K1 Visa Fiancée Guide to Green Card

The purpose of a K1 visa is to allow a fiance(e) to come to the US in order to get married within three months of arrival. The K1 visa can take approximately nine months to process. However, during peak case times, US Immigration can take a lot longer. With the variation in processing times throughout the year you can begin to appreciate how tricky it is to plan a wedding around an uncertain processing time frame.

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There are several reasons for the lengthy processing times – the first being case volumes. There are hundreds of thousands of applications being filed every month. The second reason is fraud detection, and the third reason is background checks. With regards to background checks, US Immigration have to ensure that the alien wishing to marry the US citizen is not a criminal with a long history of criminal activity or that the alien is not carrying some kind of virulent disease. The interesting point to make here is that every day thousands of aliens enter the US under the visa waiver program without any criminal or medical background checks. However, with the recent introduction of ESTA US Immigration is now actioning more background checks before visitors are allowed to even get on the aeroplane to travel to the US.

When we work with our K1 visa fiance(e) clients, we spend time getting the full history as to how the clients met and subsequently developed their relationship to the point where marriage and needing to be together permanently became overwhelming.  Many people do not appreciate that over 50% of all green card applications based on marriage are in fact fake, thus US Immigration has a duty to assume that every application is fake unless the body of evidence submitted clearly exonerates the couple.

I deal with a lot of British families who try and use their British logic to prepare documentation. As a Brit myself I get it, but the truth is, US Immigration operates under the philosophy that every alien marrying an American is doing so fraudulently just to get a green card. If I were an immigration official with a mountain of suspected fraudulent cases that I’d uncovered, I would think that I’d seen everything and would be very cynical indeed with every new application.  Therefore, we have to prepare our clients’ cases with that thought in mind and then develop strategies that ensure the success of those cases.

Many would-be clients try to do K1 visas  themselves and get into a tizzy. They look at the Embassy website and think to themselves, ‘How hard can this be? I just need to complete a few forms and it should sail through.’ That way of thinking has been the undoing of many and the cause of so much stress that relationships have been broken because of it. I know because I get the phone calls and sometimes the clients are in tears.  I’ve had many calls from potential clients where they have explained that they have followed the advice from one branch of immigration only to have their partner deported upon arrival because that particular advice was wrong.

What makes all the difference in any immigration matter is having a lot of K1 visa experience, facing all kinds of challenges from US Immigration and then calling upon that experience to ensure that a K1 visa case, despite any challenges encountered, will ultimately be successful.

Stress is a big factor:  Getting married is one of the biggest stresses one can go through. Moving to a new location at the same time is also one of the biggest stresses one can experience.  When you then add  going through the K1 visa  immigration process into the mix you are really taking on a lot.  It is therefore very important that you let us take the immigration stress off your shoulders.  It’s much lighter for us since we have a team of Case Workers actioning your case under my personal supervision.  We can tackle all of your question on issues such as, applying for your work permit, your Social Security number and other key matters to ensure a softer landing in the US.

The K1 visa is the first phase of a two phase process: The first phase is getting to the US under the K-1 visa in order to get married. Once married you have to go through a process called “Adjustment of Status” (AOS).  This is the adjustment of your status from K1 visa (non-immigrant) to green card (permanent residency).  To make this happen we have to file another set of documentation plus include all of the original documentation that was originally filed.

Your case will be completely reviewed again by another US Immigration official. Many other US Immigration offices, (most are non-attorneys), reduce their fees to you by having helped you get into the country on the K-1 visa then just send you a few forms and let you to sink or swim through the AOS process.

The AOS phase is crucial as it is the phase that if handled successfully results in the actual issuance of your work permit and green card after a successful green card interview.  Our work does not stop until you have your green card in your hand. If you are really looking for someone to represent you, make sure you gauge how much passion and time will be put into your case, and whether or not you feel like your case is just a number among thousands of others.

We take each of our cases very personally because we’ve been through the immigration process ourselves, it’s no joke and it’s serious business.  I really would like for you to read through our website on this and other issues and I’m pretty sure you’ll get the feeling that we’re not like other law firms. Then give us a call or complete the consultation questionnaire and we’ll be happy to talk to you and discover how best we can help meet your immigration goals with the least amount of stress.

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
401 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor,
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292

Specializing in the E2 Visa, EB1 Green Card, L-1A Visa and O1 Visa and K1 Visa Marriage-Based Immigration. Attorney Chris M. Ingram is dedicated to providing the very best in US Immigration legal representation. Enjoy our website.

Important Notice: Please note that all videos created by the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram are intended as general information only and not specific legal advice pertaining your case. If you would like specific legal advice on any immigration matter please do not hesitate to contact this law office accordingly. All pictorial images used in these videos and the website in general are licensed stocked images and not portraits, or otherwise, of anyone from the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram, nor of its clients unless otherwise indicated by name. All images are used solely for illustrative purposes only. Copyright 2010-2015 All Rights Reserved.