K1 FIANCEE VISA
To the
U.S.
By Larry Holmes & Allan S.
Lolly
(Holmes & Lolly, Immigration Attorneys http://www.fianceevisas.com/)
Overview of marriage visas
Looking for a foreign bride, earlier or
later you will face the question of bringing her into your country.
This article will tell you about visa regulations of United States
of America. Most other countries have similar regulations; we would
suggest consulting an immigration attorney in your
country.
To bring your fiancee to your country you
will need some type of visa for her. In the United States, the only
entry visa available for the purpose of marriage is a fiancee
visa (K1 visa). There is NO OTHER AMERICAN VISA available
for marrying in the U.S.
Other types of visas for a Russian
fiancee such as tourist, student or business visas are not suitable
if your intention is marriage. If you marry your girlfriend visiting
you on one of those visas, her legal status in the USA will be
questionable, and she may be refused permanent resident status on
the basis of visa fraud if the USCIS (former INS) believes her aim of visiting
United States was simply for marrying a US Citizen. Having worked in
immigration for more than decade we know such cases, as well as
cases when women have arrived on student and tourist visas and were
turned back by USCIS (former INS) representatives right at the airport. Once a
violation of visa regulation is recorded, it will be difficult if
not impossible for the person to ever receive a K-1 visa or any
other type of visa to the USA.
What are the
requirements for a fiancee
visa?
1. You must be a U.S. citizen.
2. You
have met your fiancee in person within the previous two
years.*
3. Both you and your fiancee are legally free to
marry.
4. You meet certain minimum income requirements.*
5.
Your fiancee does not have a criminal record.
6. Your fiancee has
not violated certain U.S. immigration laws.
* There are exceptions available to these
requirements.
Can my fiancee or
potential fiancee enter the U.S. on a B-1/2
visitor visa to satisfy the personal meeting requirement described
above?
If she is from a "third world" country or
a country of the former Soviet Union, she will not be able to
legally obtain a visitors visa to the U.S. If she is from a country
such as England, Canada, Australia, etc., she will be able to enter
the U.S. on either a visitor's visa or on visa waiver. However,
she must still return to her country to obtain a fiancee visa
if your intention is to marry her.
How
long does it take to obtain a fiancee visa?
The times vary and are constantly
changing depending on the area of the U.S. in which you reside and
the country in which your fiancee resides, but generally it should
not exceed 3-4 months if the application is handled correctly. The
"secrets" to the timing are to ensure that the fiancee visa petition
is perfect when it is submitted to the USCIS (former INS) and that you or your
attorney monitor the case as it processes through the bureaucratic
system. If you have an attorney, he or she must have the knowledge
and experience necessary to solve any problems that may pop up with
either the USCIS (former INS) or the Embassy. Unfortunately, problems do
occur even when the petition is perfect. Keep in mind that
the officers at both the USCIS (former INS) and the Embassies are tremendously
overworked and sometimes under trained. Like any job, some officers
enjoy their work more than do others. If you are able to get through
on the general public phone lines, the USCIS (former INS) or US Consulate staff you
talk to has only a computer screen in front of them to look at - not
your case file - and can only make educated guesses as to what the
status is. However, many staff members are unfamiliar with the
fiancee visa or spousal visa processes because the K visa represents
only a small fraction of immigration filings. A problem at the USCIS
(former INS)
can delay your petition 3 months or longer and a problem at the
Embassy can delay the application 6-12 months. If such a delay
occurs you want to have someone representing you who knows what to
do and how to do it in order to keep the delay to a
minimum.
Can a fiancee
visa be refused?
Yes, though if you and your fiancee are
genuine and meet the requirements (see above), this should not
happen. Of the thousands of fiancee visa petitions filed with the USCIS
(former INS)
every year, only approximately 60% result in a fiancee visa ever
being issued by the Embassies. Why the figure is so low? Of the 40%
that do not make it, most are not denied but are
terminated, by either the fiancee or U.S. fiance, because
there were problems with either the USCIS (former INS) or the Embassy that created
long delays in the processing. So the timing is very essential in
the fiancee visa process.
What is the
best way to approach the fiancee visa
process?
There are several ways you can approach
the fiancee visa process:
1. You can attempt to handle the
paperwork yourself.
You and your fiancee fill out all
documents yourselves, send them to USCIS (former INS), and wait for the results. If
you take this approach you may find our Fiancee
Visa Kit to be very useful.
2. You can use a so called "fiancee
visa service" to assist you.
In this way you hire somebody to fill out
the documents for you and your fiancee, send them to USCIS (former INS), and wait
for the results. This is probably the least desirable method as the
"services", although they may lead you to believe they are
attorneys, are in fact not US Immigration attorneys. When a problem
or delay occurs in the normal course of processing, they cannot
represent you or your fiancee before the Immigration and
Naturalization Service or with the appropriate U.S. Embassy.
When they cannot provide immigration help, or are unwilling to do
so, you have no one to complain to because they are unlicensed and
unregulated. Especially, do not hire an agency overseas. Fiancee
visas are processed according to U.S. law, not the laws of the
country where your fiancee resides. "Foreign agents" outside the
U.S. are nearly always a scam. Always require a license when hiring
an immigration service.
3. You can hire a U.S. immigration law
firm that specializes in fiancee visas.
Although this is the more expensive of
the three approaches, if you want your fiancee with you in the U.S.
with speed and certainty and with the least amount of hassles,
delays, investigations or denials, this is certainly the way to go.
In your search for a U.S. immigration law firm to handle your
matter, it is important to find someone who has the knowledge and
skill to work your case through the system in a timely manner to the
successful issuance of the visa, and has the necessary experience
and established connections.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Larry Holmes
and Allan Lolly are professional immigration attorneys. Their law
firm, Holmes & Lolly, Immigration Attorneys (http://www.fianceevisas.com/),
was established in 1991 and until 2001 it handled only the K1
fiancee visa. In 2001 Congress created the spousal visa ( K3 visa )
for overseas marriages, and since then Holmes & Lolly handle a
sizeable caseload of K3 visas as well. With over 3500 successful
applications for K visas to date, currently the firm handles
more fiancee visa and spousal visa petitions than any other law
firm. Their success rate is 100% (since 1991). They service clients in all 50 states and fiancees and spouses
from all countries of the world. If you call them, they will give
you an honest assessment of your case based on experience and are
quick and efficient about their work.
If you have any additional questions
regarding the K1 fiancee visa or the spousal K-3 visa you can
contact Larry Holmes or Allan Lolly at attorneys@fianceevisas.com
or by phone at 858-483-0300.
Mention RUSSIAN DATING AGENCIES and Holmes &
Lolly will spend as much time as you need for you to get a better
understanding of the process of immigrating your fiancee on a
fiancee K1 visa. If you are married, or intend to marry overseas,
they will be glad to discuss with you the spousal K3 visa for a
foreign wife. They do NOT charge for phone consultations.
If your successful romance leads you to
decide to hire a US immigration lawyer, we highly recommend Holmes
& Lolly. They know the foreign marriage process from A to Z, and
will provide you not only with quick and efficient service but also
with invaluable advice and support. Please visit http://www.fianceevisas.com/
and do not forget to bookmark their site. These guys really know
what they are doing!
Do you have an
experience in fiancee visa process you would like to share? Tips and
advice? We want to hear from you!
Click here to Contact us
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