Probably not. RapidVisa has taken the complexity out of the process so that anybody can complete the forms with the same or better accuracy than the best immigration attorney. Nearly all K-1 Fiancee Visa applications are approved if you qualify and most people don't use a lawyer.
Being truthful throughout the K-1 visa process is important. Even if immigration officials don’t initially catch a lie, it can haunt the applicant later. For example, at the time of applying for a green card, USCIS officers may review previous visa cases.
Immigration officials will collect the U.S. citizen’s fingerprints as part of the K-1 visa process. In addition to “being” eligible, the couple must present evidence of eligibility.
The K-1 visa interview is designed to allow immigration officers an opportunity to determine if your relationship is a sham created with the purpose of entering the U.S. through fraudulent means. While this may seem intimidating, it should not be a serious issue for those who maintain a legitimate relationship with their foreign fiancé (e).
An attorney who is familiar with the K1 fiancé visa process can help to ensure that all of your forms are filled out correctly, that you submit the appropriate documents, and that you do not experience avoidable delays in the processing of your case.
The immigration process can be intimidating and take a long time, but hiring an immigration attorney to support you with your case can speed up the process and help you meet your goals.
There are various reasons why a consular may deny a K1 visa petition, including but not limited to: The petitioner does not meet the necessary requirements. The foreign national does not meet the necessary requirements. The relationship seems suspicious or fraudulent.
The law does not require that you use an immigration attorney to complete K-1 petition documents such as the Form I-129F. Here is what the USCIS says about this at www.USCIS.gov: You can file USCIS forms yourself, but many people choose to have help.
An immigration lawyer charges between $150 and $300 per hour, with a typical 30-min consultation fee of $75 to $150. Legal assistance when filing basic immigration forms costs $250 to $800, while green card assistance runs from $800 to $5,000, plus the USCIS fees of $460 to $700.
You can generally request expedited processing by calling the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) or by asking Emma after you have obtained a receipt notice.
While the K1 visa application may be difficult, the overall process and approval can be made faster and easier with the assistance of a capable legal representative.
It's true: most people who apply for a K-1 visa are successful. In fact, according to statistical reports published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), about 74% of fiancé(e) visas were approved in 2020.
According to those statistics, approximately 20,000 K-1 fiancées/fiancés every year are denied visas when they go to their interviews at the embassy. This is nearly 40% of the total number of K-1 visa applicants. And while eventually many of them are able to overcome the initial denial, some do not.
In dollars and cents, this means that you must have stable earnings of at least $16,910 per year for a two-person household (in 2019) to qualify as financial sponsor for a fiancé(e) visa petition, and you must have stable earnings of at least $21,137 per year for a two-person household to qualify as financial sponsor ...
However, K-1 visas are still being processed in a timely manner, and you can expect only slight changes to the standard processing times in 2021 and beyond.
If the sponsor's household size is only them and their future spouse, then the income requirements to receive a K1 visa must be a minimum of $17,240 annually after deductions in 2021. This number goes up if the household is larger, such as if the sponsor has one or more children.
A K1 visa allows the fiancé of a United States citizen to come to the United States for the purpose marrying their citizen fiancé and adjusting status to become a permanent resident. A K1 visa is initiated by the US citizen fiancé by filing form I-129F with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
In order to obtain a K1 fiancé visa, you must meet a number of requirements. First, a foreign national must be the fiancé of a US citizen. A US permanent resident cannot sponsor a fiancé for a K1 visa. Second, the US citizen and foreign national fiancé must have met in person within two years of filing the K1 fiancé visa petition.
There a number of form and documents you will need to submit to obtain a K1 fiancé visa, both in your initial petition with USCIS and when you move on to the stage of processing your case as the US embassy abroad.
I-129F: The I-129F is the sent to USCIS in your initial filing. The form notifies the government that you intend to bring your foreign national fiancé to the United States with the intent to marry and adjust status.
Passport style photos: You will submit photos both at the time of filing the I-129F petition and when the foreign national fiancé goes to the interview at the US embassy abroad. You should have these taken according to US passport standards.
Copies of criminal convictions: If the foreign national fiancé has had any criminal convictions, you will need to obtain and provide certified copies of the dispositions.
While USCIS does not require you to have an attorney in order to process your fiancé visa, having an experienced immigration attorney can help immensely.
The K-1 visa interview is designed to allow immigration officers an opportunity to determine if your relationship is a sham created with the purpose of entering the U.S. through fraudulent means. While this may seem intimidating, it should not be a serious issue for those who maintain a legitimate relationship with their foreign fiancé (e).
A great way to make sure that you are as prepared as possible for the K-1 visa interview is to go over the specifics of your situation and relationship with an experienced fiance visa lawyer.
Once the U.S. embassy or consulate where the foreign-citizen fiancé (e) will apply, receives the petition from NVC, it will provide the foreign-citizen fiancé (e) with specific instructions, including where to go for the required medical examination. The foreign-citizen fiancé (e) will then be called in for an interview at the consulate for the issuance of a K-3 visa.
The K-1 fiancé (e) visa is a nonimmigrant classification of marriage-based visa that is designed for the foreign-born fiancé (e)s of U.S. citizens. It gives those foreign fiancé (e)s the opportunity to come to the U.S. with the intention of marrying their U.S. citizen fiancé (e)s who are sponsoring their visas.
There are several costs to take into account when applying for a K-1 fiance visa. The first is the filing fee for the I-129F, which comes out to be $535. This is paid by the fiance who is sponsoring the beneficiary when he or she files the petition. Fortunately, there is no cost for filing K-3 petitions provided that an I-130 Petition of Alien Relative has been submitted to the USCIS by that same U.S. citizen sponsor.
This differs from the usual green card process in the fact that the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative is no longer required for K-1 and K-2 holders. This was done to cut down on the amount of time that families would need to be separated while they waited for the petition’s priority date to be current. Instead, the USCIS states that, provided that you meet the following criteria, you would only need to file an I-485 application in order to go from a K visa to a marriage-based green card.
A K-1 visa holder upon arriving in the US is not allowed to leave and re-enter on the same visa. If you intend to exit the country then re-enter it’s recommended to apply for a travel document with Form I-131 or adjust your status to legal permanent resident.
To get a K1 visa, your U.S. citizen fiancé must file a Form I-129f on your behalf in addition to other steps discussed below. Your U.S. citizen fiancé is the petitioner (person filing the petition) and you (the person getting the K1 visa) are the beneficiary (person benefiting from the petition).
At the Port of Entry (POE) you will likely be questioned by Customs and Border Protection regarding the purpose of your entry to the United States.
The first step in the K1 visa process is to make sure you satisfy the K1 visa requirements. Two requirements that you should pay particular attention to are the listed below:
on a K1 visa by filing a Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization). If you apply for work authorization before getting married to your U.S. citizen fiancé, then the work authorization will expire 90 days after your admission to the U.S.
A signed statement from the K1 visa beneficiary and the U.S. citizen petitioner expressing each person’s intent to marry the other within 90 days of the K1 visa beneficiary’s entry to the U.S.
The next step is for the K1 visa beneficiary to attend a K1 visa interview at a U.S. consulate or embassy in their home country.
One exception to the physical meeting requirement is if meeting each other in person would violate strict and long-standing customs of the K1 visa beneficiary’s culture or social practice. If you plan to rely on this exception, you should present evidence supporting the existence of these customs (such as letters from religious officials). You should also provide evidence from family members and friends attesting to the fact that you are complying with these customs.
On the other hand, if your lawyer uses a typewriter to fill out your paperwork, or won’t return your phone calls, then grab your documents and walk out of their office. Or else you risk getting your K-1 visa denied by an inexperienced attorney.
In fact, good lawyers advise you on what works and what doesn’t. And if you’re really in a pickle, they can help with some tricky stuff — like criminal history, immigration violations, hardship waivers, and much more.
But if you’re not satisfied with the help that’s out there, take the helm and do your own research. Do not rely on any professional to deliver you a miracle. No one will get you an approval. You have to earn it.
There are also some rare lawyers who have connections with politicians and can get “things done”. You’ll know how to spot them because they have a very high price tag.
So, it’s unlikely that a lawyer will take time to prepare you for the K-1 visa interview questions.
You can try your luck with a filing service. But from what I’ve gathered, they’re no different than lawyers. They charge huge fees but you still do 90% of the work and hand them your evidence, photos, statements, etc. In addition, they use computers to fill out your paperwork (not real people). There’s a lack of personal attention for each couple — which means mistakes and delays.
You don’t have to give your lawyer everything. If you’re capable of figuring stuff out yourself, only give your lawyer the difficult questions to answer. That way, you get your money’s worth. For example, for criminal history, I’d have the lawyer guide me on it without asking him/her to fill out my I-129F, make the packet, or staple stuff together, etc.
The law does not require that you use an immigration attorney to complete K-1 petition documents such as the Form I-129F. Here is what the USCIS says about this at www.USCIS.gov:
Attorneys will NOT be permitted to accompany anyone into the waiting room or to the interview.
Sometimes it’s the small things that can significantly delay a petition or even cause a denial. In most cases, simple errors and omissions in the Form I-129F will cause a rejection. Although the petitioner can easily resubmit the petition, it generally creates a significant delay in the K-1 visa process. Each year USCIS rejects thousands of forms because people simply forget to sign them.
Some applicants who are surprised by the questions may appear guarded or anxious. Most K-1 applicants will interview without the U.S . spouse.
CitizenPath’s service covers these requirements with detailed filing instructions to make sure you include adequate evidence. We also provide a sample K-1 declaration that addresses many of these criteria.
The law itself could force immigration officials to deny a K-1 visa. If the U.S. citizen has failed to share information about a criminal history or past petitions with the foreign national fiancé, the disclosure of the information to the foreign national could result in a canceled engagement.
Tell the Truth. If your lawyer doubts you in the consultation, or doesn't think you have a case, while that may change over time, getting over an initial disbelief is very hard. You have to prove your case. Your attorney is not your witness. They are your advocate - but you are responsible for coming up with proof.
If you don't pay your lawyer on the day of trial, or however you have agreed to, then while he or she may be obligated by other ethical duties to do his/her best, they won't be motivated by sympathy for you, and it will show in court.
Most people hired attorneys because they don't want to sit in court. Well, truth be told, neither do I. The difference between lawyer and client is that the lawyer expects it to take a long time and understands. The client typically thinks it's unjustified. So, your hard truth is that each case takes time. Be patient.
Credibility is one of the most important things in this world - and most important in a courtroom. If you care enough only to wear sweats to the courthouse, then the judge will see that you don't care, and that will be reflected in their desire to help you, listen to you, and decide in your favor. Step it up.
If no one can confirm that the story is true, you will at least need something external, such as a hard copy document, to prove your case. Be prepared.
Don' t forget that lawyers don't always need to take more cases. Yes, new clients are a great thing, but I don't want clients that will eat all my time and get no where fast. Your tip: keep your communication very simple and to the point.
While lawyers can certainly take your money and your time and we can file a case that will be very hard to win, if you don't care enough about your life to get a contract, the judge is not very likely to be on your side. At least, not automatically. Oral contracts are extremely hard to prove. What are the terms.