Can a Green Card Holder Apply For a Fiance Visa?
If you are a green card holder and your fiance is a US citizen, you have a few options for inviting them to the United States. One of those options is a K-1 visa.
This visa allows you to bring your fiance to the US and get married within 90 days. However, your fiance cannot stay here after that time.
1. You must be a US citizen
If your foreign fiance is a US citizen, you can apply for their fiance visa (K-1) to allow them to enter the United States and marry within 90 days of arrival. Once they marry, the couple may apply for a green card together, and they can stay in the US as permanent residents.
Your fiance must be single and legally free from any previous marriages in order to be eligible for the K-1 visa. You must submit evidence that all prior marriages have been legally terminated, such as death certificates or divorce decrees.
You must meet the income requirements of US immigration law in order to be approved as a sponsor for your fiance. In order to qualify, your income must be stable and sufficient to support them for the long term. You should be able to demonstrate this by providing recent tax returns, business records, and other sources of proof.
Another requirement of US immigration law is that you must have met your fiance(e) in person at least once in the last two years. This doesn’t mean you have to know your fiance(e) for that long, but they must have been physically present in the United States during this time.
It is also important to note that same sex couples are not automatically allowed to marry in the U.S. If your fiance lives in a country that prohibits same sex marriage, you should consult with an immigration lawyer to determine your options.
To make sure that you have a valid relationship with your fiance(e), you will need to convince both the USCIS and the Consular Officers involved in your case that you truly have a bona fide relationship and that you intend to marry your fiance(e) within 90 days of entry into the United States. This is to prevent fraud from scammers who are only interested in immigration.
The best way to prove that you have a stable income is by showing your most recent IRS tax return. Your other sources of income such as wages, benefits, interest, and dividends are considered in determining your income stability as well. You may also consider joint sponsorship with someone who has a more stable income than you do, such as a family member or friend.
2. You must be engaged
The fiance visa, also known as the K-1 visa, is a great way for a green card holder to bring their foreign partner to the United States. It’s a temporary visa that allows your foreign fiance to stay in the country for 90 days while you decide if you want to get married.
It’s a great way to meet your future spouse, and it’s also a good chance for you to see their home country. You’ll both need to prove that your relationship is bona fide by providing photos, correspondence, and written statements from people who know you well as a couple.
Depending on the type of visa you’re attempting, there may be other requirements. For example, you should check to see if your fiance is eligible for a marriage-based green card before you start the process.
If they are, you’ll need to file a marriage green card petition (also referred to as an I-130 petition). This process can be a bit lengthy, and it may involve background checks and security screenings that can be expensive.
Another important factor is whether you’ll be able to afford the costs associated with traveling to the other side of the world for your wedding. Many foreign countries charge high travel fees, but it’s possible to get a better deal by negotiating airfare and hotel rates with your fiance’s employer or local hotel.
The government also considers your fiance’s source of income. This could be a day-to-day job or earnings from other sources like retirement and disability benefits.
You’ll also need to prove that you have the means to support them in their new home. The most common way to prove your financial stability is by submitting your most recent IRS tax return.
Luckily, it’s not as hard as you might think to get your fiance to the US on the right visa. There are a few paths you can take to make that happen, including a K-1 fiance visa and a marriage-based green card. Boundless will help you decide which route is best for your situation.
3. You must be in love
A fiance visa, or K-1, is a visa for foreign-born fiances of US citizens. It allows the fiance to enter the United States on a temporary basis and marry their U.S. citizen fiancee within 90 days of arrival.
In order to qualify for a fiance visa, you must be in love and have a stable source of income that you can support your fiance with. You must also be able to show that you have met your fiance in person, and have documented evidence of your relationship.
Generally, you must have met your fiance in person at least once within the last two years of applying for the visa. However, you may be exempt from this requirement if there are certain circumstances that prevented you from meeting in person. For example, if you are from an area that is known for its religious, cultural or social barriers to marriage, you may be able to overcome this obstacle by providing additional proof of your relationship such as pictures and travel itineraries.
You must also be able to prove that you intend to get married within 90 days of entering the U.S. This will require you to provide concrete evidence of your wedding plans, such as vendor receipts showing your wedding venue and invitations to guests.
Another consideration is that it is a good idea to get married as soon as possible after acquiring the visa, since you are only allowed to marry your fiance within 90 days of obtaining the visa. If you delay, it can result in you losing your fiance’s visa and you risk removal from the United States.
It’s important to note that while the fiance visa is an excellent option for green card holders, it has many disadvantages as well. For one, the application process can be complicated and time-consuming. You and your fiance will likely be required to meet several background and security checks before the visa is approved, which can take months.
In addition, your fiance will be required to be sponsored by someone else with a stable source of income. This person could be a relative, friend or colleague who lives in the same country as your fiancee.
4. You must be willing to marry
If a green card holder is in love with a foreign national, they can apply for a fiance visa to bring their foreign fiance to the United States to marry them. The fiance visa allows the couple to travel to the US and get married within 90 days of arriving in the country.
However, the fiance must be willing to marry and live in the United States after their marriage. If they do not meet this requirement, they will not be eligible to apply for a fiance visa.
In addition to being willing to marry, a couple must also meet other criteria. For example, the couple must have met in person at least once in the past two years.
It’s important to have concrete wedding plans while in the US, and these can be shown through invitations, venue reservations or vendor receipts that show that the couple has specific, planned events to celebrate. It’s best to have these documents in hand, because if you fail to submit them or they are rejected by the authorities, it can be a difficult time for both parties.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the government will want to see that you have a genuine relationship with your fiance, rather than simply getting married to gain immigration benefits. This means that you need to provide evidence of a genuine and bona fide relationship, such as wedding invitations, letters from friends and family addressed to both of you, joint bank account statements, photos of your spouse and you together, and more.
The government is notoriously suspicious of sham marriages, and they will be quick to reject any application for a Green Card through marriage if there’s no evidence that the couple was involved in a real, committed relationship. In the past, this method has been exploited by fraudsters who gained immigration benefits through sham marriages, so it’s always best to have a solid legal basis for your relationship before applying for a marriage-based Green Card.