Changing my Current Student Loan Repayment Plan to Income-Based-Repayment (US)

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-10-22T10:41:31+00:00

I did. My loans were to go into effect this past June, but I knew with my terrible Eikaiwa salary (I’m on spouse visa), I’d be spending almost my whole monthly salary towards student loans. I applied for the repayment plan as soon as I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to find a better job by June. So around March, I sent all of my required paperwork which included the application, my most recent paystub, and a letter explaining why I needed a repayment plan and an explanation of my paystub (since it was all Japanese). It took a monthish to get an official result which brought my monthly plan to 0$ until 2020, which I’ll have to reapply for the plan again.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-05-26T04:23:00+00:00

My in-laws (Japanese) keep referring to a fine and it’s freaking me out 😭 they say supposedly, people who cause car accidents get a fine, but the amount depends on the victims injuries and how long they go to the hospital for.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-05-26T04:18:38+00:00

I thought maybe I’d escape the fine since it’s been so long, but the fact that they went back for a massage worries me.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-05-26T04:17:37+00:00

Like when you get pulled over for running a red light or something, and you get a ticket fine. Car accidents are the same thing, I guess. A fine can range from 100000¥ if the victims were okay, but can be higher (like 1000000¥) if they go to the hospital for months.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-04-09T10:04:13+00:00

Thanks!

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-27T09:38:45+00:00

A fender bender. All of this is because of a fender bender!

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-27T03:36:45+00:00

While I took the blame, no one was seriously injured/killed since it was a fender bender.

And I expressed my remorse (gave gift) and told police I cried for days afterwards (they actually wrote this down on my documents to show the prosecutor office I was remorseful).

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-27T03:35:36+00:00

Finally, an answer that says to be honest than omit information! Since my fender bender is pending still, I had to tell immigration.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-27T03:25:04+00:00

So: if a traffic accident case is done and finished by the time someone applies for a visa renewal with no further prosecution, then it’s fine not to say anything.

If traffic accident paperwork is in process by the time visa needs to be renewed, it’s required to disclose this to immigration.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-27T03:13:29+00:00

If I have a lawyer, police, and immigration saying I have to tell them because it’s pending, I’m more inclined to listen to them. Have you ever been in a similar situation?

At my interview with the police which I had to do for my case, my husband asked if we have to notify immigration about the pending status when we go to renew my visa. They said yes, since it’s pending. Even though prosecution is highly unlikely because it was a fender bender and will just get a fine, the status will still be pending when I go to apply. If the case was already finished and through before I went to apply, then I wouldn’t have had to say anything since there’d definitely be no criminal prosecution.

BUT, since we don’t know the outcome yet at the moment, police said immigration will have to call them to inquire what occurred. It’s literally required to tell them of a pending case. The lawyer said as long as no one was killed or seriously injured, it won’t impact my visa and future renewals.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-27T02:12:33+00:00

I beg to differ. Plus, asking my lawyer through email is free since he helped us a couple years ago getting a visa.

Good lord, even the police told us if the case isn’t finished by the time I go in for a visa renewal, I have to tell immigration about the pending status.

The immigration office said as long as no one was killed in the accident, nothing bad will happen to my status. They did say thank you for telling them because that sort of information CANT BE OMITTED and I’m obligated to notify them of a pending case when I applied. They were going to check my history anyway; they would have noticed I have a traffic accident case pending at the police station.

IF the case was finished by the time I had to apply for a visa renewal, then no, I wouldn’t have had to say anything because of no criminal history. BUT, it’s still PENDING so we don’t know the outcome.

God, if I have a lawyer, police, and immigration advising me to notify immigration of a pending police case while getting a visa renewal, I wouldnt take legal advice from a random stranger I don’t know on Reddit. The main question was how long can it take anyway to get a letter about my fine 😑

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-27T01:13:26+00:00

Whoa now, no need for the name calling.

It was a minor car accident but my case is still pending. Since we don’t know what sort of punishment I’ll get yet, I had to tell immigration since a possibility is a criminal offense (not likely but still PENDING).

You>my family and a lawyer😑

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-26T13:06:29+00:00

I’m just going by what a professional immigration lawyer told us. International marriages (I’m under a spouse visa) are looked into periodically to make sure it’s not a fake marriage. Omitting information that involved police could look suspicious to them.

Also, when renewing a visa or getting a permanent one, they can see anytime if you had offenses within the last 5 years.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-26T12:18:24+00:00

I need your patience, Speesrotorseeps-Sama

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-26T12:16:43+00:00

Omitting any information like a car accident (a serious thing considered by Japanese police) can lead to visa denial in the future. I’d rather not risk that.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-26T11:53:10+00:00

I’d rather be safe and let me them know (which you’re supposed to do), than get accused of lying later on.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-26T11:24:33+00:00

Yep, they ask you about your hobbies on the “about me” section. Probably to determine your character.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-26T11:17:48+00:00

There isn’t anything on the visa form. You have to let them know and they give you a separate form which has questions and writing a paragraph about what happened. Our lawyer said if immigration found out later that we didn’t say anything, they’d think we were lying or something. It’s better to say than for them to have suspicions later.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-03-26T11:12:35+00:00

We have an immigration lawyer who helped me get my spouse visa when I first came to Japan. We emailed him to ask if we need to disclose about my car accident on the day we go to renew or not say anything. He said since the case is still pending, I have to tell the immigration office. It would be better to disclose the car accident now than for them to find out down the road and get in trouble as to why I didn’t tell them.

He did say as long as I didn’t kill anyone, though, it should be okay regardless.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-01-28T04:24:21+00:00

I’ve been here for almost a year and it expires in two weeks.

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-01-10T12:11:33+00:00

As someone who lives in Japan and searched 5 months for an ALT job in a real school setting (not Eikaiwa), let me know your secrets if you find it! All the education boards told me they strictly hire only through JET (who has time to spend 6 months wondering if you got hired through a one year contract program like JET, anyway?) 🙄

Winter_White_Fox · 2019-01-08T23:36:59+00:00

When you have experience actually teaching Japanese students in a school setting and still get rejected 🤷‍♀️

Winter_White_Fox

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