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Filing for a K1 Fiancé Visa while working and living overseas is fairly common, but the process can become a bit more complicated then when applying while living and working in the US.

First, I always recommend to my overseas clients that they establish or use a mailing address in the US to receive their Immigration notices. Receiving mail overseas can sometimes be a real problem depending on the country and location. To reduce the risk that you will miss a notice, establish a mailing address in the US and a plan for receiving your mail.  A PO Box or the address of a family member should work just fine.

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All K1 fiancé beneficiaries must undergo a medical exam by a US Embassy approved Medical facility before being issued a K1 Fiance Visa. 

The medical examination will include a review of your medical history, a present physical examination, X- rays and blood tests for drug use and identification of communicable diseases. The physical exam will look at a beneficiary’s eyes, ears, nose, throat, lungs, heart, extremities, abdomen, lymph nodes and external genitalia.  Continue reading →

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Once you have completed your I-129f form and are ready to submit your application for a K1 Fiance Visa, you may wish to double check that you have all the required documents. I highly recommend that you review the I-129f instructions again and then you can use the following checklist, which will give you a brief outline of what you need review or do before sending in your application:
Did You….
  • Complete all relevant sections of your I-129f Petition for Alien Fiance
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The US Embassy in Manila requires certain documents to be brought to your K1 Fiance Visa interview. Here is a checklist for you to review:
  • DS 160 Nonimmigrant Visas Application Confirmation Page
  • A Valid Passport that is good for at least 6 months
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The application for a K1 Fiance Visa and/or CR1 and IR1 Marriage Visa requires the Petitioner (US Citizen) to prove that he or she has the income to support the application. In the case of a Fiance visa, the Petitioner must file an Affidavit of Support using form I-134. For a CR1 or IR1 Marriage Visa, the form is an I-864 Affidavit of Support.

Unfortunately, in the case of a Fiance Visa, you cannot use the foreign fiancés (also known as the beneficiary) income to help meet the financial requirements of a Fiance Visa application. For this visa, only the Petitioner or a close family relative of either party, acting as a co sponsor, can be used to provide evidence of income to meet the Fiance Visa application requirements.

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There are various sources of income and assets that can be used to meet the requirements of an I-864 Affidavit of Support for a CR1 Marriage Visa or Adjustment of Status to LPR.
The easiest and most commonly used source is income. The I-864 Affidavit of Support requires the petitioner to earn at least 125% above the Federal Poverty Guideline for your family size.  When your income meets or exceeds the required amount, you qualify. There is no need to provide any further sources of income or assets. However, when the petitioners income does not meet the required level, you will need to provide other sources of income and/or assets to make up any differences.  In lieu of the petitioners income, you may also submit evidence of:
  • Sponsor’s assets
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Once an applicant’s I-129f visa petition for  K1 Fiance Visa has been approved by USCIS and your file has been transferred to the US Embassy in Manila, you will need to submit additional forms and documents to the Embassy to ultimately obtain your fiancé visa.
To begin with, there is a $265 dollar application fee that must be paid to the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).  All Fiance Visa applicants must pay their fee with an application deposit slip which can be obtained online from the online appointment website used by the Embassy.
After paying your fee, you can schedule your visa appointment after obtaining and/or submitting the following required items:
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Once your K1 Fiance Visa application has been approved by USCIS, you will need to start working with the US Embassy location in the country where your fiancé lives. Every USCIS approval notice has an expiration date of 4 months. If you need more time to complete your work with the US Embassy, you can contact the Embassy and ask for further validation time.
Every Embassy around the world has its own procedures for processing K1 Fiance Visas. Some US Embassy locations work directly with the beneficiary and others use a processing center affiliated with the Embassy. Either way, you will be sent an notice and/or link for how to proceed. This may come from the Embassy or the NVC. You must wait for the Embassy or NVC to contact you before you can start working with the Embassy. At some point, you will be given the information that you will need or directed to a link that identifies the forms and documents that must be completed before you can schedule your interview. Your embassy instructions will also let you know how to pay the Embassy processing fee and where and when to have your medical exam. Once everything is completed, you can then schedule your interview.
From my experience, it takes about one month after being approved by USCIS to receive your Embassy notice and/or instructions and then another 2 months working with the Embassy to actually obtain your visa.
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The purpose of a K1 Fiance Visa is to provide a visa to the foreign finace of a US Citizen who wishes to get married. Its a benefit of US Citizenship. When processing the visa application, the US Government through The US Department of Homeland Security and the US State Department will review the application to determine the truthfulness or validity of the relationship. Dishonest relationships will be rooted out and those applications denied. The responsibility for providing proof of the relationship is on the couple applying for the visa. In determining what evidence is helpful in proving your relationship is genuine, you must consider what an honest relationship looks like. A couple in love do things together. They go places together. They talk and  share information about themselves with others. If you focus on just those basic relationship areas alone, you can come up with plenty of evidence to support your application. Here is a list of evidence that that touches upon each of those basic relationship facts:

  • Pictures
  • Facebook and Social media post
  • Phone records
  • Receipts of expenses together
  • Statements from family friends who know of the relationship
  • Examples of communications (Letters, Cards, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, etc…)

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Recently, USCIS made changes to the forms and procedures for filing an application for a CR1 Marriage Visa.
First, USCIS updated the I-130 form and it now requires far more information than the older version.  The form itself grew from 2 pages to 12. For example, the new form now requires the month/day/year for all residential and employment dates, not just the month and year.
Another significant change to the I-130 form and process can be found in the instructions to the new form under the title “Biometric Services Appointment. This new section allows USCIS, at their discretion, to require petitioners to appear for fingerprinting, interviews, photographs and criminal background checks by the FBI.  At this time, it is unclear as to when and if such additional steps will be required of the Petitioner. Rather, it appears that after filing the new I-130 form, USCIS will advise the petitioner if any additional steps must be taken.

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