Hello everyone! In this post, I will be explaining another option for obtaining residency in the United States through marriage:
K3 Nonimmigrant VISA
This option requires you to get legally married in the country of the foreign spouse and apply for the K3 VISA through the U.S. consulate in that country. But remember! After getting married, the U.S. resident must file an I-130https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 (this is basically a paper petitioning for the foreigner to become a resident of the U.S. on behalf of his or her spouse) and I-129F https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f petition for the foreign spouse. Once you get this VISA you can go to the U.S where your “status” will be adjusted to a resident instead of a foreigner.
*Note: there is a separate process for adjusting status (a.k.a. applying to become a resident) that is not explained in this post.
As always, feel free to ask me any other questions you may have and I will do my best to answer them! Ready? Let’s get started….
- Out of all the options for obtaining residency in the U.S. through marriage, which is the cheapest? Applying for the K3 VISA.
- How much do the filing fees for a K3 VISA cost? The answer to this question is still unclear to me, but I will do my best to answer. There are many fees that come along with any type of VISA (medical examination, printing of all required documents, etc.). The number that my lawyer gave to me was $420 for the filing fee. This is on top of the $500 attorney fee that she charges in order to file the VISA.
- How long does it take for someone to get the K3 VISA? Since this VISA will be processed in the U.S. consulate of the Foreign Spouse’s home country, processing times will vary. My lawyer told me that in Argentina it takes an average of 10 months, but could take up to a year and a half.
- Is there an interview required for the K3 VISA? Yes. The foreign spouse will be interviewed at the U.S. embassy or consulate in his or her country. If there is no U.S. embassy or consulate in the foreign spouse’s country, he or she will be required to go to the nearest one outside of the country. In Argentina it is located in Buenos Aires.
- How soon can the foreign spouse start working once he or she arrives in the U.S.? It depends (just the answer you wanted, right?;)) According to my lawyer you can start working almost immediately, and do not need to be a resident in order to do so. One needs to file form I-765 https://www.uscis.gov/i-765, application for employment authorization, in order to start legally working. This form generally takes 90 days to be approved.
In my lawyer’s opinion this is the best option in order to become a U.S. resident through marriage. Although this option is not the shortest, it does allow for the non-U.S. resident to stay living and working in their country while all of the paperwork for the VISA is being processed. If after reading this you still have doubts or questions follow this link to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for more information. If that is a little confusing (I know it is for me), follow this link for a simpler step by step “How to” for the K3 VISA. In my next post I will be talking about the final option for becoming a U.S. resident through marriage: the K1 Fiance(e) VISA. Yep! You guessed it! This is the option that my boyfriend and I (or should I say Fiance) decided to take.
Becoming a U.S. citizen takes a lot of work, as I’m sure you have already realized. There are many steps that come with each option, and I have not gone into every last detail on these posts. While researching immigration to the states, I have learned that although it is good to be prepared, there are also some things that you simply will not understand until you yourself actually get to that step in the process. As much as I don’t like it, getting a lawyer is truly helpful. They can help to decode all of the technical terms and make sure that you are turning in all of the paperwork on time. I am by no way advocating that everybody go out and get a lawyer to help with this process, because it can be done without them. After researching everything, and for my particular situation, it seemed like a good idea, but not necessary, to hire a lawyer. See you next time!
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