K1 Fiance Visa Process : K1 Visa : K-1 Visa : K 1 Visa : Fianceeimmigrationlawyer.com

If you are a U.S. citizen, you are legally allowed to petition to bring your fiancee to permanently live in the United States.  Once the petition is approved, your fiancee can obtain a K-1 Visa from the U.S. Embassy in the country that he/she resides in.  While a U.S. citizen can apply to bring his/her fiancee, legal permanent residents of the United States are not entitled to do so.  

There are specific eligibility requirements (listed below) in order to bring a fiancee to reside in the U.S.  If you and your fiancee meet the requirements, after  a petition is filed and if approved, your fiancee can obtain a visa at the U.S. Embassy of his/her country after a background check, a medical exam, and an interview process is completed.  Once he/she enters the country, the marriage must occur within 90 days of the arrival date.  If the marriage does not occur within the aforementioned time, your fiancee will not have legal status to remain in the United States.

Eligibility Requirements
Both parties must be entirely free to marry which means that both are unmarried and any previous marriage has been legally terminated.  An additional requirement is that you have met your fiancee in person within the previous two years.  This requirement can be waived but only under very specific circumstances.  The K-1 fiancee visa is temporary but once married, your spouse can apply to change status to become a legal permanent resident. As a citizen, you may petition for your fiancee’s unmarried child(ren) under 21 years old to also immigrate under a K-2 visa.  Additionally, the petitioner must be able to fulfill specific government regulated requirements to prove that he/she can financially support the fiancee.  Generally, this has been defined as 125% of the governmentally defined poverty line.

Processing Time
Bringing your fiancee to permanently reside in the United States involves a multi-step process.  Several government agencies are involved in the approval including the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of State, and the U.S. Embassy or Consulate of your fiancee’s country.  This process can take as little time as a few weeks or up to several months.  Petitions are rarely rejected if they are properly filed.  Rather, errors in paperwork result in a Request for Additional Evidence (RFE), which can greatly prolong your fiancee’s approval status and may result in rejection of your application.  Thousands of RFEs are sent out annually proving that it is easy to misfile.  

Immigration Agencies	
Due to recent changes in the laws regarding immigration as well as September 11th, the primary agencies involved in immigration have changed.  The Department of State was the previous authority regarding K-1 Visas.  While they still hold some jurisdiction over visa decision-making, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now has the most authority.  The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as a subsidiary agency of DHS is responsible for most visa issues.  The petitioner’s (U.S. Citizen) application is filed with the USCIS and if approved is then transferred to the State Department’s National Visa Center.  An abundant amount of paperwork and documents are needed in order to be approved.  The interview held at the United States Consulate in the fiancee’s country is the final step in the immigration process.  At this point insofar as all the paper work is correct and the interview is approved, a visa is issued either on the day of the interview or within the week.  

Helpful Links:
www.uscis.gov (United States Citizen and Immigration Services website)
www.travel.state.gov (United States Department of State website)
We are members of the AILA:
American Immigration
Lawyers Association
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