Fiancee Visa

A K-1 fiancée visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows a U.S. citizen to bring their foreign fiancé(e) to the United States for the purpose of marriage and becoming a lawful permanent resident. The holder of the visa has 90 days to get married in the U.S., after which they can apply for an adjustment of status to get a marriage green card.

To be eligible for a K-1 visa, both the petitioner (the U.S. citizen) and beneficiary (the foreign fiancé(e)) must meet the following requirements:

The petitioner must be a U.S. citizen.
The beneficiary must be a foreign citizen.
Both the petitioner and beneficiary must be legally free to marry.
The petitioner and beneficiary must intend to marry within 90 days of the beneficiary's admission to the United States as a K-1 nonimmigrant.
The petitioner and beneficiary must have met each other in person at least once within the 2-year period before the petition is filed.

The K-1 visa application process begins with the petitioner filing Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), with USCIS. The petition must be accompanied by evidence that the petitioner and beneficiary meet the eligibility requirements, such as proof of citizenship, divorce decrees or death certificates of previous spouses, and photographs of the petitioner and beneficiary together.

Once the petition is approved, the beneficiary will be issued a K-1 nonimmigrant visa by a U.S. embassy or consulate. The beneficiary must then travel to the United States within 90 days of receiving the visa. Upon arrival in the United States, the beneficiary must marry the petitioner within 90 days. After the marriage, the beneficiary can apply for adjustment of status to become a permanent resident.

Question of the Month

What is the H-1B Cap?

Established by the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT), the H-1B nonimmigrant visa category allows U.S. employers to augment the existing labor force with highly skilled temporary workers. H-1B workers are admitted to the United States for an initial period of three years, which may be extended for an additional three years. The H-1B visa program is utilized by some U.S. businesses and other organizations to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field. Typical H-1B occupations include architects, engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors and college professors.

The H-1B “Cap” refers to the annual numerical limitation set by Congress on the number of workers authorized to be admitted on H-1B visas or authorized to change status if already in the United States. Therefore, there are two ways to be counted against the cap: applying for an H-1B visa or changing status to H-1B from another non-immigration status visa (such as F-1, L-1, J-1, etc.)