If you are a citizen of the United States want to bring your fiancé with you to live in the country, you may be able to do so by using the fiancé visa. This visa is also known as the K-1 visa and will allow your fiancé to enter the country as a nonimmigrant.
Citizens who want to bring their fiancés to the United States have to meet a series of eligibility requirements. These include:
- Being a U.S. citizen.
- Having the intention of getting married within 90 days of your fiancé coming into the United States on the fiancé visa.
- Being legal and free to marry with evidence of past marriages’ annulments or terminations.
- Showing that you and your fiancé met with each other at least once in the last two years (this rule can sometimes be waived if you can show that it would violate your fiancé’s culture or cause extreme hardship).
If you can do each of these things, then you will have a good opportunity to bring your fiancé to the country.
What do you have to do when bringing your fiancé to the United States?
The process is fairly straightforward. You will need to fill out the form I-129F, which is the Petition for Alien Fiancé(e). This form goes over how you know the other person and asks the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to recognize that you are in a relationship and intent to marry.
You should provide as much evidence as you can to the USCIS. Photographs, letters from friends and family and other kinds of documents can help show that you and the other person are in a relationship and have a history together.
Your fiancé will need to go through a visa interview during the process. During this, the consular officer will determine if the individual does qualify for the K-1 visa. If not, they will give them a reason for the denial. If so, they will be granted the visa for up to six months and a single entry into the United States.
This process can be long, so it’s important to get it right. If you have questions, make sure to learn more about your legal options for support.