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1. Starting a Procese to Bring Your Fiancé into the United States
Many immigrants come
to U.S. in pursuit of the American dream, and will get their green
cards first before starting the process of sponsoring their
fiancé. It it usually less expensive and easier to do it this
way, versus bringing everyone over all at once.
There is no
predetermined time for a U.S. citizen to sponsor a fiancé. It
depends on the fiancé’s current place of residence or
immigration status or history. If your fiancé resides with you
in U.S, and entered the country legally, he may already be eligible to
adjust their status in the U.S. However, if your fiancé entered
the U.S. illegally, they might have to go abroad through the consular
process.
If you are living in
the U.S. and you plan to marry an immigrant from another country, it
could take six months or longer for a fiancé visa (K-1 visa) and
another three to six months or longer to get a U.S. green card.
The United States
citizen must file a Form I-129F visa petition (K-1 visa petition) -
Petition for Alien Fiancé, to the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS). After the Form I-129F petition, the
immigrant must submit their visa application form online and attend an
interview at a local U.S. consulate. After the interview, the
fiancé will know if it has been approved for a fiancé
visa to enter the United States. The immigrant will then have 90 days
in the U.S. to get married and apply for a green card at a local USCIS
office.
2. The Eligibility of K-1 Visa
As a
fiancé
or fiancée of a U.S. citizen, you are eligible for K-1 visa
if:
1)
you are legally eligible to marry under the laws of your country as
well as the laws of the U.S.;
2)
you will marry the petitioning U.S. citizen within 90 days of entering
the U.S.;
3)
you intend to enter the U.S. solely to marry the U.S. citizen;
4)
you have met the U.S. citizen within the last two years before filing
for the K-1
fiancée visa. This requirement can be waived only if meeting
your fiancée/fiancé
in person would violate long-established customs, or would
create extreme hardship for the U.S. citizen.
3. The Requirements of Applying for a K-1
Visa
In accordance with the U.S. immigration law, a
Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) should be filed by the
petitioner who must be a U.S. citizen. The petition is filed in the
U.S. with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). U.S.
embassy or consulate may not file or approve the petition.
The approved visa petition is forwarded to the
appropriate U.S. embassy or consulate, and
the petitioner is notified of the petition approval by the USCIS. It
usually takes approximately 6-8 weeks for the petition to reach the
U.S. embassy or consulate.
The
requirements for the K-1 fiancée visa include:
-
The
alien fiancée/fiancé must be outside the U.S.;
-
The
U.S. citizen must first file an From I-129F petition with the USCIS and
have it approved before the alien fiancée/fiancé
may apply for a K-1 visa;
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Both
the U.S. citizen and the fiancée/fiancé must
remain unmarried until the arrival of the alien
fiancée/fiancé in the U.S.;
-
The
alien fiancée/fiancé and U.S. citizen must have
met
personally at least once in the two years before the I-129F petition
was filed.
The
Immigrant Visa Unit at U.S. embassy or consulate will process the
application for the K-1 visa. While no assurance can be given regarding
the appointment date of the visa interview, the alien
fiancée/fiancé should prepare for that
appointment, and obtain the documents required for the visa
application.
The
alien fiancée/fiancé must complete a medical
examination
in an embassy-approved medical facility. The forms and information
regarding this are included in the information packet sent to the alien
fiancée/fiancé.
4. How to Apply for K-1 Visa
The U.S. citizen must file a fiancé/fiancée visa
application (K-1 visa application) using Form I-129F, with the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If the K-1 visa
application is approves by USCIS, the USCIS will forward the approved
application documents to a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Then U.S.
embassy or consulate will then contact the alien beneficiary with
information and eventually schedule an interview for a
fiancé/fiancée visa.
After the interview and issue of the K-1 visa, the the alien
beneficiary has 90 days from entry into the U.S. to marry the U.S.
citizen. The alien fiancé/fiancée must leave U.S.
within this time if he or she does not want to marry the U.S. citizen.
5. Maintaining K-1 Nonimmigrant Status
A
K-1
visa is issued with a validity of 6 months. You have to enter the U.S.
before the expiry date shown on your K-1 visa.
After your arrival in the U.S., you have 90 days to get married or you
must return to your home country. There is no legal way to extend the
90 day limit.
Once the marriage has taken place in the U.S., you must apply to adjust
to permanent resident status.
You would first generally obtain a two-year conditional residency, and
would have to file additional paperwork later for the conditions to be
lifted. The alien
fiancée/fiancé also must marry the K-1
petitioner and no one else, in order to remain in the U.S.
6. Applying for Work Authorization and
Travel Outside of the U.S.
K-1
visa holders may accept employment in the U.S. by obtaining an
Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
The USCIS normally take 90-120 days to process EAD applications and the
authorized stay for a K-1
fiancée/fiancé is only 90 days, therefore the
alien
fiancée/fiancé may not receive the EAD in a
timely
manner, The EAD can only be valid for the period of authorized stay. If the alien
fiancée/fiancé applies for adjustment to
permanent resident status, the
fiancée/fiancé can
also apply for a employment authorization after the marriage.
The
K-1 and K-2 holders may enter the U.S. only one time with their K-1/K-2
visas. If they leave the U.S. before the marriage, they need to apply
for a new visa to come back. If the alien
fiancée/fiancé wants to leave and re-enter the
U.S. after marriage and filing for adjustment of status, he or she must
apply for Advance Parole to the USCIS office that serves the area where
they live. The Advance Parole will allow him or her to return to the
U.S. after traveling.
7. How to Apply for the U.S. Green Card as Fiancée of U.S. Citizen
U.S. immigration law
allows a U.S. citizen to petition for a alien fiancé(e) to
obtain a K-1 nonimmigrant visa to travel to the United States and seek
admission. Within 90 days after being admitted as a K-1 nonimmigrant,
the alien must enter into a marriage with the U.S. citizen who filed
the Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), on the K-1
nonimmigrant behalf.
After being admitted to
the United States as a K-1 nonimmigrant and marrying the U.S. citizen
petitioner within 90 days, the alien spouse can apply for U.S.
permanent resident status in the United States.
To apply for lawful
permanent resident status based on their admission as a K-1
nonimmigrant, the alien spouce should marriage within 90 days to their
U.S. citizen petitioner. Thereafter, the K-1 nonimmigrant can apply for
“adjustment of status”, with Form I-485, Application to
Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
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