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Background
Where Can I Find the Law?
Who is Eligible?
How Do I Apply?
Will I Get a Work Permit?
How Can I Check the Status of My Application?
How Can I Appeal?
Can Anyone Help Me?
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
Background
If your fiancé(e) is not a citizen of the United States and you plan to get married in the United States, then you must file a petition with USCIS on behalf of your fiancé(e). After the petition is approved, your fiancé(e) must obtain a visa issued at a U.S. Embassy or consulate abroad. The marriage must take place within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the United States. If the marriage does not take place within 90 days or your fiancé(e) marries someone other than you (the U.S. citizen filing USCIS Form I-129F - Petition for Alien Fiancé), your fiancé(e) will be required to leave the United States. Until the marriage takes place, your fiancé(e) is considered a nonimmigrant. A nonimmigrant is a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United States for a specific purpose. A fiancé(e) may not obtain an extension of the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.
If your fiancé(e) intends to live and work permanently in the
United States, your fiancé(e) should apply to become a permanent
resident after your marriage. (If your fiancé(e) does not intend
to become a permanent resident after your marriage, your fiancé(e)/new
spouse must leave the country within the 90-day original nonimmigrant
admission.) For more information, please see How
Do I Become a Legal Permanent Resident While in the United States?.
Please note, your fiancé(e) 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 How
Do I Remove the Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage?.
Please note: Your fiancé(e) may enter the United States
only one time with a fiancé(e) visa. If your fiancé(e)
leaves the country before you are married, your fiancé(e) may
not be allowed back into the United States without a new visa. (Please
see How
Can I Get a Travel Document? for additional travel information
if your fiancé(e) will apply to become a legal permanent resident
after you are married.)
For an excellent overview of immigration issues, please see the chapters
and tables on temporary admissions and immigrants in the Immigration
Statistical Yearbook.
Where Can I Find the Law?
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is a law that
governs the admission of people into the United States. For the part
of the law concerning fiancé(e) (K-1) visas, please see INA
§ 214. The specific eligibility requirements and procedures
for applying for the fiancé(e) (K-1) classification are included
in the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] at 8
CFR § 214.2(k).
Who is Eligible
U.S. citizens who will be getting married to a foreign national in the United States may petition for a fiancé(e) classification (K-1) for their fiancé(e). You and your fiancé(e) 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 fiancé(e) in person within the last two years before filing for the fiancé(e) visa. This requirement can be waived only if meeting your fiancé(e) in person would violate long-established customs, or if meeting your fiancé(e) would create extreme hardship for you. You and your fiancé(e) must marry within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the United States.
You may also apply to bring your fiancé(e)'s unmarried children, who are under age 21, to the United States.
How Do I Apply?
To find out how you can apply to bring your fiancé(e)
to the United States, please click here to see Application
Procedures, which will help you identify what you need to
do. Fianc?e) petitions are filed at the USCIS
Service Center serving your area of residence.
Will I Get a Work Permit?
After arriving in the United States, your fiancé(e) 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 fiancé(e) should use
Form
I-765 to apply for a work permit. Please see How
Do I Get a Work Permit? for more information. If your fiancé(e)
applies for adjustment to permanent resident status, your fiancé(e)
must re-apply for a new work permit after the marriage.
How Can I Check the Status of My Application?
Please contact the USCIS office that received your application.
You should be prepared to provide the USCIS staff with specific information
about your application. Please click here for complete instructions
on checking the status
of your visa petition. Click here for information on specific
USCIS
offices.
How Can I Appeal?
If your petition for a fiancé(e) 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,
please see, How
Do I Appeal the Denial of My Petition or Application?.
Can Anyone Help Me?
If advice is needed, you may contact the USCIS District Office near
your home for a list of community-based, non-profit organizations
that may be able to assist you in applying for an immigration benefit.
Please see our USCIS
field offices home page for more information on contacting
USCIS offices. In addition, please see our Webpage that provides information
on obtaining free
legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
Do you want further information? Click here for access to our Frequently
Asked Questions on immigration. Also, please see the State
Department Website for more information on bringing your fiancé(e)
to the United States.
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