1. I am a U.S. Citizen, how do I help my fiancé become a U.S. Permanent Resident?

A U.S. citizen who wishes to marry a non-U.S. citizen or permanent resident can help their fiancé obtain permanent residence in different ways.

One way is to apply for a fiancé visa if your fiancé is overseas and you want to marry in the United States. This visa lets your fiancé enter the United States for 90 days so that your marriage ceremony can take place in the United States. Once you marry, your spouse can apply for permanent residence and remain in the United States while USCIS processes the application. If you choose this method, file a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé. If USCIS approves the I-129F, they will send it to the National Visa Center, which will process and forward it to the U.S. Embassy or consulate nearest your fiancé's foreign place of residence. The embassy or consulate will then invite him or her to apply for the actual fiancé visa.

Another way is to marry your fiancé overseas. If you marry overseas, you can then file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for your new spouse.

2. What are the basic eligibility requirements for a fiancé petition?

You must be a U.S. citizen to file a fiancé petition. In your petition, you must show that:

• You are a U.S. citizen;


• You and your fiancé intend to marry within 90 days of your fiancé entering the United States;


• You are both free to marry; and


• You have met each other in person within 2 years before you file this petition. However, there are two exceptions which require a waiver:

- If the requirement to meet your fiancé in person would violate strict and long-established customs of your or your fiancé's foreign culture or social practice; or

- If you prove that the requirement to personally meet your fiancé would result in extreme hardship to you.

3. If I choose the fiancé visa option, how does my fiancé obtain permanent resident status?

Your fiancé will need to enter the United States with a fiancé visa. Once admitted to the United States with a K-1 visa, your fiancé will be authorized to stay for 90 days during which you are permitted to marry. As soon as you marry, your spouse may apply for permanent residence by filing a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status.

4. My fiancé has a child. May the child come to the United States with my fiancé?

If the child is under 21 years old and is not married, a K-2 visa may be available to him or her. Be sure to include the name(s) of your fiancé’s child(ren) on your I-129F fiancé petition.

5. Can my fiancé work in the United States while on a fiancé visa?

After admission, your fiancé may immediately apply for permission to work by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over your place of residence. Any work authorization based on a nonimmigrant fiancé visa would be valid for only 90 days after entry. However, your fiancé would also be eligible to apply for an extended work authorization at the same time as he or she files for permanent residence. In this case, your fiancé would file Form I-765 together with Form I-485 as soon as you marry.

6. What if my fiancé uses a different kind of visa, or enters as a visitor without visa, to come here so we can marry?

There could be serious problems for your fiancé if he or she enters the United States on another visa with the intention of marrying and residing here. Attempting to obtain a visa or entering the United States by saying one thing when you intend another may be considered immigration fraud, for which there are serious penalties. Those penalties include restricting a person's ability to obtain immigration benefits, including permanent residence, as well as a possible fine of up to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to 5 years.

7. What if my fiancé is already in the United States in another status and we decide to marry now?

If your fiancé is in the United States and entered using a visa other than a fiancé visa, and you marry, then you may file an I-130 relative petition for him or her as your spouse. He or she may be able to file Form I-485 along with your petition.

If your fiancé is in the United States and entered unlawfully, in most cases he or she will not be able to adjust status to that of a permanent resident while in the United States. In this situation, once you marry, you may file an I-130 relative petition for him or her as your spouse. If approved, he or she will have to pursue an immigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or consulate overseas.

8. What if we are engaged but have not yet decided to marry?

The fiancé visa is a temporary visa that simply permits your fiancé to enter the United States so that the two of you can marry in the United States within the 90 days permitted from the date of entry. It is not a way for you to bring a person here so you can get to know one another, or spend more time together to decide whether or not you want to marry.

9. What happens if we do not marry within 90 days?

Fiancé status automatically expires after 90 days. It cannot be extended. Your fiancé should leave the United States at the end of the 90 days if you do not marry. If your fiancé does not depart, he or she would violate U.S. immigration law. This could affect future eligibility for U.S. immigration benefits.