The K1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa for the foreign fiancé of a US citizen to gain the right to enter the United States to marry that same citizen. You\’ll hear most people refer to the K1 visa as the \”Fiancé visa\” because that\’s exactly the type of person it\’s aimed at – a foreign national who is a fiancé. Only a person with full US citizenship can petition for a K1 visa – permanent residence in the country is simply not enough.
Now obviously the opportunists of the world will try to use this as a way of \”selling\” US citizenship to women in foreign countries but there have been several controls put in place to prevent wholesale abuse of this visa. Firstly you must have met the person you intend marrying within 2-years of filing your K1 petition – there are rare cases of this timeframe being waived but they are the exception rather than the rule, with Force Majeure potentially being a factor.
The K1 petitioning process does allow for the fact that a lot of people are meeting, dating and getting married as a result of online relationships and this isn\’t a problem for a K1 applicant or petitioner. You absolutely must have met your future husband or wife face-to-face within the timeframe of your relationship though and you must have evidence to prove that meeting took place – photographs and a flight itinerary would be ideal. In order for a K1 application to be successful both the petitioner and the foreign national must be able to prove they both have a true intention to marry and are also legally able to do so; something you have to prove in the K1 petition process. So if, for example, either person is already married or can\’t consummate the upcoming marriage for any reason the K1 application will be denied.
The first stage of the process is when your petition is sent to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and you\’ll be asked to provide a variety of documentation and proof as part of this, such as:
* You\’ll need to provide evidence that you have met in person within the last 2-years – boarding passes, photographs, hotel receipts, etc would be useful
* You will need to provide evidence that your partner is able to enter into marriage with a US citizen – this might include divorce documents, annulment documents or a death certificate in certain cases
* The US citizen and petitioner must also prove their ability to enter into a legal marriage with the foreign national – again providing some or all of the same documents listed previously
* You will need to provide evidence of how the relationship has been maintained and this would ideally include phone bills, photographs, emails, text messages, written letters, receipts for engagement rings, Western Union fund transfers, boarding passes etc. Phone cards and Skype calls are not accepted as proof that your relationship with the foreign national in question is genuine
When the K1 petition is approved the case is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) and your application is then turned over to US consulate or embassy in the country (or closest country) to which your future husband or wife is living. An approved K1 petition is valid for 4-months from the date of approval but this can be extended by a consulate for an additional 4-months in some cases.
Now there are some potential issues that both the foreign national and US citizen petitioning for their visa need to be aware of:
* The K1 petition is automatically terminated if the US citizen dies during the process or if the US citizen, for whatever reason, decides to withdraw their petition for a K1 visa.
* If the foreign national fails to marry the US citizen within 90-days of their arrival in the United States the K1 is required by law to depart from the United States. If they refuse to leave they can and will be deported.
* If the marriage to the foreign national doesn\’t work out then the foreign national can\’t just marry another US citizen instead – they\’re only permitted to marry the person the I-129 petition documents. Again this is to prevent abuse of the K1 visa overall.
* If the K1 applicant has a dependent child under the age of 21 that same child is eligible for a K2 visa as long as they are listed on the original K1 petition. There is, however, a 1-year cutoff date for a K2 dependant to arrive in the United States after the K1 visa has been approved for their foreign parent.