This article gives tips on getting your fiancee visa application, also called a K-1 visa. You will need a fiancee visa (also called a K-1 visa) to bring your fiancee to the United States.
Here are some requirements
1. You are a United States citizen.
2. You met your fiancee in person within the previous two years.
3. Both you're legally free to marry.
4. You meet certain minimum income requirements.
5. Your fiancee does not have a criminal record.
6. Your fiancee has not broken any U.S. immigration laws.
* There are certain rare exceptions to these requirements.
Can my fiancee enter the United States on a visitor visa to satisfy the personal meeting requirement?
A fiance' who is from a "third world" country like the Philippines will not be able to get a visitor’s visa to the U.S. A fiance is from a wealthy country, such as England, Italy, Canada, France, etc., will be able to enter the U.S. on a visitor's visa or visa waiver. Furthermore, your fiance; must still return to his or her country to get a fiancee visa if your intention is to marry your fiance'
The K-1 visa waiting period generally does not exceed 6 months if the application is handled correctly. Make sure that the fiancee visa petition is prepared is right the first time it is submitted to the USCIS. Occasionally, problems occur even when your petition is perfect. Officers at both the USCIS and the U.S. Consulates are terribly overworked and sometimes not well trained. If you are lucky enough to be able to get through on the telephone, the USCIS or US Consulate staff member that you talk to has only a computer screen in front of them to look at (not your case file) and can only make informed guesses as to what your standing is. However, many staff members are inexperienced with the fiancee visa or the K-1 visa process because the K-1 visa represents only a tiny fraction of all immigration filings. A problem at the USCIS can delay your petition 3 months or longer and a problem at the U.S. Embassy can delay the k1 visa application 6-12 months.
A K-1 fiance visa can be denied. However this should not happen if you and your fiancee are legitimate and meet all the requirements and if your fiancee visa petition is prepared correctly. Of the thousands of fiancee visa petitions filed with the USCIS every year, only approximately 60% conclude in a fiancee visa ever being issued by the Embassies.
Fiance visas are denied for varies reasons,, but most are canceled by the foreign fiancee or the U.S. citizen because there were many problems with the USCIS or the U.S. Embassy that created long delays in processing visa.
What is the best way to approach the fiancee visa process?
1. Attempt to handle the paperwork yourself. You and your fiancee fill out all documents yourselves, send them to USCIS, and wait and see what happens.
2. Hire an immigration attorney and pay thousands of dollars.
3. Hire a K1 Visa specialist to assist you every step of the way. You can have someone to assist with all the documents for you and your fiancee, you have a K-1 visa specialist to meticulously check each and every document and send them to USCIS for you.
(About the Authors) The Philippines Fiancee Visa Specialists at Filipino Fiancee Visa Service. www.Filipino.com
The K-1 Fiance Visa Application
Visas for a Russian or Ukrainian Fiance
The fiancee or K visa allows the prospective spouse of a U.S. citizen to travel to the U.S. for marriage. The K-2 Visa is for the minor children of a K-1 visa holder
To begin the K-1 process, you file a petition at the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office that has jurisdiction over your current or intended residence in the U.S. Your fiance's children must be listed in the petition even if they won't be traveling.
Petitions for K-1 visas cannot be filed or approved outside the United States. (For additional questions about filing a petition, contact www.uscis.gov.)
K-1 Petition approval is just the first phase of this process it is not the same thing as visa approval.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PETITIONERS: When completing the petition, list all the last names your fiance has used in the past including maiden or prior married names. Otherwise there will be a delay.
USCIS notifies you when your K1 petition is approved,. USCIS sends the approved petition to the The Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) in Portsmouth, NH will send you a letter saying that petition has been received and that it will be sent to Embassy Kyiv.
It takes four to six weeks for the approved k-1 petition and its supporting documentation to reach the Embassy. The embassy can only schedule a visa appointment when when it gets the hard copy of the approved petition and the completed KEV-1 form.
The k-1 petition is valid for four months, but the Embassy may extend it if it cannot issue a during that period.
To check the status of your K-1 petition, visit www.uscis.gov using your case number beginning with WAC, EAC, LIN or SRC.When contacting the Embassy, use your fiancés full name or the case number that starts with KEV.
When the embassy gets an approved I-129F petition, they send Information Packet 3 to the beneficiary. It tells the applicant what documents they need to collect for the visa interview. Visit http://kyiv.usembassy.gov to get the list of required documents, You must have original documents with photocopies. You don't have to bring original financial support documents. Any document in a foreign language should be accompanied by a notarized/certified English translation. After the interview, all originals except the police certificates are returned to the applicant.
After collecting all of the required documents, the next step is for your fiance to send the KEV-1 form certifying that they have gotten all of the required documents. To avoid duplication, your fiance should send the form in one of the following ways:
e-mail: kyiviv@state.gov (the fasted way to schedule an appointment)
Fax: 44 490 4570;
Bring it to U.S. Consular Section in Kyiv in person between 8:30 and 12:30;
or Mail it to:
Immigrant Visa Unit
Consular Section
U.S. Embassy Kyiv, Ukraine
6 Pymonenka Street
Kyiv 01901
The Embassy will send you Appointment Packet 4 with your interview your date only after they have received the following items:
The actual approved petition from USCIS
A filled out KEV-1 from the beneficiary.
Very important: Packets may not get to the applicants.since the Ukrainian mail is slow and unreliable. You can download them at (kyiv.usembassy.gov) .
Visa interviews are by appointment only. Do not travel to Kyiv until you been notified of an interview date. On the date of the appointment your fiance should come to the Immigrant Visa section of the Embassy in Kyiv. Minor children under 14 do not need to attend. Your fiance and each dependent child pays a $100 non-refundable fee ion the day of the interview.
Your fiance will fill out two copies of the Nonimmigrant Visa Application DS-156 and one copy of DS-156K form. Each dependent child also needs two copies of the Nonimmigrant Visa Applications DS-156. Bring original documents plus one copy with a notarized/certified English translation. Originals of primary documents, such as birth, marriage, and death records, will be returned to the applicant after the interview.
The consular officer will ask your fiance questions, such as how you met and when you decided to marry. The consular officer will verify whether you met at least once within the last two years, and that you do intend to marry within 90 days of your fiance's arrival in the United States.
The Consular Section uses a delivery services to return passports to visa recipients. After the interview, visa recipients should go to the FedEx representative to arrange for the return of their passports with issued visas.
If your fiance did not get a visa, he or she will be given notification in writing giving the reasons for the temporary refusal. The letter will explain how to drop off the missing documents or schedule a second appointment. Your fiance will not have to pay again. Every Ukrainian national must have an international passport valid for a at least 6 months plus 60 days after the date the visa is issued.
Recommended K-1 Books
K-1 Immigration Rules
Waiting Period for a K-1 Fiance Visa?
Can the K1 Visa be Refused?
Filing the K-1 fianceVisa Petition
How Long is Your K-1 Petition Valid?
The Provisional K-1 Visa
Scheduling a K-1 Visa interview
Visa Rules Hinder Couple's Celebration of Love
Having trouble getting the fiance visa? You are not alone. NPR is featuring a story about Wendy Brown, whose fiancé, an Albanian native, has been unable to get a U.S. visa. Brown is joined by Washington Post reporter Karin Brulliard.
Philippine Immigrant Visa Applicants Can Now Call US Embassy For Appointments
Those who have applied for a United States immigrant visa and have been notified that they can be interviewed can call the Visa Information Service operator to schedule an interview.
Those with pending K1, K2, K3 and K4 visa applications can call two numbers.
“When calling from the Philippines, the number is 1-909-101-7878. The fee is 98 cents a minute to use the 909 phone service
.
“When calling from the U.S., the number is 1-888-877-9888 for a flat fee of $18.
The new scheduling procedure for K visa applicants are designed to make it easier for applicants to get an appointment.
When calling for an appointment, have the applicant’s Immigrant Case Number ready. It's on the embassy notification letter. To download the visa appointment packet and forms, visit http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3023.html.
By Debora Weber
As I enter my seventh year of practicing fiancee visa law I have a number of observations to share.
We have all heard of the steriotype of American men choosing "mail order brides" from a catalogue. However, Immigration law does not allow for "mail order brides." A chief requirement of the fiancee visa is that the American petitioner and foreign beneficiary have met in person within the two years before filing the fiancee visa petition.
In my experience the relationships between foreign woman and American men are every bit as real as any relationships involving American men and American women. Furthermore, the divorce rate among my clients is negligible compared to the typical American divorce rate. I am in contact with many of my early clients and I know that they are happily married. Contrary to myths about the fiancee visa the men are rarely abusive and the woman are rarely fraudulent or dishonest.
It is exhilarating for my clients when I file their petitions and they get the receipt from the USCIS showing that their case is under way. Unfortunately, that's just the first step in a long and complex journey. You will be very unhappy and disappointed if you expect your fiancee visa to come in the mail in a few weeks.
Some USCIS Service Centers are faster than others and some foreign consulates are faster than others. With the right combination of a fast USCIS service center and a fast foreign consulate a fiancee visa can be obtained in 4-6 weeks. A case filed at the Vermont Service Center and processed at the American Consulate in Mexico would be the fastest combination.
However, a fast time line is not typical. The USCIS California Service Center can be slow and consular processing in China is very slow. Consular processing in the Philippines is faster than in China but can still take several months.
The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2006 was designed to eliminate the exploitation of foreign women by American men. I have never seen the type of exploitation and abuse IMBRA was designed to remedy. Furthermore, IMBRA does not effect the vast majority of cases. It only really affects American men with serious criminal records and American men who have filed previous fiancee visa petitions.
Yes, a beautiful 25 year old foreign woman really can fall in love with a 55 year old American. I have seen it happen many times. Foreign woman tend to be less concerned with superficial qualities. Most fare looking for loving and stable men.
There is no typical fiancee visa petitioner. My American clients are completely normal people from all walks of life. They have included multi-millionaires, doctors, accountants, car salesmen, plumbers, truck drivers, pilots, members of the military, business owners, nurses, dentists, corporate executives, artists, senior government bureaucrats, waiters, card dealers, engineers and scientists.The foreign women are also completely normal and from all walks of life.
The foreign fiancees I have gotten visas for include doctors, dentists, senior government bureaucrats, engineers, business owners, waitresses, nurses, students, and lawyers..
A few foreign woman only want to string along an American man to get money from him. Here are five clues that a women is a fraud:
1. Right away, she's always aking you to send money. Her relatives are constantly needing surgeries or dying or she's being evicted from her apartment and needs money for a new place. You should not be sending a woman money in the early stages of a relationship. A typical American man would not give large sums of money to a new American girlfriend and neither should he give money to a new foreign girlfriend. If you have met your foreign girlfriend and are convinced of her sincerity it is okay to help her out financially.
2. She won't meet you in person. This type of women usually has more than one American boyfriend and always wants money from you.
3. She calls you by the wrong name. This type of women is corresponding with so many different American men that she gets them confused.
4. She is uncooperative with you or your attorney after you commence the fiancee visa process. This type of women does not actually want to come to America and marry an American. She only wants you to continue giving her money. She does everything she can to delay or disrupt the fiancee visa. Another tactic is that she says she can get a tourist visa if you send her $5,000.
5. She is not available to email or talk to you. This type of woman has so many American boyfriends that she simply does not have the time.
Deborah Weber is the principal attorney in a fiancee visa law practice in Minnetonka, Minnesota. To learn more about the fiancee visa process please visit Deborah's website at Fiancee Visa Lawyers.
Myths and Facts about K-1 Visas
MOST FIANCEE VISA RELATIONSHIPS ARE LEGITIMATE
THE FIANCEE VISA PROCESS IS LONG AND STRESSFUL
IMBRA IS LARGELY IRRELEVANT
LOVE IS COMPLEX AND WONDERFUL
THE AMERICAN MEN AND FOREIGN WOMEN COME FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE
