Serge Bauer, P.C.

K-1 Status Visa

The K-1 non-immigrant visa category permits the fiance(e) of a United States citizen to enter the United States for a ninety day period with the intention of marrying the petitioner and applying for permanent residence. This nonimmigrant classification of a visa is designed to accommodate the admission of intending immigrants, thereby making K visa processing similar to immigrant processing for immediate relatives. The processing time might be longer than most nonimmigrant visas, since it entails the extensive review of biographical and admissibility data at two stages of the process.

K-3 Status Visa

In accordance with the Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act of 2000, the K-3 visa status affords the opportunity for spouses of current U.S. citizens to enter the country and apply for permanent residence. Additionally, the spouse's unmarried children under the age of twenty-one years might benefit from eligibility for a visa to gain entry into the United States as a beneficiary of the spouse, otherwise known as a K-4. The processing time for a K-3 might be similar to that of K-1, yet the K-3 might have multiple beneficiaries that are entitled to a K-4 with up to a ten-year validity. The beneficiary of the K-3 visa, however, must have entered into a valid marriage with a U.S. citizen.