What is the K-1 Visa and How Does it Work?
If you are a U.S. citizen, you can sponsor, or bring your foreign fiancé(e) to the U.S. through a K-1 fiancé(e) visa to get married. The K-1 fiancé(e) visa is a single-entry visa where the two must get married within 90 days of entry. After marriage, your fiancé(e) can then apply to adjust his/her status to become a lawful permanent resident, or green card holder.
Immigration law states that if the K-1 visa holder does not marry their U.S. citizen fiancé(e) in the 90-day time frame, they are legally required to depart the United States. Or, if the foreign fiancé(e) does not marry the sponsoring U.S. citizen and instead marries someone else, then this is also a violation of the visa, and the foreign fiancée will be required to exit the U.S.
Who is Eligible for a K-1 Visa?
To be eligible for this fiancé(e) visa, both parties must be of the appropriate age to marry and must not have anything that prevents them from marrying, such as a valid marriage with another individual. In short, both individuals must be free to legally marry. Additionally, it is mandatory to confirm your intention to marry within 90 days of the foreign fiancé(e)’s entry into the U.S.
Historically, the K-1 fiancé(e) visa had been one of the easier and quicker visas to apply for and get approved. However, there’s evidence that the process has become more strict over the years, and the processing time has increased. Specifically, individuals who have a large age gap or individuals who do not show enough evidence of a relationship incur more scrutiny. Considering this, it’s a good idea to look at how you can best support your application with the right evidence before applying.
If you are already married, it is imperative that a legal divorce occur. This can be shown by either a divorce certificate or a death decree.
If you could not wait for your foreign fiancé(e) to enter the U.S. and got married outside of the U.S. instead, then the marriage-based green card or K-3 visa are the better options, as your new spouse is no longer eligbile for the fiancé(e) visa.
I have an interesting story about a couple who married, divorced, and then remarried. So stay tuned.
Documents Required for the K-1 Visa
So, what documents do you need to file a petition for a K-1 visa? As mentioned previously, each situation is unique and may require additional documents. But for now, here are the basic forms and documents that may be required for the K-1 visa application:
• Form I-129F
• Birth certificates and photo identification
• Evidence of the relationship
• Divorce and/or death decrees
• Police certificate
• Court records
• Medical examination
• Financial disclosures
• Form DS-160
How to Apply for a K-1 Visa?
Step 1 – File Form I-129F
In order to apply for the fiancé(e) visa, it’s necessary that the U.S. citizen sponsor file Form I-129F with USCIS .
If denied, the sponsor has the ability to request a motion to reopen or reconsider if new evidence becomes available that was not available at the time of filing or if the sponsor believes the officer erred in the decision-making process. The sponsor may also have the option to request an appeal. It is important to speak with an immigration attorney to determine the best route for your specific case.
Step 2 – Visa Interview
If the I-129F is approved, your fiancé(e) visa petition and the I-129F approval notice will then be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) who will directly work with the U.S. embassy or consulate closest to the foreign fiancé(e). From there, the foreign fiancée will need to ensure they have all police records, court records, divorce certificates, medical exam, and the sponsor’s financial disclosures, as appropriate, prior to attending their visa interview.
At the U.S. embassy or consulate, the foreign fiancé(e) will undergo an interview and provide biometrics. The reviewing officer will either confirm that the case will be approved, or request additional information to make a determination on the case at a later date. If the case is approved, the foreign fiancé(e) will receive their passport with the visa at a later date, typically within a week, depending on the caseload of the embassy. If the officer requests additional information, the case will be reviewed and a determination will be made at a later date.
Step 3 – U.S. Entry and Marriage
If the foreign fiancé(e) successfully passes their interview, then they may enter the U.S. with their passport and K-1 visa to get married to their U.S. citizen fiancée within 90 days of entering the U.S.
Can a K-1 Visa Holder Transition to a Green Card?
Your next question is probably: what do you do once you’ve married your U.S. citizen spouse? What immigration documentation will allow you to stay with your spouse and allow for U.S. work authorization?
After your wedding, which can either be a simple courthouse wedding or an elaborate wedding, you can then apply for a marriage-based green card. With that marriage-based green card application, you can also apply for work authorization and travel authorization so you do not have wait until the entire case is approved to work or travel internationally.
Client Experience
As briefly mentioned, I had a client and her partner who experienced an interesting journey in their relationship. They were initially married, went through a divorce, and then surprisingly got engaged again less than six months later. My client is a U.S. citizen and her partner is from Switzerland. When they decided to give their love another chance, her partner had already settled back to Switzerland, so they wanted to initiate the K-1 fiancé visa process.
During the K-1 visa interview at the embassy, the immigration officer displayed a particular curiosity about their unique story and the reasons behind their decision to remarry. Although the couple had gathered ample evidence of their genuine relationship and intentions to remarry, the officer seemed to have lingering concerns about whether this new marriage would be successful, considering their history. It was important for me to prepare my clients for potentially unrelated questions during the interview, reminding them that the focus should primarily be on their eligibility to marry, the validity of their relationship, and their intention to get married within 90 days of their foreign partner’s arrival in the U.S. With this preparation, they were well-equipped to answer the questions, while also politely redirecting the officer’s attention to the relevant topics.
In the end, her Swiss partner returned to the U.S., and the couple successfully tied the knot once again. As of now, they are still happily married. This goes to show that sometimes, love can prevail even after facing challenges, and there are no limits or boundaries to where love can take us.
Bonus
As promised, here’s some bonus information that you may not know about:
Potential Ineligibility
In some situations, an applicant might find themselves automatically regarded as ineligible to apply for the K-1 fiancé(e) visa. Regardless of someone’s visa eligibility, certain crimes will render an applicant unable to apply successfully.
For example, crimes such as drug trafficking, submission of fraudulent documents, and overstaying prior visas will all make you ineligible for a new K visa petition. If you are found to be ineligible for the K-1 visa, you’ll be contacted by an immigration official and advised on the possibility of seeking a waiver for the ineligibility. You can visit the Bureau of Consular Affairs website at travel.state.gov for a complete list of all applicable ineligibilities.
It’s also worth noting that the K-1 visa is specifically only appropriate couples with a bona fide relationship who fully intend to have a valid marriage ceremony in the U.S. within 90 days of admission into the country. This will rule out couples who are only considering getting married in the U.S. during the visa’s validity as a possibility. You’ll need to provide evidence of your intended marriage in the United States.
Thanks for tuning in today. Be sure to check the caption below this video. We’ve got questionnaires for different types of visas so that we can help you determine which visa is most appropriate for you. And if you’re traveling soon, we also have a list of some of my travel favorites.
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