Thinking about Marriage?
By Alex Halow, United States Immigration Attorney
Member of American Immigration Lawyers Association
Exclusively for Members of MyLatinLady.com!
Thinking about Marriage?
If your relationship has progressed to the point where you are considering marriage, then the time has come for you to learn more about immigration to the United States.
What are the options?
In any family-based immigration case, there are three basic options: (1) the K1 "fiancé" visa; (2) Direct Consular Filing ("DCF"); and (3) the K3 "spousal" visa. This page gives a brief overview of each of these, and their pros and cons.
The K1 Fiancé Visa is one of the most popular methods of immigration because it allows for the marriage to occur in the U.S. This is beneficial because it also allows the couple to spend some time together before they get married. This type of visa allows a foreign fiancé to enter the U.S. for a period of ninety (90) days in order to marry a U.S. citizen. Provided the marriage takes place, they can then apply for legal permanent residence after they are married in the U.S. using a process known as "adjustment of status". So, this has been a popular approach when both the foreign fiancé and U.S. citizen want to spend a little time together before actually marrying in the U.S.
Direct Consular Filing is a method of immigrating where the U.S. citizen marries outside of the U.S., and files an immigration petition directly with the U.S. embassy in their fiancé's home country. Direct Consular Filing has several advantages over both the K1 and K3 visa. The most important is that it leads to a "true" immigrant visa, meaning that once the immigrant enters the U.S. using that visa, they will become a legal permanent resident. The major drawback is that it is not offered at many U.S. embassies. When it is offered, its use is often restricted to U.S. citizens and their spouses who are both living in the country where the embassy is located.
The K3 Spousal Visa is a relatively new type of visa created because the USCIS was experiencing extremely long processing delays for some spouse visas. The K3 allows a spouse to come live and work in the U.S. with their spouse while their main immigrant petition is pending. It is perfect for situations where the couple is already married and Direct Consular Filing is not available.
What are the eligibility requirements?
For the K1 visa, the basic eligibility requirements are that the sponsor must be a U.S. citizen and the beneficiary must be their fiancé, they must both be free to marry, they must have met in person within the past two (2) years (there are some potential waivers based on extreme hardship or long-standing social custom that prevents an in-person meeting, but these are difficult to get), and they must intend to marry within ninety (90) days of the fiancé's entrance into the U.S.
For Direct Consular Filing and the K3, the U.S. citizen and their spouse have to be married, and the marriage must be legally valid. Beyond that, they need to be able to prove (usually through a combination of personal statements and "objective" third-party evidence) that their marriage is bona fide. For the K3, another technical requirement is that there must be an immigration petition pending for the foreign spouse with the USCIS.
Why can't I just have my fiancé come as a tourist, student, or other type of visitor?
here is a lot of confusion about why it is important to use a K1 visa for a fiancé to come to the U.S. A story I have heard pretty regularly is that people will first have their fiancé try to get a tourist or student visa, on the theory that it is "faster". However, particularly post-9/11, these stories almost always end the same way: the tourist or student visa that is supposed to be faster gets denied, and the fiancé ends up having wasted their time and money.
The reason for this is simple: the U.S. government equates a desire to marry a U.S. citizen to a desire to immigrate here. Tourist, student, and similar types of visas are premised on the immigrant's promise that they only plan to come for a limited time, not immigrate here. When the embassy realizes that your fiancé has a U.S. citizen as fiancé they will be rejected for a tourist or student visa almost automatically. There is almost no way to avoid this outcome in the current climate without being dishonest. And, being dishonest with the government is a very, very bad idea that can have serious consequence for your fiancé. The only safe thing to do if you want to marry here is to use a K1 visa to bring your fiancé to the U.S.
What if my fiancé or spouse has minor children from a prior relationship or marriage?
Minor children (meaning that they are under 21 years of age) may be eligible for immigration benefits depending on they type of case you are pursuing, and can be a major consideration when you are selecting the type of visa you plan to use. Both the K1 and K3 visa allow minor children to be listed on the visa application and receive similar benefits at the same time the K1 or K3 visa is approved (in a K1 case, the minor children can receive a "K2" visa and in a K3 case they can receive a "K4" visa). It may be necessary to get either a court order or permission from their other parent in order for them to be able to travel to the U.S. Whether they can then immigrate to the U.S. based on their relationship with the U.S. citizen sponsor also depends on how they enter and a variety of other complicated factors, but in most cases they can.
Which one is the right one for me?
All three of the available options are good and will "get the job done" when it comes to bringing your loved one to the U.S. Which type of visa is the best one for you depends on your particular situation. Rather than try to give a general answer that could be the wrong one for your case, I would encourage you to contact me to discuss your case generally. I do not charge for an initial phone call, and only ask that you be serious about pursuing this process.
What services do you offer, and how much do they cost?
I can help you with your case no matter which option (K1, DCF, or K3) is the right one for you. I offer full service and can help you and your fiancé at every stage of the immigration process, whether dealing with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services or the Department of State. I am licensed by the State of Pennsylvania, but because immigration law is federal law, I can help you regardless of what state you live in or what country your fiancé is from.
The cost for services varies depending on the type of case, of course. Information about my fees is posted on my website at http://www.k1fianceevisas.com Otherwise, please feel free to call me direct at (770) 535 - 1011, where I will further discuss the fees and services in greater detail based on your case.
Special discounts are available to the valued members of MyLatinLady.com
How do I contact Alex Halow, Immigration Attorney? (770) 535 - 1011
Website : http://www.k1fianceevisas .com/
Email me: Alex@k1fianceevisas.com
