The fiancée visa, also known as the K-1 visa, is a type of visa that allows a foreign national to enter the United States for the purpose of marrying a U.S. citizen in the United States. The process involved the U.S. citizen filing an I-129F petition on behalf of their foreign fiancée with USCIS. Once the petition is approved, the foreign fiancée can apply for the K-1 visa at the U.S. embassy or consulate in their home country. Upon entering the United States with a K-1 visa, the couple is required to get married within 90 days. After the marriage takes place, the foreign spouse can apply for their Green Card through an adjustment of status.

When it was first put into place, the K-1 visa was very popular because petitions were quickly approved, and fiancées were able to apply for their visas very quickly to enter the United States within a few weeks or months. However, ever since the K-1 visa was put into place, processing times for this visa have drastically changed. Nowadays, processing times for the I-129F range from 6 months to a year, plus several more months for the U.S. embassy or consulate to schedule an interview. What once made the K-1 visa appealing, has now been lost.

Now, unless specific circumstances complicate it, instead of applying for the K-1 visa, it is recommended for the U.S. citizen to travel to the foreign national’s country of origin to get married to them there. With this, the U.S. citizen apply for a spousal petition for the foreign national. This is more beneficial because the processing times will roughly be the same, but instead of entering the United States with a temporary visa, the foreign national will be entering the United States with a Green Card. In addition to this, applying for the K-1 visa turns out to be more expensive because the foreign national will have to pay additional immigration fees for the Green Card inside of the United States, whereas applicants of the spousal petition do not.

Do you want to learn more about the fiancée visa or other immigration options, call our office today at (915) 314-2363 to schedule a consultation today!