A K-1 visa is a dual intent visa issued to the fiancé(e) of a United States citizen to enter the United States. A K-1 visa requires a foreigner marry his or her US citizen petitioner within 90 days of entry, or leave the US. Once the couple marries, the foreign citizen can adjust status to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Although a K-1 visa is legally classified as a non-immigrant visa, it usually leads to important immigration benefits and is therefore often processed by the Immigrant Visa section of United States Embassies and Consulates worldwide.
An American begins the process of petitioning a foreign fiancé(e) by filing a form I-129F with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Once a visa petition has been filed, the USCIS service center sends it to the National Visa Center of the State Department, which in turn forwards it to the Embassy or Consulate nearest the foreign fiancé(e). The Embassy or Consulate will notify the foreign fiancé(e) that a petition has been received, and provide information about how to schedule a medical exam with the panel physician as well as how to schedule an appointment for a visa interview at the Embassy.
At the visa interview a Consular officer reviews the documents that both the American petitioner and the foreign fiancé(e) have submitted. The Consular officer looks for evidence of a relationship, and asks the foreign fiancé(e) questions to determine that a bona fide relationship exists. Typically, Embassies request that fiancé(e)s bring evidence of their relationship to the interview, such as photographs together, correspondence between the two, evidence of remittances to the fiancé(e), phone bills showing calls to each other, etc.
Once the interview is finished, the Consular officer can issue the visa, if he is convinced of a bona fide relationship that meets all legal requirements. The officer may also request that further evidence be submitted before making a decision. If the Consular officer does not think the relationship is bona fide or finds some legal impediment to issuing the visa, the petition will be returned to USCIS and recommended for revocation and no visa will be issued.
A K-1 visa is valid for one entry into the United States within six months of the date of issuance.
The total time from filing of the initial petition to the actual issuance of a visa can vary, but recently has averaged around eight months. The length of time depends partly on the processing speed of the USCIS center that receives the visa petition, as well as availability of appointments at the Embassy or Consulate nearest to the foreign fiancé(e). Visa petitioners and their fiancé(e) can avoid unnecessary delays by making sure their applications are completely and accurately filled out, and by scheduling necessary appointments with the panel physician and the US Embassy as soon as they are eligible to do so.
Requirements for a K-1 Visa
Both fiancees must be eligible to be lawfully married in the state of residence of the petitioner. For example, at the time the visa petition is filed, as well as at issuance, they must both be of legal age, and not already married to each other or to anyone else. Under the Defense of Marriage Act, same-sex partners are not eligible for K-1 visas, even those with petitioners from states that otherwise allow same sex partners to marry. Both fiancees must have met in person at least once within two years prior to filing the visa petition. This requirement may be waived by the Department of Homeland Security, but only for cases with strong cultural or religious traditions which preclude such a meeting.
Visa applicants are required to demonstrate to the Consular officer that they are unlikely to become public charges in the United States. Generally, this is accomplished by the petitioner filing an Affidavit of Support showing he or she has an income or assets that are above that of the poverty line in the petitioner’s state of residence. Both fiancees may be required to submit certain documents, such as birth certificates and ID cards, to prove their identity, as well as divorce decrees or annulment records to prove they are eligible to marry. The precise documents required are set by the Embassy in each country to reflect the documents commonly used in that country.
Related Visa Categories
The unmarried children, under 21 years old, of a K-1 visa beneficiary can also immigrate with their parent. Because such children derive their immigration status through a parent, they are known as derivative applicants, and are issued a K-2 visa. (The precise definition of a “child” for immigration purposes is complex, taking into account the various permutations of adoptive, step-parent, and half-sibling relationships that are possible.) Derivative children may either immigrate at the same time as their parent, or may follow to join the parent up to one year after the issuance of the parent’s K-1 visa.
Two additional “K” categories of visas exist. The K-3 visa is for the spouse of a US citizen. It was created to allow a foreign spouse of a US citizen the opportunity to enter the US as a non-immigrant and adjust status to a lawful permanent resident by filling out the I-485 form to the USCIS It is similar to the IR1/CR1 categories which are also for the spouse of a US citizen. The only practical difference is that a K-3 visa is a non-immigrant visa, thus the foreign spouse must adjust to immigrant status after arrival in the US. The IR1/CR1 visa categories are immigrant visas thus require no adjustment of status once the beneficiary has arrived in the United States. A K-4 visa is a derivative visa issued to the child of a K-3 visa holder.
