Fiancee Visas:
If you are a U.S. citizen who wants to bring your foreign national fiancee (male or
female) to marry in the U.S., you may petition (apply) for a fiancee visa (K-1) for your
fiancee. Both of you must be free to marry.
This means that both of you are unmarried, or that any previous marriages have ended
through divorce, annulment or death. You must also have met with your fiancee in person
within the last two years before filing for the fiancee visa. This requirement can be
waived only if meeting your fiancee in person would violate long-established customs or
would create extreme hardship for you.
You and your fiancee must marry within 90 days of your fiancee entering the United States.
You may also apply (on the same petition) to bring your fiancee's unmarried children, who
are under age 21, to the United States.
Legal permanent residents may not file petitions for fiancee visas, although they may
petition for the immigration of their new spouse after the wedding.
After your petition is approved, your fiancee must obtain a visa issued at a U.S. Embassy
or consulate abroad. Your fiancee must remain unmarried until the arrival of the fiancee
in the U.S.
The marriage must take place within 90 days of your fiancee entering the United States. If
the marriage does not take place within 90 days or your fiancee marries someone other than
you (the U.S. citizen filing the petition), your fiancee will be required to leave the
United States.
Until the marriage takes place, your fiancee is considered a nonimmigrant. A nonimmigrant
is a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United States for a specific
purpose. A fiancee may not obtain an extension of the 90-day original nonimmigrant
admission.
If your fiancee intends to live and work permanently in the United States, your fiancee
should apply to become a permanent resident after your marriage. If your fiancee does not
intend to become a permanent resident after your marriage, your fiancee must leave the
country within the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.
Your new spouse will initially receive conditional permanent residence status for two
years. Conditional permanent residency is granted when the marriage creating the
relationship is less than two years old at the time of adjustment to permanent residence
status.
The U.S. citizen fiancee must file the petition (application) for the fiancee visa and
provide the following items:
· Form I-129F (Petition for Alien fiancee)
· If your fiancee has unmarried children who are under 21, they are eligible to accompany
your fiancee, but only if they are listed on this form.
· Evidence of your U.S. citizenship - your original U.S. birth certificate, your U.S.
passport, your Certificate of Naturalization, or your Certificate of Citizenship. (Please
see USCIS Form I-129F for information on the use of copies.)
· 2 Form G-325A Biographic Data Sheets (one for you and one for your fiancee)
· One color photo of you and one of your fiancee taken within 30 days of filing
· A copy of any divorce decrees, death certificates, or annulment decrees if either you
or your fiancee have been previously married.
Proof of permission to marry if you or your fiancee are subject to any age restrictions.
(For instance, in some U.S. states, you must receive special permission to marry if you
are under the age of 16.)
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