US: Rights For Children of Fiancés Underlined

K-1 Visa: The Visa related to this entire reform is known as K-1 Visa. In essence, it is applied for by a fiancé or a fiancée a legal citizen of United States to enter the country. Within three months of entry into the United States, the petitioner must marry the US citizen. As soon as the two tie the knot the foreign citizen is adjusted to become a legal United States citizen.

Process: You should be well aware about the process. It begins with filling the petition form I-129F with the USCIS. It is later dispatched to the National Visa Center of the State Department. It further forwards it to the Embassy or Consulate which in turn confirms the receipt of the foreign national. Next, the submitted documents are verified, a medical exam is conducted and the process ends with an interview. It usually takes 8 months to complete.

Associated Categories: If aged below 21, can immigrate with their applying for a K-1 Visa. These are issued a derivative visa known as K-2. The other category is known as K-3 which is made to let a foreign partner of a US citizen a change to enter US as a non-immigrant and avail legal status by filing the I-485 form with the USCIS. K-4 visa is issued to a child of K-3 Visa holder.

Requirements: The fiancé and the fiancée must be married in the state of the petitioner’s residence. They should meet the legal requirements of age and marital status. Partner of the similar sex are ineligible to apply for K-1 visa. The two partners must have had a meeting personally two years ahead of filing the petition. Finally, the applicants are required to show that they are not potential public charges in the United States.

Considerations: Since the issue involves direct citizenship and employment, fraud probabilities also increase. To address to the issue, the US Congress passed the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986. Governments officials are given expert training to see for detect and take actions. In 1980s, about 30% of such marriages went under the scanner. The guilty partners may have to pay a fine of $250,000 or be asked to enter into a marriage for up to years or both.