How Can I bring my fiancé(e) to the United States?
In a world made smaller by increased globalization, it is not surprising that more U.S. citizens interested in marriage are often finding their sentimental soul mates beyond U.S. borders. When living abroad is not an option, it is important to know the procedures U.S. immigration laws specifies in order to bring your loved one to live with you in the United States.
One alternative used by some, is to marry abroad, return to the U.S., and then commence the process of petition for their spouse.
Another alternative also exists for those who do not wish to marry overseas. This option is to sponsor your fiancé(e) by submitting a petition for their admission to the U.S. with a K-1 non-immigrant visa. If approved, the U.S. citizen’s fiancé(e) is allowed to enter the United States temporarily for up to 6 months. However, once in the U.S., the couple has up to ninety days (90) to marry. Once married the alien spouse can then apply for an adjustment of status to that of a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR).
This article will describe the major steps that must be taken to achieve this goal. It is, however, not intended to be legal advice. For such advice, it is important that you consult with an experienced immigration attorney that can help you navigate through complex process. Should you have any question regarding this or other immigration law matter, feel free to contact Aponte Immigration Solutions, PLLC, to schedule your consultation.
Step One – Petition
The first step in this process is for the U.S. citizen to sponsor the foreign citizen. This is done by filing the Petition for Alien Fiance(e) (Form I-129F) with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”). Once this application is approved, it will be forwarded from the Department of Homeland Security to the U.S. Department of State’s (“DOS”) National Visa Center (“NVC”).
Step Two – National Visa Center Processing
Once they receive the approved I-129F form from USCIS, the NVC will wait to initiate the processing of the visa, until such time the application’s “priority date” is considered “current” or is within a year of becoming “current”. For other types of applications, what determines how long it will take for an application to become current will be a number of factors, including the kind of relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary and the number of visa that may be still available for that year when the completed application is received. Fortunately, this is not much of an issue for K-1 visa given that the beneficiary is prone to becoming the spouse or “immediate relative” of the U.S. citizens which places them is a different category and priority dates are not much of a factor.
At this time, the NVC will begin contacting parties to commence certain actions, such as selecting agents/representatives and the payment of fees.
Step Three – Applying for the Visa
Once the agent/representative has been selected and fees have been paid, the NVC will inform you when to submit the visa application (Form DS-160). Along with the DS-160 form, the sponsor and beneficiary also need to be collecting and preparing to submit copies of other very important documents. Some of these documents will include, valid passport, police certificates, divorce/death certificates of previous spouses, evidence of financial support, as well as, the USCIS immigrant fee (K-1 non-immigrants are exempt from paying this fee).
The NVC will alert the parties of when copies of these documents can be submitted in anticipation of the next step.
Step Four – Interview
Once you have completed and submitted all the necessary forms, evidentiary documents and paid all the required fees, the NVC will review your file in order to determine if is it qualified for an interview.
Upon this determination being made, NVC will schedule your interview (usually a month in advance) and transfer the file to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate General located in home country.
Once you have been informed of the date of your interview, it is important that you take the following steps: (1) schedule and attend a medical examination; (2) read and make sure you follow pre-interview instructions provided by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate General were the interview will take place; and (3) make sure you have gather all the documents you will need to bring for your interview. Some of these documents will include, a copy of your appointment letter; unexpired passport; an original birth certificate; along with an English translation and a photocopy; marriage/divorce certificates; court/criminal records (if any); military service; etc. Make sure that you have available all the originals of each of the documents presented in addition to extra copies of these originals should the officer need to keep additional copies. It is also very important that for any original document not written in English, there be attached, a translation into English of the document.
A DOS officer will conduct the interview and will make sure that all the necessary documents are available. They will review the application, and will finally make a determination as to whether or not they will approve the visa application. If approved, the officer will inform you of how and when your passport and visa will be returned to you. Furthermore, you will also receive a sealed packet containing documents that must be presented to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) agent at the port of entry once you arrive to the United States. This packet must remain sealed until presented to the border agent.
Step Five – Inspection at Port of Entry (“POA”)
Even though a State Department official approves the Visa, entry into the United States is not yet guaranteed. This final decision is reserved for the Custom and Border Protection official located in one of the nation’s POA’s, (usually an airport).
During this inspection the traveling beneficiary will present their passport with their K Visa, along with the unopened/sealed packet containing documents given to them after the embassy interview. This is the moment when the final determination on whether admission into the United States will be made.
Once the beneficiary has been admitted into the United States, it is advisable that they submit their Application for Work Authorization (Form I-765), as soon as possible. Once this application is approved and they receive the work permit card (I-551) this will facilitate applying for other government identification documents such as a Social Security Card and even a state driver’s license.
Step Six – Marriage
As long as the marriage occurs within the 90-day time period, the beneficiary is within the allocated timeframe. Once married, the U.S. citizen spouse should complete and submit to USICS the petition for Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) to that of a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States.
As with other applications, the process to petition an alien fiancee can become quite complicated. This is why it is important to consider hiring an experienced Immigration attorney. This will help ensure that all the necessary steps are completed and documents provide the first time and thereby keep to a minimum the amount of time it will take for your loved one to be able to legally immigrate to the United States.
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