K-3 Spouse of a US Citizen Awaiting an Immigrant Petition
The K-3 visa was created to shorten the separation between a US citizen and a foreign spouse while the Form I-130 immigrant petition is pending. In practice it has become close to a dead letter: when the National Visa Center receives an approved I-130 before or with the I-129F, the K-3 route is administratively closed and the case goes straight to immigrant visa processing. Most spouses now process as immediate relatives instead.
- Duration
- Two years from admission under 8 CFR 214.2(k). Status terminates 30 days after denial or revocation of the underlying Form I-130, denial or revocation of the immigrant visa application or the adjustment application, or the finalisation of a divorce from the US citizen petitioner.
- Extensions
- Extensions are granted in two-year intervals while the I-130 or the adjustment application remains pending. In practice the case is resolved by adjustment of status long before repeated extensions become necessary.
- Work
- Yes with an application. A K-3 must file Form I-765 with USCIS for an employment authorisation document; work authorisation is not automatic on admission.
- Dual intent
- true - K-3 exists precisely to bridge a pending immigrant petition, so immigrant intent is expected.
- Dependents
- Unmarried children under 21 of the K-3 receive K-4 visas, based on the same Form I-129F, provided the US citizen listed them on it.
- Path to a green card
- Direct, once USCIS approves the Form I-130. The K-3 then files Form I-485 to adjust status. If the marriage is under two years old at approval, residence is conditional and Form I-751 follows. Most couples never use K-3 at all because the I-130 is approved first and the case converts to an immigrant visa.
- Processing time
- Usually irrelevant, because the I-130 is normally approved before the K-3 can be issued and the National Visa Center then closes the K-3. Where it is used, expect months for the I-129F plus the consular interview wait.
Who qualifies
- The foreign spouse of a US citizen, including same-sex spouses
- Where the US citizen has filed Form I-130 for that spouse and it is still pending
- Where the US citizen has also filed Form I-129F for the same spouse
- The applicant must apply in the country where the marriage took place, if the marriage happened outside the United States
Requirements
- A valid, legally recognised marriage to the US citizen petitioner
- A pending Form I-130 receipted by USCIS
- An approved Form I-129F for the spouse
- 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 of financial support, usually on Form I-134 at 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline
- Since March 30, 2026, social media profiles set to public for online presence review
How to apply
- 1
The US citizen files Form I-130 with USCIS and keeps the Form I-797 receipt notice
- 2
The US citizen then files Form I-129F for the same spouse, listing any children
- 3
If USCIS approves the I-130 first, or both arrive at the National Visa Center together, the K-3 route closes and the case proceeds as an immigrant visa
- 4
If the K-3 route stays open, the spouse completes Form DS-160 and pays the $265 MRV fee
- 5
Complete the medical examination and gather civil documents and police certificates
- 6
Set social media profiles to public, required of K-3 applicants since March 30, 2026
- 7
Attend the interview in the country where the marriage took place
- 8
After admission, file Form I-765 for work authorisation and Form I-485 once the I-130 is approved
Fees and forms
| Form I-130 petition for alien relative, filed with USCIS | $675 when collected by US embassies and consulates for USCIS |
| Form I-129F petition for alien fiancé(e), used to trigger K-3 | $675 |
| MRV nonimmigrant visa application fee, K category | $265 per applicant |
| Form I-765 for employment authorisation | $520 paper, $470 online |
| Form I-539 to extend K-3 status | $470 paper, $420 online |
| Form I-485 adjustment of status | $1,440 paper, $1,390 online |
| USCIS immigrant fee | $0 for K nonimmigrants |
| 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 |
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- March 30, 2026: K-3 applicants were added to expanded online presence review and told to set social media profiles 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.
- Jan. 1, 2026: PP 10998 withdrew the PP 10949 exception for immediate relative immigrant visas, which matters here because the K-3's whole purpose is bridging to an immediate relative immigrant visa.
- 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.
- 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. The K-3 rule that you apply in the country where the marriage took place sits awkwardly with the July 2026 residence guidance; confirm the correct post before paying any fee.
- 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.
- Feb. 26, 2026 and Aug. 5, 2026: State guidance on preventing public benefits reliance and public charge bonds raises the financial evidence bar on the follow-on immigrant case.
Where it goes wrong
- Filing the I-129F expecting a faster route, then finding the K-3 closed because the I-130 was approved first.
- Assuming K-3 carries work authorisation on arrival. It does not; Form I-765 is required.
- Not realising status ends 30 days after a divorce is final, or after the I-130 is denied.
- Applying at the wrong post. The K-3 must be applied for where the marriage took place if the marriage was abroad.
- Leaving the United States on a pending adjustment without an advance parole document.
- Treating K-3 as a general spouse visa. It only exists where an I-130 is already pending.
Also in fiancé and spouse
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