The K-1 Fiancee Visa
With the K1 fiancee visa you, as an American citizen, can marry your Filipino fiancee in the United States.
In order to qualify for a Fiancee Visa, you must meet the following main requirements:
* You are a U.S. citizen
* You have met your fiancee within the previous two years
* You and your fiancee are both legally free to marry
* You and your fiancee both have a serious intention to marry within 90 days of your fiancee’s arrival in America.
To begin the Philippines Fiancee Visa process, the petitioner must first submit an application to the USCIS. The petition must be filed in the United States and cannot be filed in the Philippines. The petitioner and fiancee will need to file numerous forms and documents with the USCIS in order to prove that the petitioner and fiancee qualify for the K1 Fiancee Visa. The waiting time for the USCIS to approve a K1 visa can be typically about 4-6 months, depending on the backlog of cases pending approval in the USCIS Regional Center. The case will be further delayed by any error in the petition, which typically doubles the normal waiting time for visa approval.
What Documents Do You Need to Show That You Are a U.S. Citizen?
A. If you were born in the United States, give USCIS a copy, front and back, of your birth certificate.
B. If you were naturalized, give USCIS a copy, front and back, of your original Certificate of Naturalization.
C. If you were born outside the United States and you area U.S. citizen through your parents, give USCIS:
1. Your original Certificate of Citizenship, or
2. Your Form FS-240 (Report of Birth Abroad of a United States Citizen).
D. In place of any of the above, you may give USCIS a copy of your valid, unexpired U.S. passport issued with a validity period of at least five years. You must submit copies of all pages in the passport.
What Documents Do You Need to Prove That You Can Legally Marry?
A. Provide copies of evidence that you and your fiancée have personally met within the last two years; or if you have never met within the last two years, provide a detailed explanation and evidence of the extreme hardship or customary, cultural or social practices that have prohibited your meeting; and
B. Provide original statements from you and your fiancée whom you plan to marry within 90 days of his or her admission, and copies of any evidence you wish to submit to establish your mutual intent; and
C. If either of you is of an age that requires special consent or permission for you to marry in the jurisdiction where your marriage will occur, give proof of that consent or permission; and
D. If either you or your fiancée were married before, give copies of documents showing that each prior marriage was legally terminated.
Required Documents for K1 Visa Applications
1. PASSPORT: Each visa applicant must have a passport valid for at least six (6) months from the time of the visa issuance. Filipino citizens can apply for a passport at the Passport Division, Department of Foreign Affairs, Roxas Boulevard, Manila, Philippines. The DFA phone number is 02-737-1000.
2. EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Evidence of Financial Support which shall include an Affidavit of Support.
3. BIRTH CERTIFICATE: Each fiancee visa applicant must have a birth certificate issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on security paper. Copies are needed for principal applicants, derivative family members and petitioners who were born in the Philippines. You may call the NSO Information Center at 02-737-1111 or visit their e-census webpage to inquire about how to secure a birth certificate. If the NSO does not have a copy of the birth certificates, you must obtain a statement about its unavailability from the NSO and a certified birth certificate from the local registrar in the town where you were born.
4. NBI CLEARANCE: Applicants aged 16 years and older must have a valid Record Clearance for Travel Abroad Purposes from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Clearances should be in the applicant’s current name, birth certificate name, maiden name and any aliases or nicknames ever used, including different spellings of all names ever used. An official letter of explanation from the NBI is required for any notation of no criminal record, no pending criminal case and no derogatory record. NBI is located along Taft Avenue in Manila. For immigration purposes, an NBI clearance is considered valid only for one year from the date it is issued.
5. POLICE CERTIFICATES: A police certificate is required from a country in which the applicant lived for more than one year (six months if you are applying for a K-1 visa) after turning 16 years old. As with NBI clearances, foreign police certificates should be obtained in any maiden names, aliases or nicknames ever used while in the country in question, including different spellings of all names ever used. Information on how to secure police certificates from countries where these are available may be obtained by contacting U.S. Embassy Manila’s Immigrant Visa Branch, or an Embassy/Consulate of the country from which the Police certificate is required. The State Department's Visa Office offers online information on availability of country documents including police certificates through its Country Document Finder.
6. MARRIAGE RECORDS: (If applicable) For Philippine marriages, the copy of the marriage certificate must be printed on National Statistics Office (NSO) security paper. If the marriage ended by divorce, annulment, disappearance or death of the spouse, legal and/or civil documentation must be presented attesting to the termination of the marriage (annulment decree, death certificate issued by NSO and printed on security paper, a foreign divorce decree, or foreign death certificate).
7. MILITARY RECORD: Applicants that have served in the military should present a certified copy of their military records.
8. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY AND/OR RELATIONSHIP: Applicants for a K1 visa should be prepared to submit documents that further establish their identity and/or their relationship with the petitioner or the principal applicant. Six or more photographs with family members together, taken over a period of time may help to establish the existence of a relationship. Personal correspondence, home telephone records, bank records, proof of joint property ownership and/or joint financial obligations, original baptismal records, medical record and adoption decrees are often useful.
Fiancee Visa Preparation Services for U.S. clients
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