Process of Applying For A K-1 Visa
An American begins the process of petitioning a foreign fiancé(e) by filing a form I-129F with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Official instructions are available from the USCIS web site, or the US Department of State web site. No attorney or other intermediary is necessary to petition someone for a K-1 visa, however some choose to hire an attorney to handle the paperwork and facilitate the process.
Once a visa petition has been filed, the USCIS service center sends it to the National Visa Center of the State Department, which in turn forwards it to the Embassy or Consulate nearest the foreign fiancé(e). The Embassy or Consulate will notify the foreign fiancé(e) that a petition has been received, and provide information about how to schedule a medical exam with the panel physician as well as how to schedule an appointment for a visa interview at the Embassy.
At the visa interview a Consular officer reviews the documents that both the American petitioner and the foreign fiancé(e) have submitted. The Consular officer looks for evidence of a relationship, and asks the foreign fiancé(e) questions to determine that a bona fide relationship exists. Typically, Embassies request that fiancé(e)s bring evidence of their relationship to the interview, such as photographs together, correspondence between the two, evidence of remittances to the fiancé(e), phone bills showing calls to each other, etc.
Once the interview is finished the Consular officer can issue the visa, if he is convinced of a bona fide relationship that meets all legal requirements. The officer may also request that further evidence be submitted before making a decision. If the Consular officer does not think the relationship is bona fide or finds some legal impediment to issuing the visa, the petition will be returned to USCIS and recommended for revocation and no visa will be issued.
A K-1 visa is printed on a self adhesive label, similar to a tourist visa, but annotated with the name of the petitioner. The label is placed into the fiancé(e)'s passport. It is valid for one entry into the United States within six months of the date of issuance.
The total time from filing of the initial petition to the actual issuance of a visa can vary, but recently has averaged around eight months. The length of time depends partly on the processing speed of the USCIS center that receives the visa petition, as well as availability of appointments at the Embassy or Consulate nearest to the foreign fiancé(e). Visa petitioners and their fiancé(e) can avoid unnecessary delays by making sure their applications are completely and accurately filled out, and by scheduling necessary appointments with the panel physician and the US Embassy as soon as they are eligible to do so.
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