A fiance visa lawyer, who also offers marriage green card services, can help you navigate over the judicial stream when you’re seeking a visa or green card for a fiance or marriage partner. You don’t want to embark on this “voyage” alone as it will only slow down the process. Because getting a green card takes time, you want to ensure everything goes as planned.
Why You Need to Work with a Fiance Visa Lawyer
You can accomplish your goals easier if you rely on the services of an immigration lawyer for fiance visa or green card documentation and approval. You’ll have to wait about a year to go through the initial process and wait about a month to continue with the process. During the second part of the application, you’ll need to schedule an interview and get a medical exam.
You’re going to see a lot of form numbers spring up when you’re applying for a fiance visa or green card. Just remember – technically, when you refer to a visa or green card, you’re referring to when the card is obtained.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) states that the major difference between a visa and green card has to do with traveling and arrival. A visa allows an immigrant to enter the U.S. and is indicated by a stamp on a passport. An immigrant applies for a green card after they enter the US and are working and living in the country.
According to the site, Upgraded Points, an immigration visa determines how you’re traveling. Some visas are used solely for tourists while other visas, such as immigration visas, give the holder an entry to work and live in the U.S.
The last process of this journey involves naturalization or US citizenship. As a green card holder, a person must wait 5 years before applying for US citizenship.
You can get an immigrant visa through a family member, employment, investment, a lottery, by asylum or refugee status, through a registry, and even through the director of the CIA.
On average, it takes the USCIS to process a form (I-129F), which is called the “Petition for Alien Fiance) 10 to 13 months. Once approved, the applicant must wait an additional 4 weeks to receive further instructions for the process from the National Visa Center (NVC).
These documents allow your fiance to enter the US with a K-1 visa. You’ll need to review the fees and process with an experienced fiance visa lawyer, as they can be rather expensive. The cost of the visa, for example, can be as high as $1,000.
A cost breakdown includes what you’ll pay for filling out I-129F and your partner’s medical exam. Once the I-129F is approved, he or she will need to schedule the exam. You’ll also have to fill out a K-1 visa application, which also requires a fee. This fee is paid at the time of the applicant’s interview.
The Department of the Secretary of State manages visa applications in the U.S. The overall charge also includes what you’ll pay in the translation and photocopying or obtaining required documentation, such as a birth certificate.
K-1 Visa Eligibility Requirements
When you speak to an immigration lawyer for a fiance visa, he or she will soon advise you about K-1 visa eligibility and sponsorship. To sponsor your partner, you must already be a U.S. citizen. You cannot be a green card holder (or permanent resident). You have to have citizenship rights
Marriage Requirements for Obtaining the Visa
Once your fiance gains entry into the US with their K-1 visa, both of you have 90 days to get married. At the time of entry, both you and your partner must be unmarried. Therefore, you must submit prior divorce decrees, annulments, or death certificates to prove you are officially single.
Proving the Legitimacy of Your Relationship
The legitimacy of your relationship must be proven with evidentiary material, such as hotel reservations and trips taken as a couple, written statements of friends or peers who know about your relationship, emails between the two of you, flight schedules, and photographs.
Also, you must show that you previously met, at least once, prior to filling out the visa form. Both you and your fiance must present signed statements that show your intent to marry within 90 days of your future spouse’s arrival into the US.
A fiance visa lawyer will often ask that you further show proof with wedding invitations or receipts that indicate you have established a wedding venue.
Back-up Material for the K-1 Visa Application
While the K-1 visa application is used to help your fiance gain entry into the US, the I-129F form, which the USCIS processes, shows the validity of your relationship. When you file this form, you’ll need to show the following:
- Proof of the sponsor’s U.S. citizenship (passport, birth certificate, or naturalization certificate)
- Copy of fiance’s passport
- Proof of the legitimacy of the relationship and having met in person at least once
- Sworn statements by both partners about the relationship – usually it is best to submit the original statements and keep copies for your records
- A copy of form I-94 which indicates arrival and departure dates for your fiance
If more information is required during I-129F processing, you’ll receive an RFE (request for evidence).
After the I-129F form is submitted and approved, the process continues to the Department of Secretary of State. Your fiance will receive a notice, after about 30 days, from their country’s US consulate. In this notice, they’ll be given the scheduled interview date and time and the documentation they’ll need to submit.
During this part of the process, they’ll fill out form DS-160, which is actually the K-1 visa application. From this point, you and your fiance visa lawyer must work diligently to ensure that all the forms are filled out correctly and everything is prepared to avoid any glitches in processing.
The ultimate goal, after getting a fiance visa, is to apply for a green card that is marriage-based. This same partner who sponsored the K-1 Fiance visa will also sponsor the green card. You will also need a fiance visa lawyer to help you through these steps as well.
Contact an Experienced Fiance Visa Lawyer Now
To get a fiance visa for your partner, contact an experienced visa and green card attorney. Contact the Rijal Law Firm for further information. You can call the law firm at (885) 997-4525 today.
