The K-1 fiancé(e) visa allows a United States citizen to bring their foreign national fiancé(e) to the US in order to get married and to apply to become a US Permanent Resident (green card holder). Applicants for the K-1 visa must meet the following requirements:
- The couple cannot already be married to each other;
- The US citizen and their fiancé(e) must have met in person within the past two years (in some cases this requirement can be waived);
- They couple must be legally able to marry each other within the US and any previous marriages have been legally terminated;
- They couple must have a good faith intention to marry within 90 days of the foreign national’s arrival in the US.
If the foreign national fiancé(e) has any unmarried children who are under the age of 21, the children might be eligible to receive a K-2 visa to come to the US with their parent.
The K-1 visa process has three steps. The first step is that the US citizen files a K-1 petition with USCIS. After the petition is approved by USCIS, the second step is that the foreign national fiancé(e) applies for the K-1 visa through the US consular post abroad. Once the K-1 visa is granted to them, the foreign national fiancé(e) uses the K-1 visa to enter the US. They couple is then required to marry within 90 days of the foreign national’s arrival in the US. After the couple is married, the third step is for the foreign national to apply for Adjustment of Status to become a US Permanent Resident.
