How Can the Fiancé of a U.S. Permanent Resident Get a Visa?

If you are the fiancé of a U.S. lawful permanent resident (someone who is not a citizen, but holds a green card) and you currently live outside the United States, your options for gaining U.S. entry and joining your U.S. fiancé are limited. That is true whether you want to stay in the United States for a short time or permanently.

Don't lose hope, however. There are ways to get yourself into the United States if you are the fiancé of a U.S. permanent resident, although they could take a long time, as discussed in this article.

Can U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents Petition a Foreign Citizen for a K-1 Visa?

There are no fiancé visas (K-1) available for foreign nationals wishing to marry U.S. lawful permanent residents. Fiancé visas are available only to people coming to the United States to marry U.S. citizens.

Strategies for Foreign Fiancé to Join Lawful Permanent Resident in the U.S.

The main ways a U.S. permanent resident and their overseas fiancé could unite in the United States are:

• Marry first, after which the foreign-born fiancé would begin the entry process as a spouse of a permanent resident. This method involves the U.S. spouse submitting a petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Form I-130, with a fee and supporting documents including a copy of the marriage certificate; then waiting (often for around two to five years) for a visa to become available in this category (called "F2A"), based on Priority Date. During this time you have no right to live in the United States. If the U.S. spouse becomes a citizen during this time, the foreign-born spouse automatically becomes an "immediate relative," and can apply for your immigrant visa/green card right away.
• Wait until U.S. fiancé becomes a U.S. citizen, and begin immigration process as the fiancé of a citizen. This involves the U.S. spouse submitting a petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Form I-129F, together with supporting documents and a fee, then you applying for a K-1 fiancé visa and entering the U.S., then getting married within 90 days and presumably applying for to USCIS for adjustment of status (a green card).
• Come to the U.S. on a B-2 visitor visa and get married here (with the intention of returning home afterward). This is legal, but risky—the officials at the U.S. border might not believe that you truly plan to leave after the wedding, and may refuse you entry. And you definitely wouldn't want to come on a visitor visa with the actual plan of getting married, which is considered visa fraud. (See Risks of Entering the U.S. as a Tourist, Then Applying for Marriage-Based Green Card.)

Each of the above options obviously has advantages as well as drawbacks.

U.S. Petitioner Can Speed the Process by Applying for Naturalized Citizenship

As you can see from the above discussion, the quicker your U.S. fiancé or spouse becomes a citizen, the quicker you might be able to enter the United States. A permanent resident can apply for naturalized U.S. citizenship five years after getting a green card (with a few exceptions allowing for an earlier submission of the N-400 application).

Getting Legal Help

For personalized assistance with applying for lawful permanent residence based on marriage to a U.S. green card holder or citizen, consult an experienced attorney. The attorney can help strategize the fastest way forward, prepare the forms and any needed legal arguments, and shepherd the case through the immigration bureaucracy.