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Here
are the general steps to obtaining a fiancée visa:
- the American citizen files a I-129F,
G-325A and I-134 forms with the Immigration &
Naturalization Services, which is a petition requesting a fiancé visa for their
fiancé. Then they wait...the length of time depends
on the Service Center they are assigned to, I was in the Texas
Service Center district, my waiting time was projected to be 30-40
days...my actual waiting time was 31 days.
- after receiving approval from the INS, the
approval/documents are forwarded to the foreign U.S. consulate which
serves the fiancé. The approval for the petition is valid for 120
days. It can take 1-2 months for the petition to reach the foreign
US consulate, as the mail is usually sent by special courier called
"diplomatic pouch." For some countries the petition is
sent via military mail to an APO address, and in some certain
situations they may FedEx the petitions. (If the approval notice expires prior to the interview, the
consulate can extend/renew the approval notice.)
- the foreign U.S. consulate forwards
materials to the fiancé, which includes forms, a list of doctors,
and instructions.
- the fiancé gets a medical exam, gets the
forms filled out, has an interview scheduled with the U.S.
consulate.
- the fiancé attends the scheduled
interview, and if all criteria are met, gets the visa stamp in
his/her passport and then can travel to the U.S. to marry the fiancé...the
fiancé (K-1) visa is good for one entry into the U.S. for a period
of 6 months from the date of issue, the couple must be married
within 90 days of the actual date of the fiancé's entry into the
U.S.
- the foreign fiancé-now-spouse files adjustment
of status paperwork at the local INS office.
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