Green Card

How long does it take to get a K-1 fiancé visa – 2021 Guide

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There are numerous types of visas people can get when visiting a foreign country. Not all citizens from all countries are required to get them, but for the United States of America you definitely need to get one depending on who you are and why you are planning the trip. Exchange students, workers, and tourists all have different visas to worry about, and this does not even begin to describe all of them.

Among the most issued and most sought visas have to deal with coming to live in America with a partner who already has a citizenship of the USA. Either a native or a naturalized foreigner, if you have a USA citizenship, your spouse or fiancé can also get it after certain conditions have been met and rules have been followed. For the purposes of this article we will focus on the fiancés and talk about the K-1 visa.

What do you need in order to get it, and how long does it take for an average person to get it? We aim to give you the answer to all of these questions right here and now. Make sure to thoroughly read the article and if you want to know more, definitely check out immigrationlawnv.com for any type of help or info you may need.

What is it and how Long does it Take?

Source:immigrationhelp.org

Visas are named in a weird way that does not make a lot of sense out of context. All you get is a letter and a number so it takes some time and research to know exactly what it means. For example, worker’s visas are B, and student exchange visas are J. For fiancés, you will want to get a K-1 visa. This document allows an engaged partner of an American citizen to enter the States and live there. However, it is only available for issue if the couple gets married within 90 days following the non-citizens entry into the country. After they have been married, they can apply for permanent residence based on their marriage. This is what is called a green card, a document that makes you a permanent citizen of the USA.

In short, if your fiancé is already living and working in the USA and you are planning to start a life together there, you can apply for a K-1 visa and get it but only if you schedule a wedding within three months of your initial arrival. This is more than enough time to organize things especially if you have already planned to do it. Both men and women can be on either side of the story, the citizen and the fiancé looking to get the visa.

From June of 2021, it takes approximately 8 to 10 months for your documents to be processed. The main document is the I-129F form, also referred to as the petition for alien fiancé. After they have processed it, it takes between 4 and 6 weeks more for the agency to send a request for an interview at the closest consulate or embassy where you will have to talk to a representative about the visa and the whole arrangement. So, the best case scenario is at least 9 months, while the worst is around 11 months. All in all, you should devote a year to the whole planning, paperwork, and waiting before you can plan for the trip.

Source:k1-fiance-visa.com

Costs

It is not at all cheap to apply and get this visa as the total costs come down to roughly $1,000. This is a lot of money to spend before you even get the chance to make it back on US soil, but it is how the system works and how it has been working for decades. There are different costs involved in the whole process, but the most expensive thing you have to pay for is the aforementioned Form I-129F that costs $535 alone. When you have it approved, the medical exam is next which is typically around $200. Once you pass the medical, the only thing left to pay is the actual application for the K-1 visa. This costs $265 and it is paid when you go for your interview. This is the last step before you get the final permission to travel to the USA and be with your fiancé. These are the costs you will absolutely have to pay and do not include potential translations and photocopies of certain documents like birth certificates and other things required.

Eligibility

Now that you know how much it costs and how long you have to wait for it, let us see if you are eligible for one and who can get a K-1. The most important thing is for you to have a fiancé living on US soil already. The second important thing is for both of you to have the intention to get married to each other no longer than 90 days after you arrive. There are other requirements too however, which also have to be met.

For example, the sponsoring partner must already be a citizen and not a green card holder. There is a big difference between the two as you can only apply for citizenship after you have been a green card holder for at least 5 years. Then, both partners must have their previous marriages fully terminated and their potential divorces have to be finalized. Same-sex partners are fully eligible for the K-1 no matter how the laws and practices in either of their home country view same-sex relationships and marriages. You have to prove the relationship with things like photos together, evidence of traveling together like hotel reservations, itineraries, and tickets, as well as statements from your family members, close friends, and colleagues who are familiar with your situation and particularly the engagement and future plans. Emails and messages between the two of you may also need to be reviewed for further proof.

Regarding the wedding, you will be asked to provide a signed statement of your intention to marry. If you already planned the wedding, it will definitely be a plus and you should submit the evidence for it. Many couples start preparing for it as soon as they decide to apply for the visa. In addition to all of this, there needs to be some kind of proof that you have seen each other at least once in the last two years before applying for the K-1. Lastly, the citizen partner has to meet income requirements and earn enough money to be above the tax return poverty line. The USA is very strict when it comes to taxes and they do not allow any room for error there.

Conclusion and Takeaways

Source:wikihow.com

It seems like a lot of work, and it can be said that it is. However, if your partner is already there and you are engaged, it is a great chance for the two of you to have a life together in the USA. A thousand dollars and some paperwork is all that is preventing you from happiness, and the actual worst part is the waiting game. Except this, the K-1 is one of the most straightforward types of visa to get, much easier than the tourist, working, or student varieties.

Here’s What You Need to Know About US Deportation Laws

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Deportation is the formal removal of an immigrant or non-citizen from the United States. There are several reasons that an immigrant can get sent to their country of origin. These reasons depend on what kind of immigrants they are.

Deportation lawyers from Law Offices of Robert Tsigler explain what types of immigrants can get deported and the possible grounds for their deportation:

Who can get deported?

Undocumented immigrants

Source:jurist.org

Undocumented immigrants, or illegal aliens, get deported because they either crossed the border and entered the United States illegally or came to the country illegally but have stayed beyond the permitted time detailed in their temporary visa.

Documented immigrants

Documented immigrants who are still within their permitted time can get deported, too. Depending on their purpose for staying in the country, they can get removed if they violate their terms. Tourists, for example, can get deported if they receive work and compensation, and international students may face deportation if they violate student visa rules.

Even green-card holders, who are considered permanent residents, can also be deported for violating specific immigration laws.

Grounds for deportation

Upon deportation, the authorities will utilize an immigrant’s conviction as a reason for the order of removal. The Immigration and Nationality Act, or the Hart-Celler Act, was enacted in 1965 to reorganize the structure of immigration law and has since served as the basis of immigration policy. It provides definitions for immigrants or non-citizens and possible grounds for deportation.

Criminal convictions

Aggravated felonies

Source:berardiimmigrationlaw.com

Section 238 of the Immigration and Nationality Act lists the expedited removal of aliens convicted of aggravated felonies. An aggravated felony falls into three types:

  • Crimes that are always aggravated felonies: kidnapping, drug trafficking, human trafficking, rape, prostitution, sexual abuse of minors, child pornography
  • Crimes that count as aggravated felonies if the sentence exceeds a year: bribery, burglary, counterfeiting, forgery, perjury, theft, obstruction of justice
  • Crimes that count as aggravated felonies if the victim’s loss exceeds $10,000: fraud, tax evasion, money laundering

Crimes involving moral turpitude

  • Aggravated assault
  • Attempted lewd acts on a minor
  • Arson
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic violence
  • Failure to register as a sex offender
  • Felony hit and run
  • Trespass

Drug crimes and firearms offenses

  • Conscious possession of any controlled substance (cocaine, heroin, LSD, peyote, and prescription drugs) without medical prescription
  • Purchasing, selling, using, owning, and carrying any firearm or destructive device

Domestic violence

Source:newsroom.ocfl.net

●     Domestic battery

  • Corporal injury to a spouse
  • Child abuse
  • Child endangerment
  • Child neglect
  • Elder abuse
  • Aggravated trespass

Security

Acts that can be classified as dangerous misconduct and endanger the security of other natural citizens are grounds for deportation. Section 237, Article 4 (A) lists three sub-clauses outlining distinct grounds:

  • Espionage
  • Putting public safety and national security in peril
  • Intentions to overthrow the government
  • Terrorist activities
  • Participation in Nazi persecution
  • Participation in genocide
  • Commission of acts of torture and extrajudicial killing
  • Recipient of military-style training from terrorist organizations

Who handles deportations?

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Source:.stripes.com

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) handle everyday immigration matters, especially the application process. They can also send non-citizens for removal proceedings significantly if they exceed the approved number of years and have no right to remain in the country.

USCIS hearings are less formal than the usual court proceedings and have less regard for evidence. Witnesses are allowed to testify for the immigrant, and the judge will decide at the end.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

For any non-citizens arrested for crimes, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) handles immigration enforcement matters after prison time.

Customs and Border Protection

The Customs and Border Protection guard the United States’ territorial border and other points of entry. They have the power to expedite removals for matters concerning these points of entry and skip official removal proceedings.

Executive Office for Immigration Review

The final decision maker who dictates any matters concerning the previous agencies is the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). Aliens may defend themselves against the removal and prove their right to remain in the country. The EOIR holds the removal proceedings and has the power to override the deportation order.

What should an immigrant facing deportation do?

Source:pbs.org

One of the things you can do when faced with a deportation charge is to voluntarily depart from the country before the removal proceeding is completed. However, if you’re not comfortable with this option and you’re undocumented, you can apply for the adjustment of status proceeding to apply for a lawful permanent resident status.

Some Amerasian immigrants who faced any form of abuse by a family member who is a U.S. citizen or resident filed a petition to legitimize their immigrant status through applications I-360 and AOS. They often seek the help of an immigration lawyer who will gather information to draft their application and affidavit. In the said affidavit, it must be shown that the applicant experienced a substantial form of psychological, emotional, verbal, physical, sexual, and financial abuse by their American family member.

Their affidavit must also show that they maintained good moral character while they’re in the United States. They should also show that they have not been involved in any criminal infractions and have respected the United States of America laws. Aside from that, they should also attest that they have been an active member of the community.

Furthermore, the U.S. Constitution grants a few rights for immigrants. Among these is the right to a lawyer. Immigrant authorities are obligated to refrain from immediate deportation and allow the immigrant a chance to be heard. Of course, this only applies to immigrants that can provide documentation of their entry.

Takeaway

Being faced with deportation charges could be life-altering. The fact that you’re far from your home country, family, and friends are already troubling, much more being forced to go to a foreign court to fight your case. If you find yourself in this situation, know that you’re not alone.

Immigrants that believe they have a right to remain in the country can insist on a hearing with representation to defend them. New York City especially has several experienced deportation lawyers due to the number of immigration cases held in the city. If you find yourself facing a deportation case, remember to seek NYC deportation help from a seasoned lawyer.

Everything You Need to Know About Green Card

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The green card is a crucial factor in having a permanent residence in the U.S. It would allow people outside the U.S to gain high wages and live bountifully in the country and become a citizen after three to five years. If you are an immigrant who is at least 18 years old, you must bring a green card all the time. However, you don’t have the same duties and privileges as the natural-born or naturalized citizens of the United States.

You have distinct ways of exercising your freedom within which are ineligible to vote and hold public office. To know more, the stated facts below are further information about the green card.

Facts about Green Card

Source:nyintl.net

The green card is called a legitimate residence permit, but in appearance, they’re green in color; that is why they put the term green. This kind of card is also authorized government records, and they are called I-551 Form on paper. Click here to know more about this information.

Here are the seven essential facts you also want to understand:

  • The Green Card is a great privilege. It means that while you live in the United States, you must uphold a high standard of moral character and conduct. Moreover, it is withdrawable, and you, as the holder, can also be subject to deportation with certain offenses committed under the Immigration Law.
  • As a Card Holder, you should maintain a primary residence in the country.
  • It doesn’t allow you to travel in and out of the United States unlimitedly.
  • You have to submit a U.S. Income Tax as part of the conditions of being a Green Card Holder.
  • Undocumented immigrants are usually ineligible for a Green Card due to their immigration status. However, some undocumented immigrants may allow a Provisional Waiver of Inadmissibility to detach the disqualification if they can prove that being separated from their U.S. citizen spouse or parent will inflict severe difficulty.
  • Whether you are under 18 or mentally and physically impaired, you don’t need to sign your green card. The green card will appear, “Waived signature,” you are eligible for this exemption if you fulfill any of those requirements.
  • After ten years, Green Cards will expire. When you fail to reauthorize its validity, you may face legal consequences.

The methods of obtaining a green card often undergo updates and adjustments. It is best to determine first which kind of green card you want and then examine the criteria for that Form. The following stated below are the different types of Green Cards.

Different types of Green Cards

Employment-Based Cards

To have an employment-based green card, you must have an employer from the United States citizen who will support your application. This way goes through a phase of labor certification, though exceptions may occur in some cases.

The following lists the subcategories of employment and the forms of work falling under them:

EB-1 Priority Workers

Source:immi-usa.com
  • People who have an excellent ability in the arts, sciences, education, business, and athletics.
  • Outstanding researchers or professors
  • Multinational Executives and Managers

EB 2 Professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional abilities

  • Positions which require a Master’s degree
  • Those people with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business.
  • Those qualified people who are physicians will practice medicine in the U.S., particularly those underserved areas.

EB-3 Skilled, unskilled and professional workers

  • Skilled workers that require a minimum of two years’ of practice and expertise
  • Unskilled workers need less than two years’ of preparation or knowledge.
  • Professional workers require a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. university or other schools outside the U.S equivalent of this degree.
Source:immigrationvisaus.com

EB 4 Special Workers

  • Employees who served the U.S. government abroad
  • Religious workers
  • Media Professionals

EB 5 Investors

  • Those non-U.S. nationals invested $ 1 million in a new U.S. company to build jobs for at least ten employees.

Family-Based Eligibility

If you have a family in the U.S, you can be sponsored by such relatives to have a permanent residency. Members of the family who may act as sponsors include parents, relatives, children, or spouses. If your sponsor is a holder of the card and not a resident, they must be the applicant’s child or spouse.

Moreover, widows and widowers married to a resident of the United States when the citizens died are also part of this classification. The spouses of living U.S. citizens and existing green card holders applying based on marriage, widows, and widowers need to show that their marriage was valid.

Marriage-Based Green Cards

Source:freedomimmigrationusa.com

If you marry a resident of the United States or a Holder of the card, you are eligible for permanent residency dependent on this marriage. It extends to both traditional couples and same-sex partnerships as same-sex marriage was acceptable in the lens of a civil right by the Supreme Court. This procedure includes Form I-130, Form I-485, or some variation after filing for a K-1 visa to enter the country and get married.

Diversity (DV) Lottery Green Card

The U.S. government provides 50,000 diversity visas per year to applicants from various nations that send limited numbers of immigrants to the United States. If you are interested in applying, you may begin in October of the year before the lottery and start searching for eligibility online in May following. If accepted, you are going through an interview process and showing your ability. It is necessary to act abruptly, because more applicants are qualified than visas, and issued after the lottery on a first-come, first-served basis.

To live and work in another country, engrossed with different cultures, and acquainted with new faces can be a great experience. Some people come to the U.S. usually for educational purposes, but many of them want to find a job. If you wish to apply for permanent work and get a green card, it will take much effort and a sponsor to be accepted. Fortunately, you can own the card through your outstanding ability, and it will surely help you achieve your desire to become a permanent resident.

Undeniably, the United States is a great country. There are myriad opportunities to offer for their people, and many of us would render the risk in exchange for a better living. The country is reliable for great opportunities, but it also has many tourist sites that you will surely love to visit. If you are keen enough to live in the United States permanently, you should make sure to know everything about Green Card and your rights and responsibilities as a holder.

What Are The Differences Between a Green Card And a U.S. Citizenship?

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If you think about it, the USA has constantly been a mixture of a wide range of cultures and nationalities. People who dwell and work there can do so under 2 conditions – they either obtained a green card or they have a US citizenship. Both can enable you to remain permanently in the nation and get employed, but, there are some huge distinctions between the two choices.

Green Card: Explained

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

A person who is given a green card is a different nationality is given authority to remain in the US legally. Besides being capable of living in the nation, people who have such documents could also work there both for someone or as business owners. Although they’re ‘continual’ citizens, they still have the citizenship of their place of birth. People with such a document actually have a wide range of rights, including:

  1. They can get a Social Security Card that will allow them to receive Medicare and other benefits,
  2. They could ask for visas in order for their partners and kids to stay in America,
  3. They could enlist in the US Army,
  4. They’re suitable for governmental help,
  5. And, they can visit other countries without losing their status.

Of course, like all citizens, there are some responsibilities that permanent residents have such as that they need to follow every single local, state, and cross-country regulations, the necessity to file revenue tax returns, they should support democracy, and if they change their place of residence, they need to notify the USCIS.

Naturally, there are also things that they aren’t allowed to do. For instance, they are not able to vote in the elections and if they go to another country for a long time they might jeopardize their situation. Additionally, they will only be suitable for the aforementioned privileges for the first 5 years of living in the nation.

How Can You Get It?

There is actually a wide range of approaches that you could take in order to get this document, including:

  1. Relations Sponsoring

Source:canadianimmigration.net

A lot of people choose to become citizens through family sponsoring. What does this imply? Well, it means that you could be sponsored by a person in your family that either has a green card or is an American citizen. However, for this, you’ll have to prove that you’re actually related to them and they need to have a salary that can help you. You can check this out in order to find more information.

  1. Sponsorship From an Employer

If you get sponsored by an organization, you’ll be qualified for petitioning for these papers. Most commonly, these are people that are experienced in certain fields like medicine, science, art, and of course, education. Before you actually apply for it, you’ll have to first get a work certificate. The employer will then submit an immigrant request, which is basically a document filed at the local immigration service center.

  1. Lottery

Source:green-card.com

This is, perhaps, the most complex and difficult option from the three, but, you may be capable of getting these documents is by a government-sponsored event called ‘The Green Card’ Lottery. The method is simple, 50 thousand individuals are chosen randomly to get a green card. Nonetheless, to apply for the lottery, you’ll have to have 2 years of employment experience in an industry that needs 2 years of training.

US Citizenship: Explained

The most eminent rank that is given by the migration legislation is citizenship that allows people to permanently live and work in America. There are a few ways that you can become one and the most traditional way is by being born there, however, babies born outside of America, but that has one American parent could also gain citizenship.

Similarly to a green card, there is a wide range of rights granted including being able to vote, they can support family members that want to come to the US, they can get driving licenses, they can have banking account & social security numbers, they can work for the government, obtain a passport, as well as run for political office.

How Can You Get It?

As mentioned earlier, there are a few ways that you can gain citizenship, including:

  1. Being a Naturalized Inhabitant

Now, you might be wondering – what does it mean to be a naturalized inhabitant? Well, it means that you’ll need to get a green card through the aforementioned ways. Once you obtain it, you’ll need to meet specific requirements in order to become a resident. Keep in mind that many conditions might be implemented for different states.

Nonetheless, you’ll need to be 18, posses a green card for a minimum of 5 years, give papers that show that you have lived in America for five years, you’ll need to be capable of writing, reading, as well as understanding and speaking the English language, as well as show that you have good moral traits.

  1. Getting Married

Additionally, you can be granted citizenship if you get married to someone who is an American. Your partner will need to submit a wide range of forms, and once they get and go through the papers, an interview will take place in order for the officials to determine whether or not you actually know each other and if you are truly married. It is a complex process, but it is one that will allow you to easily become a resident.

Conclusion

As you were able to learn, there is actually a wide range of differences between obtaining a green card and having citizenship in the United States. Each of the two options has different benefits and advantages, however, there are some serious drawbacks when it comes to having a green card, especially since you cannot vote.

So, now that you are aware of what both of these things are, as well as how they are different, do not lose any more time. Instead, if you are planning on applying for a Green Card, you should do some more digging, gather the necessary documents, and then submit your application.