[contentblock id=6 img=html.png]The K-1 Petition Process is the first part of bringing your fiancée here on a K-1 visa. The second part the K-1 Visa Process will be talked about in the next article.

Place of Filing the Petition

The K-l  petition process is started when the I-129 “Petition for AlienFiancé(e) is filed by the petitioner “with the director having administrative jurisdiction over the place where the petitioner is residing in the United States.” The appropriate “director” for purposes of adjudicating K petitions is the appropriate USCIS regional service center director. The K-1 petition may not be filed with or considered by the consulate abroad; however, a citizen abroad can execute the visa petition before a consular or immigration officer there and then forward the completed application to the appropriate USCIS office in the United States.

The K-l Petition and Supporting Documents

The K-l petition is filed on Form I-129F and must include color photographs of each of you and a signed USCIS Form G-325A for both you and your fiancé(e). The petition must be supported by proof that the two of you have met in person within two years before filing; intend to marry; are legally able to marry, including proof of the legal termination of any prior marriages of either; and are willing to marry within the 90-day period. Affidavits from each of you and persons with personal knowledge of your relationship, dated photographs showing the two of you together, correspondence between you and your fiancé(e) by letter or e-mail, telephone bills, receipt for engagement ring, documentation of wedding plans (such as invitations and receipt for deposit for a party hall), and similar types of evidence are very valuable in establishing these requirements.

Upon receipt of the petition, USCIS creates an “A” file for your fiancé(e). On approval, USCIS sends the petition to the appropriate consular post, which is usually the consulate located in the country where your fiancé(e) resides. An approved petition remains valid for four months from the date of USCIS action. A consular officer may revalidate the approved petition for additional four-month periods upon proof that you two are free to and intend to marry within the 90-day period. An approved K-1 petition is automatically terminated if you die or withdraws the petition before your fiancé(e) arrives in the United States.

K-2 Dependents

The minor unmarried children of your fiancé(e) who are listed in the petition may be accorded K-2 status if accompanying or following-to-join your fiancé(e). Neither a separate petition nor a separate filing fee is required.

For more information on  the fiancee visa, including a short video, please click the button below to be taken to one of our Fiancee Visa pages.

 

[contentblock id=6 img=html.png]The three most common questions I get asked as part of an initial appointment for a K-1 Visa are how long, how much and what are my chances. For this article I will break down the K-1 Visa timeline for both USCIS and the consulate and explain the steps along the way.

K-1 Visa Timeline For USCIS

The first part of the USCIS processing is with you. How long does it take you to prepare the paperwork and supporting documents, or if we are handling the case for you, how long to fill out the questionnaire and provide us the supporting documents. The office of Management and Budget estimates that the time to read all instructions, complete the necessary forms, complete the forms, gather all required documents, have them translated and submitted to USCIS is two hours and five minutes. I think that estimation is too quick. I can tell you how long it takes the government to process your case, I can tell you how long it takes my office, I have no idea how long this will take you.

Actual USCIS processing is five months. In that five months USCIS has received your packet, reviewed it to make sure all required documents are there, run the required background checks and an officer has analyzed the case to see if you are eligible. Once the case is approved, USCIS takes an addition 20 days to transmit your case to the National Visa Center (NVC). This is on top of the five months to decide your case.

K-1 Visa Timeline For DOS

Once the NVC, which is part of the Department of State (DOS), has received your file from USCIS, it takes the NVC five days to input your case into their systems. Seven days after the case is input into the NVC system, it is sent on to the Consulate. At this point your fiancée will need to complete the DOS forms and send those in and have their medical exam. It is taking generally 60 days for the Consulates from when they receive the packets to when they interview your fiancée. Once your fiancée is approved, they will be eligible to enter the United States right away.

I hope this information was helpful. If you have further questions, please look around our website or call my office for more information.

For more information on  the fiancee visa, including a short video, please click the button below to be taken to one of our Fiancee Visa pages.

The K1 category enables the fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen petitioner to enter the United States for a 90-day interval to marry the U.S. citizen and apply for permanent residence. Because it facilitates the entry of an intending immigrant, K visa processing is not dissimilar to immigrant visa processing for immediate relatives. Also, K visa processing can take longer than processing for other nonimmigrant visas as it entails the submission and consideration of comprehensive biographical and admissibility data at two periods of the procedure.

BASIC NECESSITIES

A U.S. citizen files a petition with the proper Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office in the United States. The petition must acceptable evidence that the fiancé(e) as well as the U.S. citizen petitioner:

• Have formerly met in person within two years of the date of submitting the petition (Unless a waiver is allowed);
• Possess a bona fide intention to marry; and
• Are legally capable and truly willing to conclude a valid marriage in the United States within 90 days after the fiancé(e)’s arrival.

Should you not marry within 90 days, your fiancé(e) (and any dependents) is going to be required to depart, and failure to depart leaves them removable (deportable).

KEY CONSIDERATIONS

The “Preceding Meeting” Condition

The law requires that you and your fiancé(e) meet personally within two years prior to filing the petition. The law gives the attorney general discretion to waive this requirement but provides no specific guidelines. The personal meeting requirement may be waived upon proof that conformity would as interpreted in DHS regulations:

• Results in extreme and long-established customs of the beneficiary’s foreign culture or social practice, as where marriages are traditionally organized by the parents of the contracting parties and also the prospective bride and groom are prohibited from meeting subsequent to the arrangement and prior to the big day.

A denial of the K request for failure to satisfy or get a waiver would not influence your right to the filing of a subsequent petition after you two have met.

The two of you should be free to wed and must intend to enter into a valid marriage within 90 days immediately following your fiancé(e)’s entry into the United States. Thus, we must demonstrate that any previous marriages have terminated, and there might not be any other prohibition against the proposed marriage (e.g., marriages that break existing laws).

If you are interested in more information on the K-1 Fiancé(e) visa, we have prepared a video and more information.  Just click the link below.