K-1 Fiancée and Fiancé Visa
If you are a U.S. citizen, you are legally allowed to petition to bring your fiancé(e) to permanently live in the United States. Once the petition is approved, your fiancé(e) 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 fiancé(e), 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 fiancé(e) to reside in the U.S. If you and your fiancé(e) meet the requirements, after a petition is filed and if approved, your fiancé(e) 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 fiancé(e) 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 fiancé(e) in person within the previous two years. The K-1 fiancé(e) 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 fiancé(e)’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 fiancé(e) . Generally, this has been defined as 125% of the governmentally defined poverty line.
Processing Time
Bringing your fiancé(e) 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 fiancé(e)’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 fiancé(e)’s approval status and may result in rejection of your application. Thousands of RFE’s are sent out annually demonstrating how easy it is to misfile.
Find out more from our immigration attorneys, contact The Korda Law Firm today for an initial consultation at (239) 298-0441 (Naples FL) or (323) 556-0693 (Beverly Hills CA).
