me paste my photos on the application forms and sent me back to the waiting room while someone in the back room reviewed the paperwork. After about 35 minutes a younger guy came out and called me in. He had me sign and date my application forms and sign and date in duplicate the oath to the constitution, reconfirmed that I had never been arrested, declared bankruptcy, etc., said that my wife and I would have to come in for an interview in about 3 months, explained that Osaka had no decision-making power and that the application would then have to go to Tokyo and would take about 8 months from that time, and gave me a case number to use on mail to submit some additional paperwork and if I had to call if I planned to leave the country, etc.
Up till now I’ve talked with 3 lower-level staffers and the one from the back room, and not one has ever introduced himself. The lower-levels were friendly enough, but were pretty much just going through the motions. The higher-up from the back room was so dour-faced I would not be surprised if he originally started out working in the Immigration Office. In addition to, or maybe because of, the fact that there is no assigned case worker, there is none of the geniality that Eido described or the thoughtfulness that Kimberly has mentioned. I was also surprised that it will take about 3 months until an interview, given how small the workload seems to be. It gives me the impression that maybe the interview has to be conducted by someone from Tokyo and that they don’t come down here too often. Being relegated to a zero-authority position might explain why the official from the back room is such a sourpuss.
But at least my paperwork is in, with just a couple of things to be submitted later, and I have a case number, so things are in motion. Thanks to everyone for the support.
One point of information for anyone starting the application process. Since the change in the immigration law on July 9, naturalization now requires everyone to file complete official entry/exit records from ALL trips you have made to Japan. So if you came as an exchange student for a couple of years and then returned as a tourist a couple of times and finally returned on a work visa and have been here ever since, all of your entry/exit records back to your original entry as a student need to be obtained and submitted. I have to submit records going back to 1976, and the MoJ website says searches for records prior to 1990 take “at least 4 weeks”; the official today said to expect the request to take 2 months.
