What is a K1 Fiancé Non immigrant Visa?
People fall in love whether it is convenient or not. When one of those individuals is foreign born, things can get complicated. K-1 fiancé nonimmigrant visas enable foreign fiancés to enter the United States and marry Americans.
You may petition for your fiance to come to the United States to marry. The requirements are the following:
(1) A fiancée/fiancé of a United States citizen
(2) Seeks to enter U.S. solely to conclude a valid marriage with petitioner.
(3) Plans to marry within 90 days after entry.
(4) Minor children of fiancés can accompany them (K-2 visa).
The steps in a K-1 visa
Filing the Petition. To begin, you file a petition at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office having jurisdiction over your current or intended residence and pay the filing fee. With your petition you must submit:
- Evidence of American Citizenship
- Proof of termination of prior marriages
- Evidence of your relationship
- There is a bona fide intention to marry within 90days of fiancé's entry.
- No legal impediments to marriage
- You have previously met in person within two years of filing petition. BCIS may waive the in-person requirement, where there is extreme hardship or long established custom in your country that does not allow it.
Approved petition. USCIS notifies you when your K-1 visa petition is approved and forwards it to the State Department for a background check. It is then sent to the U.S. Embassy where your fiancé resides for final processing. Your petition is valid for four months. However, you may be able to get an extension from the embassy.
Processing. When the embassy receives the file from the State Department, they send a Packet 3 to your fiancé. The Packet 3 tells the applicant what documents he or she must collect prior to the visa interview:
- Valid passports for the beneficiary/dependent children
- Birth certificates for the beneficiary/dependent children
- Proof of termination of prior marriages
- A police certificate from current/past places of residence of the beneficiary, for 6 months or more since age 16
- Police certificate(s) for any dependent children over 16
When all the documents specified in Packet 3 are gathered/compiled, your fiancé returns the completed form(s) from Packet 3 certifying that all required documents are obtained.
Scheduling an interview. The embassy sends out a Packet 4 which explains required medical exams, documentation, and how to schedule the visa interview.
Visa interview. The interview takes place at the Immigrant Visa section of the Embassy. Your fiancé fills out the necessary application and forms, and presents the necessary documentation. After review, a consular officer interviews your fiancé, during which time he or she verifies your relationship is valid and you intend to marry within 90 days. Provided everything is in order during the interview, a visa is issued the same day.
Where the wedding is to take place in the United States, the couple can consider the K-1 fiancé nonimmigrant visa as an option to
bring the foreign national into the country, if he or she is not here already. The K-1 has the advantage of relatively faster processing than immigrant visa processes (depending on particular procedures at each consulate at the visa issuing stage), allowing the foreign national to enter the United States legally and obtain employment authorization.
Where the wedding is to take place outside the United States, the couple can consider the K-3 nonimmigrant visa as an option to immigrant visa processing to bring the spouse into the country. The K-3 also has the advantage of faster processing (depending on particular procedures at each consulate at the visa issuing stage) than immigrant visa processing.
K-1 Visa help
If you have questions regarding K-1 visas, and wish assistance in the filing of each component in the process, a qualified immigration attorney can help.
Please call our office to discuss your case with us.