If you have a fiance from another country and want to get married in the United States, then you may want to consider getting your fiance a visa. This type of visa is commonly known as the K1 or fiance visa. This visa enables your foreign partner to marry an American citizen in the United States.
This process may take many months to complete and often requires an abundance of paperwork. In some cases, petitioners will hire an immigration attorney to help with legal advice on the best way to fill out the paperwork. While others attempt to go through the process on their own to save on some costs.
Filing the petition
In general, the first step would be to file a petition with the USCIS or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. This petition is often referred to as the petition for alien fiance.
Some of the documents included with this petition are your passport photos and the I129 form. If you are an American citizen, then you may have to show proof of your citizenship as well. There may also be a form G329A to fill out as well.
If you have been married previously, you may also have to provide evidence of the termination of your marriage(s). There may also be a filing cost of about $500.
The time it takes to get your status
After you have filed the petition, there may a waiting period of a few months. It might be a good idea to just wait for your notification of your status.
In most cases, you will get a notification by mail with instructions on what to do from that point. In some situations, the letter may ask for you to provide further evidence. If so, then you may want to send in those documents as soon as possible.
The notice of approval
If your petition was approved, then you may need to notify your fiance that he or she may need to submit a medical exam and interview in the country where they live. It may be up to your fiance to prove that he or she is in good health and has a genuine relationship with you.
The United States embassy will usually send a letter with further instructions on what your fiance needs to provide as well as the dates of your exam and interview.
The final interview for the visa
The final interview generally determines whether your fiance will get his or her visa. If your fiance is approved, then he or she will most likely get a K1 visa from the embassy.
The visa may grant your fiance the right to marry you within 90 days of his or her arrival. From the time the petition is approved to the time your fiance receives the visa, there is usually about a three month period. In most cases, the more accurate and complete your documentations are, the faster the fiance visa process may take.
