In love with an alien? Petition for a K-1 Fiancée Visa.

Fiancée visa (classified as K-1) is a nonimmigrant visa classification for foreign nationals who intend to come to the United States in order to marry an American citizen and reside in thiscountry. The US citizen who wishes to marry the foreign national is called petitioner because he/she should file the Form I-129F Petition for Relative or Fiance with USCIS. The other fiancée is called beneficiary.

In order to be eligible for fiancée visa, both petitioner and beneficiary must be legally able and willing to conclude a valid marriage in the United States. As a general rule, the petitioner and beneficiary must have previously met in person within the past two years. However, the Attorney General can waive this requrequirement in exceptional circumstances.

Once USCIS approves I-129F, National Visa Center would be notified and  a consular officer will contact the beneficiary to schedule an interview with him/her. The approved  petition is valid for four months, but the Embassy can extend it if a fiance visa cannot be issued during that period and the intention to marry still exists. If the officer finds the fiancée to be eligible for K-1 fiance visa, a visa will be issued which is valid for one entry during a period of six months.

The petitioner and the beneficiary must marry within 90 days of admission into the United States. Following the marriage, the foreign national spouse must apply to the USCIS to establish a record of entry for permanent residence status. This PR status would be conditional for two years to make sure that the marriage is a bona fide one. After two years, the foreign national spouse may apply to the USCIS for removal of the conditional status and after 3 years of being a legal permanent resident  (LPR), he/she can apply to become a U.S. citizen. Divorce after the approval of conditional permanent resident status but before removal of the conditions can make some challenges for the fiancée and should be discussed in details with an immigration attorney.

If the beneficiary has unmarried, minor (under 21) children, they derive “K-2” nonimmigrant visa status from the parent but it is important that thr petitioner name the children in the petition. If the children accompany or follow the alien fiancé within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa, a separate petition is not required but thereafter, a separate immigrant visa petitionthis (I-130) should be filed.