According to some in Kentucky, love knows no geographic bounds. It is not unusual for a U.S. citizen to fall in love with someone from another country and wish to marry them. Sometimes, though, the couple wants to get married in the United States. To do so, the fiancé of the U.S. citizen must have the proper visa to live in the United States before he or she can ultimately become a U.S. citizen.
The first step in bringing your foreign fiancé into the United States is to apply for and obtain a K-1 nonimmigrant visa. To do so, you and your fiancé must have plans to get married within 90 days of the fiancé arriving in the country. You and your fiancé must have a valid, bona fide intent to live together as a married couple. “Green Card marriages,” in which a couple marries only so that the foreign spouse can obtain immigration benefits are not allowed.
In addition, to be eligible for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa, both parties must be free to legally marry, and they must have met each other in person one time or more within the two years prior to filing their petition for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa. Once the couple has been married for 90 days, the immigrant spouse can seek a Green Card allowing them to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
As this shows, a foreign fiancé needs to obtain the proper visa to enter the United States and eventually seek a Green Card. Couples in love may be in a rush to marry, but it is important if your fiancé is from another country that the proper process is followed to lawfully bring them to marry and live in the United States. If a fiancé is unlawfully residing in the United States. it could lead to removal, a result no married couple wants. Family immigration professionals can help U.S. citizens do what is necessary for their fiancé to lawfully enter the country.
