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You are an American, and you have a special someone you want to marry, or perhaps you are already married. Whether they are your fiancée or your spouse, they happen to not be permanent residents or citizens of the United States, and have no visa which allows them to live or work in the United States.
So how exactly can you sponsor your significant other in order to be able to bring them into the United States and allow them to reside there permanently?
The answer is the K1 Fiancee Visa and K3 Marriage Visa.
The K1 Visa
First, let us examine the K1 visa. This is a visa which allows for an American to sponsor their foreign fiancée into the United States.
Here are the conditions:
-The sponsor must be an American citizen. Permanent residents do not qualify to sponsor their fiancée into the United States under the K1 Fiancee visa .
-The sponsor and the visa recipient are engaged, or contracted to be married.
-The marriage must be legally permissible in the state in which the couple intends to be married.
-The couple must have met within the last two years. There are some exceptions to this rule for cultures in which it is not customary for the husband and bride to meet prior to being married.
-The sponsor must meet certain income requirements to prove that he or she can support the sponsored individual once they come to the United States.
The K1 visa can be petitioned for by filing form I-129F with the United States Customs and Immigration Service.
The K3 Marriage Visa
If someone is already married rather than expecting to be married, the appropriate document to request is a K3 Marriage Visa . Here are the conditions of the K3 visa:
-Like the K1, the sponsor must be an American citizen.
-The sponsor and the visa recipient must be legally married according to the laws of their country. Common law marriages will not be acceptable unless the home country recognizes them.
-Only the first spouse of a polygamist marriage will be recognized as being legally married, and permitted to be sponsored for a K3 Marriage Visa. Any subsequent marriage is not recognized by the USCIS.
-Children of the marriage may be sponsored along with the parent by using a K4 visa.
Like the K1, the K3 visa petition is applies for by using form I-129F.
Summary
The K1 Fiancee Visa and K3 Marriage Visa are usually used initially to get a fiancée or spouse into the United States quickly, as opposed to having to petition the spouse for permanent residency. Once the marriage occurs (or the spouse arrives if the couple is already married and using a K3 visa), the immigrant spouse may request an adjustment of status to the status of permanent resident.
Unfortunately, these K visas are not available to permanent residents. However, permanent residents may apply to sponsor spouses or children for permanent residency status-it just means that there is a longer delay in getting them approved for immigration than if an American citizen sponsored them for a K visa.
If you wish to find out more about K visas, visit the United States Customs and Immigration Service's website at www.uscis.gov, or contact an attorney specializing in US immigration law.
So how exactly can you sponsor your significant other in order to be able to bring them into the United States and allow them to reside there permanently?
The answer is the K1 Fiancee Visa and K3 Marriage Visa.
The K1 Visa
First, let us examine the K1 visa. This is a visa which allows for an American to sponsor their foreign fiancée into the United States.
Here are the conditions:
-The sponsor must be an American citizen. Permanent residents do not qualify to sponsor their fiancée into the United States under the K1 Fiancee visa .
-The sponsor and the visa recipient are engaged, or contracted to be married.
-The marriage must be legally permissible in the state in which the couple intends to be married.
-The couple must have met within the last two years. There are some exceptions to this rule for cultures in which it is not customary for the husband and bride to meet prior to being married.
-The sponsor must meet certain income requirements to prove that he or she can support the sponsored individual once they come to the United States.
The K1 visa can be petitioned for by filing form I-129F with the United States Customs and Immigration Service.
The K3 Marriage Visa
If someone is already married rather than expecting to be married, the appropriate document to request is a K3 Marriage Visa . Here are the conditions of the K3 visa:
-Like the K1, the sponsor must be an American citizen.
-The sponsor and the visa recipient must be legally married according to the laws of their country. Common law marriages will not be acceptable unless the home country recognizes them.
-Only the first spouse of a polygamist marriage will be recognized as being legally married, and permitted to be sponsored for a K3 Marriage Visa. Any subsequent marriage is not recognized by the USCIS.
-Children of the marriage may be sponsored along with the parent by using a K4 visa.
Like the K1, the K3 visa petition is applies for by using form I-129F.
Summary
The K1 Fiancee Visa and K3 Marriage Visa are usually used initially to get a fiancée or spouse into the United States quickly, as opposed to having to petition the spouse for permanent residency. Once the marriage occurs (or the spouse arrives if the couple is already married and using a K3 visa), the immigrant spouse may request an adjustment of status to the status of permanent resident.
Unfortunately, these K visas are not available to permanent residents. However, permanent residents may apply to sponsor spouses or children for permanent residency status-it just means that there is a longer delay in getting them approved for immigration than if an American citizen sponsored them for a K visa.
If you wish to find out more about K visas, visit the United States Customs and Immigration Service's website at www.uscis.gov, or contact an attorney specializing in US immigration law.
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