If you are engaged to be married, but your spouse lives in a foreign country, you may be wondering how to help them legally reside in the United States. This is a common dilemma—so common that there has been a reality show created about this process called 90 Day Fiancé. This show follows couples as they navigate the process of obtaining a K1 Visa, which is a visa available for foreign fiancés of U.S. citizens. For some people, this is not just a tv show; it is their personal reality.
Fortunately, United States immigration laws allow a skilled and determined K1 Visa Lawyer NYC to help a foreign fiancé obtain a K1 Visa and legally move to live in the United States with their U.S. citizen spouse.
To be eligible for a K1 fiancé visa, you and your fiancé must plan to marry each other within 90 days after your fiancé enters the United States as K-1 nonimmigrant. Additionally, your marriage must be valid.
Having a valid marriage means that you and your fiancé have a bona fide (true) intent to establish your lives together. In other words, your marriage cannot be for the sole purpose of obtaining the visa. A K1 Visa Lawyer NYC can help you determine if you are eligible for a K1 visa.
Another requirement for K1 visa eligibility is that you and your fiancé must have met in person at least once within the two years prior to filing the petition. However, you can request a waiver of this requirement if you are able to show that meeting in person together would violate the strict and long-established customs of your fiancé’s social practice or foreign culture or would result in extreme hardship to you as the United States citizen petitioner.
It is important to keep in mind that there are some situations in which you and your fiancé will not be eligible for a K1 Visa. If you have already gotten married or you plan to get married outside of the United States, you are not eligible for this visa. Additionally, if your fiancé is already legally living in the United States, then your fiancé will not be eligible for this visa.
The process of bringing your fiancé to the U.S. to live with you involves USCIS, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of State. At each stage in this process, you and your fiancé may be subjected to background and security checks.
These checks include searches in various databases for national security information, along with any criminal history and additional information about you and your fiancé. The checks are conducted using your names, fingerprints, and other biometric or biographic information.
Every case is different, and the length of time that this process will take can vary. USCIS processes K1 Visa applications in the order in which they are received. A K1 Visa Lawyer NYC can help answer any questions that you have regarding this process.
A K1 Visa Lawyer NYC can help you with the process of applying for a K1 Visa. Generally, the application for a K1 Visa is started in the United States and then is passed on to the U.S. Consulate where your fiancé lives. Your fiancé will be required to fill out forms and provide documentation in order to complete the application process. The petition that you must file is called Form I-129 F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e).
Some of the documentation needed includes a birth certificate, valid passport, pictures, and proof of your valid relationship with your fiancé, and financial support. If your future spouse has already been married, then a certificate of divorce or death of that spouse will be required.
Additionally, a police certificate of good conduct is required, along with documentation that shows where they have resided for at least six months or more. Your fiancé will also have to obtain a medical examination as part of the visa process.
If your fiancé has an unmarried child under the age of 21, their child may be eligible to come to the U.S. on a K-2 nonimmigrant visa. If you want your fiancé’s child or children to come to the United States too, you must include their names on the Form I-129F. It is also a requirement that the children have to continue to be unmarried and under the age of 21 in order to be admitted to the U.S. as K-2 nonimmigrants.
Your fiancé’s children can travel with your fiancé to the United States, or they may travel later, but they cannot travel to the United States before your fiancé. If you and your fiancé did get married within 90 days of their admission into the United States, your fiancé’s children who were admitted into the country as K-2 nonimmigrant children may then apply for a green card by filing Form I-485 with USCIS.
However, it is still a requirement that these children must remain unmarried to be eligible for a green card. Your fiancé’s children should apply for a green card either at the same time as your fiancé or after your fiancé applies. A K1 Visa Lawyer NYC can help you navigate this process.
Your fiancé can immediately apply for evidence of work authorization after being admitted to the United States on a K-1 nonimmigrant visa. He or she can apply by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. This work authorization will be valid for only 90 days after your fiancé enters into the United States.
Your fiancé can also apply for work authorization at the same time that they apply for a green card. If your fiancé wishes to go this route, they can file Form I-765 together with the Form I-485. Your fiancé’s work authorization is valid for one year, but it can be extended in one-year increments.
If you are a United States citizen and you become engaged to someone who lives outside of the United States and is not a citizen, a K1 visa allows your fiancé to come into the U.S. for three months legally. You and your fiancé must then get married within the 90-day period of being admitted to the U.S. as a K1 nonimmigrant.
Once you are married, your fiancé can apply for lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. and have a green card. To apply, you will need to use Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
A K1 Visa Lawyer NYC can help you and your fiancé fill out the necessary paperwork and provide the required documentation in order to apply for lawful permanent resident status. It can take several months to obtain the K1 visa and once it is approved, you must use it within four months, or the visa will no longer be valid.
You and your fiancé get married within the specified 90-day period. The reason it is so important is that K-1 and K-2 nonimmigrant status will automatically expire after 90 days, and it cannot be extended. Typically, if you do not get married, your fiancé and their children must leave the United States.
If your fiancé and any of their children who came to the United States as K-2 nonimmigrants do not leave the country, they are in violation of U.S. immigration law. In this case, they may be deported, and it could affect any future eligibility for United States immigration benefits.
However, if you do end up marrying your fiancé at some point after the 90-day time period, you may file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. If this petition is granted, then your spouse may obtain a green card and lawful permanent resident status.
The visa process can be complicated, and missing information or an incorrectly filled out form can stall your application or cause your application to be denied. Therefore, it is crucial to have an attorney who is not only experienced in this area of law, but who is willing to fight for the approval of your visa. If you are engaged and want to obtain a visa for your future spouse to come to the U.S., Contact a K1 Visa Lawyer NYC for a free consultation.
At Feiner & Lavy, P.C., the attorneys have over 40 years of dedicated experience with helping individuals obtain the visas that they need. Our firm has a strong commitment to excellent customer service. We also charge reasonable legal fees so that we are accessible to people with various immigration needs. Contact us today at Feiner & Lavy, P.C. to schedule a consultation with an experienced K1 Visa Lawyer NYC.
**This is general information and is NOT intended to provide legal advice.
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