Love often knows no bounds, not even geographic ones. Sometimes a U.S. citizen in Florida falls in love with a citizen of another country, and wishes for their fiancé to marry and live with them in the U.S. To do so, the U.S. citizen will need to petition for a K-1 fiancé visa.
What is required to obtain a K-1 fiancé visa?
In order to obtain a K-1 fiancé visa, several requirements must be met.
- First: you must be a U.S. citizen.
- Second: you must intend to marry your fiancé within 90 days of his or her arrival to the country as a K-1 nonimmigrant.
- Third: you and your fiancé must have met one another in person at least one time over the past two years, unless doing so breaks strict and long-established customs of the foreign-citizen fiancé’s culture or would cause the U.S. citizen petitioner to suffer extreme hardship.
- Fourth: the marriage itself must be valid. This means both parties intend in good faith to live together as a married couple, and not solely for the purpose of the foreign-citizen obtaining an immigration benefit.
When will you be denied a K-1 fiancé visa?
If you are already married to someone else, have plans to marry your foreign-citizen fiancé in another country, or if your fiancé is already living legally in the U.S., your foreign-citizen fiancé will not qualify for a K-1 fiancé visa. Also, if the 90 days to marry have passed, and you and your fiancé have not married, it is possible that your fiancé will be deported and it could impact their future prospects for U.S. immigration benefits.
Tampa residents seeking a K-1 fiancé visa may need assistance
Ultimately, if you want to pursue a K-1 fiancé visa you will want to make sure all necessary and appropriate steps are taken. Immigration law can be complex, and itis something many people are not familiar with. For this reason, many people in Tampa who are seeking a K-1 fiancé visa seek legal advice on the process, which this post does not provide.
