Spouse and Fiance(e) of an American Citizen

Immigrant Visa for a Spouse (IR1 or CR1)

How Does My Spouse (Husband/Wife) Get an Immigrant Visa?
What Is a “Spouse”?
Minimum Age Requirement for the Petitioner
U.S. Domicile Is Required
What Does the National Visa Center Do?
How Do I Pay for National Visa Center (NVC) Services?
Upgrading a Petition
Applying for a Visa
Fees - How Much Does It Cost?
Vaccination Requirements
Does a Child Have Derivative Status?
Termination of All Previous Marriages
What Is a Conditional Visa?
How Long Does It Take?
What Can Be Done If the Petition Gets Lost?
What If My Husband/Wife Is Ineligible for a Visa?
How Do I Find the Regulations on Immigrant Visas?
How to Apply for a Social Security Number Card

How Does My Spouse (Husband/Wife) Get an Immigrant Visa?

The first step is to file a Petition for Alien Relative,? Form I-130?for your? spouse?(husband or wife) to immigrate to the United States. You file the petition with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services? (USCIS) immigration Field Office?in the United States ?that serves the area where you live. For instructions on how to file a petition see? Petitioning Procedures: Bringing a Spouse (Husband of Wife) to Live in the United States

Sometimes a U.S.?citizen living abroad can file an immigrant visa petition at an U.S. ?embassy or consulate (post). To find out whether you can file a petition at a specific post abroad, you must ask that post. For information on how to contact the post, please select U.S. ?embassy or consulate abroad (/travel/tips/embassies/embassies_1214.html)

What is a “Spouse”?

A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife. Merely living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration. Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration, but only if the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurs recognizes common-law marriages and grants them all the same rights and obligations as a traditional marriage. In cases of polygamy, only the first spouse may qualify as a spouse for immigration.

Minimum Age Requirement for the Petitioner

There is no minimum age to file a petition for a spouse for immigration. However, you must be 18 years of age and have a domicile in the U.S.?before you can sign the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for an immigrant visa for spouses and other relatives of U.S. ?sponsors.

U.S. Domicile Is Required

You must have a domicile (residence) in the United States ?before we can issue an immigrant visa to your spouse. This is because a U.S. ?domicile is required to file an Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for all Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR-1) immigration cases.

What Does the National Visa Center Do?

After a Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in the United States ?approves the petition, it sends the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC). When an applicant's priority meets the most recent Qualifying Date, the NVC will contact the applicant and petitioner with instructions for submitting the appropriate processing fees. After the appropriate processing fees are paid, the NVC will again contact the applicant and petitioner to request that the necessary immigrant visa documentation be submitted to the NVC.

If you ARE working with an attorney, the NVC will take the following steps:

If you are NOT working with an attorney, the NVC will take the following steps:

Note: It is important to follow instructions from the NVC carefully. Send the NVC documentation (or paying fees) when they were not requested by the NVC will result in a delay in processing.

How Do I Pay the Fees for the National Visa Center (NVC) Services?

The NVC sends bills for certain fees at the appropriate time in the immigrant visa process. It sends bills for these services to the following people:

• Bill for processing the I-864, Affidavit of Support to the petitioner

• Bill for immigrant visa processing to the agent

The NVC sends a correctly addressed, return envelope with the bills.

Remember these important things:

• It is important that you use the return envelope provided to you, when paying the fees

• Don't forget to put the correct postage on the envelope

• Don't pay the bill until the NVC tells you to do so

• Don't send payments to the NVC at Portsmouth, New Hampshire

For further information see National Visa Center.

Upgrading a Petition - If You Were an LPR and Now are an American Citizen

If you filed a petition for your spouse when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR), and now you are an U.S. citizen, you must upgrade the petition from family second preference (F2) to immediate relative (IR). You can do this by sending proof of your citizenship to the National Visa Center (NVC). To prove that you are a U.S. ?citizen, you can send:

• A copy of the biodata page of your U.S. passport; or

• A copy of your certificate of naturalization

If you are now a U.S. ?citizen, you must file separate immigrant visa petitions for each of your children.? If you upgrade a family second preference (F2) petition for your spouse and you did not file separate petitions for your children when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR), you must do so now. A child does not have derivative status in an immediate relative (IR) petition.?This is different from the family second preference (F2) petition.? A child is included in his/her parent's F2 petition.? A child is not included in his/her parent's IR petition. ?

Applying for a Visa

An appointment package is sent to the agent or the applicant. (See note below.) The appointment package gives the applicant an interview date and tells you the specific requirements of the visa. It includes instructions on where to go to have the required medical examination. During the interview process, an ink-free, digital fingerprint scan will be taken. In general, the following is required:

• A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States (unless country-specific agreements ?provide exemptions).

• Birth certificate

• Divorce or death certificate of any previous spouse

• Marriage certificate

• Police certificate from all places lived since age 16

• Medical examination

• Evidence of financial support. A completed? Form I-864?Affidavit of Support from petitioner/ sponsor is required.

• Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, Form DS-230, both Part I and Part II

• Two immigrant visa photos

• Proof of the marriage and the husband/wife relationship

• Payment of immigrant processing fees, as explained below

An applicant may bring marriage photographs and other proof that the marriage is genuine. Documents in foreign languages should be translated. The consular officer may ask for more information.

Take clear, legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, to the immigrant visa interview. Original documents can then be returned to you.

Note: The National Visa Center?sends appointment packages to the agent for applicants in certain countries when the petitions are filed in the United States . The embassy or consulate sends appointment packages to applicants in all other countries. It also sends appointment packages to all applicants whose petitions are already at the embassy or consulate.

Fees - How Much Does It Cost?

Fees are charged for the following services:

• Filing an immigrant Petition for Alien Relative, form I-130

• Processing an immigrant visa application, for DS-230

• Reviewing an I-864, Affidavit of Support (for petitions filed in the United States )

• Medical examination (costs vary from place to place)

• Fingerprinting fees, if applicable

• Other costs may include translation and photocopying charges, fees for getting the documents you need for the immigrant visa application (such as passport, police certificates, birth certificates, etc.) and travel expenses to go to the embassy or consulate for the interview. Costs vary from country to country and case to case.

For current fees for Department of State government services select Fees.

Vaccination Requirements

In general, applicants for immigrant visas are required to have all of the following vaccinations:

• Mumps

• Measles

• Rubella

• Polio

• Tetanus and diptheria toxoids

• Pertussis

• Influenza type B

• Hepatitis B

• Varicella

• Pneumococcal

Bring your vaccination records to the immigrant visa medical examination, if you have them. The panel physician decides which vaccinations you will need, appropriate to your age, medical condition and medical history.

Does a Child Have Derivative Status?

No. A child does not have derivative status in an immediate relative (IR) petition. This is different from the family second preference (F2) petition. A child is included in his/her parent’s F2 petition. A child is not included in his/her parent's IR petition.

If you are a U.S. ?citizen, you must file separate immigrant visa petitions for each of your children. If you upgrade a family second preference (F2) petition for your spouse and you did not file separate petitions for your children when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR), you must do so now.

Remember that children born abroad after you became a U.S.?citizen may qualify for U.S. ?citizenship. They should apply for U.S. ?passports. The consular officer will decide whether your child is a U.S. ?citizen and can have a passport. If the consular officer decides your child is not U.S.?citizen, the child must apply for an immigrant visa if he/she wants to live in the U.S.

Termination of All Previous Marriages

U.S. ?law does not allow polygamy. If you were married before, you and your spouse must both show that you ended (terminated) all previous marriages before your current marriage. The death and divorce documents that show termination of marriages must be legal and verifiable in the country that issued them. Divorces must be final. In cases of legal marriage to two or more spouses at the same time, or marriages overlapping for a period of time, you can file only for your first spouse.

What Is Conditional Residence?

If you have been married for less than two years when your spouse enters the United States ?on an immigrant visa, the permanent resident status is considered “conditional.” The immigrant visa is a CR ( conditional resident ) visa, not an IR ( immediate relative ) visa.

You and your spouse must apply together to the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to remove the “condition” within the ninety days before the two year anniversary of your spouse’s entry into the United States ?on an immigrant visa. The two-year anniversary date of entry is the date of expiration on the alien registration card (green card). See? How Do I Remove the Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage?

How Long Does It Take?

The length of time varies from case to case according to its circumstances, and cannot be predicted for individual cases with any accuracy. Some cases are delayed because the applicants do not follow instructions carefully. Sometimes the petitioner cannot meet Affidavit of Support requirements. In addition, the consular section may need to get a security clearance for the applicant. Security clearances take time.

What Can Be Done If the Petition Gets Lost?

We don’t want this to happen, but occasionally it does. Files can get misfiled; shipments of visa files have been lost. Usually a misfiled petition can be located, but in an emergency an embassy or consulate can issue a visa from the computer record and an original Notice of Action approval (Form I-797) from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Give the consular section time to locate the file, and it probably will. But all is not lost if the petition is really gone. Be sure to keep all correspondence you receive from the USCIS.

What If the Applicant Is Ineligible for a Visa?

Certain conditions and activities may make you, the applicant, ineligible for a visa. Examples of these ineligibilities are:

• Drug trafficking

• Having HIV/AIDS

• Overstaying a previous visa

• Practicing polygamy

• Advocating the overthrow of the government

• Submitting fraudulent documents

The consular officer will inform you if you are ineligible for a visa, whether there is a waiver of the ineligibility and what the waiver procedure is. See Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas for more information.

How Do I Find the Regulations about Immigrant Visas?

To read the relevant Department of State regulations on immigrant visas in 9 FAM 40.1 Note 1 and 9 FAM 42, select Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM).

How to Apply for a Social Security Number Card

Before your spouse arrives in the United States, you can help them learn how to apply for a social security number card. To learn more about this process, visit the website for the Social Security Administration.

General Visa Questions

• Notice: Before submitting your inquiry, we request that you carefully review this web site. Very often you will find the information you need. Often, the answers to questions are easily found on the internet, and this impacts our ability to help other persons in need of assistance. Due to the volume of inquiries, Visa Services cannot promise an immediate reply to your inquiry.

• If your inquiry concerns a visa case in progress overseas, you should first contact the U.S Embassy or Consulate handling your case for status information. Select U.S. Embassy or Consulate, and you can choose the Embassy or Consulate internet site you need to contact.

If you find that you need to submit an inquiry, to serve you better, please indicate the subject of your inquiry on the subject line (e.g., student visa, visitor visa, worker visa, spouse visa, affidavit of support, etc.) General visa questions may be directed via e-mail to the State Department by clicking here.

　

Nonimmigrant Visa for a Spouse (K-3)

　

Nonimmigrant Visa for a Fiance(e) (K-1)

What Is a “Fiancé”?
How Does a Fiancé Visa Work?
Filing the Petition
What Should I Know about International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA)?
Extending the Petition
A Fiancé Is Also an Immigrant
Applying for a Visa
Fees - How Much Does It Cost?
Vaccination Requirements
What Must Happen After Getting the Fiancé(e) Visa?
Can a K-1 Visa Holder Leave the United States?
Can a K-1 Visa Holder Work in the United States?
Children Have Derivative Status
How Long Does It Take?
What If the Applicant Is Ineligible for a Visa?
How Do I Find the Regulations on the K-1 Visa?
How to Apply for a Social Security Number Card

What Is a “Fiancé(e)”?

A fiancé(e) is a person who is engaged or contracted to be married. The marriage must be legally possible according to laws of the state in the United States ?where the marriage will take place.

In general, the two people must have met in person within the past two years. The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants some exceptions to this requirement. For example, it may be contrary in some traditions for a man and woman to meet before marriage.

Sometimes the USCIS considers a person a "fiancé(e)" even though a marriage contract has been concluded. In such cases, the American citizen petitioner and his/her spouse have not met, and they have not consummated the marriage.

How Does a Fiancé(e) Visa Work?

If you are an American citizen and you want your foreign fiancé(e) to travel to the United States?to marry you and live in the U.S., you must file Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) in the United States.

Filing the Petition

You must file the Petition for Alien Fiancé(e),? Form I-129F, with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office that serves the area where you live. See the Department of Homeland Security's?USCIS Field Offices?for information on where you can file the petition. Note: You cannot file this petition at an embassy, consulate or U.S. ?immigration office abroad

After the USCIS approves the petition, it sends the petition to National Visa Center ?for processing, prior to sending it to the embassy or consulate where your fiancé(e) will apply for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa for a fiancé(e).

What Should I Know about International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA)?

1. Detailed information about the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) of 2005 petition requirements are shown in the new? Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) instructions.

Extending the Petition

The I-129F petition is valid for four months from the date of approval from USCIS. Consular officers can extend the validity of the petition (revalidate the petition) if it expires before the processing of the visa application is completed.

A Fiancé(e) Is Also an Immigrant

Because a fiancé(e) visa permits the holder to immigrate to the U.S.?and marry an American citizen shortly after arrival in the United States, the fiancé(e) must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa.

Applying for a Visa

The consular section at the embassy or consulate where you, the fiancé(e) of an American citizen, will apply for a visa, will tell you about any additional specific requirements that you need to fulfill to complete your visa application, such as where you need to go for the required medical examination. During the interview process, an ink-free, digital fingerprint scan will be taken. The following is required:

The consular officer may ask for additional information according to the circumstances of the case. Documents in foreign languages should be translated.

Take clear, legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, to the interview. Original documents can then be returned to you.

Fees - How Much Does It Cost?

Fees are charged for the following services:

• Filing an Alien Fiancé(e) Petition, Form I-129F

• Nonimmigrant visa application processing fee

• Medical examination (costs vary from post to post)

• Fingerprinting fees, if required

• Other costs may include translation and photocopying charges, fees for getting the documents required for the visa application (such as passport, police certificates, birth certificates, etc.), and expenses for travel to the embassy or consulate for an interview. Costs vary from country to country and case to case.

• Filing? Form I-485?Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status

For current fees for Department of State, government services select Fees.

Vaccination Requirements

All applicants for immigrant visas are required to have the following vaccinations, if appropriate, for age, medical condition, or medical history:

• Mumps

• Measles

• Rubella

• Polio

• Tetanus and diptheria toxoids

• Pertussis

• Influenza type B

• Hepatitis B

• Varicella

• Pneumococcal

As a fiancé(e), you are not required to fulfill this requirement at the time of your medical examination for a fiancé(e) visa. However, you may want to do so. These vaccinations are required when you adjust status following your marriage.

What Must Happen After Getting the Fiancé(e) Visa?

After getting the fiancé(e) visa, your fiancé(e) enters the U.S. ?through a U.S immigration port-of-entry. The U.S.?immigration official gives your fiancé(e) instructions on what to do when he/she enters the United States. You must get married within 90 days of your fiancé(e)’s entry into the United States.

After marriage, your spouse must file Form? I-485?Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status with the USCIS office that serves the area where you live in the United States. You must fill out the Affidavit of Support,? Form I-864, with the USCIS for your spouse's application to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR). See Permanent Resident at the? Department of Homeland Security's, USCIS internet site.

Can a K-1 Visa Holder Leave the United States?

The K-1 visa allows a fiancé(e) to enter the United States ?one time only. If you leave the United States ?after entering on a K-1 visa, you may not re-enter on the same visa. If you want to leave and re-enter the United States, you should apply with? Form I-131?Application for Travel Document to the USCIS office that serves the area where you live for advance parole to return to the United States. See? Emergency Travel?for information on how to get a travel document that allows you to return to the United States.

Can a K-1 Visa Holder Work in the United States?

As a K-1 visa holder you may file Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization with the USCIS office that serves the area where you live for a work permit (employment authorization document). For more information see? How Do I Get a Work Permit (Employment Authorization Document)?

Children Have Derivative Status

The child of a fiancé(e) may receive a derivative K-2 visa from his/her parent’s fiancé(e) petition. You, the American citizen petitioner, must make sure that you name the child in the I-129F petition. After the marriage of the child’s parent and the American citizen, the child will need a separate form? I-485 ?Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status. The child may travel with (accompany) the K-1 parent/fiancé(e) or travel later (follow-to-join) within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa to his/her parent. A separate petition is not required if the children accompany or follow the alien fiancé(e) within one year from the date of issuance of the K-1 visa. If it is long than one year from the date of visa issuance, a separate immigrant visa petition is required.

Remember that in immigration law a child must be unmarried. The stepparent/stepchild relationship must be created before the child reaches the age of 18.

How Long Does It Take?

The length of time varies from case to case according to its circumstances. The time it takes each USCIS office and each consular office to process the case varies. Some cases are delayed because the applicant does not follow instructions carefully or supplies incomplete information. (It is important to give correct addresses and telephone numbers.) In addition, the embassy or consulate may need to get security clearances for the applicant. Security clearances take time.

What If the Applicant Is Ineligible for a Visa?

Certain conditions and activities may make an applicant ineligible for a visa. Examples of these ineligibilities are:

• Trafficking in Drugs

• Having HIV/AIDS

• Overstaying a previous visa

• Practicing polygamy

• Advocating the overthrow of the government

• Submitting fraudulent documents

The consular officer will tell you, the applicant, if you are ineligible for a visa, whether there is a waiver of the ineligibility and what the waiver procedure is. For a complete list of ineligibilities see Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas.

How Do I Find the Regulations on the K-1 Visa?

To read relevant information regarding Department of State regulations on the K-1 fiancé(e) visas select Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM).

How to Apply for a Social Security Number Card

After?your fiancé(e) has been admitted into the United States, he/she can apply for a social security number card by visiting one of the Social Security offices in your local area. To learn about how-to-apply, visit the website for the? Social Security Administration.

Further Visa Inquiries

Questions on visa application procedures and visa ineligibilities should be addressed to the American consular office abroad by the applicant.

General Visa Questions

• Notice: Before submitting your inquiry, we request that you carefully review this web site. Very often you will find the information you need. Often, the answers to questions are easily found on the internet, and this impacts our ability to help other persons in need of assistance. Due to the volume of inquiries, Visa Services cannot promise an immediate reply to your inquiry.

• If your inquiry concerns a visa case in progress overseas, you should first contact the U.S Embassy or Consulate handling your case for status information. Select U.S. Embassy or Consulate, and you can choose the Embassy or Consulate internet site you need to contact.

If you find that you need to submit an inquiry, to serve you better, please indicate the subject of your inquiry on the subject line (e.g., student visa, visitor visa, worker visa, spouse visa, affidavit of support, etc.) General visa questions may be directed via e-mail to the State Department by clicking here.