K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa: How to Bring Your Fiancé(e) to the US

The K-1 is for couples who want to marry in the US. You qualify if:

• The petitioner is a US citizen. Green card holders cannot file for a K-1.
• You both intend to marry each other within 90 days of the fiancé(e)'s arrival.
• You are both legally free to marry. Any earlier marriages must have ended by divorce, death, or annulment.
• You met in person at least once in the 2 years before filing. USCIS can waive this only if meeting would violate strict, long-established customs of the fiancé(e)'s culture, or would cause extreme hardship to the US citizen.
• The relationship is genuine, not only for immigration.

Already married, or planning to marry abroad? Then the K-1 is not for you. Use the spouse process instead: see green card for a spouse of a US citizen. The K-3 visa is rarely used today.

Under the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA):

• The petitioner must disclose certain criminal convictions, such as for domestic violence, sexual assault, or child abuse. USCIS shares this with the fiancé(e).
• If you have filed two or more K-1 petitions before, or had a K-1 petition approved within the 2 years before this one, you need a waiver.
• If you met through an international marriage broker, extra disclosure rules apply.

The petitioner also has to show they can support the fiancé(e). At the visa stage, the consulate usually asks for Form I-134 (a declaration of financial support). Later, for the green card, the petitioner signs Form I-864, a legally binding affidavit of support. See the I-864 income calculator and public charge rules.

• Marry the petitioner within 90 days of entry. You can't marry someone else and stay.
• Apply for a green card (adjustment of status) after the marriage.
• Work: a K-1 can apply for a work permit (Form I-765). Most people file it together with the green card application.

What you cannot do:

• Extend the 90 days.
• Change to another visa status, such as student or worker.
• Adjust status through anyone other than the petitioner.

If you don't marry within 90 days, you must leave the US. Staying longer creates unlawful presence.

The fiancé(e)'s unmarried children under 21 can come on K-2 visas. List them on the I-129F. They don't need a separate petition. They can travel with the K-1 parent or up to a year after the K-1 visa is issued.

K-2 children apply for green cards based on the parent's marriage. Timing matters for children close to 21, so talk to a licensed immigration lawyer if a child is 19 or older.

Add costs for translations, police certificates, travel, and possibly a lawyer. See the sponsorship cost estimator.

1. Marry the petitioner within 90 days.
2. File Form I-485 for adjustment of status, usually with Form I-864, Form I-765 (work permit), and often Form I-131 (travel permit).
3. Attend a biometrics appointment and usually an interview.
4. If you have been married less than 2 years when the green card is approved, you get a 2-year conditional green card. File Form I-751 in the 90 days before it expires. See removing conditions.

Don't travel abroad after marrying until you have a travel permit (advance parole). Leaving can end your green card application.

2026 policy change. A USCIS policy memo dated May 21, 2026 (PM-602-0199) says people in the US in temporary (nonimmigrant) status should get green cards through adjustment of status only in "extraordinary circumstances," and it applies to pending cases. Ask a licensed immigration lawyer how it applies to K-1 fiancé(e)s before you file.

• The officer doubts the relationship is genuine.
• No proof of meeting in person in the last 2 years.
• A prior marriage wasn't properly ended.
• The fiancé(e) has criminal, health, or immigration issues that make them inadmissible. Some can be waived; see visa denials and waivers.
• Weak financial support evidence.

2026 notes. Consulates handle K visas in their immigrant visa sections. A worldwide freeze on immigrant visa interviews began on August 25, 2026. The K-1 is a nonimmigrant visa, but confirm with your embassy whether your appointment is affected. Travel ban. Proclamation 10998 took effect on January 1, 2026, and has no end date. It limits visas for nationals of 39 countries: for 19 countries it suspends almost all visas, and for the other 20 it suspends immigrant visas plus B, F, M, and J visas. USCIS is also holding many pending cases from these countries for extra review. Check Travel ban status before you pay fees or book travel.