Using the k-1 visa process to bring a fiance or fiancee to the USA
If you are considering bringing your fiancé/fiancée to permanently share your lives together in the USA, you might want to consider the K-1 visa process. The K-1 visa allows a fiancé/fiancee to come to the USA for up to 90 days during which time he or she must get married to the U.S. citizen petitioner or return to the home country.
To start the process, a US citizen files a form called an I-129F petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) essentially asking USCIS to recognize the foreign citizen (the beneficiary) as the person’s fiancé or fiancée. USCIS will then review the petition along with other required forms and documentary evidence showing that both parties are free to marry; intend to marry within 90 days of the beneficiary’s admission; and have met in person within the past two years prior to filing the petition.
If USCIS approves the I-129F petition this only means that USCIS recognizes the claimed relationship between the US citizen, (petitioner) and his foreign partner, (beneficiary). However, it doesn’t mean that the foreign partner is permitted at that point to travel to the USA. The foreign partner still needs to apply and being interviewed for the actual K-1 visa at a US consulate or embassy in their home country.
The approved I-129F petition will be sent by USCIS to an agency of the US Department of State, (DOS) called the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will then forward the petition package to the US consulate or embassy nearest to where the foreign partner lives for completion of the K-1 visa process.
The NVC will inform the US citizen petitioner as to when his or her foreign partner should apply for the K-1 visa. The foreign partner will then submit a K-1 nonimmigrant visa application, identity and civil documents and proof of the relationship with the US citizen. The foreign partner will also need to have fingerprints taken in order for DOS to perform a background check and other security checks as well as undergo a medical exam by a government approved medical doctor.
A consular interview will then be scheduled and the foreign partner/visa applicant will be questioned about his or her relationship with the US citizen by a DOS consular officer. The consular officer will inform the foreign partner whether there are any grounds of inadmissibility that could block him or her from entering the USA such as criminal convictions, national security issues, health issues or prior immigration violations and whether the visa applicant is eligible to apply for a waiver of such grounds.
If the DOS consular officer finds the relationship to be bona fide, and there are no grounds of inadmissibility present, the K-1 visa will be granted. On the other hand, if the consular officer does not find the relationship to be bona fide, the K-1 visa application will be denied and the K-1 petition will be returned to USCIS.
Approved K-1 visas are valid for up to 6 months and permits a single entry. Once the foreign partner does arrive in the USA at a port of entry such as a US International Airport, he or she still need to be inspected and cleared before being allowed to enter the USA by Customs Border Patrol, (CBP).
The foreign partner will be required to undergo more security checks at the port of entry, be interviewed and have their identity and travel documents checked by a CBP officer. If cleared by CBP, the foreign partner will be admitted into the USA pursuant to their K-1 visa and then have 90 days to marry the U.S. citizen petitioner. After getting married within the 90 day window period, the foreign spouse can now apply for his or her permanent resident card with the United States Immigration and Citizenship Service, (USCIS). If approved by USCIS, the foreign spouse will receive a conditional permanent residency card valid for two years.
If the U.S. citizen petitioner and his permanent resident spouse are still married two years from the date the conditional permanent resident card was granted, the permanent resident spouse can apply for his or her 10 year permanent resident card by filing an I-751 petition with USCIS to remove the conditions of residence.
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