How to Bring Your Foreign Fiancé to the U.S.

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• Step 1: Meeting the Eligibility Requirements for a Fiancé Visa
• Step 2: Adjusting Status to Permanent Residency
• Find an Experienced Immigration Lawyer

The fiancé, or K-1 nonimmigrant visa, is for a foreign-citizen fiancé of a United States citizen. If the goal of the U.S. citizen and their fiancé is to live together in the U.S. permanently, obtaining the K-1 visa is only the first step in a two-step process:

1. Get the K-1 visa;
2. Adjust status to permanent residency.

“Fiancé visas are meant to bring someone who is overseas into the U.S. with the express purpose of getting married within 90 days,” says Jason Karavias, an immigration attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “And then there is a subsequent, separate, green card case inside the U.S.”

Step 1: Meeting the Eligibility Requirements for a Fiancé Visa

The U.S. citizen must file a visa petition (Form I-129F) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to bring the foreign fiancé to the U.S. Both persons—the U.S. citizen and the foreign fiancé—must be free to marry. That means they must be single or divorced, and the marriage must be legally possible according to the laws of the U.S. state in which the marriage will take place.

Further, the U.S. citizen and the fiancé must have met each other in person during the two years prior to filing the petition. “What that means is that you normally can’t apply for someone you just met online. You have to physically meet them,” says Karavias. “And file proof of it like photographs or plane tickets, stamps, things like that.”

The K-1 Visa Application Process

If the visa petition is approved, it’s transferred to the U.S. embassy in the applicant’s home country. Next, a visa interview is held with a consular officer there “who reviews their case and asks questions about their relationship,” says Karavias. “They expect to see proof of the relationship. What’s common is social media, emails, texts, WhatsApp, Facetime, chats—all that stuff.”

Proving Your Long-Term Relationship to the Consular Officer

To convince the consular officer, Karavias notes that the best evidence is proving you’ve had a long-term relationship. He cites several examples, including:

• Many months of chats;
• Proof of several visits together;
• Many photos together, or photos with each other’s families;
• Joint financial accounts;
• Proof of financial support;
• Joint real property;
• Children together.

Substantial proof of a relationship is not always common, though. “I see all different types of fiancé visas,” he says. “I see people who have been dating for seven years, and I see people who have met one time at a resort, and they spend a couple of days together and want to marry. As long as you can prove it’s a real relationship, you’re in contact, and you’re eligible, it can work.”

Step 2: Adjusting Status to Permanent Residency

Once married, to be able to stay in the U.S. and work, the fiancé must obtain permanent residence—also known as a green card. To become a green card holder, the fiancé must apply for an adjustment of status from a K-1 visa holder to that of a lawful permanent residence. USCIS advises that the visa holder apply to adjust status as soon as possible after the marriage.

The process is not guaranteed, however. “There are two things you’ll have to prove to simplify [the process],” says Karavias:

1. “You’ll have to prove that you have a bona fide marriage, which means that you’re marrying for real love and companionship, not simply to help someone obtain an immigration benefit.”
2. The other issue to prove is that the fiancé is eligible—which you can do by demonstrating there are no grounds for inadmissibility. This includes criminal history, immigration fraud, and being a communicable disease carrier, among other reasons.

Find an Experienced Immigration Lawyer

To put yourself in the best position to gain permanent residence and prepare for the K-1 visa process, visit the Super Lawyers directory to find an experienced immigration attorney early on. For more information on this area of law, see our immigration overview.