Family-Based
Family-Based
 
Fiancé(е)/Spouse (family) Visas
Bringing your fiancé(е) or Spouse to the United States. As a United States citizen, you may petition to bring a foreign national spouse or fiancé(е) to the United States under the K-visa category. Children also may accompany the foreign national to the United States under this category. Immigration Attorneys at Birg Law are experienced in bringing your loved one to the United States and can help you navigate through the highly specialized field of U.S. Immigration Law.
K-1
K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa
A K-1 fiancé(e) visa is a nonimmigrant visa benefiting the fiancées of U.S. citizen petitioners. It permits the foreign national fiancee of a U.S. citizen to enter the United States for a ninety (90) day period to conclude a marriage with the U.S. citizen petitioner. The marriage must take place within the ninety (90) day period after entry. After the marriage occurs, an application for permanent residence can be made for the foreign national.

The petitioner of the K-1 fiancé(e) visa petition must be a U.S. citizen. The parties must have met in person within the two (2) year period prior to filing the petition; however, a waiver of this requirement may be granted in certain cases. The parties also must provide proof that they have a bona fide intention to marry within ninety (90) days of the fiancee’s entry into the United States and that there are no legal impediments to marriage.

Unmarried children of the K-1 beneficiary may accompany the K-1 fiance visa beneficiary to the United States on a K-2 visa. Children in K-2 visa status may attend school and, after the marriage of the K-1 parent to the U.S. citizen petitioner, may apply for employment authorization.
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K-3
K-3 Spouse Visa
A K-3 spouse visa is a nonimmigrant visa benefiting foreign-citizen spouses of U.S. citizens, but because of current visa processing lags has limited benefits. The K-3 spouse visa permits the spouse of a U.S. citizen who has filed an I-130 Petition to enter the United States to await approval of the petition. Proof of the filing of the I-130 Petition must be included with the K-3 spouse visa petition. Unmarried children of the K-3 beneficiary may accompany the K-3 beneficiary to the United States on a K-4 visa.
Marriage Green Card
If you are a U.S. citizen or have lawful permanent residents and want to apply for an immigrant visa for your spouse, you must meet certain requirements and legal obligations. You must demonstrate to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), that you and your immigrating spouse have a bona fide marriage.

In general, a marriage that was valid where performed is considered legal unless it violates public policy. Additionally, as a petitioner you must establish that the marriage was not entered into for the purpose of evading immigration laws. It is possible that a marriage may not be recognized for immigration purposes despite being a legal marriage.

Marriage-based immigration has been subject to controversy due to the fact that the bona fides of a marriage relationship often cannot be objectively measured.

When is a Marriage considered valid?
Your marriage is considered to be valid for immigration purposes if, you as a couple intended to establish a life together and assume certain duties and obligations. If it is found that the sole intention to enter into a marriage was to secure the immigrating spouse’s residency in the United States, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will consider the marriage to be fraudulent, or a “sham,” and not valid for immigration purposes.
Immediate Relatives & Preference Categories
United States citizens and lawful permanent residents can sponsor certain relatives for permanent residence in the United States. The relatives that have been designated as eligible for family-sponsored permanent residence are grouped into different classifications.

According to U.S. immigration law, “Immediate Relatives” of U.S. citizens are the spouses, parents of adult (over the age of 21) U.S. citizens, and unmarried children of U.S. citizens.

Family-sponsored immigrant visas for relatives other than immediate relatives are subject to numerical limitations and are categorized as follows:

First (F1): for unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens,
Second (F2A and F2B): for spouses and children of permanent residents (F2A) and unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age and older) of permanent residents (F2B),
Third (F3): for married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens,
Fourth (F4): for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who are 21 years of age or older.


A cap (limit) applies to the number of family-sponsored immigrants that can be admitted annually to the United States. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are not subject to the numerical restrictions on visas that are applicable to relatives in the other family-based visa categories. In addition, limitations exist within each family-based category on the number of visas that are available to relatives from each foreign state. Consequently, visa backlogs exist for the preference categories. These limitations and backlog are being published monthly in the Visa Bulletin.
 
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