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1. About the K Visa
The K visas are
issued
to two groups of people: U.S. citizens'
fiancée/fiancé who are outside the U.S. (issued
K-1 visas), and U.S. citizens' spouses who are outside the
U.S. (issued K-3 visas). A K-1 visa is for
the purpose of admitting an alien fiancée/fiancé
of a U.S. citizen, while a K-3 visa is for the purpose of admitting the
alien spouse of a U.S. citizen for whom a family-based immigrant
petition is pending.
The
K-1 visa allows the alien fiancée/fiancé who
lives outside the U.S. to travel into the U.S. to marry the
U.S. citizen. K-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa that recognizes
the beneficiary's intent to immigrate based on his/her planned marriage
to a U.S. citizen, and allows the beneficiary to enter the United
States to complete the marriage.
The K-1 fiancée visa is suitable for:
1)
Fiancée
or fiancé of U.S. citizens to enter the U.S. and marry the
U.S. citizen petitioner within 90 days;
2)
U.S. citizens to bring their
fiancé or fiancée to the U.S. to marry within 90
days.
The
K-3 visa
promotes the family reunion and serves as a temporary remedy for the
long delayed family based immigration petition process. It allows the
alien spouse to stay in the U.S. while waiting for the result of the
pending immigration petition. The alien spouse may obtain work
authorization during the waiting period.
A
K-1 visa or fiancée visa gives permission for an foreign
fiancée or fiancé to enter U.S. to get married.
To get a K-1 visa, the U.S. citizen needs to file a K-1 visa
application with Form I-129F to the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services). If the Form I-129F is approved by USCIS, the
documents will be forwarded to the U.S. consulate in the foreign
fiancée's / fiancé's home country for review. An
interview with the K-1 applicant will be scheduled to take place at the
U.S. consulate. A K-1 visa will be issued if the interview goes well.
After
the K-1 visa is issued, the fiancée or fiancé has
6 months to enter the United States, and then have another 90 days to
get married in the United States. If the foreign
fiancée/fiancé wants to get a U.S. Green Card
(adjusting status in U.S.), the official government issued marriage
certificate is needed to submit the Form I-485 application - adjustment
of status.
2. The K-1 Visa for Fiancée/Fiancé
of a United States Citizen
The
K-1 visa, also known as the fiancée visa, is used by United
States citizens who wish to bring their prospective spouse to the
United States with the intention of getting married. The visa
application procedures and policies followed by U.S. consular posts
vary depending on the local conditions and requirements. If
you are an American citizen and are planning on marrying a foreigner,
you have the option of bringing you
fiancée/fiancé to the United States on a
temporary non-immigrant visa to marry and live here. You may also apply
to bring your
fiancée/fiancé's unmarried children, who are
under the age of 21, to the United States via the same visa
petition.
The K-1 visa is
a
temporary visa to the United States for the sole purpose of getting
married within the United States. This visa is not a permission to stay
in the
U.S. for long term. You have 90 days to get married after your
fiancée/fiancé arrives in the country. If she or
he plans to stay and work in the
U.S., you will have to file another petition and application in order
to adjust his/her status to a permanent resident (Green Card).
After
an alien
fiancée/fiancé has obtained a K-1 visa and
entered the U.S., the alien fiancée/fiancé must
get married to the U.S. citizen who petitioned for him/her within 90
days of admission. After the marriage, the alien
fiancée/fiancé becomes the spouse. She or he may
file an immigration petition and adjustment of status application to
become a permanent resident. The U.S. citizen
spouse must complete and submit the Affidavit of Support with the alien
spouse's application for permanent resident.
Legal
permanent residents
(Green Card holders) may not file petitions for the
fiancée/fiancé visas, although they may petition
for the immigration
visa of their new spouse after the wedding.
3. K-1 Visa Application and Requirements
after the K-1 Visa Is Issued
A
fiancé visa grants permission to a foreign alien who is
engaged to marry a U.S. citizen to enter U.S. for getting married
inside United States. For your fiancé to get a
fiancé visa to enter United States, you will need to file a
petition using Form I-129F with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS).
If the Form I-129F petition is approved, it will then be forwarded to
the U.S. consulate in the fiancé's home country for
review. The review process could take several months. An
personal interview with the alien applicant will be scheduled to take
place at the consulate.
If the visa interview process goes well, the K-1 fiance visa will be
issued to the alien applicant. Once the fiancé visa is
issued, the alien immigrant has 6 months time period to enter United
States, and then another 90 days for the alien
fiancé to get married inside United States. If possible, It
it best to get married early in stay if the alien fiancé
wishes to apply to adjust status inside United States to get a U.S.
green card.
An immigrant who marries
a U.S. citizen must apply for U.S. green card. This process includes
many USCIS forms and documents. The green card application can be
refused, because of a medical problem, criminal history, past
immigration violations, or the U.S. immigration authorities' belief
that the marriage is a fraud to get a green card.
After
successfully obtaining a U.S. green card, the immigrant spouse can
apply for U.S. citizenship, after 3 years as a U.S. permanent resident,
assuming that the alien spouse still married and living together when
the immigrant applies.
4. Children for K-2 Visa
The minor
children of
K-1 visa holders will be admitted with K-2 visa, for a same time of
their parents or until the day before such children's 21st birthday or
marriage, whichever is shorter.
All
children under 21 years old and unmarried of the alien
fiancée/fiancé must be listed on the K-1 visa
petition. The children must be present at the interview. A marriage
certificate of the beneficiary along with the rest of the required
documentation must be provided as a requisite for the child's K-2
visa.
The
child accompanying the K-1 beneficiary may acquire K-2 status even
after the beneficiary has married the U.S. citizen petitioner and
acquired lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. The cut-off date
for issuance of a K-2 visa is 1 year from the date of the issuance of
the K-1 visa. After 1 year, the filing of an immediate relative or
second preference immigrant visa petition would be required for the
child.
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Service, www.greencardfamily.com