Family and Work Visa Plan Fiance of US Citizen K-1 visa
No matter which kind of fiancé you are, you will need a US citizen to whom you are engaged to be married. You will enter the US on a K-1 Nonimmigrant visa and will have a period of 90 days during which to solemnize your marriage to the US citizen.
Fiancé(e) of US Citizen K-1 visa
A number of people enter the United States as fiancés of US citizens. When the US citizen is also a recent immigrant, the fiancé may be someone from the same original country to whom he or she was engaged. In other cases, the fiancé may be someone encountered online through a dating or matchmaking site. Yet another kind of fiancé, typically a woman, is connected to the US citizen through a matchmaking service. They are called mail-order brides, and in recent years there have been a number of unpleasant cases involving them.
No matter which kind of fiancé you are, you will need a US citizen to whom you are engaged to be married. You will enter the US on a K-1 Nonimmigrant visa and will have a period of 90 days during which to solemnize your marriage to the US citizen.
Once you are married, you will be free to request that your K-1 visa be adjusted and changed to give you Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status with a Green Card.
It’s as simple as that.
Who is eligible for a Fiancé of US citizen K-1 visa?
Under US immigration law, a foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a US citizen is someone who has received an approved Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), known as Form I-129F and has been issued a nonimmigrant K-1 visa for travel to the US in order to marry his or her US citizen fiancé(e).
Both the US citizen and the K-1 visa applicant should have been legally free to marry at the time the I-129F petition was filed and must have maintained that status thereafter. The marriage should also be legally possible within the laws of the US state where it is planned to take place.
It helps if the foreign citizen fiancé(e) and the US citizen sponsor have met in person over the previous two years, but the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is flexible and understands that there may be cases where this would be possible. For example, there may be cross-cultural marriages where it is considered improper for a man and woman to spend time together before they are married.
Same-sex fiancé(e)s are also now eligible for K-1 visas.
How do you apply for a Fiancé(e) of US Citizen K-1 visa?
Although the K-1 is a nonimmigrant visa, it is understood that the recipient will be married within 90 days of entering the US and apply for LPR status as soon as possible. The first step in the visa application process is the filing of Form I-129-F, or Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), by the US citizen on behalf of you, the foreign fiancé(e). The partner who is a US citizen should be able to —
- Show documentation proving that they are a US citizen or an LPR of the United States.
- Be legally married to you, the beneficiary.
- Must be willing to sponsor you for LPR by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.
- Prove that they can support you, your family, your relatives and all other sponsored family members at 125% above the mandated poverty line. The current poverty line in the US is $26,200 per annum for a family of four.
- File Form I-129-F with the USCIS. This first step must be taken by your US citizen fiancé(e), who will also have to pay a filing fee of US$535. You can download Form I-129-F and view detailed instructions for how to fill it. The following documents should be included with the submission.
- Evidence of US citizenship (copy of US birth certificate, US passport, Certificate of Naturalization, or Certificate of Citizenship).
- Passport of the foreign fiancé(e).
- Proof that your relationship is legitimate. Here are some examples if the kind of documents acceptable as ‘proof’ —
- Photos of you and your fiancé together
- Travel bookings, hotel reservations and other records of trips both of you took together or to visit each other
- Correspondence (letters, email or text messages) between the two of you over the years.
- Written statements from family, friends or colleagues who know that you are engaged
- Documents showing that both of your prior marriages, if any, have ended (death certificates, certificates of divorce/annulment, etc.)
- Flight itineraries, hotel receipts, photos and correspondence showing that both of you have met in person at least once within the past two years
- Sworn statements, written by and signed by each partner, that describe your relationship and that you intend to get married within 90 days of the foreign fiancé(e)’s arrival in the USA. Submit original signed statements and keep copies for your records
- Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record), if the foreign fiancé(e) has ever been to the United States
- Passport-size color photographs of both the fiancé(e)s meeting US photo specifications
Typically, your US citizen fiancé(e) will receive a receipt notice from the USCIS, called Form I-797 Notice of Action (also known as NOA1) about 2-3 weeks after filing the petition. It can be a further 6-9 months before the form is approved.
Once Form I-129-F is approved, the USCIS will forward it to the National Visa Centre (NVC). At this time, you, the US citizen fiancé(e) will receive another notification, NOA2, informing you that the petition has been approved and passed on to the NVC.
If the petition is not yet approved, you may receive a Request for Evidence (RFE) asking for more details or documents. If you receive an RFE, take immediate and truthful action, and furnish the evidence at the earliest. Your speed of response will work in your favor.
- Wait for the NVC to forward your case to the local US Embassy or Consulate: The NVC will forward Form I-129-F after it has been processed to the US Embassy or Consulate of the country where the fiancé(e) lives. You, the US citizen sponsor, will receive a notification from the NVC at this time.
What if the country of marriage does not have a US Embassy or Consulate? The papers will then go to the US Embassy or Consulate of the country that usually processes visa requests for that country. If the marriage took place in Iran, which has no US consular presence, your papers would be sent to Turkey, whose US Embassy processes visa requests from Iran.
- Await instructions from the US Embassy or Consulate: The US Embassy or Consulate of the country where you will apply for the K-1 will now contact you, the foreign fiancé(e), with specific, clear instructions for your next steps. These will include a date, time and location for your visa interview and where to go for the required medical examinations, which must be conducted by a US-approved medical practitioner or facility.
- Apply for Nonimmigrant visa: You can apply online for a nonimmigrant visa by submitting Form DS-160. Your submission must include an Affidavit of Support (Form I-134) from your US citizen fiancé(e), a binding legal document in which he or she promises to make sure that you, the foreign fiancé(e) will not rely on government benefits in the future. Make sure you obtain this document well before you start filing the DS-160.
You are no longer required to submit Form DS-5540, also known as the Public Charge Questionnaire. This document purpose was to allow the Department of State to assess how likely you, the foreign fiancé(e), were to become a “public charge” in the future. However, under the current administration, this form is not required.
To do all the above efficiently and successfully, keep the following at hand before going online —
- Your passport, with at least 6 months validity
- A visa photograph (to upload). Make sure the photograph conforms to US Immigration photo specifications
- A completed Form I-134 Affidavit of Support from your US citizen fiancé(e)
In addition, you may need to supply:
- A travel itinerary
- The dates of your last five visits to the US (if applicable) and/or evidence of your international travel history within the past five years
- A resume or CV
- The US Embassy or Consulate where you will apply for an interview
- Additional information depending on your purpose for travel
More information about filling out the DS-160 form is available online. Remember to print out the DS-160 application confirmation page after completing the form. You will need it at the interview. You can also pay the visa processing fee, currently $265, online.
- Go for the interview: During your interview, ink-free, digital fingerprint scans will be taken. Sometimes further documents and administrative processing may be called for after the interview.
Eligible children of K-1 visa applicants may apply for K-2 visas. Separate applications must be submitted for each K visa applicant, and each K visa applicant must pay the visa application fee.
The documents listed below will be required at the visa interview —
- Original birth certificate
- DS-160 submission confirmation.
- Your passport should be valid for more than six months after the planned date of your entry into the US.
- DS-230 Biographical Form.
- Evidence of termination of prior marriage(s) (if applicable).
- Court and criminal records and police certificate.
- Medical examination and vaccination documents
- Two visa photographs per individual according to the photo requirements
- A signed Form I-134, also known as an Affidavit of Support from your sponsoring relative, the US citizen fiancé(e).
- Get your K-1 visa: Typically, the K-1 visa is issued on the same day as the visa interview but on some occasions, you may have to wait as long as a week. Once you receive the visa, you have up to 6 months to enter the US, and 90 days after entering the US to get married.
9. File Form I-485 for changing visa status. The final step in your immigration process as a foreign fiancé(e) is to apply to have your visa status adjusted from nonimmigrant K-1 visa to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status with a Green Card. This is done through Form I-485. There is a fee of $1,140 for this filing as well as a biometric fee of $85 for fingerprinting and so on.
How much does a K-1 visa cost?
Form I-129-F filing fee: This is currently $535 and will normally be paid at first by the US citizen fiancé(e) at the time of filing the I-129-F petition.
Form DS-160 Non-Immigrant Application processing fee: The current fee for processing this is $265.
Form I-134 Affidavit of Support processing fee: This is currently $120.
Form I-485 Adjustment of visa fee: This is currently $1,140.
Medical fees. From $60 to 300.
Biometric measurements fees About $85.
Need more help?
If you still feel that you would like to have professional help in making your application or would like to consult a lawyer who specializes in immigration and visa matters, you can explore some of your options, including how to access our exclusive list of professional immigration lawyers.
If you need answers or clarifications, email us and we’ll do our best to get back to you within 24 hours.