How Do I Bring My Fiancé(e) to the
United States?
Background
Where Can I Find the Law?
Who is Eligible?
How Do I Apply?
Will I Get a Work Permit?
How Can I Check the Status of My Application?
How Can I Appeal?
Can Anyone Help Me?
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
Background
If your fiancé(e) is not
a citizen of the United States and you plan to get married in
the United States, then you must file a petition with USCIS on behalf
of your fiancé(e). After the petition is approved, your
fiancé(e) must obtain a visa issued at a U.S. Embassy or
consulate abroad. The marriage must take place within 90 days
of your fiancé(e) entering the United States. If the marriage
does not take place within 90 days or your fiancé(e) marries
someone other than you (the U.S. citizen filing USCIS Form I-129F
- Petition for Alien Fiancé), your fiancé(e) will
be required to leave the United States. Until the marriage takes
place, your fiancé(e) is considered a nonimmigrant. A nonimmigrant
is a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United
States for a specific purpose. A fiancé(e) may not obtain
an extension of the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.
If your fiancé(e) intends to live and work permanently
in the United States, your fiancé(e) should apply to become
a permanent resident after your marriage. (If your fiancé(e)
does not intend to become a permanent resident after your marriage,
your fiancé(e)/new spouse must leave the country within
the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.) For more information,
please see How Do I Become a Legal
Permanent Resident While in the United States?. Please
note, your fiancé(e) will initially receive conditional
permanent residence status for two years. Conditional permanent
residency is granted when the marriage creating the relationship
is less than two years old at the time of adjustment to permanent
residence status. For more information, please see How
Do I Remove the Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage?.
Please note: Your fiancé(e) may enter the United
States only one time with a fiancé(e) visa. If your fiancé(e)
leaves the country before you are married, your fiancé(e)
may not be allowed back into the United States without a new visa.
(Please see How Can I Get a Travel Document?
for additional travel information if your fiancé(e) will
apply to become a legal permanent resident after you are married.)
For an excellent overview of immigration issues, please see the
chapters and tables on temporary
admissions and immigrants in the Immigration Statistical Yearbook.
Where Can I Find the Law?
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is a law that
governs the admission of people into the United States. For the
part of the law concerning fiancé(e) (K-1) visas, please
see INA
§ 214. The specific eligibility requirements and
procedures for applying for the fiancé(e) (K-1) classification
are included in the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] at 8
CFR § 214.2(k).
Who is Eligible
U.S. citizens who will be getting married to a foreign
national in the United States may petition for a fiancé(e)
classification (K-1) for their fiancé(e). You and your
fiancé(e) must be free to marry. This means that both of
you are unmarried, or that any previous marriages have ended through
divorce, annulment or death. You must also have met with your
fiancé(e) in person within the last two years before filing
for the fiancé(e) visa. This requirement can be waived
only if meeting your fiancé(e) in person would violate
long-established customs, or if meeting your fiancé(e)
would create extreme hardship for you. You and your fiancé(e)
must marry within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the
United States.
You may also apply to bring your fiancé(e)'s unmarried
children, who are under age 21, to the United States.
How Do I Apply?
To find out how you can apply to bring your fiancé(e)
to the United States, please click here to see Application
Procedures, which will help you identify what you need
to do. Fiancé(e) petitions are filed at the USCIS Service Center serving your area of residence.
Will I Get a Work Permit?
After arriving in the United States, your fiancé(e) will
be eligible to apply for a work permit. (You should note that
USCIS might not be able to process the work permit within the 90-day
time limit for your marriage to take place.) Your fiancé(e)
should use Form
I-765 to apply for a work permit. Please see How
Do I Get a Work Permit? for more information. If your
fiancé(e) applies for adjustment to permanent resident
status, your fiancé(e) must re-apply for a new work permit
after the marriage.
How Can I Check the Status of My Application?
Please contact the USCIS office that received your application.
You should be prepared to provide the USCIS staff with specific
information about your application. Please click here for complete
instructions on checking the status of
your visa petition. Click here for information on specific
USCIS offices.
How Can I Appeal?
If your petition for a fiancé(e) visa is denied, the denial
letter will tell you how to appeal. Generally, you may appeal
within 33 days of receiving the denial by mail. Your appeal must
be filed on USCIS Form I-290B. The appeal must be filed with the
office that made the original decision. After your appeal form
and a required fee are processed, the appeal will be referred
to the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU) in Washington, DC. (Sending
the appeal and fee directly to the AAU will delay the process.)
For more information, please see, How
Do I Appeal the Denial of My Petition or Application?.
Can Anyone Help Me?
If advice is needed, you may contact the USCIS District Office near
your home for a list of community-based, non-profit organizations
that may be able to assist you in applying for an immigration
benefit. Please see our USCIS
field offices home page for more information on contacting
USCIS offices. In addition, please see our Webpage that provides
information on obtaining free
legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
Do you want further information? Click here for access to our
Frequently Asked Questions
on immigration. Also, please see the State
Department Website for more information on bringing your
fiancé(e) to the United States.