Can I Visit the Us While Waiting for K1 Visa

What Is the K1 Visa And How Does information technology Work?

If you are a The states citizen hoping to bring your foreign citizen fiancé(e) to the Usa with the intention of getting married, so y'all'll need to apply for the K 1 fiancé(east) visa. A K one visa holder is able to visit the U.s.a. with the intention and purpose of getting married.

After a successful K one visa awarding, your conflicting fiancé(east) will be able to visit and live with you in the Usa, every bit long as you fully intend to become married within the time frame that the visa is valid.

The K i fiancé visa is officially classified as a nonimmigrant visa, which substantially means that it is a temporary and brusk-term-based visa. The K ane fiancé visa doesn't permit the visa holder to stay longer than 90 days then foreign nationals applying to live permanently in the United states volition demand to apply for a total immigrant visa, such as a spousal relationship green carte, instead.

Immigration law states that if the Thousand 1 visa holder doesn't ally their U.Southward. denizen fiancé(eastward) in the xc-day fourth dimension frame, they are legally required to depart the United States.

How to apply for a K1 Visa?

In gild to apply for the fiancé(e) visa, it's necessary that you lot every bit the United states citizen sponsor and file an official Yard 1 visa petition for an alien fiancé(east). This will involve filing an official I-129F petition form with the USCIS (Usa Citizenship and Immigration Services) office in your area.

When approved, your fiancé(e) visa petition will then be sent to the NVC (National Visa Center), where your fiancé(due east) volition then demand to file an official application and attend a face up-to-face interview with a Consular Officer at their local The states Diplomatic mission or Consulate.

Under US clearing law, there are a few different means for U.S. citizens to file visa petitions for a strange national spouse or fiancé(e) intending to immigrate to the country. A popular method is for U.S. citizens is to employ for a marriage visa and to then ally their fiancé(e) in a foreign country.

Foreign spouses of U.S. citizens do good from immediate preference when it comes to applying for a green carte du jour and immigrating to the United States. However, depending on the circumstances, this isn't always a possibility. For instance, some countries forbid interfaith or same-sexual practice marriages and therefore, marriage in the United States is the only way for a couple to legally wed.

Who is eligible for a K1 Visa?

To be eligible for this fiancé visa, you lot'll need to be able to prove not simply total eligibility but besides your intention to get married within the 90 days afforded to y'all by the visa. Historically, the K ane fiancé visa has been one of the easier visas to utilize for and have approved.

However, there'south evidence that over the concluding few years the process has become stricter with fewer applications making it through successfully. Keeping that in mind, information technology'due south a good thought to take a closer wait at how you tin can all-time support your application with the right evidence before applying.

If you are already married, planning to marry exterior the United states, or your foreign citizen fiancé(e) is already legally living in the United States, then you and your spouse/ fiancé(e) aren't eligible for the K1 fiancé visa.

Yous may instead be able to apply for the K3 spousal visa, which also falls nether the K visas category of family visas. Like the K i visa, the K3 foreign spouse visa is a temporary nonimmigrant visa that allows the visa holder to stay for upward to 2 years in total. This fiancé visa is very specific in its purpose and, while it is quite a limited visa, information technology'south very clear in what it can and can't exist used for.

There are a few steps required for you to have in club to successfully use for the 1000 1 fiancé visa. This will include you, the U.S. citizen, officially sponsoring your strange partner past filing a Thou i visa petition to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Next, the NVC will require your partner to brand an official K 1 visa application and attend a visa interview at their local U.South. Embassy or Consulate. Yous'll also be informed of the required documentation y'all'll need to provide to back up your application.

K 1 nonimmigrant visa applicants may also be eligible to bring dependent children with them under the K2 visa for Grand i dependents. If this is the case, they will follow a similar application process to the G ane awarding process.

How does the Fiancé(e) Visa work?

The K ane visa is officially classified as a nonimmigrant visa. Despite this classification, this visa is notwithstanding most often used as a method to obtain full clearing benefits every bit nigh K one visa holders come up to the United states of america with the full intention of receiving a green menu so that he or she can stay permanently in social club to live and work in the US with their U.S. denizen spouse.

In order to obtain a marriage green card, visa applicants must apply for an official adjustment of condition from a Thousand 1 visa to a CR1 visa. It'due south of import to remember that the Thousand 1 fiancé visa cannot be extended beyond the 90 days granted to get married. If yous aren't able to get married during this time, it will be illegal for y'all to stay across the xc-mean solar day period.

Later on you are married, your strange spouse will need to apply for full permanent resident status past condign a green card holder which volition allow him or her to live permanently in the U.S. with yous. This is an entirely separate process and you lot'll need to again evidence eligibility equally you will need to meet a different set of criteria when applying to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Luckily, once y'all have legally married, your strange spouse through legal marriage will already have benefitted from meeting certain criteria which will get in easier to get a light-green card.

It is for this reason that the K i fiancé visa, while officially a nonimmigrant visa, is a very popular route for couples seeking full immigration condition. Awarding for total resident status can be made in the U.Southward. after getting married. In that location is no need for the foreign spouse to render to their domicile country subsequently their visa expires.

What are the Requirements for a K1 Visa?

The K one visa is not for everyone. For example, in some cases, a spousal visa might be more than suitable or you might not quite meet the requirements necessary. Withal, you may be eligible to bring your foreign partner to the U.S. for intended marriage if you see these requirements:

You are a US citizen. If yous are someone who is not a U.Due south. citizen just who is living in the United States on a green card and has lawful permanent resident status, you lot won't exist eligible to use or petition for the One thousand i fiancé(e). If this is the case, withal, you may exist eligible to employ for the CR1 marriage visa instead. The CR1 visa categories allow you to petition for a greenish card for immediate alien relatives. However, this procedure tin can take upward to two years or fifty-fifty longer.

You intend to marry within xc days of your fiancé(e)'due south admission into the Us as a K 1 visa holder. As the U.South. citizen sponsor, it's your responsibility to convince both the USCIS and Consular Officers involved that you have a bona fide relationship with your partner and that you lot both fully intend to marry within 90 days of US entry. This process is to avoid fraudulent marriages with the sole purpose of immigration, and yous may take your petition denied if yous fail to convince that you have a valid human relationship with your partner.

Yous are both legally free to marry in the United States. If you are petitioning for a Chiliad one visa and you accept been married before to a previous spouse, you will demand to provide proof that any prior marriages have been legally terminated. You will need to bear witness proof of death, divorce, or annulment with evidence such as a divorce prescript or death certificate in social club to prove to the USCIS and Consular Officers that you are legally free to ally your new fiancé(east).

Y'all take met your fiancé(east) at to the lowest degree once within the terminal two years. Engaged couples applying for the Grand i visa need to prove that they accept met physically in person in the ii-twelvemonth period leading up to filing their visa petition. You don't need to bear witness that you take known each other or been in a relationship for the concluding 2 years, just that you have physically met at least once in this menstruum. Other meetings, such as over Skype or Zoom, volition not count here. Even so, you lot might be able to asking a waiver of this in-person meeting in special circumstances, such equally if the coming together would violate the cultural traditions and customs of your fiancé's country, or if the meeting would result in 'extreme hardship' for yourself.

You meet the necessary income requirements. A lot of visas focus on the foreign citizen'southward financial ability to support themselves while staying in the United states of america. The One thousand 1 visa, however, relies upon the US petitioner'south ability to provide the financial support both they and their fiancé(e) will need to alive in the U.s.. Fortunately, the Thou 1 visa income requirements are quite low. The petitioner, who filed form I-129F, will demand to testify that y'all tin both live to a higher place the poverty line on your electric current income. Your current income is calculated based upon your expected total income from all sources for the current year.

Class I-129F (Petition for Alien Fiancé(east))

1 of the commencement steps in applying for a K 1 visa is for the U.S. citizen fiancé(due east) to petition for the sponsorship of their foreign partner. To do this, he or she volition need to complete and submit Form I-129F (Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)). The purpose of this form is to demonstrate that the relationship between both partners is bona fide and genuine.

In addition to the completed form, the denizen fiancé(eastward) will demand to submit the following required supporting documents as bear witness:

• Proof of the petitioner'southward citizenship (copy of a passport, certificate of naturalization, or a nascence certificate)
• A copy of the U.S. citizen petitioner's passport
• Testify of a bona fide relationship (photos, correspondence, sworn statements from people who know the couple, etc.)
• Proof that you have met in person within the past 2 years (flying itineraries, hotel itineraries, photos, correspondence, etc.)
• Personal written statements from both partners nigh their human relationship and intention to ally
• Colour passport photos of each partner (taken inside xxx days of when yous submitted the petition)
• Proof that previous marriages are legally terminated such as a divorce or decease certificates (if applicable)

After all of the required supporting documents accept been nerveless, they may then be sent off to USCIS along with Class I-129F. The USCIS will and then review the petition and send a decision on whether or not it is canonical. If approved, the visa application will then exist passed off to the National Visa Eye who and so frontward it to the local U.South. Embassy or Consulate of the foreign country where the foreign national fiancé(e) resides.

Form DS-160 and Visa Interview

After the petition is approved, the application stage tin then begin. The foreign partner volition then receive a notice from their local U.S. Embassy or Consulate detailing the adjacent steps of the K one visa application which will include completing the DS-160 Form online followed past a visa interview at their local U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

The DS-160 (Online Nonimmigrant Visa Awarding) Form is for temporary travel to the U.s. and can be completed online. Once you lot take completed and submitted this form online, brand sure to print the confirmation page at the end as you will need to submit it later.

At the visa interview, the foreign partner volition then exist asked a serial of questions by a consular officer about their background, plans to ally, their U.S. citizen partner, and their relationship. The purpose of this interview is to appraise whether or not the relationship is bona fide. If the consular officer is satisfied that both the relationship and plans to marry are 18-carat, then the strange fiancé(east) will and then be issued a One thousand i visa in their passport.

Potential Ineligibility

At that place are situations in which an bidder might find themselves automatically regarded as ineligible to utilise for the K 1 fiancé(east) visa. Regardless of someone's supposed visa eligibility, certain crimes volition render an applicant unable to successfully use.

For example, crimes such every bit drug trafficking, submission of fraudulent documents, and overstaying prior visas will all brand you ineligible for a new G visa petition. If you lot are found to be ineligible for the K1 visa, you lot'll be contacted by a Consular Officeholder and advised on the possibility of seeking a waiver for the ineligibility.

You can visit the Bureau of Consular Affairs website at travel.land.gov for a total and complete list of all applicable ineligibilities. The waiver process can be long and complex, but we can provide expert communication here at the Immigration Communication Service that can shed light and clarity on the situation.

It's likewise worth noting that the Grand ane visa is very specifically merely advisable for engaged couples with a bona fide human relationship who are fully intending to have a valid marriage ceremony in the U.S. within ninety days of admission into the country.

This volition rule out couples who are only considering getting married in the U.Due south. during the visa's validity as a possibility. You'll need to provide proof, not but of your appointment, but as well of your intended wedlock in the Usa.

Prove such equally letters to i another discussing wedding plans and announcements sent to friends and loved ones tin can aid to prove to the USCIS that you lot truly program to go married. For these reasons, some of the best pieces of prove you lot can submit every bit part of your application are documents that bear witness you take set up wedding plans, such as a engagement or venue booked.

Bear witness of having rented a venue, hired a photographer or organized catering for your wedding are excellent for proving to immigration officials the validity of your marriage.

Of form, planning a wedding ceremony engagement and making arrangements tin can be hard to do if you are waiting on the processing and blessing of your visa. However, information technology's recommended that you testify some evidence of your plans being put into identify if possible.

What Can a Grand i Visa Holder Do During Their Stay in the U.s.a.?

Staying and living with your fiancé(e) in the U.S. while the 1000 1 visa is valid. When you successfully apply for the fiancé visa and enter the United states, yous'll take a 90-day menstruation in which to get married. During this time, you are gratis to alive in the United States with your U.Due south. citizen fiancé(e). You lot tin move and travel across the U.s. with your partner while there and tin can choose to get married anywhere in the United States.

Applying for an Employment Authority Certificate. To start this process, y'all must be married and in the United states of america earlier applying. This volition require you to use for a document called Form I-765 which usually takes around 2 months to process. You can not work while the piece of work authorization document is beingness processed. Only when your application has been fully processed and approved will y'all exist able to brainstorm working.

Applying for full permanent resident condition after getting married. Y'all are free to use to become a full light-green card holder while staying in the The states on the K i visa, and y'all can do so without having to render to your home country. This is called adjustment of status. However, you cannot exercise and so until you are married, and you'll need to prove eligibility against a different set up of criteria. Fortunately, foreign spouses of U.South. citizens benefit from having preference by the Section of Homeland Security when applying for greenish cards, so y'all volition likely find it much easier to proceeds full immigration status.

Bringing dependents with you to the US. The U.South. denizen who filed the initial petition does not have to file a carve up course I-129F petition for each dependent, but any dependents hoping to travel with the Thou 1 visa holder to the U.S. must be mentioned and listed on the initial petition. These dependents fit nether the K visa category every bit K2 visa holders, and applicants must be unmarried minors nether 21 years one-time and the children of an canonical One thousand 1 bidder. They'll also need to undergo a medical examination and attend the embassy interview with a Consular Officer.

What Can't I Exercise With a M 1 Fiancé Visa?

While this fiancé(e) visa is a particularly popular route for intending immigrants to join their U.Southward. citizen fiancé(eastward) in the The states, it is officially classified equally a nonimmigrant visa. This means that it's just designed for temporary stays in the U.S. and doesn't grant full immigrant condition. Because of this, there are certain restrictions as to what a K 1 visa holder can practise while their visa is valid. Some of the things you can't do include:

Visiting the US more than once. It's best to avert leaving the United States on a K one fiancé(e) visa as they are only valid for a single entry inside a 6-month catamenia. Upon inflow, the visa grants xc days in which to get married. If the visa has already been used to enter the United States and the foreign fiancé(e) has then returned away before union, y'all'll demand to petition a Consular Officer in lodge to take a new K one visa issuance. This is only possible if the menstruum of validity doesn't surpass the xc-mean solar day period granted past the initial entry of the alien fiancé(e) into the Usa. You must both yet be gratuitous and intending to marry, and the foreign fiancé(eastward)'s return to the The states must occur within 90 days of the original admission. The Yard 1 visa is a nonimmigrant and single-entry visa, so you categorically cannot get out the United States then re-enter on the same K 1 visa.

Working in the United states of america before you are married and have an approved Employment Authorization Document. You are free to apply for the EAD by filling in form I-765, but it usually takes around two months to get the EAD, and you tin can't legally work while waiting for approval. Under the K one visa, your work permit can but be valid for the 90-day period after entry into the United States. It'southward also worth remembering that you won't exist able to go the EAD until you are married, which means that, while you can officially work for the full 90 days after entering the U.S. on a Chiliad one visa, you tin can't apply until after y'all take married and even then it typically takes 2 months to process. This ways that realistically at that place'due south not a lot of bachelor time in which you lot tin can legally work in the xc-day K 1 visa validity. Withal, because the K1 visa is conventionally a pace towards an adjustment of condition with a green card and full immigrant condition, an conflicting fiancé(e) tin choose to instead apply for work authorization at the same time equally applying for permanent resident status, in which example the work authorization will exist valid for i year instead.

Marrying someone other than the person who petitioned y'all to visit the United States. If engaged couples using a Thousand 1 visa to go married in the U.Southward. break upwardly or choose not to get married for any reason, the foreign fiancé(e) visiting the U.S. won't be able to marry anyone else while in the country. If this happens, they'll have to leave the United States within the xc-solar day period of the K one visa'southward validity. And so, if they have a new fiancé(e) and wish to re-enter the Us for a hymeneals anniversary, they'll take to re-apply for a new Thou 1 visa.

How Much Does a K 1 Visa Toll?

The fees involved with successfully applying for a K1 fiancé(e) visa are relatively straightforward. However, information technology's worth noting that the costs will be higher if your foreign fiancé(e) wants to seek an aligning of status and permanent resident condition.

If yous want to employ for a One thousand 1 visa, yous will demand to pay the following fees:

• Filing a Thousand 1 visa fiancé(e) petition (Form I-129F): $535
• Consulate fee for non-immigrant visa application processing: $265

Filing a K1 visa fiancé(e) petition equally form I-129F ($535). This is the fee you'll demand to pay in club to go your awarding started with your petition. This payment is made alongside form I-129F in the initial filing of your fiancé(east) visa petition.

Consulate fee for non-immigrant visa awarding processing ($265). This embassy fee is paid nearer the finish of the visa application process. This fee will need to be paid directly to whichever US embassy that your strange fiancé's visa interview takes identify.

How Long Does information technology take to get a K1 Fiancé(e) Visa?

Once you have filed your K visa petition through the course I-129F file, the K1 visa usually takes effectually 5-7 months to be processed. If approved, the petition is sent to an embassy in the applicant'southward home country for farther processing.

The time this takes can vary and will oft depend on the strength of the bear witness yous have included in your application. If fully approved, the applicant will be invited to an official interview. This will likely take place at the nearest official U.s.a. embassy.

The immigration official may ask the visa applicant for further evidence of the relationship between you and your total reasons for getting married.

Related pages for your connected reading.

Sometimes it just isn't legally possible for an American citizen to ally in a strange country, fifty-fifty if this wedlock would be legal in the United States. For example, some countries foreclose aforementioned-sex marriages, some require parental permission legally for wedlock, and some forbid marrying outside your own religion or ethnicity. Likewise, some couples would just prefer their hymeneals ceremony to exist held in the US. It's in these cases that the K1 fiance visa comes into play and is particularly useful.

No, it is considered visa fraud to visit and enter the US on a tourist visa with the intent of staying. This kind of crime often leads to displacement, restrictions on inbound the The states over again, and ineligibility for hereafter visa applications. This means that fifty-fifty if you are establish and prevented from misusing a tourist visa by attempting to stay in the The states and y'all then attempt to do and then legally instead, yous may be prevented from doing then.

There's nothing stopping your fiance from visiting you in the U.s. on a tourist visa and getting married while in the country. However, they will exist legally required to leave the country before their tourist visa expires, and to and then begin a new marriage visa awarding from outside the United states of america. The marriage itself is not illegal, it is simply the intent to stay that is regarded equally visa fraud and can be met with displacement and other punishment. Visiting the United states on a tourist visa for intended marriage with the intention to and then leave and later utilise for a spousal visa is legal, you lot simply won't be able to stay permanently later on the marriage.

Another case is if someone enters the United States on a tourist visa with no intent to marry or stay permanently in the U.s. but who falls in love and chooses to marry during their stay. This person may in fact be able to stay permanently, simply they'll demand to show to the USCIS and US government that it was never their intention to come to the United States and stay permanently.

If you and your partner are in the US with the intention of getting married, but have not or could not do and then within the 90 day period, and then the skilful news is that you are likely to still be able to apply for an aligning of status – equally long as yous are doing and so within a reasonable corporeality of fourth dimension.

Of course, if you did not become married in this period because you had a change of heart and no longer intend to become married, and so the alien fiance will have to leave the United states inside the visa's validity flow. It's best to leave relatively apace once you know that y'all're non going to get married – remaining in the US beyond your visa'southward validity can hateful that you become banned from entering the US for years to come.

Yet, if you even so intend to get married but can't do so within the 90-day period, there are options available to you. Y'all still entered the The states legally, merely you'll take to submit form I-130 along with your application for adjustment of status. This comes with an add-on USCIS filing fee – an extra $420.

In addition to this actress fee, y'all may be required to speak to a consular officer who volition question you on why yous didn't get married in the menses, and they may scrutinize your testify. You lot may besides exist required to have some other medical exam.

Visa fraud and marriage fraud take been a rising problem for United states immigration officials, and as such spouse visas and fiance visas come under increased scrutiny. Marriage fraud is when the person coming to the US is doing and then fraudulently on a spouse or fiance visa with the intention of fugitive US immigration laws and falsely larn immigration benefits such every bit a green menu.

This is why, during your interview with an immigration official, questions volition focus on the validity and authenticity of your relationship. Information technology is your job to convince them that your relationship is genuine through not just strong supplementary bear witness with your application, simply as well your respond to questions in an interview. Y'all must persuade the immigration official of your 18-carat intention to get married and lead a life together with your fiance in the United states.

Yous volition face probing questions about yourself, your partner in the United states, and your relationship details. Be prepared for quite in-depth and almost intrusive questioning nigh how and when yous and your fiance met, and what your exact intentions are for getting married and living together in the U.s..

As a K1 visa holder, it's possible to bring dependent children to the US with yous. They volition need to go visa applicants themselves, merely won't need separate k visa petitions. Your dependents must be family unit members and to be eligible they must be both unmarried children under the age of 21 and your own dependent children.

If they come across all the necessary requirements and are eligible to travel with you, they will exist granted a separate K2 visa for dependent children. This will permit them to stay in the US with you while you visit for your intended marriage. You tin can brand the application at the same time as your K1 fiance visa application, and both tin be considered as office of the same visa petition.

You dependent children will be permitted to stay with you lot in the US for up to two years. Alternatively, if they turn 21 inside this time, they volition then need to apply separately to remain in the US.

There are also some common additional variable costs that y'all may want to take into consideration when applying for your visa and when calculating the costs involved. These might include:

• Travel costs. While not role of your K1 visa fees, the cost for the foreign fiance to travel to the United states of america afterward visa blessing can vary significantly. Depending on where in the globe y'all are traveling from and the travel options you accept available to you, costs for things such as plane tickets and hotel fees may vary between a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands.
• Medical examination. All Yard visa applicants demand to undergo a medical examination earlier traveling to the The states. These costs will vary and are entirely based on the country in which you are having your K visa interview. The fee is paid directly to a medical facility, which is adamant past the U.s. diplomatic mission.
• Legal help. A lot of K visa applicants end up seeking legal communication and assist when putting together their visa awarding. These costs can vary based on your needs and the particular circumstances of your case.
• Miscellaneous costs. Other costs that you might desire to accept into account include things like translation and photocopying costs. Y'all'll need to acquire all the sufficient documents for your visa application such as valid passports, nativity document, and constabulary certificates, all of which can incur costs. If yous're planning on bringing dependent unmarried children to the US with you, these potential K2 visa holders won't need to pay boosted USCIS fees every bit part of the petition. However, kid K2 applicants will require additional embassy fees and medical test fees.

It's of import to remember that, if the strange fiance is planning on seeking an official aligning of status to go a full permanent resident with a green card, then the fees tin can get significantly higher. This is the usual road that engaged couples take when applying for the K1 visa, with the foreign spouse gaining full immigrant condition afterwards wedlock.

Seeking aligning of status costs a minimum of $i,225 in government fees, bringing the total cost of your journey equally a foreign fiancé to a minimum of $two,025 in total. These fees account for:

• Initial filing of form I-485 – application for adjustment of status as a permanent resident ($1,140).
• Biometrics fees ($85).

Both of these fees are paid with a single check or cash payment while filing the application for permanent resident status with class I-485. The cost of an adjustment of status can be quite high and, as such, some couples choose not to apply. However, it'south still an incredibly popular road to full immigration status for couples with valid relationships wanting to live in the US. The benefits of lawful permanent resident status and eventual Us citizenship are incredibly high for couples hoping to start a family in the The states.

To speed up the process, the following is considered potent and persuasive show:

• Photos that bear witness you lot coming together and evidence of your loving relationship.
• Airline tickets confirming travel plans and verbal dates.
• Written statements from anyone who knows you both and tin can back up the validity and authenticity of your relationship.
• Text or e-mail chat records that show honest and open communication between you lot.
• Pictures of holidays spent together as engaged couples.

It's also worth noting that if your fiance intends on becoming one of the United states'southward greenish card holders, the entire process can take much longer. Altogether, you lot may demand to plan and expect the process to take around 13 months for completion. All the same, bear in mind that adjustment of status can only be applied for after you have married your fiance in the US.

Getting your head effectually visa eligibility, applications, and visa interviews isn't ever easy. From the legal requirements to the total cost and full fourth dimension involved, a lot of engaged couples detect themselves confused and frustrated before even submitting a K1 fiance visa petition. If you lot would like to speak to a professional immigration lawyer for some skillful and experienced advice and assistance, and then you've come to the right place. Nosotros offer some fantastic advice packages here at the Clearing Advice Service, and our lawyers are on-hand to provide the insight and expertise you need to bring clarity to your visa application process. Merely go far affect with us here today to detect how the Immigration Advice Service tin help you lot on your way to a successful K1 visa application. We offer untimed advice consultation sessions in which you can benefit from having all your questions answered by a fully qualified immigration lawyer.

brownhiguess.blogspot.com

Source: https://us.iasservices.org.uk/america/family/k1-visa/

Share this post