How to Obtain K-3 Visa to Come to U.S. While Waiting for Form I-130 Decision

Question:

I have submitted Form I-130 application for my wife and son, how to obtain a visa to come to the United States while waiting for a decision on the Form I-130?

Answer:

If you are a U.S. citizen and you filed a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative for your foreign spouse who is abroad, you can also file a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e). This is the first step for your spouse and his or her children to obtain a visa to come to the United States while you wait for USCIS to make a decision on the Form I-130.

Historically, you and your family members might have been separated for some time while waiting for a decision on your Form I-130. Congress sought to resolve this problem by creating K-3 and K-4 nonimmigrant visas to shorten the time your family would need to spend apart.

The K-3 nonimmigrant petition for the spouse of a U.S. citizen must be preceded by the filing of the I-130 immediate relative petition. There is no need to wait for a decision on the I-130, it must simply be filed. The K-3 case is filed using Form I-129F, as is the K-1 for fiancé/es. The purpose of the K-3 visa category was to provide a faster avenue for the immigration of spouses of U.S. citizens, if the foreign national resided abroad.

Prior to the creation of the K-3 category, the only option was the I-130 petition for immediate relative. The processing times for I-130s, combined with the waiting times for interviews at the consulates, often left couples separated for more than a year. The K-3 processing was supposed to be much faster than the I-130, and, thus, was an attractive option for many couples in this situation.