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If a U.S. citizen plans to marry a Philippine citizen,
the most important advice we can offer is to begin the preparations
early to bring the new spouse to the United States. Depending on the
circumstances, and on what type of visa is best, processing time can
take as long as several months. What follows is the assumption that the
U.S. citizen is marrying a Filipino, though much of this advice also
applies to the marriage to anyone who is not yet a U.S. Citizen or Legal
Permanent Resident.
Visa and citizenship laws must be considered when
planning a new life. There are different visas for different purposes of
travel. The first step is to decide whether one will marry in the
Philippines before traveling to America or if one will marry in the
United States. The fact that the U.S. citizen has married a foreign
national (or the inclusion of his/her spouse on his/her orders if s/he
is with the U.S. military) does not automatically allow his/her spouse
to travel to the United States or live there without the appropriate
visa.
The K-1 visa allows a fiancé(e) to
travel to the United States, marry a U.S. citizen, and then adjust
status there to become a legal permanent resident (LPR) in the United
States. After the
K1 visa is issued by the U.S. Embassy in Manila and
the soon-to-be spouse enters the United States, the wedding must take
place within three months of the visa holder's arrival in the United
States.
The first step in applying for a K-1 visa is for the
American citizen to file an I-129F petition with one of the four U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Service Centers in the
United States, located in
California,
Texas,
Nebraska and
Vermont. The K-1 visa is similar to processing an immigrant visa
petition in that civil and financial documents are required.
The unmarried children under age 21 of the
K-1 visa
holder may be given K-2 visa, if they seek to accompany
or follow to join the primary visa holder.
Although the K-1 and K-2 visas are described as
nonimmigrant visas, these visas are processed at the Immigrant
Visa Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. |
