Social Security Number

As soon as you arrive in the US in K1 status you should apply for a SS# from your nearest benefits office. These take about 2-4 weeks to process and your US fiancé (e) will advise you directly how important having an SS# number is.

Petition For Alien Relative

At this point, BTUSA’s tasks for your K1 visa would have been completed. However, given that the K1 visa only lasts for 90-days, it is important that the arriving alien does not fall out of status, so the US citizen must file a new petition as the spouse of the alien.

You will need to hire BTUSA in advance to begin preparing this part of your case even before the wedding actually takes place. Therefore, as soon as the wedding does take place, the petition can be submitted with the certificate of marriage included. The sooner the petition is filed, the sooner the alien will get their green card and be able to travel.

Green Card Affidavit Of Support

In addition to the above-mentioned paperwork filed with the petition, a second Affidavit of Support will need to be filed. This one is different from the first one filed for the Embassy, as it is mandatory and the sponsor has to prove that they have sufficient income to support their alien spouse. There are set minimum incomes that must be met to qualify as a sponsor.

If the US citizen spouse is not earning sufficient income they can seek the assistance of a co-sponsor. Both sponsors will be financially liable for the alien for up to five years in the event that the alien is unable to find employment. In other words, US Immigration does not want to allow immigrants in to the US who then becomes a drain on the US welfare system.

Where a co-sponsor is required then the attorney will charge an additional fee for the extra work that will be required in preparing the affidavit. However, if no additional sponsors are required then no fee will be charged for the US spouse sponsoring their alien spouse.

Green Card Interview

Where immigration was obtained by way of marriage, a green card interview is practically mandatory. The nature of the interview will be to establish that the relationship leading up to the marriage was indeed genuine and not a fraud. Both parties will be interviewed as to how they met, how they fell in love, etc. It is quite involved but nothing to worry about if your relationship is true. Please remember, no new couples who have never lived together before are going to know everything there is to know about their partner in the few months of marriage they would have had before their interview.

The purpose of the exercise is to uncover fraud so where there is no fraud there will be nothing but love to uncover!

Traveling Before Your Green Card Is Actually Issued

Once the alien enters the US under K-1 status they must not leave the US until they obtain their green card in the mail. It is not enough to have filed for your green card.

If the alien has to leave the US in the event of a family emergency then they must apply for a travel document. BTUSA can take care of this for you. If you do leave the US without a travel document your green card application could be abandoned and you may have to re-file, and your case would get complicated very quickly, as at that point you would have no legal status to enter the US. Or, having entered the US on a visa waiver, the alien may be unable to adjust their status to green card without paying a substantial fine as a penalty. The current fine is $1,000.00.