K-1 Fiancé(e) of a US Citizen
The K-1 visa brings the foreign fiancé(e) of a US citizen to the United States to marry that citizen within 90 days of arrival. It is technically a nonimmigrant visa but it is built for immigration, so the applicant clears most immigrant visa hurdles including a panel physician medical examination and police certificates. After the wedding the K-1 holder files to adjust status to permanent residence.
- Срок
- 90 days from admission. That period cannot be extended, and the K-1 must marry the petitioning citizen inside it. Separately, the underlying Form I-129F approval is valid for four months under 8 CFR 214.2(k)(5) and may be revalidated for a further four months, so a stale petition is a common practical obstacle before the visa is even issued.
- Продление
- None. The 90 days is fixed. If the Form I-129F approval expires before the visa is issued, the consular officer may revalidate it for another four months, but K-1 status itself cannot be extended and cannot be changed to another nonimmigrant classification.
- Работа
- Yes with an application. The K-1 may file Form I-765 for an EAD valid for the 90-day period, though most people skip it and instead file Form I-765 with the adjustment of status package after the wedding. Working before the EAD is issued is unauthorised.
- Двойное намерение
- true - K-1 is expressly designed to lead to permanent residence, so intending to immigrate is not a ground of refusal. Immigrant-style vetting applies as a result.
- Члены семьи
- Unmarried children under 21 of the K-1 receive K-2 visas. They need no separate Form I-129F if they were named on the parent's petition, and may accompany or follow to join within one year of the parent's K-1 issuance.
- Путь к грин-карте
- Direct. Marry the petitioning US citizen inside the 90 days, then file Form I-485 to adjust status. If the marriage is under two years old at approval you get conditional residence and later file Form I-751 to remove conditions. A K-1 who marries someone other than the petitioner cannot adjust on that basis.
- Срок рассмотрения
- Form I-129F at USCIS has typically run many months. National Visa Center transfer adds weeks, then the consular interview wait applies. Since the October 2025 interview waiver rollback and the March 2026 vetting expansion, K cases have been slower at busy posts. Adjustment of status after the wedding adds further months.
Кто подходит
- The foreign fiancé(e) of a United States citizen, including same-sex fiancé(e)s
- Both parties must have been legally free to marry when Form I-129F was filed and have stayed that way
- The couple must generally have met in person within the two years before filing, unless USCIS grants a hardship or cultural exception
- Unmarried children under 21 of the K-1 applicant, who receive K-2 visas
Требования
- An approved Form I-129F filed by the US citizen with USCIS
- Genuine intention to marry within 90 days of admission
- The marriage must be legally possible in the US state where it will happen
- Medical examination by an authorised panel physician
- Police certificates from your country of residence and every country you have lived in for six months or more since age 16
- Evidence the citizen sponsor's income is at least 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline, usually on Form I-134
- Compliance with the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act, including disclosure of the sponsor's criminal history to the applicant
- Since March 30, 2026, social media profiles set to public for online presence review
Как подать
- 1
The US citizen files Form I-129F with USCIS with proof of citizenship, proof the couple met in person within two years, and evidence of the relationship
- 2
USCIS approves and sends the petition to the National Visa Center, which forwards it to the post where the fiancé(e) lives
- 3
The fiancé(e) completes Form DS-160 and pays the $265 MRV fee
- 4
Book the medical examination with an authorised panel physician and gather police certificates, birth certificate and any divorce or death certificates
- 5
Set social media profiles to public, required of K-1 and K-2 applicants since March 30, 2026
- 6
Attend the interview with relationship evidence, financial support evidence and civil documents
- 7
Enter the United States within the visa validity and marry the petitioner within 90 days
- 8
File Form I-485 with Form I-765 and Form I-131 to adjust status, work and travel while it is pending
Сборы и формы
| Form I-129F petition for alien fiancé(e) | $675 |
| MRV nonimmigrant visa application fee, K category | $265 per applicant, including each K-2 child |
| Medical examination by a panel physician | Varies by country and physician |
| Form I-485 adjustment of status after the marriage | $1,440 paper, $1,390 online; $950 paper or $900 online for a child under 14 filing with a parent |
| USCIS immigrant fee | $0 for K nonimmigrants |
| Form I-751 to remove conditions on residence | Confirm on the current USCIS fee schedule before filing |
| Public Law 119-21 visa integrity fee | $250 statutory minimum; absent from the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026, so collection is unverified |
Что изменилось в 2025 и 2026 годах
- March 30, 2026: State added K-1, K-2 and K-3 applicants to expanded online presence review, announced March 25, 2026, and told them to set every social media profile to public.
- Jan. 1, 2026: Presidential Proclamation 10998, signed Dec. 16, 2025, took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST and replaced Proclamation 10949 (signed June 4, 2025, effective June 9, 2025). It fully suspends visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries - Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - plus holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, across every nonimmigrant and immigrant category. It only reaches people who were outside the United States and held no valid visa at 12:01 a.m. EST on Jan. 1, 2026; no earlier-issued visa was revoked under it. K-1 applicants from the 19 fully suspended countries are covered because the full suspension reaches every nonimmigrant and immigrant category.
- Jan. 1, 2026: PP 10998 removed the categorical exceptions PP 10949 had allowed for immediate relative immigrant visas and adoption visas, which narrows the workarounds available to affected fiancé(e) and spouse cases.
- Oct. 1, 2025: the interview waiver rollback announced Sept. 18, 2025 took effect and superseded the July 25, 2025 guidance. Almost every nonimmigrant applicant now needs an in-person interview. The standing carve-outs are A-1, A-2, C-3 other than personal staff, G-1 through G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, TECRO E-1, diplomatic and official visas, and 12-month renewals of B-1/B-2, Mexican border crossing cards and H-2A. Waiver-eligible applicants must also apply in their country of nationality or residence, must never have been refused a visa unless overcome or waived, and must have no apparent ineligibility. The old under-14 and over-79 age exemptions were abolished. No further update has issued as of September 2026. K applicants were never interview-waiver eligible, so the practical effect is longer queues rather than a lost benefit.
- July 15, 2026: State told nonimmigrant applicants to interview in their country of nationality or residence, or at the designated processing post if their country has no routine operations. Applying elsewhere is allowed but harder to qualify, the MRV fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, and waits are much longer. A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO and diplomatic applicants are exempt.
- July 4, 2025: Public Law 119-21 added non-waivable immigration surcharges on top of normal filing fees. The ones that touch nonimmigrants are the Form I-94 fee, held at $24 for FY 2026, the parole fee, adjusted to $1,020 for FY 2026, parolee EAD surcharges of $560 initial and $280 renewal, and a statutory visa integrity fee of at least $250 on nonimmigrant visa issuance. The $250 visa integrity fee is enacted but unverified as collected: it appears nowhere on the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026 and no implementing rule has published.
- Current USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055 edition 05/29/26: Form I-129F is $675 and Form I-485 is $1,440 on paper or $1,390 online.
- Feb. 26, 2026 and Aug. 5, 2026: State issued guidance on preventing public benefits reliance and on public charge bonds for immigrant visa applicants, which raises the evidentiary bar on financial support in K cases and the follow-on adjustment.
Где чаще всего ошибаются
- Marrying someone other than the petitioner. A K-1 cannot adjust status through a different spouse.
- Missing the 90-day marriage deadline. There is no extension and no change of status out of K-1.
- Forgetting to include children on Form I-129F, which forces separate and slower processing later.
- K-2 children who follow to join more than one year after the K-1's visa issuance lose eligibility.
- Using Form I-134 without meeting 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline, then having to redo it.
- Filing for the K-1 EAD. It usually expires before it arrives; file with the adjustment package instead.
- Leaving the United States after the wedding without an approved advance parole document, which abandons the pending adjustment.
- IMBRA limits on how many fiancé(e) petitions a citizen can file, and the waiver process for exceeding them.
Также в категории Fiancé and spouse
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