The US immigration term for a fiancee visa is a K-1 visa. Now, it requires that the foreign fiancee either marry the U.S. citizen who sponsored her within 90 days of her arrival in the U.S. or depart the U.S. prior to the termination of her 90 day fiancee visa. These are the fiancee's only two options. The K1 visa cannot be extended beyond 90 days and it cannot be changed to some other visa, such as a tourist, student or work visa. Any violation of these rules will result in deportation and, in many cases, a bar from re-entering the U.S. for a period of 3, 5 or 10 years even if the foreign fiancee marries another American.

K1 FIANCEE VISA REQUIREMENTS

a. The petitioner must be a United States citizen.
b. Both parties are legally free to marry.
c. The marriage will take place within 90 days of the fiancé(e) entering the United States on the fiance(e) visa.

U.S. citizens who wish to bring their fiance(e) to the United States on a K visa must first file a petition with USCIS in the United States.

The K visa does not automatically grant U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident (LPR) status to the beneficiaries. Those who qualify for K visas will be able to join their partners in the United States as a non-immigrant, without the potentially long period of separation during the petition process. Once married, they will need to adjust their immigration status in the United States to become lawful permanent residents.

The length of time it takes to receive an approval for the adjustment of status Green Card application varies among the local USCIS offices from 75 days to 1,138 days. Most USCIS offices are in the 4-12 month range. Many fiancees want to have the right to work and to travel outside of the United States while their adjustment of status application is waiting to be approved. The times for approval of the temporary work authorizations and for travel permission are scattered from 1-120 days, with most offices taking approximately 30 days.

For more legal information about K-1 Visa, please refer to the Embassy website.


Article from Cebuanas.com