Understanding The Fiancé/Fiancée Visa Timeline

The Fiancé/Fiancée Visa timeline

If you are an American citizen contemplating marriage with a foreign national, you should fully understand the process for obtaining a K-1 Fiancé/Fiancée Visa, including all the stages that make up the timeline. Working through this process on your own can be a time-consuming, frustrating experience.

To assist you with your case in the K-1 process, shorten preparation time and eliminate delays, especially when dealing the government agencies, we recommend retaining Olvis Immigration & Visa Services at the very start of the process. We specialize in obtaining K-1 Fiancé/Fiancée Visas and will guide you through all the required steps, enabling you and your fiancé/fiancée to enjoy this time in your lives knowing that you are in good hands with the oldest and most experienced company of this kind in the Philippines.

We will work with you from the preliminary planning stages all the way through to the issuance of the K-1 Visa. We start the process with the preparation of the application and verifying and authenticating the various required documents as well as preparing you for the required evidence of relationship and support.

Timeline for the K1 Visa process.

Step One – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

Your case will be on its way to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as soon as you sign the completed petition which has been prepared by our office. After USCIS receives the case, it takes anywhere from 3 months on the fast side to as long as 7 months on the long side, the average time for the last 3 years or so has been 5 to 6 months, depending upon the amount of backlog at the particular USCIS service center. Each petition has its own level of complexity. The Approvals do not arrive in the order that the cases are filed.

Step Two – National Visa Center (NVC)

The Approved petition is then mailed from the USCIS to the NVC or National Visa Center. Once approved you will be notified by mail and then the NVC will forward your case to the appropriate United States Embassy in your beneficiaries country of residence. This step usually takes two to three weeks.

Step Three – U.S. Embassy Interview

This is most complex stage of the K-1 Fiancé/Fiancée Visa process as each embassy has different requirements, depending upon the country. U.S. embassies in most countries require a wait time of six to eight weeks until the interview date; however, there are some countries such as Mexico, Philippines, and Ukraine that allow scheduling an interview as soon all documents are obtained. Specifics vary by country; for example:

Applicants from Philippines may schedule an interview date at their convenience as soon as they receive a notice from the NVC that the petition has been sent to Manila. It may be possible with the U.S Embassy in Manila for the interview date to be set in as little as 2 weeks.

• The Majority of embassies assign an interview date for you only upon receipt of the biographical forms (for example: UK, China). All supporting documentation must be taken directly to the interview. The wait time can be anywhere from four to eight weeks when dealing with this type of embassies handling.
• The U.S. embassies in some countries allow to select an interview date through their online interface (Russia, Brazil). This is a new method of handling the K-1 Visa process by the embassies, which proves to be very convenient for the applicants.

Step Four – K-1 Visa is Issued

After the interview takes place, upon approval, the embassy will issue the visa. The Passport with the visa and prepared documents in a sealed envelope will be delivered to your Fiancé/Fiancée via courier service within seven to ten days. The visa will be valid for a period of six months from the date of issuance and is good for one entry to the United States. Upon entry under a K-1 Visa your Fiancé/Fiancée is required to marry the American Petitioner within 90 days of the arrival date.

Conclusion:

In most cases, the entire process can take anywhere from three to seven months.  To obtain the current processing times for USCIS and US Embassy in the Philippines please feel free to contact our office.

Retaining our experienced firm to help you through every step of the K-1 visa process, rather than attempting to struggle through alone (or hiring preparation-only consulting services), can save you months of frustration. Please contact our office with any questions you may have.

DUE TO OUR NATIONWIDE EXPOSURE AND SPECIALIZATION IN THE K-1 VISA, WE ARE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE IN THIS FIELD.