A U.S. citizen may be eligible to bring his/her foreign national fiancé(e) to the United States on a fiancé(e) visa if the following requirements are met:

• The U.S. citizen and his/her foreign national fiancé(e) intend to marry one another within 90 days of the foreign national’s admission to the United States on a K-1 nonimmigrant visa;
• The U.S. citizen and his/her foreign national fiancé(e) are both legally free to marry (this means both are legally able to marry in the United States and any previous marriages have been legally terminated by divorce, death, or annulment); and
• The U.S. citizen and his/her foreign national fiancé(e) met each other in person at least once within the 2-year period before a petition is filed. The U.S. citizen may request a waiver of this in-person meeting requirement if the U.S. citizen can show that meeting in person would:
  • Violate strict and long-established customs of the U.S. citizen’s fiancé(e)’s foreign culture or social practice; or
  • Result in extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen petitioner.

Once the U.S. citizen and the foreign national fiancé(e) marry within 90 days of being admitted to the United States as a K-1 nonimmigrant, the foreign national may apply for lawful permanent resident status in the United States (a Green Card).

After being admitted to the U.S. on a K-1 nonimmigrant visa, the foreign national fiancé(e) may immediately apply for evidence of work authorization. In this case, the foreign national fiancé(e)’s work authorization is valid for only 90 days after his or her entry into the U.S.

If the U.S. citizen and the foreign national are already married, plan to marry outside the United States, or the foreign national fiancé(e) is already residing legally in the United States, the foreign national spouse or fiancé(e) is not eligible for a fiancé(e) visa.

If the foreign national fiancé(e) has a child who is under 21 and unmarried, the child may be eligible to come to the United States on a K-2 nonimmigrant visa. The U.S. citizen must include the names of the foreign national fiancé(e)’s children on the petition if the U.S. citizen wishes to bring them to the United States. The children must continue to be unmarried and under 21 in order to be admitted to the United States as K-2 nonimmigrants. They may travel with the foreign national fiancé(e) or later, but they cannot travel to the U.S. before the foreign national fiancé(e).

If the U.S. citizen and the foreign national fiancé(e) married within 90 days of the foreign national fiancé(e)’s admission into the U.S., the foreign national fiancé(e)’s children who were admitted as K-2 nonimmigrants may also apply for a Green Card by filing an Adjustment of Status Application with USCIS. However, K-2 nonimmigrant children must remain unmarried in order to be eligible for a Green Card. K-2 nonimmigrant children should apply for a Green Card at the same time or after the foreign national fiancé(e).