K1 Fiance Visa

August 25, 2015

What are the Eligibility Requirements for a K1 Fiance Visa

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

To file for a K1 Fiance Visa, you must prove that:

You (the petitioner) are a U.S. citizen.
You intend to marry your foreign fiancé within 90 days of your fiancé(e) coming into the the United States.

Continue reading →

August 12, 2015

Prior Drug Use and the K1 Fiance Visa

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

Prior drug use by a fiancé applying for a Fiancé Visa can result in a denial. If your fiancé has a history of prior drug use, I strongly recommend that you consult with an experienced Attorney before filing your K1 Fiance Visa application. You need to be aware of the possible negative impact that current or prior drug use can have on your application and you will need to get good legal advice.

The Immigration and Nationality Act states that anyone who is a drug addict or a drug abuser is ineligible for a K1 Fiance Visa. Because drug abuse is essentially defined as the non-medical use of an illegal substance, this could very well include prior casual drug use.

The issue of illegal drug use comes up during the Embassy required medical exam and possibly during the visa interview. At the medical exam, the examining physician will determine if the beneficiary fiancé is a drug addict or a drug abuser. The fiancé will be asked during the exam if he or she is currently taking illegal drugs or has taken any illegal drugs in the past. If the fiancé has taken drugs in the past and answers truthfully, this admission can result in being denied your K1 Fiance Visa. Conceal your prior drugs use and get caught lying, and you will likely be denied your visa for dishonesty. Although this dilemma seems to have no simple answer, I would argue that it actually does.

Continue reading →

August 10, 2015

K1 Fiance Visa, Do It Yourself (DIY)

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

If you plan to prepare and submit your own K1 Fiance Visa application without the help of an experienced professional, you will need to start by identifying which forms to use. You can find a copy of the forms that you will need along with their instructions at www.uscis.gov. Once on the web site, click the tab for forms and look for:

I-129f Petition for Alien Fiance(e)
G-325A Biographic Information (one for each person)

I suggest that you download the forms and their instructions and read the instructions carefully. Take your time and if you are unsure of a question, stop and read your instructions again. Its important to get it right!

Continue reading →

July 30, 2015

Defending the K1 Fiance Visa

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

I’ve been assisting couples for many years who live in different countries and wish to get married. In most cases, the couple have met online, or through a friend or relative and wish to apply for a K1 Fiance Visa so they can get married and live together in The United States as husband and wife. Nearly all of these relationships have been genuine and have passed the test of time. With few exceptions, the couples that I have worked with over the years have stayed together, raised families and are enjoying their lives together. I haven’t stayed in touch with everyone that I have helped obtain a fiancé visa, but I do hear from many and it always makes me feel good to see them doing well. Its not easy to blend different cultures and races, so making it work takes real love. Of course, there is always the possibility of fraud and it’s a legitimate concern for Immigration, but by in large, these relationships are genuine and work out well. In some ways, I think the process of waiting for a Fiance Visa and the time spent talking with each other while being apart may actually be beneficial to the relationship. Its hard to be apart from someone you care about and only being able to talk with each other because you are separated by great distances seems to really help the couples get to know and understand each other before living together as husband and wife. Although unscientific, my K1 Fiance clients seem to stay together longer and are generally happier than some of the folks in my neighborhood who met in a more traditional manner, and who didn’t have to go through the hard process of being apart from each other at the beginning of their relationship.

If you have questions about the K1 Fiance Visa, please feel free to call me anytime toll free at 1-888-515-3529. I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Attorney Jeff Pettys

June 24, 2015

Police Reports for K1 Fiance and Marriage Visas

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

Does my fiance or spouse need to get a Police Report to get a K1 Fiance or Marriage Visa?

The answer is Yes. Every foreign fiancé or spouse who has applied for a K1 Fiance Visa or a Marriage Visa must apply for and obtain a police report from every country he or she has lived for more than 6 months after the age of 16. The CEAC has specific instructions for obtaining a Police Report. These instructions can be found at: http://www.travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Supporting_documents.html

I would suggest taking steps to obtain your Police Report after receiving your initial approval from USCIS. The report should be good for up to one year and you will need it to finish your application for a K1 Fiance or Marriage Visa. In the case of a Fiance Visa, you will likely submit it just prior to your Embassy interview or at your interview. For a Marriage Visa, you will typically submit it with all your other required documents directly to the National Visa Center as instructed.

Continue reading →

June 15, 2015

Basic Skills of English Pronunciation Course

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

Learning to understand English is an important step in the Immigration process. Most if not all immigration proceedings will include an interview of the foreign national and that interview will be conducted in English. Every applicant for a K1 Fiance Visa or Marriage Visa will be interviewed at the end of the process by a US Embassy employee and that interview will be conducted in English. For this reason, its important that the foreign fiancé or spouse learn to speak and understand English. For some that have studied English in school, this may not be a problem. However, for those fiances or spouses who’s English is not so good, I recommend that you work on your English while your immigration papers are being processed. There are many English classes and courses that you can buy online or attend in person. One English course that I really like is offered by a company called Pronounce English and you can find their company web site at www.pronounce-english.com. Its an inexpensive app for your smart phone or tablet and it seems to work great! You simply download the materials and start learning! At $39.95, its a steal.

If you ever have any questions about the K1 Fiance Visa or Marriage Visa process, you are welcome to call me anytime toll free at 1-888-515-3529.

Attorney Jeff Pettys

May 23, 2015

The Advantage of the K1 Fiance Visa

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

The real advantage of the K1 Fiance Visa is the relatively quick processing time for acquiring the visa. From start to finish, it takes about 6-7 months. By contrast the CR1 Marriage Visa takes 12- 13 months to obtain. The process of acquiring a K1 Fiance Visa begins with the filing of the I-129f Petition for an Alien Fiance with USCIS. If all goes well, you should have your initial approval in about 4 months. Then the application is sent directly to the US Embassy closest to where your fiancé is living. In about 30 days, the US Embassy will contact your fiancé and provide him or her with their instructions for continued processing. Once all US Embassy forms have been submitted, the Embassy will schedule the Fiance Visa interview. Most interviews are schedule within 30 days of completing the Embassy requirements. The process of working with the US Embassy takes about 2-3 months in total. Once approved, the Visa will be delivered to your fiancé in about 10 working days.

If you have questions about the K1 Fiance Visa or would like to discuss the benefits of a CR1 Marriage visa, please feel free to call me toll free at 1-888-515-3529.

Attorney Jeffrey C Pettys

Continue reading →

May 7, 2015

Can my Fiance work once he or she arrives in the United States on a K1 Fiance Visa?

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

Yes. Once your fiancé arrives in the United States on a K1 Fiance Visa, he or she can immediately apply for permission to work by filing form I-765, Application for Work Authorization. If your fiancé applies for work authorization upon his or her arrival and before getting married, the permission to work would be good for about 90 days.

The better approach is for the fiancé to get married first and then apply for his or her Legal Permanent Residency and work authorization at the same time. Waiting to marry first and then filing for your work authorization along with your application for Legal Permanent Residency will give you permanent permission to work, so long as you remain a Legal Permanent Resident and/or Citizen of the United States. Plus, if you file for your work authorization along with your request for legal permanent residency, USCIS will waive the $380 filing fee normally charged to file form I-765, Application for Work Authorization. That’s a big savings.

If you have any questions about obtaining permission to work while in the United States on a K1 Fiancé Visa, you are welcome to call me anytime toll free at 1-888-515-3529.

Continue reading →

February 18, 2015

Passport Photos for K1 Fiance and CR1 Marriage Visas

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

USCIS requires a passport style photo for each K1 Fiancé and/or CR1 Marriage Visa application. The processing of your application may be delayed if you do not submit the proper type and size photo. Therefore, its important that the photo that you submit meets the visa requirements.

I recommend that you use a professional passport picture service, but in the event that you try and do the photos yourself, the photos must meet the following basic requirements:

The passport photos must be in color

Continue reading →

January 28, 2015

Children born during the K1 Fiance or CR1 Marriage Visa application process

by The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Pettys

Many of my clients who travel overseas to spend time with their fiancés or spouses while waiting on a K1 Fiance or CR1 Marriage Visa, become fathers. After all of the excitement, the question becomes…….What do I need to do so my child can travel to the US with my fiancé or spouse?

The child of a US citizen born overseas only needs a US Passport to travel to the US. To obtain a US passport for the child, the couple must first file a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) with the nearest US Embassy and follow all the required instructions.

Continue reading →