If you are a United States citizen and you would like to marry your fiancé, who is a citizen of another country, in the United States you can file an application for a fiancé visa. A fiancé visa will allow your fiancé to legally enter the United States to marry you. Once you are married, your fiancé can file an application for a green card.
Steps in the Fiancé Visa Process
The first step in the fiancé visa process is to file the petition for a fiancé visa. In this application you must prove that you are U.S. citizen, that you have met your fiancé in person within the last two years (unless certain exceptions apply), that you have a bona fide relationship with your fiancé, and that you intend to marry your fiancé within 90 days of your fiancé’s arrival in the United States.
The fiancé petition is sent to United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for review. If the petition is approved, then your fiancé’s approved petition is sent to the U.S. embassy in the country where your fiancé resides. The U.S. embassy will schedule an interview for your fiancé.
At the interview, your fiancé will be required to answer questions and provide certain documentation to the U.S. immigration officer. The officer will ask your fiancé questions about your relationship to review its authenticity. The officer will also screen your fiancé for a criminal record or other security risks to the United States. You will also be required to fill out an application for financial sponsorship for your fiancé and prove that you can support your fiancé financially in the United States.
If the immigration officer at the U.S. embassy is satisfied with the information and documentation provided at the interview, your fiancé will be issued a fiancé visa. Your fiancé will travel to the United States using this visa. Once in the United States, you will need to marry your fiancé within 90 days. If you do not marry within 90 days, your fiancé will be required to leave the United States. If you do marry within 90 days, your fiancé can file an application for a green card.
Fiancé Visa versus Spousal Visa
The fiancé visa process is ideal for you if you want to marry your fiancé in the United States. If you would prefer to marry your fiancé outside of the United States, you would no longer be eligible to apply for a fiancé visa, but you could apply for a spousal visa. The spousal visa process is more complex than the fiancé visa (link to home page) process and it usually takes much longer for your spouse to be granted a visa to come to the United States. However, the advantage of the spousal visa process is that once your spouse enters the United States, there are no additional steps needed to obtain a green card (link to green card page).
How an Immigration Attorney can help you through the process
The fiancé visa and the spousal visa process is quite complex and can be difficult to understand. It can also be very difficult to communicate with the U.S. embassies abroad and schedule your fiancé an interview. An immigration attorney is trained to understand the laws and requirements for a fiancé or spousal visa and can help you through each step of the process to make sure everything is filed quickly, correctly, and completely to give you the greatest chance for success.
At Vanderwall Immigration our goal is to unite families. We have helped hundreds of clients obtain their fiancé and spousal visas. We know the law and how to process your case quickly and successfully. We want to help you achieve your American dream. Call us at 503-206-8414.
