Bringing Your Fiancée to
the U.S. |
(For simplicity,
we will use the word “fiancée” whether speaking
of a male or a female.)
Bringing your fiancée to the U.S. for marriage
will require some sort of visa for him or her.
In the United States, the only visa available
for the purpose of marriage is a fiancée visa
(K-1 visa). Unfortunately, there is no other
visa available for those who want to enter the
U.S. in order to get married.
In order to file a petition for your fiancée to
enter the U.S. on a K-1 visa, the following
requirements must be met:
1. You must be a U.S. citizen.
2. You must have met with your fiancée in person
within the previous two years.
3. Both you and your fiancée are legally free to
marry.
4. You meet certain minimum income requirements.
5. Your fiancée does not have a criminal record.
6. Your fiancée has not violated certain U.S.
immigration laws.
You may also apply (on the same petition) to
bring your fiancée’s unmarried children, who are
under age 21, to the United States. Legal
permanent residents may not file petitions for
fiancée visas, although they may petition for
the immigration of their new spouse after the
wedding
Once the visa petition is filed in the U.S., it
takes approximately four to six months to obtain
approval. Once the petition is approved, an
interview will be scheduled for your fiancée in
his or her home country. If the case is
approved, your fiancée will be issued a K-1 visa
in their passport.
Your fiancée must remain unmarried until the
arrival of the fiancée in the United States. The
marriage must take place within 90 days of your
fiancée entering the United States. If the
marriage does not take place within 90 days or
your fiancée marries someone other than you (the
U.S. citizen filing the petition), your fiancée
will be required to leave the United States.
Finally, many people who intend on marrying in
the United States try to obtain a tourist visa
to enter the U.S. since the time it takes to
obtain a tourist visa may be much less than that
of a fiancée visa. However, if someone marries
while visiting you on one of those visas, their
legal status in the USA will be questionable,
and they may be refused permanent resident
status on the basis of visa fraud if Immigration
Services believes that their aim of visiting
United States was simply for marrying a U.S.
Citizen. |
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