Immigration Law

K-3 Visa Processing

By Robert A. Kraft

Spouses of United States citizens may enter the U.S. with a non-immigrant K-3 visa while the immigrant visa petition is pending. It is important to note that the marriage must be valid in order to qualify and all previous marriages must be legally terminated. Thus, one will include either divorce or death documents (if applicable).

To obtain a K-3 visa, the U.S. citizen will file Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative along with supporting documentation and the filing fee of $355. Once U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receive Form I-130, USCIS will issue a receipt notice indicating that they received the petition. The U.S. citizen will thereafter file Form I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé with USCIS and include the I-130 receipt notice, and other supporting documentation. There are no filing fees when filing Form I-129F in this second step.

If the Immigrant Petition (Form I-130) has not been decided, and Form I-129F has been approved by USCIS, the file will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will process the K-3 visa petition and send the K-3 petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where the marriage took place or visa applicant's country of nationality. The K-3 visa applicant will be instructed by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate of further administrative processing.

If both Form I-129F (K-3) and Form I-130 (Immigrant Relative petition) have been approved by USCIS and both petitions were received by the NVC, the NVC will process the immigrant visa petition since there is no need to process the K-3 visa.

Please call us at (214)999-9999 for further information on K-3 visas or other immigration related questions.

Full post as published by Immigration Law Answers Blog on February 23, 2010 (boomark / email).