If you are a U.S. citizen engaged to a Chinese citizen and you are considering marriage, the K-1 visa is often your best choice for bringing your fiancee to the U.S. to live permanently with you. The K1 Visa allows you to invite your fiancee to America for a period of 90 days, during which time your fiancee must either marry you or return to China. Extensions of the time period are not permitted under any circumstances. You and your fiancee are not required to marry if things don’t work out according to your expectations. If you do not marry your fiancee, you will not be barred from making a future Fiancee Visa application (although you will have to file an IMBRA waiver if you want to file within two years of the first petition’s approval). Your fiancee will not be precluded from receiving another visa in the future. IMPORTANT CAVEAT: The Guangzhou U.S. Consulate will be more skeptical of any petitioner or fiancee with multiple visa attempts. Such cases can succeed but they require more care in preparation.

Permanent residents of the United States are not eligible to file for a K-1 visa.

In order to qualify for a Fiancee Visa, you must meet the following main requirements:

• You are a U.S. citizen
• You have met your fiancee within the previous two years (doesn't have to have been in China, though)
• You and your fiancee are both legally free to marry
• You and your fiancee both have a serious intention to marry within 90 days of your fiancee’s arrival in America

You must not only meet these requirements, you must prove them through sufficient and credible documentation.

There is a provision in the law that may exempt the petitioner from the meeting requirement "if it is established that compliance would result in extreme hardship to the petitioner or that compliance would violate strict and long-established customs of the K-1 beneficiary's foreign culture or social practice, as where marriages are traditionally arranged by the parents of the contracting parties and the prospective bride and groom are prohibited from meeting subsequent to the arrangement and prior to the wedding day." INA § 214.2(k)(2). Unfortunately, such waivers are very rarely granted by the USCIS. The "extreme hardship" exception has been interpreted by the USCIS to mean something very close to "impossible". It generally is available only to people who are so disabled that they can't fly at all. As for the second grounds for a waiver, very few people qualify for this exception, and those that do often have a difficult time proving it to the government's satisfaction.

The first step in the Fiancee Visa process is the submission of an I-129F petition to either the California or Vermont Service Center (depending on where you live in the U.S.) of the USCIS. The petitioner and fiancee will need to file numerous forms and documents with the USCIS that the couple meets the legal requirements of the K-1 visa. The USCIS review does not include an in-depth review of the character or quality of the couple's relationship. That comes later at the Consular phase.

The waiting time for the USCIS to approve a K1 visa can be anywhere from two weeks to seven months, depending on the backlog of similar cases pending approval in the USCIS Regional Center. The case can be further delayed by an error in the petition, which typically doubles the normal waiting time for visa approval. An error in the petition will cause the USCIS to send the petitioner a Request for Additional Evidence ("RFE").

Once approval has been received, the case is transferred to the Department of State's National Visa Center where a background check is begun on the fiancee. The NVC then forwards the case file to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. Once the documents have been received by the Embassy, and the State Department’s background check on the fiancee has been concluded, the fiancee will be instructed to undergo a medical examination (general physical exam + blood test + x-ray) at a designated local clinic, and to appear at the Guangzhou U.S. Consulate for presentation of several new forms and numerous supporting documents and to undergo an interview with a Consular Official. If the paperwork is all correct, and there are no problems in the interview, the visa will be approved on the same day as the interview or and the fiancee's passport with U.S. visa inside will be sent by the Consulate to an address designated by the fiancee.

The K-1 visa is a highly reliable visa if done correctly. Nonetheless, about half of fiancees fail to receive their visa on the day of interview (our firm has a 90+% success rate for first day issuance at Guangzhou, and a 100% eventual success). Failure to issue the visa on the day of the interview can lead to lengthy and grueling delays, and possible denial or return of the petition to the USCIS for review and possible revocation. Some of the more common issues that can lead, alone or in combination with other problems, to a denial/failure to issue are:

1. Missing documents
2. Incorrect paperwork
3. Insufficient income/savings of the U.S. citizen sponsor
4. Very large age difference between the couple
5. Fiancee can not obtain written consent from the ex-husband for their child to leave the country
6. Fiancee has had significant past membership in the Chinese Communist Party
7. Poor English skills of fiancee
8. Couple hasn’t spent enough time together in person
9 Couple lacks sufficient evidence of recent day-to-day contact
10. Fiancee interviews poorly and the consul doubts that there is a bona fide relationship with the U.S. citizen
11. Fiancee has relatives or friends in the U.S. who seem to be taking too large a role in match-making
12. Fiancee was previously in the U.S. and overstayed the visa
13. The U.S. citizen has previously sponsored a foreign national for a green card and the U.S. citizen can not prove that the foreign citizen maintained lawful status
14. Fiancee has a criminal record
15. Fiancee has a serious, contagious illness (such as AIDS, tuberculosis, etc.)
16. Fiancee commits a misrepresentation during the interview (or so it seems to the interviewing officer)
17. Petition includes a document that is deemed to be fraudulent

This list is by no means exhaustive. The Consulate seems to be constantly inventing new reasons to turn down fiancee visas. The Guangzhou Consulate in 2009 was approving only 50% of fiancee visa. Some of the non-approvals take the form of a "blue 221(g) notice" requesting additional documents from the couple. Delays in such cases range from several weeks to several months. A more serious problem results if the Consulate issues a "white 221(g) notice" to the fiancee. In such cases, the file is immediately returned to the USCIS with a recommendation for revocation (basically, the Consulate is saying that new evidence emerged during the Consular phase which, if the USCIS had been privy to such information, would have led to a denial of the petition). It generally takes the USCIS two to four months to decide whether it agrees with the USCIS. If it disagrees, the case is returned to the Guangzhou Consulate for additional fact-finding and another interview, after which the Consulate will either either approve the case or send it back once again to the USCIS with a recommendation for revocation. On the other hand, if the USCIS agrees with the Consulate that the case should not have been approved, the petition will be denied and the petitioner will have 30 days to file an appeal. Unfortunately the wait time for a decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals in such cases is currently running about two years.

A Fiancee Visa is a temporary visa, but one that can be readily converted to a permanent visa after the marriage occurs in the U.S. Once married, the U.S. citizen can obtain conditional permanent residence status for his/her new spouse by filing an I-485 petition with the U.S. government. Several months later (the length of the wait varies considerably on where you live in the country) the couple is called into the local USCIS office for an interview, and a two year "conditional" permanent residence card is issued shortly thereafter. One year and nine months after the conditional permanent residence card has been issued by the USCIS, the couple may apply to remove the condition and receive a 10 year permanent residence card. Three years after the foreign born spouse received her first green card, she is eligible for citizenship.

1. My income level is too low to qualify as a sponsor under the government’s poverty rules. Is there any way to avoid this requirement?
No. You can’t avoid the sponsorship requirements. However, it’s possible to find a co-sponsor to help with you with this problem. The co-sponsor must be able to meet all the government’s financial and document requirements just as though he or she were the sole sponsor. You must submit all your forms and documents as well, even if you show a low level of income.

2. Can I marry my fiancee overseas and still bring her on a K-1 visa?
No. K-1 visas are available only to persons who are planning to be married. If the marriage occurs, you will have to file an I-130 Relative Visa petition for your spouse.

3. My fiancee has been denied a B1/B2 visitor visa for the U.S. before. Will that affect our current K-1 visa petition?
In most cases, no. If your fiancee did not misrepresent any material fact during the B1/B2 visa interview, she will still be eligible for a K-1 Visa.

4. My fiancee is in the U.S. on the K-1 visa I obtained for her, but I’m not sure I’m ready to get married. Can I extend my fiancee’s K-1 visa?
No. The K-1 nonimmigrant status can neither be extended nor changed. This is a very strict law in US immigration and there are no exceptions.

5. My fiancee was in the U.S. on the K visa, but our relationships didn’t work out at the time and she went back to her home country. We have been in touch since then and now want to start the K-1 process again. Can I still petition for her?
Yes, but if you want to apply again within two years of the first petition’s approval, you will have to file for a waiver of the provisions of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBRA). Your fiancee must also be prepared to explain to a consular officer why your relationship didn’t work out the first time and why you both are certain that it will lead to marriage the second time. It must not appear to the Embassy that you are using the K-1 visa as a way simply to bring your girlfriend on trips to the US. So the case to show “intention to marry” has to be particularly strong.

6. When I marry my fiancee while she’s in the US on the K-1 visa, will she have to return home after the marriage?
No. Your wife will not have to leave the U.S. You will, however, have to apply for adjustment of status to permanent residency for your new wife so that she can lawfully remain in the US.

7. The picture for fiancee visas for Chinese women looks pretty grim. Should I just go over there and marry her right away and file an I-130 relative visa petition?
YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT GET MARRIED ON YOUR FIRST VISIT TO CHINA. The Guangzhou Consulate refuses to approve virtually al such cases. The best approach to the problem is: 1. spend adequate time getting to know your fiancee; the more time you spend together the more likely you are to succeed, 2. make sure your fiance will be able answer at least some of the questions in English during the consular interview, 3. don't focus on K-1 procedure and think you'll get the visa (this is NOT the hard part, although some unaccredited experts on web sites think it is, leading to a false sense of confidence), 4. learn as much as you possibly can about what the consular officers in Guangzhou are thinking, identify every possible weakness in your case, develop a case strategy that will enhance the pluses and minimize the minuses during the Consular interview, and give your fiancee as much support as humanly possible. OR hire our firm to do all of the above and more. By the way, our firm has never recommended attorney assistance for all cases. If you have a routine case going into a sensible Consulate, and don't mind spending time dealing with government bureaucracies, then you don't particularly need a lawyer. Our view, however, is that until the Guangzhou Consulate starts to shed some of its skepticism toward Chinese-American couples, anyone who can afford an experienced, skilled K-1 attorney should probably hire one.

8. I sponsored my ex-wife’s K-1 visa for the U.S. and she eventually became a permanent resident. Unfortunately, our marriage didn’t work out and we were divorced. I have recently met a lady outside the U.S. and would like to bring her to America on the K-1 fiancee visa. Can I do this?
Perhaps. IMBRA requires that a petitioner must wait two years from the filing of a prior K-1 visa until a K-1 visa may be issued to a second fiancee. If you can’t wait, a waiver based “extreme hardship” may be possible, although not if a petitioner has a record of violent criminal offenses. If you get by these hurdles, you will nonetheless have to convince the Consulate that your previous marriage was not a “sham” marriage. You also must provide documentary proof that your ex-wife either left the U.S. or lawfully adjusted her status to permanent residence.

9. My fiancee has a valid B1/B2 visitor visa for the US. Is she allowed to come to America while my K-1 visa petition for her is pending with the U.S. immigration authorities?
Yes. She is allowed to enter, but she may face difficulties entering because she has to convince the immigration officials in the airport that she has no intentions to stay in the U.S. permanently. She has to show “dual intent” – to stay for a short period on the current B1/B2 visa even though she intends to eventually stay permanently in the US on the K-1 visa. It’s a tricky situation – especially since many immigration officers falsely assume that the pending K-1 visa prevents B1/B2 entry – but we have helped many people get through this situation successfully.

10. I have recently met a Chinese lady online, but am unable to travel to her country. Is there anything I can do to avoid this requirement?
Probably not. There is a provision in the law that may exempt you from the meeting requirement "if it is established that compliance would result in extreme hardship to the petitioner or that compliance would violate strict and long-established customs of the K-1 beneficiary's foreign culture or social practice, as where marriages are traditionally arranged by the parents of the contracting parties and the prospective bride and groom are prohibited from meeting subsequent to the arrangement and prior to the wedding day." Unfortunately, such waivers are very rarely granted by the USCIS. The "extreme hardship" exception has been interpreted by the USCIS to mean something very close to "impossible". It generally is available only to people who are so disabled that they can't fly at all. As for the second grounds for a waiver, very few people qualify for this exception, and those that do often have a difficult time proving it to the government's satisfaction.