Often times, when a U.S. citizen is engaged to a foreigner they attempt to speed the process up by having their fiancee apply for any number of visas, but most often the tourist visa. On the surface, this appears to be a perfectly reasonable approach to bringing your fiancee to the U.S. However, there could be nothing further from the truth. The majority of people who apply for a tourist visa are denied. We have had clients ask their employer, pastor, or even their senator to contact the embassy, to no avail. This is not effective because the U.S. citizen’s status and/or contacts have no bearing on whether the tourist visa is issued. The foreign national’s background is the sole criteria. Under the current political climate, the chances of someone from an underdeveloped country receiving a tourist visa are less than 5%.

The reasons for denial are numerous, but, in short, if your fiancee is from a third world country it is nearly guaranteed that their tourist visa will be denied. We have had clients who have attempted to do this and it does nothing but create more difficulty in obtaining the proper visa.

For those rare few whom are able to obtain a tourist visa, such as those from developed countries, the tourist visa is still the wrong choice. If a foreign national comes to the U.S. on a tourist visa and subsequently gets married to a U.S. citizen, when the foreign national changes his/her status to a permanent resident, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may subject you to an investigation for a fraudulent marriage. Additionally, the foreign national will likely be deported, and returning to the U.S. may be extremely, extremely difficult, if not impossible.

If you are considering a K1 fiancee visa or K3 marriage visa please call our office for a free attorney consultation at 702.739.4595, or email us at: law@HamptonVisas.com

We obtain K visas for foreign nationals all over the world and we are licensed to serve clients in all 50 states.

The primary requirements to qualify for a fiancee visa are:

• You are a U.S. citizen
• You have met your fiancee within the previous two years
• You and your fiancee are both legally free to marry
• You and your fiancee both have a serious intention to marry within 90 days of your fiancee’s arrival in America.
• In most cases, a minimum income requirement must be met by the petitioner

The first step in obtaining a fiancee visa requires the petitioner, the U.S. Citizen, to file an application with the USCIS. There are numerous forms and documentation that must be submitted to the USCIS in order to prove that the petitioner and the fiancee qualify for the K1 Visa. The waiting time for the petition to be reviewed depends on the backlog at the USCIS regional processing center and on which USCIS processing center your application is filed. Where your application is filed depends upon where you reside. An error or omission in the documents or forms can cause your petition to be returned with a Request for Additional Evidence. The USCIS sends out thousands of these notices every year, thus creating a delay of months in the approval of your petition.

We have had clients who have hired us after attempting to go it alone or after hiring another attorney or visa processing service. We have helped clients who have relied on outdated and or misinformation that they have received from so called “visa experts.” It is not unusual for the USCIS and/or embassy that has jurisdiction over the petition to create new requirements and/or procedures for obtaining the fiancee visa, oftentimes with little or no notice. The documents and forms must be done correctly. You can save yourself and your fiancee considerable time, money and heartache by having your petition done correctly the first time.

Once the petition has been reviewed and approved by the USCIS, the petition is forwarded to the Department of State’s National Visa Center. At this stage, a background check is initiated on both parties. Once this is completed, the petition is forwarded to the embassy or consulate that has jurisdiction over the fiancee’s petition. The embassy will schedule an interview date and the fiancee will undergo a medical exam. She will also present a number of new forms and supporting documentation at her interview (which will also be prepared by our office).

For many, the interview is the most nerve-racking part of the process, and for good reason. If the Embassy Consular interviewer finds any discrepancies in the fiancee’s responses to the interviewers questions and the supporting documentation that she submits, they may return the petition to the USCIS for investigation. Needless to say, this will cause a delay of months. In addition to advising and counseling our clients in the early stages of the process and completing and submitting the petition to the USCIS, we take extraordinary steps to prepare your fiancee for any questions and/or problems that may arise during the interview, and we make sure the documents and supporting documents she submits are complete.

Barring any problems during the interview and document review, the visa will be issued that day, or in some embassies the following week. Once the fiancee visa has been approved, your fiancee is able to travel to the United States. She will be allowed to be in the U.S. for 90 days. If you do not marry her within 90 days she must leave the country.

As stated at the outset, the answer to “how do you get your fiancee to the U.S.” is simple. But, the bureaucracies involved are large, often times inefficient and difficult to deal with. The documents, forms, and supporting documentation that are submitted to the USCIS and Embassy can be overwhelming and confusing. The procedures, forms, and documentation are also subject to frequent changes that you may never be aware of until it’s too late. As attorneys, we have contacts, skills and resources that a layman or visa processing service does not have. We continually stay abreast of changes in immigration law and in the procedures the embassies employ to process your fiancee’s visa.

You can save yourself time, money, and heartache by having your petition completed correctly the first time by Hampton & Hampton Immigration Attorneys. We obtain K visas for foreign nationals all over the world and we are licensed to serve clients in all 50 states. The time it takes for the entire process to be completed and the visa to be issued depends on what state you reside in and where your fiancee is from. Please contact our office for an estimate on how long your case will take for us to process.