If you are a US citizen, and you are engaged to marry a foreign national who lives abroad, the K visa category provides you with two options, fiancée visa and spouse visa. We may also want to do consular processing instead. Which one you should choose depends upon the specific circumstances of your situation. If you have questions about which better for you, contact The Law Firm of Shihab & Associates for a consultation with our attorneys. We have more than 50 years of combined legal experience in a wide variety of complex and immigration law matters.
When should I choose the fiancée K-1/K-2 visa?
Fiancé has children who will be between 18 and 21 when you get married
One of the most important situations in which you should consider the fiancé visa instead of the spouse visa is when your foreign national fiancé has children who will be in the age range between 18 and 21 when you and your fiancé are married. There is a strange discrepancy in immigration law concerning whether you are married abroad or married in the US. If you are married abroad, your spouse’s children who are over 18 at the time of the marriage are not considered to be your stepchildren, and you will not be able to file a green card petition on their behalf. However, if your fiancé and his/her children come to the US and then you get married in the US, the children can file a green card application by virtue of their K-2 visa status before turning age 21.
Wedding to be in US and you will live in US
If you want your wedding to take place in the United States and continue to live permanently in the US, the fiancé visa would seem to be proper choice.
Wedding to be in US and you will live abroad
If you want your wedding to take place in the United States, and then you and your spouse want to live abroad in your spouse’s home country, the fiancé visa or even a B-2 visitor tourist visa would work. Note that if you go the tourist visa route, you may need to submit evidence of your intent not to remain in the US.
Difficult immigration case
If you believe your immigration case will be difficult, the best choice would seem to be the fiancé visa. That way if your case is difficult, your lawyer will be better able to become involved in the process by contacting government officials and by accompanying you to any USCIS interviews. If your case gets denied in the US, your attorney may file an appeal. There is no appeal if your case is denied by the US consulate abroad.
When should I choose a spouse K-3/K-4 visa?
Wedding to be abroad and a green card application filed in US
If you want your wedding to take place abroad in your fiancé's home country, and then you want to have your new spouse come to the US to file the green card application, this spouse visa choice seems appropriate.
When should I choose an immigrant visa through the consular office abroad?
Wedding to be abroad and enter US with green card status
If you want your wedding to take place abroad in your fiancé's home country, and then have your new spouse enter the US as a permanent resident (green card status), then the consular processing method is likely the best choice. That way you can take care of everything before entering the US.
Cheapest method
As far as fees and are concerned, It may be less expensive to do consular processing, but is depends on the circumstances.
Which option works the fastest?
If your goal is to get your fiancé into the United States as soon as possible, you should ask an immigration attorney to take a look at the present time frames and backlogs of your fiancé's home country. If you have questions about the K visa, please contact our immigration attorneys at The Law Firm of Shihab & Associates, Co., LPA to schedule a consultation with an attorney at an office near you.