USA Fiancee Visa FAQs: May 2013

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Do I still need to pass inspection at the border?

Yes. A visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to the U.S. port-of-entry and request permission to enter the United States. You should be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have authority to permit or deny admission to the U.S. Upon arrival at the port-of-entry, be prepared to present to the CBP officer your passport with visa and your unopened/sealed packet containing your documents. Travelers should review important information about admissions and entry requirements on the CBP website under Travel.

Are My Children Required to Travel with Me?

Your children may travel with (accompany) you to the United States or travel later (follow-to-join). Like you, your children must travel within the validity of their K-2 visas.

Separate petitions are not required if the children accompany or follow to join you within one year from the date of issuance of your K-1 visa. If they want to travel later than one year from the date your K-1 visa was issued, they will not be eligible to receive K-2 visas, and separate immigrant visa petitions will be required.

If your child has a valid K-2 visa and you have already adjusted status to that of permanent resident, your child may still travel on the K-2 visa.

Contact us today to speak with an immigration lawyer about applying for a fiancé(e) visa.

Does My U.S. Citizen Fiancé(e) Need to File Separate Petitions for My Children?

No. Your eligible children may apply for K-2 visas based on the approval of Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), that your U.S. citizen fiancé(e) filed on your behalf, but your U.S. citizen fiancé(e) must list the children on the petition. Separate visa applications must be submitted for each K-2 visa applicant, and each applicant must pay the K visa application fee.

After your marriage, your children will need to file separately from you for adjustment of status. They cannot be included on your application for adjustment of status. More information about adjustment of status is available on USCIS’s website under Green Card (Permanent Residence).

Important Notice: Under U.S. immigration law, a child must be unmarried. In most cases, K-2 visa holders must be under the age of 21 in order to adjust status following your marriage to your U.S. citizen spouse. Please see USCIS’s website on Green Cards for K nonimmigrants for more information and limited exceptions.

What do I do once I receive my K-1 Visa?

If you are issued a K-1 visa, the Consular Officer will give you your passport containing the K-1 visa and a sealed packet containing the civil documents you provided, plus other documents prepared by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

It is important that you do not open the sealed packet. Only the DHS immigration official should open this packet when you enter the United States. As the K-1 visa holder, you must enter the U.S. either before or at the same time as any qualifying children holding K-2 visas.

With your visa, you can apply for a single admission at a U.S. port of entry within the validity of the visa, which will be a maximum of 6 months from the date of issuance.You must marry your U.S. citizen fiancé(e) within 90 days of your entry into the United States.

How long will it take to get my Fiancé Visa?

For the Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), you can visit the USCIS website for the status of your petition. Once your case has been received from the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (NVC) by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate that will process it, the length of time varies from case to case according to its circumstances.

Some cases are delayed because applicants do not follow instructions carefully or supply incomplete information. (It is important to give us correct postal addresses and telephone numbers.) Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the visa applicant's interview by a Consular Officer.

What if I am found to be ineligible for a fiancé visa?

Certain conditions and activities may make you, the applicant, ineligible for a visa. Examples of these ineligibilities include: drug trafficking; overstaying a previous visa; and submitting fraudulent documents.

If you are ineligible for a visa, you will be informed by the Consular Officer and advised whether there is a waiver of the ineligibility and what the waiver process is. Learn more and see the complete list of ineligibilities.

Can the Fiancé Visa be extended?

The fiancé visa is valid for four months from the date of approval by USCIS. A Consular Officer can extend the validity of the petition if it expires before visa processing is completed.

Contact us today to speak with an immigration lawyer about applying for a fiancé(e) visa.

What rights do I have in the United States as the foreign-citizen fiancé?

The foreign-citizen fiancé has rights against domestic violence, assault and abuse at the hands of the U.S. citizen fiancé and others. You should read the Rights and Protections pamphlet before your visa interview to learn about your rights in the United States relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse and protection available to you. The consular officer will verbally summarize the pamphlet to you during your interview. Additionally, K-1 visa applicants will be provided with any existing criminal background information on their U.S. citizen fiancé(e)s that USCIS received from other government agencies during processing of their Form I-129F petitions.

Do I or my fiancé have to provide financial information?

Yes. During the visa interview, applicants will be required to present evidence to the Consular Officer that they will not become a public charge in the U.S. You may present evidence that you are able to financially support yourself or that your U.S. citizen fiancé(e) is able to provide support. The Consular Officer may request that an Affidavit of Support be submitted by the U.S. citizen fiancé(e).

The U.S. citizen fiancé(e) will need to submit documentation setting out their financial status to USCIS with the application for adjustment of status to that of legal permanent resident following the marriage.

Note: The financial requirements that USCIS will review for the Fiancé Visa application and the, subsequent, Adjustment for Status application are different. When adjusting status, the sponsor must demonstrate that they (or the joint sponsor) can meet the equivalent of 125 % of the federal poverty guideline minimum income requirement in the most recent year's tax return. Applicants for a fiancee visa will only need to demonstrate that their U.S. sponsor's income is 100% of the federal poverty guideline.

However, as a fiancé visa is only valid for 90-days upon the entry of the foreign citizen fiancé, in practical terms, if the intention is for the foreign-citizen fiancé to remain in the United States while the spousal visa is pending (by filing an Adjustment of Status application) the U.S. citizen fiancé must still be able achieve the 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. Meeting only the 100% of the federal poverty guideline is, therefore, only useful where the foreign-citizen fiancé will be returning to the home country following the marriage to await processing of the spousal visa abroad.

Do I need a "Medical Examination"?

Yes. In preparing for the interview, applicants will need to schedule and complete a medical examination. Before the issuance of an immigrant or K visa, every applicant, regardless of age, must undergo a medical examination which must be performed by an authorized panel physician. You will be provided instructions regarding medical examinations from the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where you will apply for your visa, including information on authorized panel physicians.

See Medical Examination for more information, including a list of panel physicians by country, and frequently asked questions.

K visa applicants are encouraged to get the vaccinations required under U.S. immigration law for immigrant visa applicants. Although such vaccinations are not required for K visa issuance, they will be required when adjusting status to that of legal permanent resident following your marriage. Applicants are therefore encouraged to fulfill these vaccination requirements at the time of the medical examination. See Vaccination Requirements for IV Applicants for the list of required vaccinations and additional information.

What Is a “Fiancé(e)”?

Under U.S. immigration law, a foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen is the recipient of an approved Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), Form I-129F, who has been issued a nonimmigrant K-1 visa for travel to the United States in order to marry his or her U.S. citizen fiancé(e). Both the U.S. citizen and the K-1 visa applicant must have been legally free to marry at the time the petition was filed and must have remained so thereafter. The marriage must be legally possible according to laws of the U.S. state in which the marriage will take place.

In general, the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) and U.S. citizen sponsor must have met in person within the past two years. USCIS may grant an exception to this requirement, based on extreme hardship for the U.S. citizen sponsor to personally meet the foreign-citizen fiancé(e), or, for example, if it is contrary in the U.S. citizen sponsor’s or foreign-citizen fiancé(e)’s culture for a man and woman to meet before marriage.

What Is a K-1 Visa?

The fiancé(e) K-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a United States (U.S.) citizen. The K-1 visa permits the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) to travel to the United States and marry his or her U.S. citizen sponsor within 90 days of arrival. The foreign-citizen will then apply for adjustment of status to a permanent resident (LPR) with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Because a fiancé(e) visa permits the holder to immigrate to the U.S. and marry a U.S. citizen shortly after arrival in the United States, the fiancé(e) must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa. Eligible children of K-1 visa applicants receive K-2 visas.