Fiancé Visa For Long Distance Relationships

The K-1 Visa & Polygamy

When we are talking about polygamy, which is the marriage between more than 2 people involved in the relationship, it is a type of marriage that is legal in some countries and illegal in others.

Never in the 50 states of the United States have accepted legal polygamy marriages, so it will never be possible for a US citizen petitioner who is already legally married, to ask for another wife in the country, it will never be possible under this type of procedure.

Why Is A K-1 Visa Denied?

In an immigration case, there is a huge difference between whether a Visa is refused or denied by the National Visa Center.

The difference between a rejection and a negative decision is that when a case where a package has been sent is rejected, it is because something was missing in the application that was sent, it could be that the payment was not complete or incorrect, all the documents that were requested were not in the envelope included in the package, the form was not filled out correctly.

What happens is that when we send a package, which is sending an application to the immigration agency, the workers at the post office open the folders, the envelopes, check if everything that was requested is included, and if something is missing they reject the package and return everything to the applicant with the payment included.

They don’t cash the check or anything like that, but the difficulty is that the process of rejection can take more than a month or two months, so there can be a lot of delays involved in the process for an applicant.

Part of rejection is the negative decision, and this depends on the evidence that was included in the package, for example, it has to be proven in this type of Visa that this is a couple that has plans to marry and that they have met in person in the last 2 years.

Then the post office will deliver the package to an official who will review the entire package, and will determine whether it will be a positive or negative decision. determine whether it will be a positive or negative decision.

Normally, if all the requirements are well done in the packet, it is approved and they go ahead with the appointment at the Consulate, and this is another step where it can be denied.

If you have not done the correct medical exam, if you have not brought the necessary documents for the appointment at the Consulate, if they do not give good or credible answers at the appointment, then you have to have everything planned for every step you are going to execute in your immigration process.

In our experience a negative decision in a Fiancé case is because of not having met the fiancé in person, not being a real relationship, or because of the applicant’s criminal history or immigration history, if for example they have been deported, they have been arrested in the past and that did not show up in their packet, those are reasons that the applicant is going to be in a complicated situation.

K-1 Visa & The Age Limit

A person in the United States is an adult under the law after turning 18 as in Mexico for example, but the difference is in the immigration world, a person is not an adult until they have reached 21 years of age.

For family petition cases, for example, a U.S. citizen child cannot petition their parents until they reach 21 years of age, this is the difference when dealing with immigration law issues.

Going back to the marriage issue, it has to be legal in the state where the ceremony is going to take place, this means that for example if the beneficiary is 17 years old and they are getting married in the state of Texas, we will have to prove in the package that it can take place in that state.

Let’s say that for a minor to be able to get married, they have to have a notarized letter from their mother or father giving permission, probably we would have to include a letter from the parents explaining and clarifying that they are going to give that letter to their children so that they can get married.

In any type of case, we always have to prove that a marriage or a wedding is going to occur in the state where they are going to live and that the wedding or marriage is going to be legal.

The Benefits Of The K-1 Visa & Its Disadvantages

After the beneficiary enters on the K-1 Visa cannot work, does not have a license immediately upon entering the country, the steps for this program are that the couple has to get married within those 90 days and apply for permanent residency, also within those 90 days the adjustment of the status process begins, which normally takes a year, but it does not take more than 90 days you can obtain a travel permit or a work permit 6 months after applying.

This means that the person who has a K-1 Visa and their children have entered together, probably will not be able to work or travel for about 9 months, if they get married immediately, apply within 90 days, that is 6 more months to obtain these permits.

So, during that time the couple needs to be ready to go through that situation because in our experience that time can be difficult for the immigrant who has left, who has left their family, their friends, their country, their language, the future they thought they would have, to be living in his fiancé’s house and also cannot work legally, cannot return to their country and visit their family.

Our advice, which is not legal advice, is that the couple is ready and talk about that time together, how they are going to spend that time and that they have plans to travel in the United States, to take a vacation, and that the petitioner not work too hard for too many hours so that they can have time for their partner.

You have to take into account that the fiancé is going to be almost stuck in the house waiting for the eligibility of your paperwork to move on with his life, that is an important point, but in the end, after that wait comes permanent residency and the opportunity to be able to travel outside the United States, and also apply for citizenship 3 years after residency, so if you are patient everything will work out in the end.

On the other hand, the risks of the Visa are those 9 months of waiting without permission to travel, and you still have to marry the petitioner to be able to stay in the United States legally.

It is not possible to enter under the K-1 Visa and say that you are going to change to a Student Visa, to a Work Visa, there is no going back to the person you choose to marry, the law says you have to marry that person, you cannot adjust your status for another marriage.

You have to be ready and make the right decision, that can be difficult for a couple that has lived all the time of their relationship in different countries, where their interaction has been based on chatting on WhatsApp with a lot of love, and everything becomes a little different when they are finally together in person.

How Accurate Is The “90 Day Fiancé” TV Show?

90 Day Fiancé has been on the air for years, and it is correct what you can see happening with these people, they are in the process in which the immigrant has already come to the United States, they are here in the process of asking for their permanent residency, that is the focus of the program, that waiting time together between the couple, and in that time there is a lot of drama and that is real.

We have the same clients who are going through practically the same situation, so it is a very real program, maybe a little dramatized to capture the public, but the situations that the couples go through in this reality show are quite real.

What Happens If You Separate Before 90 Days?

If the couple files for Adjustment of Status there is a way for the applicant to obtain permanent residency after that process if the couple separates, there is a way to move forward with legal status for the immigrant.

Under the VAWA program, there is a way to remove conditions on permanent residency and stay permanently, but it is necessary to marry and receive permanent residency to qualify for the VAWA program.

A person who has come under the K-1 Visa program has no other options for adjustment of status other than human trafficking and the U Visa, but in general, you must marry the citizen petitioner, obtain permanent residence and stay together until you obtain your Green Card to stay in the United States.

Taxes & Marriage

The rule about taxes if you are married, says that you must send your taxes as a married person.

When individuals are engaged after entry into the United States, there is no change in the way they pay taxes, but the crucial time is the full year.

For example, if someone enters now in February, the petitioner is going to do their taxes for the last year 2021 as single because they did not get married in 2021, but since they are getting married this year in 2022, already for the following year when they are paying their taxes before 2023 starts, these taxes have to appear with the personal data as married.

Is A K-1 Interview Needed? Is There K-1 For Children?

The process of the Fiancé is 3 steps, the first step is the I-129F form where we are requesting the Visa to USCIS which is the immigration agency, in that form we can write or include the names of the children that are going to be included.

This can be one form for all the beneficiaries, after this step we continue to the Consular Process and everyone will have to appear at the Consulate appointment including the children (they will have their cases) then we can start with the case for the mother and her two children, but when we continue to the Consulate they will become 3 cases, the one for the mother and the other 2 for her 2 children.

Then, after entering on the K-1 Visa, the 3 of them are going to have separate adjustments of status cases, each of the members is going to have their case, so we start with one, then the next one, and so on.

In case you have additional questions about the Fiancé Visa, the status of your marriage, or your specific case, you can contact us at (855) 502-0555. After a short 10 minute evaluation of your case over the phone we will let you know what options you have. You can also follow us on our social networks so as not to miss our weekly transmissions via FacebookYouTube & Twitch.

Frequently Asked Questions About K1 Visa

In our experience, a negative decision in a Fiancé case is because of not having met the fiancé in person, not being a real relationship, or because of the applicant’s criminal history or immigration history

About the Author: Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch

I am the managing partner of Lincoln-Goldfinch Law. Upon graduating from the University of Texas for college and law school, I received an Equal Justice Works Fellowship in 2008, completed at American Gateways. My project served the detained families seeking asylum. After my fellowship, I entered private immigration practice. My firm offers family-based immigration, such as green cards and naturalization, deportation defense, and humanitarian cases such as asylum, U Visa, and VAWA. Everyone at Lincoln-Goldfinch Law is bilingual, has a connection to our cause, and has demonstrated a history of activism for immigrants. To us, our work is not just a job.

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