How much does a K1 Fiance visa cost?

The Fiancé visa, also referred to as the K 1 visa, allows you to bring your partner from another country to the US so that you can be married. It is a non immigrant visa and has a 90 days limit – which means you must marry within three months of your partner arriving in the US otherwise your fiancé will have to return to their home country.

Once you have married your foreign fiancé, they can then are able to apply via the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to change their visa status to have permanent residency in the US and obtain a green card.

Under immigration law, in order to qualify for the K 1 visa you must be a U.S. citizen and you must be able to show detailed information about your plans to get married to your foreign citizen fiancé within 90 days. You will also need to demonstrate you have been in a long-term relationship with your partner for the past two years, that you are both free to get married in the US and met the income requirements set by the immigration services.

To apply for a K 1 Visa you must file an official K 1 visa petition for alien fiancé. This is done by filing an I-129F petition with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. There is a filing fee for submitting of $535 which must be paid at the time.

If the I-129F petition form is approved it will then be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). The next step is to file an K 1 Visa application and your partner will be required to attend a face to face interview with a Consular Officer at their local US Embassy or Consulate. The Consulate fee for a non-immigrant visa application to be processed is $265. This fee will need to be paid during the visa application process and should be paid directly to the Embassy or Consulate. Therefore, the overall application cost for a K 1 Visa application is currently $800.

Meeting the income requirement for a Fiancé Visa

When applying for the K 1 visa you should ensure that you will be able to meet the income requirements of the visa. The K 1 visa rules mean the US petitioner must be able to provide financial support for themselves and their foreign fiancé during their time in the US.

The current K 1 visa financial requirements are straightforward and you will need to prove your current income is enough to keep both yourself and your fiancé living above the poverty line. Your income will be calculated based on your expected total income from all sources for the current year.

It is important to realise there are a number of other costs that could be incurred as a result of applying for the K1 visa and they are not just limited to the application fee.

As part of the application process your fiancé will need to undergo a medical exam in their home country before travelling to the US to attend an interview at a U.S Consulate or Embassy. The costs of medical examinations does vary depending on the country but you should allow for between $60 to $300 to cover the cost.

In addition, your partner will must be able to provide all the supporting documents required for the fiancé visa. This includes their birth certificate, police certificates and passport.

All documents supported must be in English or you will need to pay the cost of having them translated. If you fail to provide paperwork in the correct format you could face delays in the K1 visa being issued.

If your partner is planning to bring any dependents with them then there could also be extra costs. You will have to submit an application for a K 2 visa – while there is no fee for this you will still need to pay medical exam costs and any related embassy fees.

There has a tightening up of the process of applying for a K 1 visa in recent years so you may wish to get the advice of an experienced immigration attorney and a law firm before submitting your application. This will help avoid unnecessary delays or additional costs with making your application for the non-immigrant visa.

To apply for a K 1 visa, you must provide the following:

• Complete the US citizen file Form I-129F.
• Proof of the petitioner’s citizenship (copy of a passport, certificate of naturalization, or a birth certificate)
• A copy of the U.S. citizen petitioner’s passport
• Evidence of a genuine relationship – this can include photos, correspondence, sworn statements from third-parties
• Proof that you have met in person at least once within the past two years – evidence can include photos, flight details, letters etc
• Personal written statements from both partners about their relationship and intention to marry
• Color passport photos of each partner (taken within 30 days of when you submitted the petition)
• Proof that any previous marriages are legally terminated such as a divorce or death certificates

The authorities will review the information and decide if the requirements have been met or if they needs to be further evidence provided. The National Visa Center will then contact the US Embassy or Consulate in the foreign citizen’s home country to arrange the visa interview.

The visa interview may involve being asked questions about the applicant’s background, plans to marry, their U.S. citizen partner and their relationship.

If the consular officer is satisfied that both the relationship and plans to marry are genuine, then the foreign fiancé will then be issued with a K 1 visa.

After this, the next step towards permanent residence is to begin the process of applying for a marriage based green card.