CTR and Associates K1 Fiance Visa Services

“I had consulted with numerous other immigration lawyers (locally and abroad) prior to meeting Cathy and after the initial consultation with Cathy I knew this was the lawyer that I had been searching for!  Cathy answered all my initial questions in thorough detail and comprehensible manner.  I chose Cathy and her associates as my sole immigration attorney for all my legal issues which may arise while going through the Fiancee Visa process and with any possible future issues after the process was completed. In my opinion Cathy’s firm went above and beyond my expectations from what I was expecting from an immigration lawyer. ”

K1 Fiance Visa Overview

If your fiance is not a citizen of the United States and you plan to get married in the U.S., then you must file a K1 Visa petition with USCIS on behalf of your fiancé. After the petition is approved, your fiance must obtain a visa issued at a U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate abroad. The marriage must take place within 90 days after the 1st admission to the U.S.

If the green card marriage does NOT take place within 90 days or your loved one marries someone other than you (the U.S. citizen filing USCIS Form I-129F – Petition for Alien Fiancé), then he/she will be required to leave the United States. Until the marriage takes place, that person is considered a non-immigrant. A non-immigrant is a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United States for a specific purpose and may not obtain an extension of the 90-day original non-immigrant admission.

If your loved one intends to live and work permanently in the United States, you should apply for an adjustment of status for the green card after your marriage. Conditional permanent residency or conditional green cards, or otherwise referred to as the “two year green card” is granted when the marriage is less than two years old at the time of adjustment of status or time of the green card processing.

K1 Visa Step by Step Presentation

Below is a presentation that takes you through the K1 Fiance Visa application process step by step.

For more detailed information please contact us for a consultation.

Who is Eligible?

U.S. citizens who will be getting married to loved one in the United States may petition for a fiance(e)  K-1 Visa. Both of you must be free to marry. This means that you are legally able to marry and any previous marriages have ended through divorce, annulment or death. You must have met each other in person within the last two years before filing for the I-129F Form for a Fiancé(e) Visa. This requirement can be waived only if meeting in person would violate long-established customs, or meeting would create extreme hardship for you. You a must marry within 90 days after the initial entry into the U.S.

You may also apply to bring any dependents that your fiance(e) may have who are unmarried and under 21years of age.

After arriving in the United States, you will be eligible to apply for a work permit or employment authorization document for your loved ones. The applicant may be able to work while the green card is pending and in any profession without requiring a work permit.

K1 Fiance Visa and the In Person Meeting Requirement

The INA requires K1 fiance visa applicants to have physically met their US citizen petitioner in person before the USCIS will grant the I-129F. This is simply one factor used to prove the bona fide or sincerity of the relationship between the fiancee visa applicant and the US citizen petitioner.

This in person meeting mandate flies in the face of modern time and technology where couples meet on dating websites, online chats, and social network sites. With the advent of online dating, couples utilize video chat and instant chat, and Skype calls wherein it’s genuinely plausible that couples fall in love and have a bona fide relationship. Saying that though, virtual meetings do not meet the US law that mandates that the couple are in physical presence of each other at least 1 time.

US law does allow for extenuating circumstances where an in person meeting may be waived. This waiver is permitted when it is established that a meeting would be an extreme hardship for the US citizen petitioner, or it is not permitted due to cultural or religious traditions. As long as the religious belief is recognized, or the cultural tradition is sincere, then USCIS will waive the meeting requirement.

For the extreme hardship method, this is a waiver that the US petitioner submit indicating that visa denial based on meeting the fiancee in person mandate would place extreme hardship to the US citizen petitioner. Extreme hardship to the petitioner exists where the petitioner may have an extenuating medical disability or circumstances that warrants a waiver of the meeting in person requirement.

Oftentimes, couples have met and can fulfill the 1 in person meeting requirement, but whether it is sufficient to create a genuine and caring relationship with the visa applicant will depend on the couple’s unique sets of facts. For instance, the consular officers may scrutinize extensively whether a couple who spent 1 day together would be able to establish a bona fide relationship as oppose to 1 month. The 1 day visit may also contradict the traditional notion of a relationship where there’s sincerity and genuine care and affection if the couple commenced their relationship 1-2 months prior to filing the Fiance Visa Application. Nonetheless, a 1 month long visit may also be scrutinized if there are other red flag issues such as a wide age gap or multiple filings for the same applicant.

The US consular officers can glean from the meeting(s) and the evidence submitted whether it rise to the level of of creating a sincere and bona fide relationship.

K1 Visa Consulate Interview

Questions asked by the officer is generally geared at determining whether the couple has a sincere or bona fide relationship. In generally practice,

the interviewing officer will review the documents that the American petitioner submitted to USCIS in the I-129F form, and any additional evidence submitted by the visa applicant. The officer conducts a due diligence in that he/she reviews the information in the file and ask the visa applicant questions to ascertain the sincerity of the relationship. Interviewees may feel intimidated in this situation as one would be if sitting across a complete stranger who asks you personal questions regarding your relationship with your loved one. Nonetheless, the officers are trained to scrutinize the applicant for any legal inadmissibility issue and whether  the couple’s relationship is bona fide.

Any temptation to lie to the consular officers is pointless as they are trained to detect those deceptive techniques used to obtain a visa. The penalty for lying to a consular officer could result in an outright denial of the visa application and possibly a bar on entry to the US for years to come. Thus, honesty is the best policy when it comes to answering sensitive questions at the interview.

How Can I Appeal a Denied K1 Visa

Generally, you may appeal within 33 days of receiving the denial by mail.  The appeal must be filed with the office that made the original decision. After your appeal form and a required fee are processed, the appeal will be referred to the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU) in Washington, DC.

Visa Denials 214(b) and 221(g)

US Visa Denied under INA Section 214(b)

Section 214(b) is part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It states:

Every alien shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status…

To qualify for a non-immigrant Tourist Visa or Student Visa, an applicant must meet certain requirements, particularly that the prospective visitor or student possess a residence abroad he/she has no intention of abandoning. Applicants prove the existence of such residence by demonstrating that they have ties abroad that would compel them to leave the U.S. at the end of the temporary stay. The law places this burden of proof on the applicant, that’s YOU.

Most cases are decided after a brief interview and review of whatever evidence of ties an applicant presents, and consulate officers only spend a minimal amount of time reviewing the file before the interview, and in some instances, none at all.

What constitutes “strong ties”

Strong ties differ from country to country, city to city, individual to individual. Some examples of ties can be a job, a house, a family, a bank account. “Ties” are the various aspects of your life that bind you to your country of residence: your possessions, employment, social and family relationships.

As each person’s situation is different, consular officers look at each application individually and consider professional, social, cultural and other factors. In cases of younger applicants who may not have had an opportunity to form many ties, consular officers may look at the applicants specific intentions, family situations, and long-range plans and prospects within his or her country of residence.

Visa denial under Section 214(b)

Applicants refused visas under section 214(b) may reapply for a visa. When they do, they will have to show further evidence of their ties or how their circumstances have changed since the time of the original application. It may help to answer the following questions before reapplying: (1) Did I explain my situation accurately? (2) Did the consular officer overlook something? (3) Is there any additional information I can present to establish my residence and strong ties abroad?

Visa fee refund

The visa processing fee is nonrefundable regardless of whether a visa is issued. You are not barred from reapplying as often as you like, just be aware that the application fee applies each time and there’s no guarantee that it will be approved.

US Visa Denied under Section 221(g)

221(g) is a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act and it simply means the consular officer is not satisfied with the quality or quantity of the documents you have submitted to prove your relationship to the US citizen petitioner. The officer might consider your evidence to be lacking in substance or honesty to prove that you have a bona fide relationship. This may happen at the interview where the officer discovers an issue or red flag that the applicant was unable to satisfactorily overcome. Cases issued 221(g) or blue sheet have a limited amount of time to submit additional evidence before the case is sent to USCIS with the recommendation for revocation of the I-129F approval.

In some instances, we will be able to prove up your case to the consular officer and ultimately get the visa. This will depend on the facts of your case.

If you were given a 221(g) denial with this verbiage: “Your petition has been returned to the USCIS Service Center for review and possible revocation,” then your case may no longer be at the consulate and possibly on its way back to USCIS for revocation.

The consulates are not supposed to deny a case based on evidence that USCIS considered when it approved the I-129F petition, as the consulate is not empowered to deny or revoke the approved I-129F. However, they may recommend to USCIS that the evidence submited and the personal interview illustrated strong discrepancy to indicate a possible sham marriage or fraud entered into to circumvent US Immigration Law. If USCIS is convinced then it will revoke the fiance petition I-129F, otherwise it might return it to the consulate for a second interview. Please note that USCIS will not return the case to the consulate without compelling evidence from the American petitioner requesting this reconsideration.

K1 Fiance Visa

For many American who have met their girlfriends during their holiday tour of Thailand or who have met online through various dating websites, the most confounding problem is what to do if you want to pursue your relationship in the US.  The most common questions I get from prospective client are: How can I bring my Thai fiancee to the US to get married? Do I have to marry her in Thailand or can we marry in the US? What are the financial and procedural issues I’d have to substantiate to the US Embassy?

An American citizen who plans to marry in the US must first determine their local USCIS office to file the I-129F for their fiancee. This initial processing means you have to submit sufficient proof that you have a bona fide relationship with you fiancee and you must also have met with your fiancée in person within the last two years before filing for the visa. This requirement can be waived only if meeting your fiancée in person would violate long-established customs, or if meeting your fiancée would create extreme hardship for you. There are narrow exceptions to this rule so if you have fall in this category, you need to get professional legal help.  Additionally, you and your fiancée must be free to marry. This means that both of you are unmarried, or that any previous marriages have ended through divorce, annulment or death. You may also apply to bring your fiancée’s unmarried children, who are under age 21, to the US. As a practical matter, the National Visa Center does an administrative review of the file to ensure everything is in order before moving it along to the US Consulate abroad.

Once your petition is approved in the US, the file is then sent to your fiancee’s country of residence, and in this case it would be Bangkok, Thailand. The US Consulate will do an administrative review of the file to see that everything is in order and then send your fiancee a packet of information to complete prior to making an interview appointment. This ranges from residency documents to medical exams, and any supplemental evidence she may want to take to the interview to verify the veracity of the relationship. While the US Consulate does see a fair amount of fraudulent cases, most Consular Officers are fair and knowledgeable in immigration law and they will normally approve credible, legitimate cases.To their credit, they are trained to determine if a case lacks merits or if it’s purely based on circumventing USA immigration laws, for which they will ultimately deny.

The most crucial part of this process is the interview. This is the only time where the Consular Officer will meet with your fiancee and to determine whether there are any discrepancies or dishonesty in the case. This is an essential and pivotal point in the process and where more applicants tend to fail. As mentioned earlier, the Consular Officers are adept at fraud detection and signs of misrepresentation, wherein it is within their discretion to outright deny the case and send it back to USCIS for revocation, or they issue a 221(g) and forward it to Administrative Processing. Either way, the strength of the case is dependent on the applicant’s response to questions posed and the quantity and quality of the evidence. It’s true, some legitimate cases are wrongfully denied, and some weak ones do get approved.

If your fiancee is successful, the U.S. Embassy will issue a visa for her, and her dependents if applicable, to go abroad and get married. However, the marriage has to take place within 90 days of your fiancee entering the USA. If the marriage does not take place, your fiancee cannot marry someone else and she must return to Thailand. Until the marriage takes place, your fiancée is considered a nonimmigrant, which is simply a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United States for a specific purpose so it’s nearly impossible to change the status of that visa to that of Tourist or Student Visa when your fiancee enters on the Fiancee K1 Visa.

If your fiancee intends to live and work permanently in the US, she should apply to become a permanent resident after your marriage. If she does not, she will have to leave the country before the 90 days nonimmigrant admission date. Once the permanent residence is issued after your marriage, your fiancee will initially receive conditional permanent residence status for two years, and it simply means that the marriage was created less than two years at the time of the application for permanent residence. This would also apply to any dependents that benefited from the K-2, such as her unmarried children.

Alternatively, if you are one of those unfortunate souls that were denied a Fiancee Visa, you may appeal within 33 days of receiving the denial by mail. Chances of getting an appeal approved is slim, especially if the denial is based on facts in the case. If you believe it was erroneously denied due to legal grounds, I suggest hiring professional legal help to appeal to the appropriate department in the Embassy.  More often than not, clients do not even realize that their denial was without applicable legal basis  versus factual findings to gauge whether to appeal. Many will simply abandon the Fiancee Visa and seek other immigration options or they seek the advice of a legal professional. This is purely a personal and strategic decision depending on your ultimate goal.

Working with the US Embassy does not have to be a traumatic or expensive journey. It takes some time to research the administrative procedures and a patient. The end result of bringing your fiancee to the USA should be your ultimate goal and never underestimate the power of bureaucracy.

ICE Deporting US Citizens

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seem to be deporting U.S. citizens without ascertaining their immigration status. ICE has jurisdiction over illegal immigrants and cannot deport or illegal detain U.S. citizens, however, more and more instances of mishaps have resulted in U.S. citizens being wrongfully deported. Here’s the latest article.

Veloz had to prove his citizenship from behind bars. An aunt helped him track down his father’s birth certificate and his own, his parents’ marriage certificate, his father’s school, military and Social Security records.

After nine months, a judge determined that he was a citizen, but immigration authorities appealed the decision. He was detained for five more months before he found legal help and a judge ordered his case dropped.

Read more here.

Adjustment of Status Overview

An immigrant is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of living and working permanently in the United States. You must go through a multi-step process to become an immigrant. In most cases, USCIS must first approve an immigrant petition for you, usually filed by an employer or relative.  An immigrant visa number must be available to you, even if you are already in the United States, and if you are already in the United States, you may apply to adjust to permanent resident status (If you are outside the United States, you may follow a different process called consular processing.)

Where Can I Find the Law

The Immigration and Nationality Act is a law that governs immigration in the United States. For the part of the law concerning most types of permanent resident status, please see INA § 245. The specific eligibility requirements and procedures for adjusting to permanent residence status are included in the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] at 8 CFR § 245.

Will I Get a Work Permit

Applicants for adjustment to permanent resident status are eligible to apply for a work permit while their cases are pending. You should use USCIS Form I-765 to apply for a work permit. You do not need to apply for a work permit once you adjust to permanent resident status. As a lawful permanent resident, you should receive a permanent resident card that will prove that you have a right to live and work in the United States permanently.

Can I Travel

If you are applying for adjustment to permanent resident status, you must receive advance permission to return to the United States if you are traveling outside the United States. This advance permission is called Advance Parole. If you do not obtain Advance Parole before you leave the country, you will abandon your application with USCIS and you may not be permitted to return to the United States. For more information, please see How Do I Get a Travel Document?.

If Denied Is It Final

The only applications for permanent residency (Form I-485) which can be appealed to USCIS are those based on a marriage which took place while the alien’s application was in process or those based on Section 586 of Public Law 106-429, adjustment of status for certain nationals of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. These appeals must be made to the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU).

Generally, you may appeal within 33 days after the immigration judge decides to remove you from the country. After your appeal form and a required fee are processed, the appeal will be referred to the Board of Immigration Appeals in Washington, D.C.

Can Anyone Help Me

If advice is needed, you should contact Frontier Legal to assess your immigration case for appeal. As only US licensed attorneys may represent you in the appeal process, Frontier Legal may enter form G-28 Notice of Entry or Representation of Attorney to handle your Motion and appeal your case to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Contact us to speak to a lawyer about your immigration options.

Fiance(e) K1 Visa Eligibility

If your fiancé(e) is not a citizen of the United States and you plan to get married in the United States, then you must file a petition with USCIS on behalf of your fiancé(e). After the petition is approved, your fiancé(e) must obtain a visa issued at a U.S. Embassy or consulate abroad. The marriage must take place within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the United States.

If the marriage does not take place within 90 days or your fiancé(e) marries someone other than you (the U.S. citizen filing USCIS Form I-129F – Petition for Alien Fiancé), your fiancé(e) will be required to leave the United States. Until the marriage takes place, your fiancé(e) is considered a nonimmigrant. A nonimmigrant is a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United States for a specific purpose. A fiancé(e) may not obtain an extension of the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.

If your fiancé(e) intends to live and work permanently in the United States, your fiancé(e) should apply to become a permanent resident after your marriage. (If your fiancé(e) does not intend to become a permanent resident after your marriage, your fiancé(e)/new spouse must leave the country within the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.) Please note, your fiancé(e) will initially receive conditional permanent residence status for two years. Conditional permanent residency is granted when the marriage creating the relationship is less than two years old at the time of adjustment to permanent residence status.

Please note: Your fiancé(e) may enter the United States only one time with a fiancé(e) visa. If your fiancé(e) leaves the country before you are married, your fiancé(e) may not be allowed back into the United States without a new visa.

Who is Eligible

U.S. citizens who will be getting married to a foreign national in the United States may petition for a fiancé(e) classification (K-1) for their fiancé(e). You and your fiancé(e) must be free to marry. This means that both of you are unmarried, or that any previous marriages have ended through divorce, annulment or death. You must also have met with your fiancé(e) in person within the last two years before filing for the fiancé(e) visa. This requirement can be waived only if meeting your fiancé(e) in person would violate long-established customs, or if meeting your fiancé(e) would create extreme hardship for you. You and your fiancé(e) must marry within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the United States.

You may also apply to bring your fiancé(e)’s unmarried children, who are under age 21, to the United States.

Will I Get a Work Permit?

After arriving in the United States, your fiancé(e) will be eligible to apply for a work permit. (You should note that USCIS might not be able to process the work permit within the 90-day time limit for your marriage to take place.)  If your fiancé(e) applies for adjustment to permanent resident status, your fiancé(e) must re-apply for a new work permit after the marriage.

How Can I Appeal?

If your petition for a fiancé(e) visa is denied, the denial letter will tell you how to appeal. Generally, you may appeal within 33 days of receiving the denial by mail.  The appeal must be filed with the office that made the original decision. After your appeal form and a required fee are processed, the appeal will be referred to the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU) in Washington, DC.

Can Anyone Help Me?

If legal advice is needed, contact Frontier Legal as we will assist you in applying for immigration benefits incidental to your petition. Our advice is free and we can review your case and provide an assessment of your options.

Contact us in Bangkok!

Bangkok, Thailand +66 (0)8 4724 3192

Skype: FrontierLegal

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