If you intend to marry your fiancé(e), you can bring him or her to the US for the wedding, with a K-1 visa. K1 visa is considered a non-immigrant visa. However, as soon as your fiance(e) enters the US and you get married, you fiance(e) can apply for a Green Card.
On average, it takes a year to receive a K-1 fiance(e) visa. There are no annual numerical limits on K-1 fiancee visas and the process consists of two steps. First step, fiancé(e) visa petition approval, takes about 6 months. Second step is to receive a visa from the US consulate, which takes anywhere between 2 to 5 months. To help you decide whether you qualify for a K-1 fiance(e) visa, our DC fiance visa attorney is available for a phone consultation at 520.248.9139.
• Only a US citizen can petition for their foreign fiance(e). A permanent resident/green card holder is not able to petition for their fiance(e)
• Once the individual enters the US and marries their US citizen fiance(e), they are able to apply for a Green Card through a process called Adjustment of Status
• Normally, if the couple does not get married, the foreign fiance(e) will be unable to change their status to any other visa and will have to leave US
• Other unofficial words used for a fiance visa are K1 visa, marriage visa, spouse visa, marriage green card
• If you got married abroad, then you no longer qualify for a K-1 fiancee visa. However, a K-3 marriage visa or consular processing are other options available to you
Possible Issues with a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa: The fiance visa petition requires the US petitioner to disclose to the USCIS any history of a violent crime, restraining orders, crime relating to alcohol, or controlled substance abuse. It is important to talk to your DC fiance visa attorney if there is any question about whether this section applies to you.
Do You Qualify for a K-1 Fiance Visa? The Requirements of a K-1 visa are:
1. The petitioning US fiancé(e) must be a US citizen. Permanent residents/green card holders cannot petition for a foreign fiancé(e).
2. Both persons have to be free to legally marry. This means that both persons are of legal age and are not married to other individuals.
3. The foreign fiancé(e) is entering the US for the sole purpose of getting married to the petitioner and must marry within 90 days of entering the US.
4. The couple must have met in person in the past two years. For some couples, this requirement can be waived due to practice of religion in which marriages are customarily arranged by families and premarital meetings are prohibited. Also, it is possible to get a waiver of a personal meeting requirement if such meeting would cause an extreme hardship to the US citizen fiancé(e).
What if a foreign fiance(e) has children, can they come too?
Yes, if your child is unmarried and under the age of 21. Your child can receive a K-2 visa, accompany you to the US and apply for a Green Card once you get married.
What is the Procedure for Applying for a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa?
1. The US citizen fiance(e) has to file a Fiance(e) Visa petition (form I-129F)
The object of the petition is to classify a foreign fiance(e) as the US citizen’s fiance(e). Further, the petition establishes that parties have an intent to marry within 90 days of the foreign fiance(e) entering the US, both parties can legally marry and have met in person in the last 2 years.
If the foreign fiance(e) has children that will be moving to the US at the same time, their information will need to be added to the I-129F form. The children do not need a separate form I-129F.
Please note, a US citizen petitioner must disclose criminal records. Form I-129F asks if a US citizen petitioner has a history of violent crime or crime relating to alcohol or controlled-substance abuse. If you are concerned about your criminal record or if you had a Temporary Restraining Order issued against you, please contact our DC fiance visa attorney to discuss potential issues that may affect your case.
2. After the fiance(e) visa petition (I-129F) is approved, the next step is to apply for a K-1 fiance(e) visa at the consulate
All applicants for a K-1 visa must fill out and submit a Form DS-160 online. Even though you did not have to file a separate I-129F petition for any children, you will need to file a separate DS-160 for each child that will be moving to the US with you. Children will get K-2 visas.
Usually, the consular post will send a letter listing the documents it needs to see to issue a K-1 visa, as well as procedures for a medical exam and interview. Please note that each consular post has different procedures, so it is important to follow the procedures of the consular post where you will be conducting your interview.
A general list of documents that a foreign fiance(e) can expect to submit for a K-1 visa:
US fiance(e) birth certificate or valid US passport, your valid passport and birth certificate, proof that any previous marriages were legally terminated, original police clearance certificate, passport-style photos, results of your medical exam, as well as documents proving your relationship, such as photos, bills, communications, etc.
Attending the Fiance Visa Interview:
The interview process involves verification of your application’s accuracy and an inspection of your documents.
After the medical exam, you and your accompanying children will report to the consulate for the interview. You should bring the documents indicated in your interview letter and anything else the consulate requested.
Traveling to the US:
Once you receive your K-1 fiance(e) visa, you will need to enter the US during the visa validity period, which is normally 6 months. Upon entering the US, you will need to get married within 90 days.
Once you are married, you and your children can apply for green cards through a process called Adjustment of Status. Merely marrying your US fiance(e) does not automatically give you a green card.
Many clients are able to handle the application process on their own. However, if you have trouble dealing with paperwork or understanding the instructions, or have any complications in your case (such as a criminal record, past visa overstays, multiple fiance visa filings, etc.), then you should consider talking to the DC Fiance Visa attorney. Contact our office to schedule your consultation with our DC fiance visa attorney today at 520.248.9139.
• K-1 fiancee visas
• K-2 visas for the children of K-1 fiancee’s
• K-3 marriage visas
• K-4 visa for the children of K-3 fiancee’s
• Adjustment of status
• Consular processing