Essentially this means that the government doesn’t want to let in people who might go on welfare one day. To lower the risk of this, the government requires that the US Fiance(e) sponsor the foreign Fiance(e).

To sponsor the foreign Fiance(e), the US Citizen must therefore meet certain income/asset requirements. If the US Citizen doesn’t meet these requirements, a joint or co sponsor might be able to help out.

Let’s take a look at the numbers. What we are looking for is for the US Citizen to have an income that is 125% above the poverty line (count all dependents and the foreign fiance/e in the household size, but do not count non-dependent members of the sponsor’s household). The following numbers are from Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines, as published by USCIS, and apply to the 48 contiguous states, DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam:

If Sponsor’s Household size is…                   125% of Poverty Line:

2                                                                         $18,212

3                                                                         $22,887

4                                                                         $27,562

5                                                                         $32,237

6                                                                         $36,912

For Alaska and Hawaii:

If Sponsor’s Household size is…                   125% of Poverty Line:

2                                                                     $20,950(H) / $22,762(A)

3                                                                     $26,325(H) / $28,612(A)

4                                                                     $31,700(H) / $34,462(A)

5                                                                     $37,075(H) / $40,312(A)

6                                                                     $42,450(H) / $46,162(A)

*Source: Form I-864P (Poverty Guidelines) Published by USCIS

The ideal is that the US Citizen has a yearly income that is well above the applicable amount listed above. There are no income requirements for the foreign fiance(e).

What if the US Citizen doesn’t meet the income requirements above?

Well, there are more than one option in this case. The first is to look at the US Citizen’s assets and make a calculation that might help supplement his or her income. This will be covered in an upcoming post.

Another option is to seek a joint sponsor. Both of these options will be covered in their own separate posts, as there is important information to cover for each.

Well, that’s where the Fiance(e) Visa comes in. This Visa, also known as a K-1 Visa, is designed to allow the fiance(e) of a US Citizen to enter the US for up to 90 days for the purpose of marrying the US Citizen. Once they get married, the foreigner can apply for an Adjustment of Status to be allowed to stay in the US.

So, how does one go about getting a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa? In other words, what’s the process one must follow if they want to get a K-1 Visa?

Well, the first thing is to see whether you and your fiance(e) meet the requirements to get a K-1 Visa. Click on the “K-1 Visas” heading on the top of the page for a general overview of the requirements. In addition, for a more detailed evaluation, fill out my Eligibility Inquiry page.

Once the US and foreign fiance(e) are ready to begin, the next step toward getting a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa is for the US Citizen to file a K-1 Visa Petition on behalf of the foreign Fiance(e). If you hire an attorney to do this, the process will be a lot easier and, all things being equal, probably much faster as well.

The K-1 Visa petition includes legal documents as well as non-legal documents used to “support” the legal documents. One of the things you will need to provide your attorney with is proof that you met with your Fiance(e) in person. This does not mean you must have met them for the first time in person. Meeting with them in person within the last 2 years will suffice.

Another example of something you’ll need to provide is proof of intent to marry. This might take the form of signed letters from each fiance(e) stating the intent to marry.

Examples of items you’ll want to keep copies of include photos of you and your fiance(e) together, proof of the US Citizen’s citizenship (such as a birth certificate, passport, or naturalization certificate), as well as any proof of the relationship (receipts of money transfers, copies of phone bills, flight itineraries showing the US Citizen visiting the fiance(e)’s country, etc). By gathering all these documents ahead of time (or by at least having them handy), you will speed up the process of preparing the K-1 petition, whether or not you hire a lawyer to help you get a K-1.

Once the K-1 Visa Fiance(e) petition is submitted to USCIS (a department of Homeland Security), you must wait for its approval. This can take anywhere from a few months to several months. Hiring an attorney who can create a well organized K-1 Visa Petition that is easy to read and shows that you meet the requirements can help to ensure that you do not receive any so called “RFEs” that would delay the process.

The “RFE” or “Request for Evidence” is something that USCIS might ask for while they are reviewing a K-1 Visa petition. If they feel that something is missing, they will send an “RFE” letter asking for it.

For example, if USCIS feels that the K-1 Visa petition does not include enough proof of the US Citizen and the foreign fiance(e) meeting with each other in person, they would send a “Request for Evidence” asking for this information.

If an RFE is issued, it’s not the end of the world. But it does make the process slower. Hiring a good attorney who will include everything that is necessary the first time around will help minimize the risk of an RFE.

Once the K-1 Visa petition is approved and after some processing at the National Visa Center, the case will be sent to the US Embassy (usually) closest to where the foreign fiance(e) lives. At this point, the K-1 Application can be filed. This includes documents, which again, will be easier and more conveniently handled by an attorney.

In most cases, the foreign Fiance(e) will need to get a copy of his or her police report from each country resided in since age 16.

The foreign fiance(e) will be scheduled for a medical exam, to check for any communicable diseases.

An interview at the US Embassy will also be scheduled, to verify that the relationship is legitimate. The US Citizen often travels to the fiance(e)’s country for this interview. A good attorney can counsel both Fiance(e)s to prepare them for the types of questions that the interviewer might ask. In addition, this helps the Fiance(e)s to feel more comfortable and less nervous for the actual interview.

If all the steps above go successfully, the K-1 Visa would be issued to the foreign Fiance(e). It would allow him or her to enter the US for up to 90 days to marry the US fiance(e). After the marriage, the non-US spouse can file for an Adjustment of Status, in order to gain permission to live in the US.

So, to recap, here are the steps involved in getting a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa:

1. A K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Petition, also known as an I-129F Petition, is filed with USCIS.

2. Once the Petition is approved, the case is sent to the US Embassy closest to where the foreign fiance(e) resides. An Application for a K-1 Visa must be filed at this point, and there will be a medical exam and an interview.

3. If the process is successful, the K-1 Visa will be issued to the foreign Fiance(e). He or she will be able to enter the US for up to 90 days to marry the US Citizen. After the marriage, he or she can file for an Adjustment of Status to be able to stay in the US and live with the new spouse.

Instructions: The following questions are quoted from the government’s Nonimmigrant Visa Application (this applies to K-1 Fiance(e) Visas, which are technically “non-immigrant” visas). Answer “yes” or “no” from the perspective of the foreign fiance(e) and then read the section I wrote at the bottom.

*Source: US Department of State Nonimmigrant Visa Application

So what were your answers? Ideally they were all “no.” Let’s look at each question and what it means.

1. Criminal record. While not every crime will necessarily bar a foreigner from entering the US, certain crimes will create problems. For example, prostitution or drug dealing, as seen in the question.

2. The second question is basically trying to find out whether you’ve ever committed immigration fraud or stayed in the US without legal permission. It’s not a huge problem if you were once denied a tourist visa for reasons unrelated to visa fraud. But if you’ve ever been denied entry to the US based on suspicion of visa fraud, this might create a problem in the process of trying to get a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa.

3. The third is pretty self-explanatory. The government doesn’t want terrorists and genociders to get a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa, for obvious reasons.

4. Again, the government is trying to find out whether the person trying to get a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa has ever been in the US unlawfully or overstayed a visa.

5. Another self-explanatory one. It is rare that the answer would be “yes” for this one.

6. This question seeks to know whether you might have any dangerous communicable diseases that could affect others.

If you answered “no” to all of these questions, it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa, but the process of getting a K-1 Visa will be a lot less difficult than if you answered “yes.”

In the event that you answered “yes” to any question, it does not necessarily mean the opposite (that you will not be able to get the Visa). Contact me at (323) 206-1529 to see if I can help.

1. Whether or not the couple meets the requirements for a K-1 Visa, and how apparent it is to the USCIS officer who looks at your file and the Consular interviewer who verifies that your relationship is legitimate, plays a big role in how fast or slow a K-1 Visa seeker will be able to get a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa. If you submit barely any evidence of having met with your fiance(e) in person, for example, it makes it harder for the USCIS officer to determine that you meet that requirement.

Similarly, any of the potential bars to eligibility could slow down the process. If the foreign fiance(e) has a prior record of being in the US unlawfully, for example, this would likely make the overall process of getting the K-1 Fiance(e) Visa slower, even if ultimately successful.

2. The speed with which you can prepare the K-1 Visa Petition and the Fiance(e) Visa application. For most people who do it themselves, the process of getting a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa takes longer than it would with a lawyer, since the person must research all the relevant immigration laws, figure out what the application procedures are, gather all the supporting documents, figure out which immigration forms to use and how to fill them out, and so on. In this sense it is highly recommendable to hire a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa attorney. Most such lawyers have a more efficient work-flow for the process of getting a K-1 Visa.

I use an electronic case management system where clients can quickly and easily send documents to me, and can log in to check what documents they still need to send me. This makes things much easier for the client and for me.

3. Government bureacracy. No matter how quickly and efficiently your lawyer can create and send your K-1 Fiance(e) Visa petition, once it reaches USCIS your case becomes, in many ways, a waiting game. This is something everyone trying to get a K-1 Visa has to go through. While you shouldn’t expect miracles, there are many people whose petitions are approved in less than the average time. Making sure you have a good lawyer who can create a well-organized, convincing K-1 Fiance(e) Visa petition is an excellent way to maximize not only the chances of success, but also the chances of a quicker journey toward getting the K-1 Fiance(e) Visa.

In short, plan ahead and hire a good lawyer.

I don’t mean that you should literally cut things out and paste them onto a page. But I do think you should keep all potentially helpful documents in a safe place and make copies of them. Let me give you some examples.

When filing a K-1 Visa petition, one of the required items to include is evidence of having met with your fiance(e) in person at least once within the previous two years. How do you show this? Well, I can think of numerous examples of things that a scrapbook-oriented person might already keep in a safe place, just for memories’ sake: photos of you and your fiance(e) together (digital photos are great too, just make sure to make backups!), rental agreements of the apartment you and your fiance(e) shared while you were living abroad, hotel reciepts from trips that you and your fiance(e) took together, the engagement ring receipt from the ring the US Citizen bought for his or her foreign fiance(e).

Later on in the process, there are even more items that come into play: phone records showing calls between you and your fiance(e), including from online services such as Skype; receipts from money transfers the US Citizen makes to his or her foreign fiance(e), copies of passport pages showing visits to the foreign fiance(e)’s country, travel itineraries or boarding passes showing that the US Citizen visited his or her fiance(e), and even printouts of online chats.

The main idea here is: don’t throw things away and don’t lose things. Keep those boarding passes, travel itineraries, photos, receipts, and any and all documents you can think of that help prove you have a legitimate engagement to your fiance(e). When you contact a lawyer to begin the process of getting a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa, whether it be me or another lawyer, I guarantee that the more proof of a valid relationship you have kept, the happier your lawyer will be

Don’t worry–while the list above is not exhaustive, you don’t necessarily need all of these things. But the more supporting evidence you have, the stronger your case.

Well, The Law Office of Erik Morales prefers not to make our clients have to put up with legal jargon (simple, clear, and direct is our philosophy). But if you really want to know, here’s a description in plain English:

Main Concept: The K-1 Fiance(e) Visa process has essentially two major phases: the K-1 Visa “Petition,” and the K-1 Visa “Application.”

1. The “Petition” for the K-1 Visa is what the US Citizen files on behalf of his or her foreign fiance(e). In this sense, the US Citizen is “petitioning” the US Government to allow the foreign fiance(e) to apply for the K-1 Visa. The Petition begins the process.

2. The K-1 Visa “Application” process consists of all the forms, documents, and evidence that the foreign fiance(e) submits to the US Consulate. It also includes the interview at the US Consulate.

That’s the difference: the “Petition” is what the US Citizen submits to the government (specifically, USCIS, which is a branch of Homeland Security), while the “Application” is what the foreign fiance(e) submits to the US Consulate abroad.

As an attorney, I strive to make the process of getting a K-1 Visa as easy and understandeable as possible for my clients. A lawyer’s job is to take the stress and worry out of the client’s case. With me, clients don’t need to worry about the legal jargon, because I handle that for them, making the process simple, clear, and much easier than doing it on your own.

Let’s go into more detail about the requirements of the K-1 Fiance(e) Visa. Ideally, you’d want to answer “yes” to each question, because a “yes” means you probably meet the requirements for getting a K-1 Visa for your foreign fiance(e). Answering “no” doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of options.

1. Is either you or your fiance(e) a US Citizen?

2. Do both the US Citizen fiance(e) and the foreign fiance(e) have clean law-abiding backgrounds, free of any crimes, drug problems, etc? For example, is it the case that the foreign fiance(e) has never been in the US unlawfully? See my other article that specifically deals with bars to admissibility for more details. (If you think there may be a bar to the foreign fiance(e)’s admissibility, call or email me to discuss whether you may still be eligible).

3. Are both the US Citizen fiance(e) and the foreign fiance(e) free to get married? Usually, this means, are all prior marriages (if any) over? Also, it also means you aren’t already married to each other and won’t be until after your foreign fiance(e) enters the US on a K-1 Visa.

4. Do the US Citizen and the foreign fiance(e) intend to get married? This one might appear obvious, but keep in mind that this question is very important to the Consular interviewer who will interview you regarding your relationship. If your answer is “of course we intend to get married,” then great. If your answer is, “well, we think we do, but we’re not sure,” that’s a different story.

5. Did the US Citizen and the foreign fiance(e) meet in person at least once within the previous 2 years? As a practical matter, do you have proof of this meeting, especially photos, copies of travel itineraries, etc?

6. Is the US Citizen’s income at least 125% above the poverty line? For more details on this, see my other article that specifically discusses the poverty line issue.

7. Note that the fiance(e) of the US citizen will need to have a medical exam.

If you answered “yes” to all the above questions, you may qualify for the K-1 visa. There are a few other factors to look at, for example, whether the US citizen has ever petitioned for K-1 fiance(e) or other visas in the past.

If you answered “no” to any of the questions regarding the K-1 Visa requirements, it doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t qualify. Use the “Contact” form on the right to get in touch with me regarding possible exceptions if you answered “no” to any of the questions above.