Fiance Visa FAQs

Q. What are the limitations of a K-1 visa?

A. The K-1 visa expires ninety days after the fiancée enters the United States. Within that period, the fiancée must marry the United States citizen petitioner, or face termination of her status and potential removal from the United States. If the fiancée fails to marry the petitioner, he/she will not be allowed to adjust his/her status in the United States from K visa holder to any other immigrant or nonimmigrant status. This does not mean that he/she would be barred from acquiring lawful permanent resident status if he/she were in fact eligible to immigrate based on other grounds, such as qualifying employment or marriage to a different United States citizen. he/she could only obtain such residency, however, by applying for an immigrant visa at an appropriate United States consulate abroad. He/she is also subject to the same grounds of inadmissibility caused by previous immigration law violations such as overstay status, etc.

Q. What is a K-3 visa?

A. K-3 visa offers an opportunity for a spouse of a United States citizen to travel to the United States so that the family can be together in the United States during the commonly lengthy wait for the USCIS to process the "immediate relative" immigrant visa petition. Once issued, the spouse would be able to travel to the United States to be with the United States citizen petitioner while awaiting approval of the immigrant visa petition through which the non-citizen spouse will apply for permanent residency.

Q. What are the requirements for applying for a K-3 visa?

A. To be qualified for applying K-3 visa, the following requirements must be met:

• The alien spouse must be outside the U.S.;

• An immigrant petition (Form I-130) for the benefit of the spouse must have been filed when the I-129F (K visa petition) is filed;

• The U.S. citizen spouse must file an I-129F petition (K visa petition) with the USCIS and have it approved;

• If the marriage occurred outside the U.S., the K visa must be issued by the U.S. consulate in the country where the marriage occurred.

Q. What are the benefits of a K-3 visa?

A.

• Backlogs on adjudicating visa petitions filed by United States citizens for their immediate relatives can exceed a year and half at some of the USCIS regional service centers, e.g., Texas Service Center, and immigrant visa issuance by a consulate can routinely take another six months. The K-3 visa, intended to improve the speed with which a family can be united in the United States, can substantially shorten that lengthy waiting period for U.S. Citizen spouses to enter the U.S.

• Once admitted to the United States, the spouse issued K-3 visa will be eligible to adjust status to permanent residency. This is a significant benefit because of enhanced procedural safeguards available to persons who adjust to permanent resident status, in contrast to persons who must apply for immigrant visas abroad.

• Additionally, upon entry, the K-3 visa holder will be eligible to work in the United States. If the United States citizen petitioner is low-income and unable to meet the minimal income level necessary to submit the I-864 Affidavit of Support form that is required before a non-citizen can be approved for residency, then the K visa holder's ability to work is a great advantage because when calculating income, the United States petitioner can include the non-citizen beneficiary's income if the petitioner and the beneficiary have lived together for six months.

Q. What are the limitations of a K-3 visa?

A. The USCIS only admits K-3 spouses for a two-year period. The USCIS may grant extensions of K-3 visas in two-year increments if the marriage-based I-130 visa petition, the adjustment of status application, or the immigrant visa petition is still awaiting adjudication.

K-3 visa holder's authorized stay will expire thirty days after any of the following events:

• The USCIS denies the I-130 visa petition filed by the United States citizen petitioner on the K-3 visa holder's behalf;

• The USCIS denies an adjustment of status application filed by the K visa holder; or

• If for some reason, the K-3 visa holder decides to apply for an immigrant visa at the appropriate United States consulate abroad, the consulate denies the immigrant visa application.

• Termination also will automatically occur 30 days after the divorce of the K-3 spouse from the United States citizen petitioner.

Q. What is the distinction between a K-1 and a K-3 visa?

A. K-1 visa is for the purpose of admitting an alien fiancé of a U.S. Citizen, while a K-3 visa is for the purpose of admitting the alien spouse of a U.S. Citizen for whom a family based immigrant petition (Form I-130) is pending.

Q. What is the distinction between a K-3 visa and a V visa?

A. K-3 visa is for the purpose of admitting an alien spouse of a U.S. Citizen for whom a family based immigrant petition (Form I-130) is pending, while a V visa is for the purpose of admitting an alien spouse (V-1), children (V-2), or dependent children of an alien spouse (V-3) of a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) for whom a family based immigrant petition (Form I-130) is pending.

Q. I am seeking a K-3 visa to bring my spouse into the U.S. Why do I file a “Petition for Alien Fiancé”?

A. The K-1 visa for alien fiancés of U.S. Citizens has been available for many years, but the K-3 visa has only been available since December 21, 2000. Since that time, the INS (now the USCIS) has not created a new form for “Petition for Alien Spouse”, but has just used the “Petition for Alien Fiancé” (Form I-129F) to adjudicate these requests. Further, they have not yet adapted the Form I-129F to accommodate a “spouse” instead of a “fiancé”, and simply instruct petitioners to provide information and documentation about the spouse seeking a K-3 visa in every place that “fiancé” is mentioned in the form.

Q. What are K-2 and K-4 visas?

A. K-2 visa is for the purpose of admitting the dependent child(ren) of a K-1 fiancé. A K-4 visa is for the purpose of admitting the dependent child(ren) of a K-3 spouse.