Obtain a passport that is valid for at least six months after your departure from Japan. No visa will be granted if your passport is due to expire earlier. Make sure you have several blank pages in your passport where the visa may be affixed.
Verify your eligibility to be granted a Japanese work visa based upon your current employment in the United States. You must have been working for your company for at least one year prior to the branch transfer if you are going to work for a U.S. company in Japan.
Obtain a certificate of eligibility (COE). The COE is granted to a Japanese company once they have applied for, and proved, you have been hired by them. This company is sponsoring your visa. You may apply for an employment visa without one initially, but if you do not submit one from the start, it will delay your application as the embassy will contact your host company. Submitting a COE with your application will significantly expedite the visa process.
Hand-deliver your application packet to the Japanese embassy. Mail deliveries can get lost, arrive late or be rejected by embassies that do not accept UPS or FedEx packages. Ask to pick up your work visa in person after it has been granted, saving you the time it would have otherwise spent in the mail.
Use a visa expediting service when you are unable to deliver the application packet yourself. These companies take temporary ownership for your materials, hand-delivering and acquiring your visa in the quickest way possible. This option is preferable when you are physically too far from the Japanese embassy to oversee the transaction yourself or are tied up with daily obligations.
