A K-1 or fiancé visa is a visa that allows the fiancé of an American citizen travel to the United States for the purpose of marrying a U.S. citizen and immigrating to the country. The U.S. citizen petitioner must marry the foreign citizen beneficiary in 90 days. Once married, the now spouse is eligible to stay in the United States and apply for permanent residency, also known as a green card.
Your fiancé cannot petition for him- or herself. A U.S. citizen must petition the government for this visa. Here’s a closer look at each requirement.
Currently, the K-1 visa is only available to fiancés of U.S. citizens. If your fiancé is a lawful permanent resident, your alternative is a marriage visa (CR-1 spousal visa) – unfortunately, you aren’t eligible to come to the U.S. for the purpose of getting married.
K1 Fiance Visas
You must have seen your fiancé in person within the past two years. Seeing them on video or communicating regularly doesn’t satisfy this requirement. However, your attorney can help you request a waiver for this requirement if meeting in person would violate strict and long-established customs of your or your fiancé’s culture or social practices, or if it would cause extreme hardship to you.
Being free to marry means that you are single, divorced or widowed. That applies to both of you; if either of you has a pending divorce, you cannot file the K-1 fiancé visa application until the divorce is complete.
You must meet the federal poverty guidelines to show that you can support your fiancé. In many cases, the U.S. government allows you to use a co-sponsor or list other assets you have to meet the financial requirements for K-1 visa approval.
How To Prepare For A K1 Visa Interview For Permanent Immigration To The United States?
The U.S. government will look at your criminal history when applying for a fiancé visa. If a court has convicted you of serious crimes or more than three drug- or alcohol-related offenses, you need a waiver. Additionally, your intended spouse must meet admissibility requirements, which requires a criminal history check. An experienced fiancé visa attorney can help overcome these issues if they apply in your case.
After you hire fiancé visa lawyer Deron Smallcomb, your case is assigned to a case worker who’s familiar with your fiancé’s country. Generally, caseworkers speak the same languages as the beneficiaries (fiancés) we work with. From there:
The whole process is seamless – you don’t need to worry about anything but providing us with the information we require through our secure website. Our team handles everything for you (right down to filing your forms and tracking your case) so all you need to do is wait for notification that USCIS has processed your application.
Fiance Visa K 1
Usually, it takes USCIS about 8 months to process K-1 fiancé visas, though several factors may affect your wait time. Here’s a closer look at how long each step of the process generally takes:
After your fiancé completes his or her medical exam and our firm has prepared all your K-1 visa forms, an official at your fiancé’s nearest U.S. embassy will conduct an interview.
During your fiancé’s interview, a U.S. consular officer will review all the documents related to your petition. The officer will also examine evidence that shows you have a bona fide (genuine) relationship and proves you’re not simply getting married to convey an immigration benefit to your intended spouse.
K1 Fiance Visa Lawyer In Portland Oregon
The official assigned to your case will ask your fiancé questions about the legitimacy of your relationship. If the consular officer is satisfied with your fiancé’s answers to the interview questions, he or she will grant approval for the K-1 visa. Your fiancé can expect to receive the visa within 5 to 10 days.
After your fiancé has the K-1 visa, they are free to travel to the United States. Your fiancé must use the visa within 6 months of issuance – otherwise, it becomes invalid and you have to start the whole process over again.
Additionally, after your fiancé arrives in the United States, you must marry within 90 days. If you don’t get married within that timeframe, you have to start from scratch.
Louisville Immigration Lawyers
After you and your fiancé marry, he or she is eligible for lawful permanent residency in the United States. Lawful permanent residency allows your spouse to live and work anywhere in the country, and eventually, to apply for U.S. citizenship based on your marriage (though applying for citizenship is never a requirement). When your spouse is a lawful permanent resident, or LPR, he or she will get a green card; that’s the document that proves LPR status.
You must apply for an adjustment of status on your spouse’s behalf to get him or her a green card. Your attorney can help you with the process, which involves filling out and filing forms with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
. That means your spouse must meet certain requirements to keep his or her lawful permanent resident status. Primarily, your spouse has to remain married to you for at least two years and prove that your marriage is genuine. Within the 90 days before the conditional green card expires, you must petition the U.S. government to remove the conditions. If you fail to apply to remove conditions, the U.S. government will initiate removal (deportation) proceedings against your spouse, so it’s absolutely essential that you do so. After the government approves the removal of conditions, your spouse will receive an ordinary green card that’s valid for 10 years.
Fiancée Visas And Marriage Visas
My asylum case worried me very much. After speaking with Mr. Smallcomb, I was much surer that everything would be done ok. He and his staff helped me to file and get my work card. I was lucky to have their help and the price was lower than most lawyers. Adam S.
Very Professional, very thorough and simplified the process so you know what to expect and what is required. Very satisfied with the Modern Law Group, P.C., Thank you. Robert S.
These folks were a critical part of my k1 visa preparation and subsequent parts of the process to eventual citizenship. Additionally, they helped with my stepson green card process. I will definitely use their services as my stepson heads for citizenship. Very professional, extremely competent! Kevin F.The K1 Visa, also known as the fiance visa, is issued to the fiance of a US Citizen who plans to come to the USA to get married. Once you are married, your US Citizen spouse should apply for your Green Card (legal permanent residency) so that you may live permanently in the USA. The fiance visa is only used when the fiance who is not a US Citizen needs to come to the USA to get married. If the non-US Citizen is already in the USA, then the fiance visa is not necessary because applying directly for a Green Card would be more appropriate.
Processing Time For A K1 Visa
2. Once you and your fiance are married, your US Citizen fiance will be able to apply for your Green Card. With the fiance visa, you will be able to live in the US while the Green Card application is being processed.
3. You and your fiance must be single, in other words, you can not apply for a K1 fiance visa to marry one person, if you are currently married to someone else;
4. You and your fiance must have met each other in person, at least once within the last 2 years. Exceptions do apply to this requirement. If you do not meet this requirement and want to know if you can be exempt from this requirement, contact immigration attorney Gerardo Menchaca for a consultation.
K 1 Visa Income Requirements
The application process for the K-1 Visa is a 2-step process. In step 1, USCIS must approve your fiance visa application. In step 2, USCIS forwards your approval to the US Embassy where your fiance will have the K1 visa interview.
K-1 Document Checklist: The first thing our immigration attorney will do is provide you with a detailed checklist of the documents needed to prepare the fiance visa application. This checklist is the most important part of the application, because it lays out exactly what will be needed from you and your fiance to apply for the visa. Once you’ve provided us with the required documents, we will prepare and file the K1 application with USCIS.
Just like in Step 1, our immigration attorney will provide you with a second tailored document checklist needed to prepare Step 2 of the K-1 Visa application. Once you’ve provided us with your documents, we will prepare and submit Step 2 of your K-1 Visa to the US Embassy in the home country of the fiance who lives outside the USA.
Nj Marraige And Fiance Visas Lawyers
Once your application has been submitted, the fiance who is not a US Citizen will be scheduled for an interview at US Embassy. The purpose of this interview is to confirm that you and you fiance are truly engaged to be married and meet all the other K1 visa requirements. Prior to your K1 visa interview, our immigration attorney will schedule an appointment to help prepare you for the interview.
The K1 Visa is a one-time use visa that expires 90 days
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