K-Fiancé (e) Visa or Bride’s Visa
Fiancé (e) visa (K-1) visa of the bride/groom is not an immigrant visa intended for the bride/groom of a U.S. citizen. The K-1 visa allows a foreign bride/groom to legally enter the U.S. and within 90 days from the date of arrival to marry a U.S. citizen (only with the one who filed a petition for you).
In connection with the recently changed legislation, now the same sex couples can apply for the visa of the bride/groom of the United States. The entire visa process for them is the same as for ordinary couples.
If your fiancé is not a U.S. citizen, for example he is a Green Card holder, then he does not have the right to file a petition for you on the K-1 visa.
When filing a petition, a state fee is levied, the amount of which, like all other visa fees in the U.S. can be changed without additional informing. It should be noted that the children of the bride/groom of a U.S. citizen should be mentioned in it, even if they do not immigrate to the U.S. Also in the petition for a visa all the surnames should be specified the bride/groom of a U.S. citizen.
The approval of the petition for an immigrant visa of the U.S. citizen’s bride/groom by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service is only the first stage of the U.S. immigrant visa process. The petition only creates the basis from which the bride/groom of a U.S. citizen can apply to the U.S. Embassy for a K1 visa; he/she still has to prove his right to obtain a U.S. visa.
Usually, an application approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) for processing. In turn, the NVC, along with additional documentation, sends a package of documents to the U.S. Embassy in the country of residence of the bride / groom of a U.S. citizen within four to six weeks.
After receiving the approved application, the U.S. Embassy in the country of residence of the U.S. citizen’s bride / groom sends out an information package and is assigned an interview to the candidate for an American immigrant visa.
In the information package, you will find information about documents the applicant must collect for the immigrant visa of the U.S. citizen’s bride before the appointment of the interview date at the visa center.
As a rule, the U.S. Embassy does not send a written notice indicating date of the visa interview. An applicant for an immigrant visa of U.S. citizen’s bride/groom, who wishes to confirm or postpone the date of his visa interview, must call the U.S. Embassy’s call center.
During the interview, the applicant who expects for an immigrant visa of the bride/groom of a U.S. citizen must provide a completed and signed KEV-1 form and the original documents along with their photocopies. Originals of financial support documents are not required. A petitioner (a U.S. citizen who has filed a petition for the issuance of an immigrant visa of the U.S. citizen’s bride) passes these documents to his fiancé (e) by fax or e-mail.
Note:
The list of documents required to obtain an immigrant visa for the U.S. citizen’s bride is recommended to be clarified at the U.S. Embassy (consulate) in your country or on the official website of the U.S. Embassy.
If within 90 days a person who petitioned the U.S. immigrant visa for a U.S. citizen’s bride (K1 visa) did not marry a petitioner, such person is required to leave the territory of the United States and return to the country of residence.
In case of marriage, the holder of the U.S. immigrant visa for the U.S. citizen’s bride can apply to the local office of the Citizenship and Immigration Service of the United States to get permanent resident status.
