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The United States K-1 VISA
A K1 visa is a United States
nonimmigrant visa benefiting fiancées of US citizen petitioners. The Application
is made by the petitioner in the US on a USCIS form I-129F filed by mail at a
USCIS Service Center. The Applicant must provide detailed information and
supporting documentation to establish that both parties are legally free to
marry, have met each other within the last two years, intend to marry, do not
have disqualifying criminal histories (so-called crimes of moral turpitude), and
proof of identity and citizenship. Recent changes to the Law also limit the
number of petitions a Petitioner can make, and the Petitioner must not have a
criminal history of sexual or partner abuse. Other recent changes in the Law
also severely limit the role of "marriage agencies" in the introductions, and
any involvement must be disclosed.
If the fiancee visa application
is approved, the Application materials will all be forwarded to the National
Passport Center for processing. Then the whole paper file wrapper is sent to the
US embassy or consulate in the jurisdiction in which the fiance resides abroad .
The Embassy will contact the fiancee and schedule an interview date. In the
meantime, the fiance has to have a medical examination at an approved clinic, to
screen for certain infectious diseases like HIV, Tuberculosis and Syphilis. The
Embassy staff will question the fiancée and ask for additional documents, to
determine the authenticity of the relationship, though the preliminary
questioning in this regard is fairly straightforward and brief. If the interview
goes well, the visa is granted quickly, but the fiancée's passport may need to
be kept for a few days for processing. The
K1 fiancee visa holder then has
six months to enter the US, and 90 days after that to marry the Petitioner. The
fiancée cannot marry any other person, and must return if not married to the
Petitioner. If the fiancée has children, and they were properly identified in
the original petition, then they will be issued K-2 visas.
After marrying, an "Adjustment of Status" (using a USCIS form I-485) must be
filed that will convert the K-1 fiancée visa and K2 children status to that of
"Conditional Lawful Permanent Resident Status", e.g., a green card. It can take
as long as a year after the filing of a correct I-485 to be invited to a local
USCIS Office for an interview of the Petitioner, K1 fiancee, and any K2
children. The interviewer is essentially interested in ascertaining if the
marriage is legitimate, and will ask questions a genuine couple should have no
issue answering, for example, "Who normally does the grocery shopping?", "What
night does the garbage go out?", "When was the last time your spouse took the
day off work?". If the interview goes well, the I-551 "green card" will be
issued.
The Conditional Permanent Resident Card can be converted just before the two
year anniversary of issuance to unconditional status by making another
application and attending a second interview. Otherwise, the Conditional
Permanent Resident Card will expire, and the applicant will be subject to
exclusion from the United States. Again, the interviewer will be looking to see
if this is a legitimate marriage, however, if the couple has split up and a
history of spousal abuse can be documented to the USCIS, the fiancée alone can
apply for the unconditional status. In other words, the power of the Petitioner
to coerce and intimidate the fiancée is reduced and the fiancée will be excused
by the USCIS if it can be shown the separation or divorce was the fault of the
Petitioner. This ties back in with not granting K1/K2 petitions to US citizens
that have a history of violence or sex crimes. The foreign spouse may apply for
US citizenship three years after the issuance of the Conditional Permanent
Resident Card if married the whole time to the US Citizen, or otherwise five
years after the issuance of the Conditional Permanent Resident Card.
Filipina Fiancee Visa Service K1 Visa Preparation Services.
We are K-1 Fiancee Visa Specialists.
We are experts with the fiancee visa process
and the Fiancee Visa Philippines.
We get your fiancee to the USA without problems or delays.
www.filipinafianceevisa.com covers the entire USA.
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