Imagine this: you have fallen in love with a man or a woman who lives outside of the United States. You have somehow managed to make your long-distance relationship work and now you want to propose, but have you thought through the logistics of the wedding and the marriage? If you are both going to be living in the United States, how is he or she going to get to Reading? What if he or she can’t get a tourist visa because it is pretty obvious to consular officials that he or she doesn’t plan on returning to his or her home country?
This is why the K-1 visa was made. The K-1 visa, also known as the fiancé(e) visa, provides a way for American citizens to bring their alien fiancé(e)s to the United States to get married. Without it, there would be quite a few people having to marry abroad and spend months apart from their new husbands or wives before finally being able to settle in the U.S.
Like many immigration visas, the K-1 is not easily obtained. By working with an immigration attorney, the American citizen can file a I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) form. Along with the form, he or she will need to provide proof that he or she has spent time together with his or her fiancé(e). The rules say that the couple must have had a face-to-face meeting within the two years before filing. It will also be important to show that the relationship is genuine.
Ultimately, if everything works out, the alien fiancé(e) will get a visa to come to the U.S. for his or her wedding.
Source: New York Daily News, “U.S. citizen should petition for K-1 Fiancee visa for her same-sex fiancee and bring her to the U.S. to marry,” Allan Wernick, Sept. 17, 2013