How To Get Your Foreign Spouse A K3 Visa
Written by William Kolemann   
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 12:59
A k3 marriage visa allows a legal United States citizen's spouse to live in the United States while the spouse is awaiting approval of a green card application or to complete their own immigration process. If a k3 marriage visa is approved, the spouse of a U.S. citizen can legally enter and live in the U.S. under a nonimmigrant visa category.
by WilliamKolemann


A k3 marriage visa allows a legal United States citizen's spouse to live in the United States while the spouse is awaiting approval of a green card application or to complete their own immigration process. If a k3 marriage visa is approved, the spouse of a U.S. citizen can legally enter and live in the U.S. under a nonimmigrant visa category.

The k3 marriage visa process is generally straight forward, but it can seem to be a daunting task. While it can be completed without needing to pay for the services of an immigration attorney, before you decide to apply it might be a good idea to at least speak with an immigration attorney to understand the pitfalls. Some attorneys will offer you a free consultation where others may charge you. Either way, it could mean the difference of a smooth application process versus a bumpy one.

Eligibility for the k3 nonimmigrant visa is summarized into two brief points. The applying, noncitizen spouse must be married to a US citizen and that spouse must have filed the Petition for Alien Relative, otherwise known as form I-130. The children of the noncitizen spouse are eligible for the k4 visa if the child is unmarried, under the age of 21 and of course is the child of the spouse applying for the k3 visa.

Common law husbands and wives may be eligible depending on the laws of the country that acknowledged the common-law status of the couple. Partners that have cohabitated for an extended period of time, however, are not eligible. If either spouse was married prior to applying for the k3 visa, then they must provide documentation proving the marriage was legally terminated in the country where the previous marriage took place.

The application process starts with the spouse, who is a US Citizen, whereby they file form I-130 with the USCIS. The Notice of Action form, form I-797, will be sent to US citizen indicating that the USCIS has in fact received the I-130 form.

The Petition for Alien Fiance is the next form to submit. This form, form I-129F should be filed with form I-797 by the US citizen spouse on behalf of the noncitizen spouse and any children apply for the k4 visa. These children should be listed on the form I-129F to ensure a smooth application process.

Once the Petition for Alien Fiance is approved, it is sent to the National Visa Center, which in turn sends it on to the country where the spouses were married. Processes are in place to account for mitigating circumstances that may crop up during this part of the application process. For example, if the couple was married in the U.S., then the petition is simply sent to the visa-issuing bureau (such as a consulate or embassy) in the country of the k3 applicant's nationality. Alternately, if the applicant spouse is from a country in which the U.S. has no embassies or consulates, then the petition is sent to whichever country issues visas for that country.

The k3 visa is not the k1 visa. You will notice things like "fiance" on the k3 visa form, assume this is "spouse". The k1 visa is a bit different in that the two parties are not in fact married. They are in fact fiances with the intention of getting married. The things to be knowledgeable of is once the fiance visa, or k1 visa has been approved, the fiance can only enter the country once and the marriage must take place within 90 days of their arrival. Further the applying fiance, or non-citizen, cannot leave the country without filing additional request forms for travel. Finally, since the fiance is an immigrant they must meet all the requirements of a person wishing to apply for an immigrant visa.

The debate of whether or not you need to use the services of an immigration attorney or service to obtain your k3 visa can only be answered by the applying family. The process can sometimes seem daunting, but it is something that can be done on your own. It still boils down to if you want to devote all this time and process yourself or use the expert services of an attorney. Their specialization in this field can sometimes be the deciding factor in a smooth application process or a difficult one.

About the Author:

William Kolemann shows you how to get a k3 immigrant visa and helps you know what to look for in a k3 immigration attorney.