US Fiancé/e Visa is explained below. A US national can be able to sponsor a Thai fiancée by filing a petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The processing time will take at least 6-8 months from the date of lodgement and may also reach up to 10 months depending on the number of applications being dealt by the US Immigration.
US Fiancé/e Visa
The US Visa or the so called, “K1 Fiancée Visa” is a type of visa which is applied for the purpose of marrying your partner in the US. This is only applicable for a US sponsor in bringing a Thai fiancée to the United States to get married within a specific timeline which is the maximum 90 days requirement from the date of arrival in the US.
This is a one-time entry, and if within the 90 days you have not gone through marriage, your Thai fiancée must return to her home country. Once marriage has taken place, you must apply for an adjustment of status in order for your spouse to be able to stay further in the US.
The process starts from,
- petition submission to the USCIS wherein you will be notified within a month once they have received your application.
- After 4-6 months, a Notice of Action 2 will be given for the petition approval. Waiting period may vary.
- Once you have received the notice of approval, it will then be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further review and processing.
- After which, the NVC will send you a notice in a form of email and sent by courier after, in request for you to proceed with the next stage, which documentations be submitted at the US Embassy in Bangkok and wait for the interview appointment email from the US Embassy. This stage of the application is being known as the packet 3.
- You will be notified by email for an interview date and at this stage the applicant will be required to proceed with medical check.
The final process will be on the day of your interview day which most likely will take only few minutes wherein you will be asked questions about your relationship and how well you have known your partner.
Once interview is done, you will know if your visa has been approved or denied. Once approved, the US Embassy will take your passport and some other documents and instruct you that your passport will be returned to you by post in few days with a tracking number.
These are just the standard steps for the K1 visa application process. It is necessary to provide correct documents in order to be granted a visa. Missing a certain document or incorrect information would mean a delay on evaluation.
It is best to consult with an immigration lawyer in Thailand about the process for a US fiancée visa to avoid delays on visa issuance.
