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Am I Eligible for a Fiancee Visa?
If you are a U.S. citizen who wants to bring
your foreign national fiancee (male or female) to marry in
the U.S., you may petition (apply) for a fiancee visa (K-1)
for your fiancee. Both of you must be free to marry. This
means that both of you are unmarried, or that any previous
marriages have ended through divorce, annulment or death.
You must also have met with your fiancee in person within
the last two years before filing for the fiancee visa. This
requirement can be waived only if meeting your fiancee in
person would violate long-established customs or would create
extreme hardship for you. You and your fiancee must marry
within 90 days of your fiancee entering the United States.
You may also apply (on the same petition) to bring your fiancee's
unmarried children, who are under age 21, to the United States.
Legal
permanent residents may not file petitions for fiancee visas,
although they may petition for the immigration of their new spouse
after the wedding (see Bringing My Spouse to Live
in the U.S.).
The Fiancee Visa Process
After your petition is approved, your fiancee must
obtain a visa issued at a U.S.
Embassy or consulate abroad.
Your fiancee must remain unmarried until the arrival of the fiancee
in the U.S. The marriage must take place within 90 days of your
fiancee entering the United States. If the marriage does not take
place within 90 days or your fiancee marries someone other than
you (the U.S. citizen filing the petition), your fiancee will
be required to leave the United States. Until the marriage takes
place, your fiancee is considered a nonimmigrant. A nonimmigrant
is a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United States
for a specific purpose. A fiancee may not obtain an extension
of the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.
If your fiancee intends to live and work permanently in the United
States, your fiancee should apply to become a permanent resident
after your marriage. (If your fiancee does not intend to become
a permanent resident after your marriage, your fiancee/new spouse
must leave the country within the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.)
For information on applying for permanent resident status while
your new spouse is in the U.S., please see Becoming a Permanent
Resident (Immigrant) While in the U.S. Your new spouse
will initially receive conditional permanent residence status
for two years. Conditional permanent residency is granted when the
marriage creating the relationship is less than two years old at
the time of adjustment to permanent residence status. For more information,
please see Removing
Conditional Resident Status (from Marriage).
Please note that your fiancee may enter the United States
only one time with a fiancee visa. If your fiancee leaves the
country before you are married, your fiancee may not be allowed
back into the United States without a new visa.
If
your new spouse will apply to become a legal permanent resident
while in the U.S. but also plans to travel outside the U.S. while
the application is pending, see Have
a Pending Immigration Application?.Beware of Foreign Travel.
How Do I Apply for a Fiancee
Visa?
Please see Application
Procedures: Bringing My Fiancee to Marry in the U.S.
Work Permits
After arriving in the United States, your fiancee will be eligible
to apply for a work permit. (You should note that USCIS
might not be able to process the work permit within the 90-day time
limit for your marriage to take place.) Your fiancee should use
Form
I-765 to apply for a work permit. Please see Obtaining
a Work Permit for more information. If your fiancee
applies for adjustment to permanent resident status after the wedding,
your fiancee must re-apply for a new work permit.
Checking the Status of my Fiancee
Visa Application
Contact the USCIS
office that received your application,
and be prepared to provide specific information (see Checking
the Status of My Case).
How Can I Appeal a Denial of
my Fiancee Visa?
If your petition for a fiancee visa is denied, the denial letter
will tell you how to appeal. Generally, you may appeal within 33
days of receiving the denial by mail. Your appeal must be filed
on USCIS Form
I-290B. The appeal must be filed with the office that made the
original decision. After your appeal form and a required fee are
processed, the appeal will be referred to the Administrative Appeals
Unit (AAU) in Washington, DC. (Sending the appeal and fee directly
to the AAU will delay the process.) For more information, see Appealing the Denial
of My Petition or Application.
HELP with Fiancee Visas...
- For assistance
outside of the U.S., contact the nearest
U.S. Consulate.
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In
the U.S., you may also call the national USCIS toll-free information
service at 1-800-375-5283.
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You
may also contact the State Department's Visa Office at 202-663-1225,
or email a general inquiry to usvisa@state.gov.
Be sure to indicate the general subject of your inquiry on
the subject line (e.g., fiancee visa), and do not expect
an immediate reply. You may also write to:
U.S. Department of State
Visa
Services
Washington,
DC 20520-0113
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You
may also want to seek the advice of an immigration attorney,
or an immigrant assistance organization accredited
by the Board of Immigration Appeals.
For details
on adjusting to permanent resident status if your fiancee
is already in the United States, see:
Becoming a Permanent
Resident (Immigrant) While in the U.S.
If your
fiancee (new spouse) is in the U.S. and wants to work while
their application to adjust to permanent resident status is
pending, see:
Obtaining a Work
Permit
If your
fiancee (new spouse) is in the U.S. and needs to travel outside
the U.S. while their application to adjust to permanent resident
status is pending, see:
Have a Pending
Immigration Application?...Beware of Foreign Travel
For details
about removing conditional resident status, see:
Removing
Conditional Resident Status (from Marriage)
For online
forms and fee information, including fee waivers, see:
Forms, Fees & Filing
Locations
If you are
outside of the United States and need information regarding
immigrating to the United States, contact your nearest U.S.
Consulate:
U.S. Consulate
& Embassy Website Locator
The
information provided in this website is not legal advice and should
not be interpreted as legal advice. This website is intended to
provide a basic understanding of this information in summary form.
This information may not be comprehensive, is subject to change,
and may not apply to all individual circumstances. Any information
received here should be confirmed with the appropriate government
agencies or with an attorney, particularly as it relates to your
individual circumstances. Your use of this website indicates your
agreement to be bound by our Terms
of Use.
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