How to Get a K1 Visa For Your Foreign Fiance

The Fiance K1 Visa is designed to let your foreign fiance visit the United States for ninety days, meet your family and friends, and get a better understanding of what it would be like to live in America as your spouse. It also allows them to apply for permanent residency if they marry you within ninety days.

The Application

The K-1 Visa is one of two ways for a US Citizen to help their Foreign Fiancee immigrate to the United States. The process requires a significant amount of paperwork and many steps including background checks, medical exams, and interviews. It can take months to complete based on how backlogged the government agencies are at any given time. The process also requires a lot of money for postage and getting files back and forth between you, your fiance, and the government at various steps.

The process starts with the US Citizen (often with the help of an attorney) preparing Form I-129F – Petition for Alien Fiancee and filing it with USCIS. The petition must be approved before the fiancee’s visa interview can occur. Once the petition is approved, the NVC (National Visa Center) will send it to the embassy or consulate that will conduct the interview. The fiancee will then complete the online DS-160 – Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application and pay the interview fee. Each embassy or consulate has its own requirements, so follow the instructions in their notice.

The Interview

In the interview, the US citizen and their foreign fiance(e) will provide supporting documentation. This includes documents that show the financial stability of the relationship and proof of future plans to live together – such as joint bank statements, leases or mortgage agreements and assets that you both own.

The interview itself will be in a question-and-answer format and should last no more than 30 minutes. There will be around 100 categorized questions that cover your background, your relationship with your fiance(e), and your plans.

The government will be looking for proof that your fiance(e) is in a genuine relationship and that you are marrying them because you love them and want to live life with them. They will also want to see that you are able to get married within 90 days of their arrival in the United States. For this reason, they will ask many personal questions. It’s important to prepare and be ready for these questions ahead of time.

The Medical Exam

Every applicant for a visa to the U.S., whether it is a K1 Visa or applying to adjust their status as a permanent resident once married, must have a medical exam from a physician approved by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The doctor will perform a complete physical and fill out a report that states any health issues.

After USCIS approves the petition and sends it to the National Visa Center, which completes all initial processing for the K1 visa, the non-citizen fiance must attend her interview at the American Consulate in her country. During the interview, she will need to present all of her required documents and answer questions concerning her and her relationship with her US Citizen Fiance.

The foreign fiance must also complete Form DS-160 and get police clearances from all countries she has lived in for at least 6 months. She will need to bring passport photos that meet the embassy requirements.

The Visa

The fiance attends interviews at their local embassy or consulate. They will need to bring their passport and the supporting documents that were submitted to USCIS, as well as any additional documents that the consular officer requests. During the interview, the fiance must demonstrate to the consular officer that they are not likely to become public charges (generally by showing that the petitioner has an income above 100% of the poverty guidelines in their state of residence) and that they plan to marry their U.S. citizen sponsor within 90 days of their arrival in the United States.

The visa is a self-adhesive label that is placed in the fiance’s passport and will allow them to enter the United States. Once married, the foreign national can apply for permanent residency, or a green card. This is a very important step that allows the couple to build their lives in the United States and provides them with the opportunity to become naturalized citizens of the United States, with all the benefits that come with that status.

Mike

Find top rated attorneys and law firms profiles with Find Attorneys Directory, the best and free online attorney directory. Guest bloggers can also publish their articles here as other bloggers are doing.