K-1 Petition:

DESCRIPTION:

The fiancé(e) K-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizens fiancé(e) of a U.S citizen. The K-1 visa permits the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) to travel to the U.S and marry his or her U.S citizen sponsor within 90 days of arrival. The foreign-citizen will then apply for adjustment of status to a permanent resident with the USCIS.

REQUIREMENTS FOR K-1:

Under U.S immigration law, a foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a U.S citizen is the recipient of an approved Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), Form I-129F, who has been used a nonimmigrant K-1 visa for travel to the U.S in order to marry his or her U.S citizen fiancé(e). Both the U.S citizen and the K-1 visa applicant must have been legally free to marry at the time the petition was filed and must have remained so thereafter. The marriage must be legally possible according to laws of the U.S state in which the marriage will take place. In general, the foreign citizen fiancé(e) and U.S citizen sponsor must have met in person within the past 2 years. USCIS may grant an exception to this requirement, based on extreme hardship to personally meet the foreign citizen fiancé(e).

PROCESSING:

The U.S citizen sponsor must first file the Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), with the USCIS office that serves the area where he or she lives. After USCIS approves the petition, it is sent to the NVC for processing, and the NVC will send it to the U.S Embassy or Consulate where your fiancé(e) will apply for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa.

K-3 Petition:

DESCRIPTION:

The K-3 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizen spouse of a U.S citizen. This visa category is intended to shorten the physical separation between foreign-citizen and U.S citizen spouses by having the option to obtain a nonimmigrant K-3 visa overseas and enter the U.S to await approval of the immigrant visa petition.  K-3 visa recipients subsequently apply to adjust status to a permanent resident with the USCIS.

REQUIREMENTS FOR K-3:

A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife. The Department of State notes that merely living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration. Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration purposes depending on the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurs. In cases of polygamy, only the first spouse may qualify as a spouse for immigration. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, pursuant to the individual liberties protected by the constitution of the United States, all U.S. states must permit same-sex marriages. Since then, U.S immigration law recognizes same-sex marriages for the purposes of immigrating to the U.S.

PROCESSING:

The U.S citizen sponsor must first file the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with the USCIS office that serves the area where he or she lives. After the USCIS receives the form, the U.S citizen sponsor must file the Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) , for his or her foreign-citizen spouse and stepchildren. After USCIS approves the petitions, they will be sent to the NVC for processing.