Can a Person With Children Receive a Fiancé Visa?

 Posted on January 18, 2023 in Immigration

A fiancé visa allows a foreign national to travel to the United States in order to marry a U.S. citizen. However, when it comes to receiving a fiancé visa, there are certain issues that must be taken into consideration—including whether the foreign fiancé has children. By understanding the applicable immigration laws, a couple can make sure they take the correct steps to ensure that all family members will be able to live in the United States.

Applying for a K-1 Visa

K-1 fiancé visas are immigration visas that allow foreign fiancés of U.S. citizens to enter the United States for the purpose of getting married. In order to be eligible for a K-1 visa, the U.S. citizen and foreign national must meet certain requirements, including:

• The couple must have met in person within two years before filing the immigration paperwork. However, this requirement may be waived in certain circumstances, such as when traveling to another country would involve extreme hardship for one or both parties or when meeting prior to getting married would violate a person's religious or cultural practices.

• Both parties must be free to legally marry, meaning that their marriage must be legally valid in the United States. If either party was previously married, that marriage must have been terminated through divorce, annulment, or the death of the other spouse.

• The couple must intend to become legally married within 90 days after the foreign fiancé enters the U.S.

How Does Having Children Affect the Process?

If a foreign fiancé has children, and they expect to bring their children with them to the United States, this can complicate the process of obtaining a fiancé visa, because the children will also need to obtain visas. If a child or children are under 21 years of age and unmarried, they may qualify for K-2 visas that would allow them to enter and remain in the United States while the couple completes their marriage ceremony and the foreign fiancé and their children apply for adjustment of status. In order to obtain these derivative visas, children must be included on a K-1 visa application, and the foreign fiancé must provide proof that they are indeed their biological dependents.

What Requirements Need to Be Met?

In order for children to receive derivative visas through a fiancé visa application, there are certain requirements that must be met:

• The foreign fiancé must provide evidence that establishes paternity or maternity between themselves and each child.

• The child or children must be unmarried and under the age of 21 at the time of filing.

• The U.S. citizen must demonstrate that they have sufficient financial resources available to support the foreign fiancé and each dependent after they enter the United States.

Contact Our Plano Fiancé Visa Lawyer

If you are planning to apply for a fiancé visa in order to bring your partner to the United States, and your fiancé has children who will be coming with them, you will need to understand your options. At Law Office of Jae Lee, we can help you understand the requirements you will need to meet and the procedures you will need to follow to apply for K-1 and K-2 visas. Our Dallas family immigration attorney can help ensure that everything goes as planned as you take steps to build a new life with your family in the U.S. Call us at 214-295-3014 to arrange a free consultation today.

Sources:

https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-of-us-citizens/visas-for-fiancees-of-us-citizens

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-fiance-k-1.html