SIMPLE GUIDE ON THE UNITED STATES’ FIANCÉ VISA

Introduction

The K-1 visa is a unique visa that lets your fiancé from outside the United States come over. It is also known as the fiancé visa. It enables those with the right immigration status to bring their foreign fiancé to the US, get married to them, and then get their green card while they are here. The process is complex and requires skill. The sure way to go through the process easily is with the help of an immigration lawyer in Jamaica.

In this detailed guide, we will show you everything you need to know about the K-1 visa process, what you need to qualify, and the different kinds of proof you need to show that you are in a real relationship. Let’s get started!

The meaning of K-1 visas

The K-1 visa is a unique visa that lets your foreign fiancé come to the US, get married, and then change their status to get their green card. To get a K-1 visa, the partner in the US needs to start the process by filing a Form I-129f for the foreign fiancé. This will be followed with other steps (to be discussed later). The partner in the US is the one who is filing the petition, and the foreign fiancé is the one who is going to benefit from it.

Getting a K-1 visa because you are engaged to a US citizen can be a bit tricky. You need to meet certain requirements, and you have to follow all the steps carefully. If you mess up on the paperwork or miss any steps, your case could get delayed a lot or even get denied. This is why it is crucial to speak with an immigration lawyer in Jamaica before you take any step in the process.

Main highlights

With a K-1 visa, your partner can stay in the US for up to 90 days while you get married. It is super important to show that your relationship is real with proof, like messages, rental agreements, vacation photos, or letters from friends and family saying you are together.

You and your partner need to have actually met in person before you can file (unless there are religious reasons not to). If your partner has been divorced, had visa issues, or had criminal records before, things could get tricky. It is a good idea to talk to an immigration lawyer in Jamaica to figure out if your K-1 visa might get denied or if you will get an RFE.

After the K-1 visa interview, the officer at the consulate will tell you if you are good to go or not. You can move from a K-1 visa to a green card by going through an adjustment of status. This will let your partner get permanent residency (green card) in the US. If you need help getting a K-1 visa or switching to a green card, an immigration lawyer in Jamaica can help.

The advantage of a fiancé visa

There are several advantages that come along with a K-1 visa. A few of them are listed below:

• You will be able to adjust your immigration status in the US

The main advantage of possessing a K-1 visa is that it allows you to enter the US to marry your US citizen partner. Among these, one of the most important of all conditions to be satisfied for a K-1 visa is that both must intend to marry each other within 90 days of your K-1 visa recipient’s arrival in the US.

If you get married within 90 days of your entry into the US, you may be able to apply for an adjustment of status. This is one of the popular ways to become a US green card holder while in the US. The adjustment will take place entirely within the US, without requiring the K-1 entrant to leave the country to visit a consulate for a visa interview. An immigration lawyer in Jamaica can guide you through the tricky process of adjustment of status.

• You can start working straight away from your arrival in the US

The other advantage is that once you arrive in the US with a K-1 visa, you get work authorization as soon as possible. An applicant who gets a K-1 visa and is in the US may apply for work authorization by submitting Form I-765. This authorization will be valid for 90 days from the date of your US entry.

• Cool benefits to children

After marrying, your unmarried children who are below the age of 21 and unmarried may also be eligible to enter the US on a K-2 visa to join you. Once you get married, your children present in the US on their K-2 visas can apply for adjustment of status to get green cards, too. You can secure a K-2 visa with the help of an immigration lawyer in Jamaica.

• You will be spared from the whole process of Form I-130

Ordinarily, to get a green card through marriage, your spouse would file a Form I-130 on behalf of you. You skip this initial petition with a K-1 fiancé visa. Upon entry in the US and marriage to a US citizen partner, one is immediately eligible to apply for an adjustment of status using Form I-485. Learn more by contacting an immigration lawyer in Jamaica.

The K-1 visa criteria

First, to petition for a K-1 visa for your fiancé, you will want to look at the visa criteria. As stated before, a K-1 visa is when US citizens is sponsoring their partners from a foreign country to travel to the United States for marriage.

You and your fiancé must also be prepared to marry within 90 days of their arrival in the US. Your intention to get married should be genuine and not only for immigrating to the United States.

Here is what both of you need to qualify for the K-1 visa:

For the US citizen sponsor:

• You must be legally a US citizen, and able to wed.
• You must be able to prove you can financially support your fiancé, and they would not need any form of public assistance.
• You have every intention of marrying your fiancé within 90 days after they arrive.
• You must have no prior visa or immigration issues, criminal records, or disqualifying factors in your history.

For the foreign fiancé:

• The foreign fiancé must be legally free to get married, meaning they are not married to a third person and they have terminated any previous marriage by a valid order;
• They must undergo a medical examination by a designated civil surgeon to meet the health requirements of the US;
• They must have a bona fide intention to marry no later than 90 days after their admission.
• Also, they must be admissible to the United States and should not have any type of inadmissibility due to criminal issues in their history, health, or immigration offenses.

The criteria are a bit tricky to navigate through, but with the help of an immigration lawyer in Jamaica you can be sure if your case is a good fit.

Establishing your case

First, you have to prove that you and your partner are in fact connected and attached. You can do this in many ways, such as the following:

• Photos of you two together.
• Emails, texts, and phone calls.
• Snaps from social media.
• Stuff about trips you have gone on together.
• Letters from friends and family attest to your relationship.
• Statements from the bank about your joint accounts.
• Renting things together or bills.
• Proof of joint purchases of goods/items.

Also, to get a K-1 visa, you will need to prove that you have been in a relationship for a minimum period of 2 years.

Basically, you and your fiancé must have physically seen each other in person at least once in the past 2 years at the time of filing the K-1 visa application. This is to make sure your relationship is real and not due to some cyber relationship you have been having.

However, there are a few exceptions: an example is if cultural or religious limitations make it very inconvenient to meet in person or if extreme hardship to both parties is involved. Proof of in-person time spent would be flight tickets, a hotel plan, photos, messages sent, etc. Connecting with an immigration lawyer in Jamaica can help you strengthen your case.

Get help!

Getting a K-1 visa and getting a green card for your spouse can be tricky and might mean talking to the government about important paperwork changes. To dodge delays and avoid expensive errors, we strongly suggest you go with our experienced team of immigration lawyers in Jamaica who will simplify the whole process. Give us a call to kick off the application process immediately!