Immigration Attorney Karla De La Rosa-King is experienced in processing family petitions like the Fiancé Visas and Spousal visas. She understands that separation from your loved ones is extremely difficult. Contact her today to get more information or to schedule an appointment so that she can begin helping you with your specific case.
K Visas for Fiancé or Spouse
Under the K Fiancé Visa category, a United States citizen can petition to bring a foreign national spouse or fiancé to the U.S. The fiancé or spouse can also be accompanied by their children. There are multiple visas within this category and it is advisable to have the assistance of an attorney when navigating through the K-visa process.
K-1 Fiancé Visas
A K-1 Fiancé Visa is a nonimmigrant visa that is issued to the fiancé of a U.S. citizen. U.S. immigration law defines a foreign national fiancé as the recipient of an approved Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé, who intends to enter the U.S. to marry his or her U.S. citizen fiancé. A K-1 visa permits this individual to enter the United States for 90 days within which they must marry the U.S. citizen who sponsored their visa.
Also, after the marriage has occurred, the K-1 visa holder can apply for permanent resident status in the United States. There are some conditions to the K-1 visa and they include the following:
- The sponsor of the K-1 visa must be a U.S. citizen and both the U.S. citizen and the foreign national fiancé must have been legally free to marry at the time the petition was filed and must remain legally free to marry after the filing as well.
- The petitioner and foreign national must provide evidence that they intend to marry within 90 days of the fiancé’s entry to the U.S. and the pending marriage must be legally possible according to the laws of the state in which the marriage will take place.
- Generally speaking, the foreign national fiancé and the U.S. citizen sponsor must have met in person within the two-year period before the visa application was filed. However, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service can grant a hardship exemption for this requirement if it finds that the meeting would either result in extreme hardship to the petitioner or if a meeting before the marriage would violate strict and long-established customs of the K-1 beneficiary’s foreign culture or social practice. In addition to establishing that the required meeting would be a violation of custom or practice, the petitioner must also establish that all other aspects of the traditional arrangements have been or will be met in accordance with the custom or practice.
- The eligible children of a K-1 visa holder can receive a K-2 visa to accompany the K-1 fiancé to the U.S. Children with K-2 visas can attend school and after the marriage has taken place, apply for employment authorization.
Generally, individuals apply for a fiancé visa for faster processing. Because a fiancé visa is classified as a nonimmigrant visa, it is a shorter process than applying for an immigrant visa. We understand that “time is of the essence’’ when you are separated from your loving ones. You need an experienced attorney in providing the required documents and in moving the process along as quickly as possible.
K-3 Spouse Visa
A K-3 Fiancé Visa is a nonimmigrant visa that is issued to the foreign spouse of a United States citizen. U.S. law defines a spouse as a legally wedded husband or wife. Also, same-sex spouses of U.S. citizens and their minor children are now eligible for the same immigration benefits as opposite-sex spouses. However, please note that the mere act of living together does not qualify as a spousal relationship for immigration purposes, regardless of how long the cohabitation has taken place. Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration purposes. This will depend on the laws of the country in which the common-law marriage took place.
The goal of the K-3 Fiancé visas is to shorten the physical separation between the foreign national and the U.S. citizen spouse by giving the foreign national the option to obtain a K-3 nonimmigrant visa overseas and enter the United States to await approval of his or her immigrant visa application. However, because USCIS now takes less time to adjudicate the Form I-130, the current need for K-3 and K-4 visas is rare.
In case the K3/K4 visa route is pursued, the U.S. citizen spouse must also have filed an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative for the foreign national to receive a K-3. This filing provides evidence of the foreign national’s intent to stay in the United States. Proof of the filing of the I-130 Petition must be included with the K-3 spouse visa petition.
Unmarried children of the K-3 visa beneficiary may accompany the K-3 holder to the United States on a K-4 visa. Similar to the K-3 visa, the K-4 allows its beneficiary to remain in the United States while their immigrant visa petition is being considered by USCIS Citizenship and Immigration Services.