INS, K1 and other stuff

Any information provided on this and the next pages is intended as a guide for people who find themselves in a similar situation we were in. We are not lawyers, the INS is changing rules and regulations every once in a while, so please do not use it as the final word. Homepages like this helped us a lot with our visa process, but the INS will make the rules up in the end, and this is the rules you have to follow...

After we decided that we did not want to live apart from each other anymore, and that it would be Bine moving to the US, we started looking for the fastest and most uncomplicated way to get a visa. We found some interesting pages on the web from other couples in similar situations, and Bine made some phone calls to the American Consulate in Frankfurt. And in the end, we both agreed that using the K1 fiance visa seemed to be the best way to go for us. So what is the K1 visa all about?

The K1 visa enables US Citizens to bring their foreign fiance(e)s to the United States in order to get married. If the fiance(e) has any unmarried children under the age of 21, a K2 visa is required to bring them into the United States. The K1 visa itself is only the start of a series of paperwork that needs to be filled out, submitted, and then long waiting times in between. And certainly lots of ever increasing fees that need to be paid.

The steps of the K1 visa process are:

The US Citizen files the I-129F petition for the foreign fiance(e) with the INS Service Center having jurisdiction over the place of the petitioner's residence in the United States. You can find the forms and documents you need to enclose in this package here.

The US citizen will get an I-797 "Notice of Action" from the INS to confirm receipt of the petition. It will also give a receipt number by which information on the case status can be obtained from the automated phone system. Once the case is approved, another I-797 "Notice of Action" will be sent to the US citizen. This is the actual approval notice.

The INS Service Center will forward the petition to the responsible US Consulate in the foreign country.The Consulate will send a new package of paperwork to the fiance(e) in the foreign country. Once he/she has all the necessary documents and forms together (may take a while, it is better to get a headstart on them...), the consulate schedules the fiance(e) for an interview. Here you can find more information on what needs to be done/gathered before the contacting the Consulate to be scheduled for an interview. You will also need a medical examination by one of the Consulate's panel physicians, you can find more information about this here.

The interview with the Consulate is usually very uncomplicated, all you need to bring is some time, in most cases some patience, and the forms/evidence they list. Some consulates issue the visa right then and there, or later during the day, some do send the K1 visa package (in an sealed envelope, do NOT open, or you can start all over again) and your passport with the visa stamp some days later.

Once the visa is issued, the fiance(e) in the foreign country has six months to enter the United States. The sealed envelope with all the paperwork will be opened by the INS right at the airport, and you get the usual I-94 departure form in your passport. You might or might not get a temporary work authorization for the next three months, if not, you will get it for sure after you are married and you apply for the adjustment of status.

After entering the United States, you have 90 days to get married and file the Adjustment of Status application with your local INS office. Immediately after the marriage, form I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status has to be submitted in order to obtain permanent residency for the foreign citizen. With that form, there is other applications that need to be submitted, you can find information about the entire package here. All of this will ultimately lead to the foreign citized to be a permanent resident of the US, get a temporary work authorization, be able to apply for a Social Security number, and then in the end get the Green Card.

If everything goes well, you will have the Green Card before the Temporary Work Authorization expires (after one year). Before this is approved though, you will be scheduled for the famous "Green Card Interview". Both the American citizen and the foreign citizen will have to go there, and certainly, there is another bunch of evidence and paperwork to bring in again (to be found here). The interview itself is usually no problem for "really" married couples.

After the interview, your passport will be stamped with the I-551 Alien Registration Receipt stamp (which makes you a conditional permanent resident). Unless you are there at the wrong time, then it might be that they tell you that they can't give you the stamp because of some backup in processing, and you will have to wait until your Green Card arrives to be a conditional permanent resident. Just keep in mind to reapply for your work authorization after one year, if the Green Card is not there in time.

And then, after some weeks/months/years, you will finally get your Green Card/Permanent resident card in the mail. Which gives you a break for about two years. Then, the Green Card expires again, and you have to file for lifting of the conditional status. You have to submit the I-751 "Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence" and the necessary papers and evidence 90 days before the Green Card expires to allow for approval time. In most cases, you will get a new Green Card without any further interview or problems.

And that's it. After all those years, you will probably be so used to collecting evidence, filling out paperwork and answering stupid questions, that you will feel something is missing in the beginning. I guess to prevent that, the INS made sure the Green Card expires after 10 years, so you can at least submit an application for an renewal every once in a while. And for those of you who are terribly bored, there is always the possibility of naturalization after 3 or 5 years, but that is another story....

Ok, now you got the theory, sounds good and not that hard reading it, huh? Well, then let's take a look at reality, to read about our experiences and adventures with the INS, click on the button below.

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