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Understanding K Visa (K1/K2) for Fiance or Fiancee

Overview

 

The K-Visa categories are for a U.S. citizen’s alien fiancé/fiancée and their accompanying children (K1 visas and K2 Visas), or for a U.S. citizen’s alien spouse and accompanying children (K3 and K4 Visas). The K-1 visa allows the US citizen’s fiancée to come to the US to marry the US citizen.  The K-3 visa was created to allow the alien spouse to come to the US and live with their spouse in the United States. 

 

The K-1 Visa is intended for the foreign fiancé/fiancée of a U.S. Citizen and the K-2 Visa is intended for any children that may want to accompany the foreign fiancé/fiancée. An example of this type of situation would be: United States citizen Rob Williams has a fiancée, Kathy, who lives in Bombay, India. Rob would like to be able to get married to Kathy here in the United States and start a new life with her and her son, Jim. Therefore, once Rob and Kathy have started to plan when they would like to get married, Rob will need to start the application process for the K-1 Visa to petition for his fiancée to be able to immigrate to the United States and the K-2 Visa to allow her son, Jim, to come to the U.S. too.

 

The K-3 visa, on the other hand, is intended for the foreign spouse of a U.S. Citizen and the K-4 Visa is intended for any children that the alien spouse may have and bring them over to the United States. An example of this type of situation would be:  United States Citizen, Kathy Davidson, lives in the United States. Her husband, Rob Johnson, lives abroad in Italy with their son and daughter, Jim and Alison. After their wedding and spending time apart in different countries, Rob and Kathy decided that they would like to live together with their family in the United States. Therefore, in order for Kathy to be reunited with her family, she would need to start the application process for the K-3 Visa to petition for her husband to be able to immigrate to the United States and a subsequent K-4 application would have to be filed for his children. If you need assistance with this type of K-Visa, please click here for more detail information.

 

General Requirements

 

The following are general requirements for the K-1/K-2 visa. Aside from meeting these general requirements, there is also documentation that must be submitted by the U.S. citizen, as well as the alien fiancé/fiancée and the child/children of the alien fiancé/fiancée to establish that the relationship between the engaged couple exists.

 

K-1 Visa Requirements of the U.S. Citizen:

  • You need to be a US citizen to apply for your fiancée as a K-1. If you are a legal permanent resident, you cannot file a petition to bring your fiancé/fiancée to the United States.

  • You must intend to marry your alien fiancé/fiancée within 90 days after he/she enters the United States. After 90 days have lapsed, the K-1 visa will no longer be valid and your fiancé/fiancée will be considered “out of status”. 

  • You must be legally free to marry. This means that you are single, you have proof of annulment or divorce from any other previous spouse or proof that your previous spouse has passed away. 

  • You must have met your fiancé/fiancée at least once within the past two years (unless you meet one of the exceptions outlined in the special K1/K2 visa scenario section).

  • You must prove that you can support your beneficiary financially. 

  • You must submit a copy of your criminal record if you had been convicted for a crime or crimes. 

 

Requirements of the Alien Fiancé/Fiancée:

  • You must be living outside of the United States in order to qualify for a K-1 visa.

  • You must be free to marry. This means that you are single, have proof of annulment or divorce from any other previous spouse or proof that your previous spouse has passed away. 

  • You must have met your fiancé/fiancée at least once within the past two years (unless you meet one of the exceptions outlined in the special K1/K2 visa scenario section).

  • You must not have any record of past violations regarding U.S. immigration law. For instance, if you previously stayed in the United States, and for whatever reason, were “out of status” this could affect your K-1 application. 

 

K-2 Visa Qualifications for the Child/Children of an Alien Fiancé/Fiancée

  • In order to qualify for a K-2, you must be the child of the K-1 holder. If you are adopted, there might be certain conditions on your application.

  • You must also be less than 21 years of age and unmarried.

  • You must not have any record of past violations regarding U.S. immigration law. For instance, if you previously stayed in the United States, and for whatever reason, were “out of status” this could affect your K-2 application. 

  • Once you reach the United States, the general rule is that you have until you are 21 years of age to adjust your status. However, there are certain exceptions to “aging out”.

 

 

Limitation and Restriction of K Visas

 

For the K-1 Visa Holder:

  • The K-1 visa holder has six months after the date the K-1 visa is issued to enter the United States.

  • The K-1 visa holder’s status cannot be adjusted unless he or she married the person who originally filed the petition, within 90 days of arrival to the US. If the K-1 visa holder meets someone else, they will be required to return to their home country and start the process over again. 

  • If for some reason, relationship with the U.S. citizen petitioner does not work out, the K-1 visa holder will not be allowed to adjust their status to a permanent resident status or change to any other non-immigrant status.

  • Marriage to the U.S. citizen petitioner must occur within 90 days of entering the United States of America in order to apply for an adjustment of status without the need for additional immigration filings. If the marriage and filing for adjustment of status do not occur within 90 days, the K-1 visa holder will be in unlawful status. If the couple still intends to marry after the 90 day requirement, the US citizen spouse must file form I-130 concurrently with the intending immigrant’s adjustment of status application.

  • If you have applied for two or more K-1 visas (does not matter when) or received K-1 visa approval within a period of two years prior to filing the current K-1, then you must file an additional waiver. This can be done when you submit your I-129F form by providing a written statement detailing your reasons for requesting a waiver. 

 

For the K-2 Visa Holder: 

  • Cannot change to any other non-immigrant visa.

  • Can only stay in the United States as a K-2 holder up to 90 days. 

  • Not permitted to enter the United States if you have committed previous infractions of U.S. immigration law. 

  • Must be unmarried and under 21 years old at the time of entry into the United States.

 

Services we provide for K Visa Petitioners and Beneficiary

 

A K-1 Visa is issued to a U.S. citizen's spouse or fiancé/fiancée for their reunion or marriage in the United States. To apply for a K-1 visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, the applicant needs to get a pre-approval from the USCIS. Gogia & Raj Law offers the following quality services related to the K-1 visa application:

 

The experienced Gogia & Raj Law attorney(s) will first evaluate your situation for the potential K-visa application via email, fax or phone consultation. If it is feasible, we will be glad to take your case. If your situation is pre-mature, we will suggest the course of action you should take before initiating the K-visa application or any other options if applicable.

After you retain us, our experienced attorney(s) will work closely with you to find out and solve the legal issue(s) in preparing your K-1 Visa application. Moreover we will review and organize all of the necessary application materials to present them in good order to the USCIS. Our experienced attorney(s) will complete all the application forms required by the USCIS; draft the petition letter for you (if applicable); submit a complete set of application materials to the proper USCIS office; and contact the USCIS for the status of your pending case.

In the case that the USCIS requests additional evidence on your pending K-1 Visa application, the experienced attorney(s) of Gogia & Raj Law will submit the additional documentation required for your case in time. As soon as the USCIS makes a final decision on your case, we will inform you of the result accordingly.

 

CONTACT OUR EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS TODAY! 

FOR A FREE CONSULTATION OF YOUR CASE, CALL NOW (516) 589-4748

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