What Is a “Fiancée”?
A fiancée is a person who is engaged or contracted
to be married. The marriage must be legally possible
according to laws of the state in the United
States where the marriage will take place.
Vaccination Requirements
United States immigration law requires immigrant
visa applicants to obtain certain vaccinations prior
to the issuance of an immigrant visa. Panel
physicians who conduct medical examinations of
immigrant visa applicants are required to verify
that immigrant visa applicants have met the
vaccination requirements. See
IV Vaccination Requirements for the list of
required vaccinations and additional information.
As a fiancée, you are not required to fulfill this
requirement at the time of your medical examination
for a fiancée visa. However, you may want to do so.
These vaccinations are required when you
adjust status following your marriage.
What Must
Happen After Getting the Fiancee Visa?
After getting the
fiancee
visa, your fiancée enters the U.S. through a
U.S. immigration port-of-entry. The U.S. immigration
official gives your fiancée instructions on what to
do when he/she enters the United States. You
must get married within 90 days of your fiancée’s
entry into the United States.
After marriage, your spouse must file Form
I-485 Application
to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust
Status with the USCIS office that serves the area
where you live in the United States. You must fill
out the Affidavit of Support,
Form I-864, with
the USCIS for your spouse's application to become a
lawful permanent resident (LPR). See Permanent
Resident at the
Department of Homeland
Security's, USCIS internet site.
Can a K-1
Visa Holder Leave the United
States?
The K-1 visa allows a fiancée to enter the United
States one time only. If you leave the United
States after entering on a K-1 visa, you may not
re-enter on the same visa. If you want to leave
and re-enter the United States, you should apply
with
Form I-131 Application
for Travel Document to the USCIS office that serves
the area where you live for
advance parole to
return to the United States. See
Emergency Travel for
information on how to get a travel document that
allows you to return to the United States.
Can a K-1 Visa
Holder Work in the United States?
As a K-1 visa holder you may file Form I-765
Application for Employment Authorization with the
USCIS office that serves the area where you live for
a work permit (employment authorization document).
For more information see
How Do I Get a Work Permit
(Employment Authorization Document)?
Children Have Derivative Status
The child of a fiancée may receive a
derivative K-2 visa
from his/her parent’s fiancée petition. You, the
American citizen petitioner, must make sure that you
name the child in the I-129F petition. After the
marriage of the child’s parent and the American
citizen, the child will need a separate form
I-485 Application
to Register Permanent Residence or to
Adjust Status. The
child may travel with (accompany) the K-1
parent/fiancée or travel later (follow-to-join)
within one year from the date of issuance of the
K-1
visa to his/her parent. A separate petition is
not required if the children accompany or follow the
alien fiancée within one year from the date of
issuance of the K-1 visa. If it is longer than one
year from the date of visa issuance, a separate
immigrant visa petition is required.
Remember that in immigration law a
child must be
unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship
must be created before the child reaches the age of
18.
Extending the Petition
The I-129F petition is valid for four months from
the date of approval from USCIS. Consular officers
can extend the validity of the petition (revalidate
the petition) if it expires before the processing of
the visa application is completed.
A
Fiancee Is Also an Immigrant
Because a fiancée visa permits the holder to
immigrate to the U.S. and marry an American citizen
shortly after arrival in the United States, the
fiancee must meet some of the requirements of an
immigrant visa.
