A K-1 visa is a United States nonimmigrant visa benefitting fiancés and fiancées of US citizen petitioners. The Application is made by the petitioner in the US on a USCIS form I-129F filed by mail at a USCIS Regional Center. The Applicant must provide detailed information and supporting documentation to establish that both parties are legally free to marry, have met each other, intend to marry, do not have disqualifying criminal histories, and proof of identity and citizenship. Recent changes to the Law limit the number of petitions a Petitioner can make, and the Petitioner must not have a criminal history of sexual or partner abuse. Other recent changes in the Law also severely limit the role of “marriage agencies” in the introductions, and any involvement must be disclosed. The fiancee has a right to be informed about the Petitioner’s background. If approved, e.g., six months is about normal, the Application materials will all be forwarded to the National Passport Center for processing. Then the whole paper file wrapper is sent to the US embassy or consulate in the jurisdiction in which the fiancee resides abroad. The Embassy will contact the fiancee and schedule an interview date. In the meantime, the fiancee has to have a medical examination at an approved clinic, to screen for certain infectious diseases like HIV and TB. The Embassy staff will question the fiancee and ask for additional documents, all in a search to see if this is a legitimate intention to marry and not some complex plan to skirt US Immigration Laws. If the interview goes well, the visa is granted immediately, but the fiancee’s passport may need to be kept for a few days for processing. The fiancé(e) then has six months to enter the US, and 90 days after that to marry the Petitioner. The fiancee cannot marry any other person, and must return if not married to the Petitioner. If the fiancee has children, and they were properly identified in the original petition, then they will be issued K2 visas. Such K2 visas depend on the parent’s K1 visa.

After marrying, an “Adjustment of Status” (using a USCIS form I-485) must be filed that will convert the K1 fiancee and K2 children status to that of “Conditional Lawful Permanent Resident Status”, e.g., a green card. It can take as long as a year after the filing of a correct I-485 to be invited to a local USCIS Office for an interview of the Petitioner, K1 fiancee, and any K2 children. The Interviewer is essentially interested in ascertaining if this marriage is a legitimate marriage. If the Interview goes well, the Greencards will arrive in the mail in a few weeks. If the Petitioner or the fiancee refuses to attend the Interview, the fiancee will lose legal status and must leave the US. The USCIS will send out a notice to this effect when a scheduled Interview is missed. The Conditional Permanent Resident Card can be converted just before the two year anniversy of the issuance of the conditional Greencard to unconditional status by making another application and attending a second Interview. Otherwise, the Conditional Permanent Resident Card will expire. Again, the Interviewer will be looking to see if this is a legimate marriage. If however, the couple has split up and a history of spousal abuse can be documented to the USCIS, the fiancee alone can apply for the uncoditional status. In other words, the power of the Petitioner to coerce and intimidate the fiancee is reduced and the fiancee will be excused by the USCIS if it can be shown the separation or divorce was the fault of the Petitioner. This ties back in with not granting K1/K2 petitions to US citizens that have a history of violence or sex crimes. The foreign spouse may apply for US citizenship three years after the issuance of the Conditional Permanent Resident Card if married the whole time to the US Citizen, or otherwise five years after the issuance of the Conditional Permanent Resident Card. With all the restrictions and changes in procedures at all federal and state agencies, the obtaining of a Green Card is mandatory in order to get a social security number, a job, a drivers license, ID card, credit cards, bank accounts, to travel outside the US and return, etc. A work autorization card can be obtained before the Green Card is in hand, but its usefullness and life are very limited.