You’ve accomplished something not everyone can say they have — you’ve found “the one.” Finding the person you want to spend the rest of your life with is no small feat, and it is certainly something to celebrate. However, for California residents whose special someone is a foreign national, getting them into the United States legally may prove to be a frustrating experience. For those in this situation fiancé visas are available but, as with all visas, certain eligibility requirements must be met before these types of visas are approved.
There are many ways to immigrate to the United States. For those who are engaged to a citizen and wish to get married in the country, a fiancé visa may be the ticket in. The eligibility requirements for this type of visa include:
- Petitioner must be a U.S. Citizen
- Intended marriage date must be within 90 days of entering the country
- Couple must meet at least once in a specified time frame, unless one of two exceptions can be claimed
If this type of visa is approved, your fiancé would then be allowed to enter the country for a 90 day period. As fiancé visas cannot be extended, the marriage must take place sometime during this 90 day window. Should the visa expire before the wedding takes place, your fiancé would be asked to voluntarily depart the country or face formal deportation and removal proceedings.
Fiancé visas are processed in the order in which they are received. As approval and processing can take time, depending on the number of applications pending at any given time, it is important to ensure petitions are in order, complete and error free as to avoid any further delays. Legal assistance is available to help California residents complete this process as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Source: uscis.gov, “Fiance(e) Visas“, Dec. 2, 2014