Introduction

A US citizen who is engaged to marry a foreign citizen can apply for a fiancée visa, which is known as a K1 Visa. This visa is approved for a period of only ninety days and allows the fiancée of the US citizen to live permanently with the US citizen in the United States provided that they actually marry within the ninety day period. No extensions of the time period are permitted for this visa.  If the marriage does not occur within the ninety day period, then the fiancée must return to his or her home country.

If the US citizen does not marry the fiancée, the fiancée will not be precluded from applying for another fiancée visa in the future. However, the US citizen will have to file the International Marriage Broker Regulation (IMBRA) waiver if he or she wants to file for another fiancée visa within two years of the approval of the first fiancée visa.  If the marriage does not occur within the ninety day period, the foreign fiancée will not be precluded from receiving another fiancée visa in the future.

Neither green card holders nor permanent residents of the United States are eligible for a fiancée visa.

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Requirements

To qualify for a fiancée visa, the following requirements must be met:

• The petitioner must be a US Citizen
• The petitioner must have met his or her fiancée within the previous two years
• Both the petitioner and the foreign fiancée must be eligible and legally free to marry
• The petitioner must intend to marry the foreign fiancée within ninety days from the arrival date of the fiancée in the United States.

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Exception to the requirements

The petitioner may be exempted from the above requirements "if it is established that compliance would result in extreme hardship to the petitioner or that compliance would violate strict and long-established customs of the K-1 beneficiary's foreign culture or social practice, as where marriages are traditionally arranged by the parents of the contracting parties and the prospective bride and groom are prohibited from meeting subsequent to the arrangement and prior to the wedding day." INA § 214.2(k)(2). Unfortunately, such exemptions are very rarely granted by the USCIS US Citizenship and Immigration Services, because it is almost impossible to establish the facts required to obtain the exemption to the complete satisfaction of the government.

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Procedure

• The petitioner must submit a petition for the fiancée to the USCIS.
• The petitioner and the fiancée must each file biographic information
• The petitioner and the fiancée must also provide other documents with the USCIS to prove that they qualify for a K1 Visa
• K1 visa approval time can range from two weeks to seven months, depending upon the backlog of similar cases pending approval in the USCIS Regional Center. Errors in the petition can further delay the process, resulting in a Request for Additional Evidence ("RFE") to the petitioner by the USCIS.
• The petitioner and the fiancée must each provide passport size photographs taken within ninety days before petitioning.

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Processing of the petition

• After the petition is approved by the USCIS, it is sent to the Department of State’s
  National Visa Center (NVC) for a check on the fiancée’s background. 
• The NVC then forwards the case file to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate having jurisdiction over the fiancée’s petition.
• After the Embassy receives the file, the fiancée must provide a medical examination report and appear for an interview at the U.S. Embassy with a Consular Official. If the interview goes well and all documents are provided to prove the relationship between the US citizen and the fiancée, the visa will be issued on the day the interview takes place or after a week within a week following the interview. However, if the interview does not go well due to any of the reasons listed below, the petition may be denied or returned to the USCIS for “administrative review” or revocation.
• Upon receiving the visa stamp, the fiancée may travel immediately to the United States.

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Problems in Processing

The most common issues that, alone or in combination with other problems, can lead to a denial/failure of a K1 visa are:

• Incorrect paperwork
• Insufficient income of the petitioner according to the guidelines
• Missing paperwork/documents
• Too great an age difference between the petitioner and the fiancée
• Either is not legally free to marry or cannot obtain written consent from an ex-spouse for their child to leave the foreign country
• Lack of proof of day-to-day contact and not enough time spent together in person
• Fiancée has inadequate English language skills
• Fiancée has overstayed a previous visa
• Fiancée has a security clearance problem, such as a criminal record
• Fiancée has a serious, contagious illness
• Fiancée commits a misrepresentation during the interview
• A fraudulent petition

Usually, if one of the first five problems listed above exists, a second chance will be allowed to cure the problem with additional documentation or through a second interview.  If the problem is not cured, the case is sent back to the USCIS.  Problems that lead to a question about the genuineness of the relationship between the couple will typically cause the petition to be sent back to the USCIS for administrative review/revocation or sent to the Embassy’s Anti-Fraud Unit. Delays in such cases typically exceed six months.

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Permanent Status in the USA

Although the fiancée visa is a temporary visa, once the US citizen and the fiancée are married, the US citizen must apply for an adjustment of the status of the fiancée, now spouse, to obtain conditional, permanent residence status through an interview with the USCIS.  After the interview, the spouse must apply for removal of the condition to receive a ten year, permanent residence card the maximum period for which a green card is issued is 10 years because in 5 years within this time frame you can opt to apply for citizenship. The foreign born spouse is eligible for citizenship three years after receiving the green card. As per law the fiancée now wife of US citizen can apply for citizenship after three years of receiving the green card. The maximum period for which a green card is issued is 10 years and then can be renewed if the permanent resident does not opt to become the US citizen.

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