What is K-1 Visa?


I thought it could stand for "not kidding one visa" : ) because anyone who is willing to go through this process (let me not say "trial and tribulation") must have a serious committing relationship with the loved one. Like being in a long distance relationship is not hard enough, bringing over a loved one is somehow a stressful situation because of the combination of strong emotions and complex legal requirements involved.

K-1 visa is the US immigration term for a fiance visa The purpose of the fiancee visa is to allow United States citizens to bring their foreign fiancees into the US on a K1 visa for the purpose of marriage.

Fiance visa requirement

Despite to the fact that this visa type is solely eligible for people who are in love, the immigration requirements for a K1 Visa are simple but firm:

(1) The petitioner must be a United States citizen. Legal Permanent Resident,Green Card holders of the U.S. are not allowed to obtain a K1 Visa for their foreign fiancee.

(2) Both the petitioner (U.S. citizen) and the beneficiary (foreign fiancee) must be free to marry. This means that if either has been previously married he or she must be either divorced or widowed, or else the marriage must be legally annulled.

(3) The petitioner and foreign fiancee must have the intent to marry within 90 days of the foreign fiancee's arrival in the U.S.

(4) The petitioner and foreign fiancee must have met in person within two years prior to filing the fiancee visa petition with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service ( INS ). There is a hardship waiver available for this requirement, but it is extremely difficult to obtain. The fact that the petitioner is too busy with his work, children, sick parent, etc. will not be adequate to obtain the waiver. To qualify for a waiver, most often there is a medical condition that prevents the US citizen from international travel.

(5) The U.S. citizen petitioner must meet a minimum income requirement that is the poverty level set by Congress every February. If the petitioner cannot meet the requirements he is allowed to use a co-sponsor who does meet them. The co-sponser's income must meet the requirement for a number of dependents that includes himself, the petitioner, each of their immediate family members, the foreign fiancee and any children of the fiancee who will be receiving a K2 visa and coming to the U.S. In addition, any children for which either the co-sponsor or petitioner is paying child support and any fomer spouse for which he is paying alimony also count as dependents.

(6) The foreign fiancee must pass a medical exam at a clinic approved by the U.S. Consulate that is processing the fiancee visa application. The fiancee must not have any type of communicable disease or serious mental illness.

(7) The foreign fiancee must also not have a criminal record. Some arrests and/or convictions are exempt from this requirement. If this is a concern in your situation you should consult an immigration attorney experienced with fiancee visas before proceeding further.


As mentioned in our What's New page, we are on an initial stage of processing visa petition. We wish to share with you more information in the near future. Please feel free visit our Timeline for your reference.

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Thank you
Todd & Wasana