Embassy Interview

When you are finally called for your Embassy interview this should very much be a formality providing you are prepared. In the Embassy package you would have been asked to prepare supporting documentation for your case. Some of the information would need to be in the form of originals such as birth certificates, your passport, prior marriage and divorce certificates, (if applicable), and the last three years’ tax returns of both parties. In addition, the alien would need to submit their original police reports.

Embassy Affidavit Of Support

In many cases the US citizen will need to submit evidence that they have sufficient income to support their alien fiancé (e) typically during any period of unemployment. Where your attorney feels this is appropriate you will be required to submit an affidavit of support.

Assuming that the alien case contains all the above-mentioned documentation to hand at the interview, the decision to approve the visa will be made there and then. The alien will be required to surrender their passport to the Embassy Official so that their visa can be electronically stamped into their passport. This will take about three working days to get done and delivered back to the alien.

At this point the alien is free to enter the US as a K1 visa holder.

Arriving In The US

The Embassy may give you a sealed envelope to take with you to the US, which must be surrendered to the Immigration official at the gate at the airport on arrival.

Also, check your passport, it should be stamped with “Authorized to Work”. If this is the case you should be able to use this for employment for up to 90-days. If you remember, check with the Embassy official regarding the ‘authorization to work’ stamp to confirm that you can actually work on it. The reason why counsel is not 100% clear on this point is that counsel has found that some states treat this authorization differently.

Get Married In 90 Days

The most important thing is to try to time your marriage to occur as soon as possible after your arrival into the US. This is because you cannot apply for your work permit until the marriage has taken place. Aliens don’t like sitting around for months on end; they want to be able to work as quickly as possible. So, delaying the application will only add to delays after the wedding. Additionally, the work authorization stamped into the alien’s passport will cover the alien for up to 90-days and work permits typically tend to take 45-90 days to arrive.