K-3 Visa

As international travel becomes more and more common, and more easily achievable, many U.S. citizens find themselves falling in love with and marrying citizens of foreign countries. In the state of Wisconsin alone, there are hundreds of thousands of residents who have married foreign nationals and brought their spouses to the U.S. to start a family. There are many ways that a foreign national can relocate to the U.S., and there is also one special way for a national to come to this country if he or she is married to a U.S. citizen. This special way is possible by obtaining a K-3 visa. The procedure for getting a K-3 visa can be complex, so it is important to get legal guidance. The immigration lawyers at Attorney Spiros Stavros Nicolet have ample experience in assisting K-3 applicants from Wisconsin.

You can qualify for a K-3 visa if you are married to a U.S. citizen and live outside the United States. Foreign spouses apply for the K-3 visa so that they can be admitted into the U.S. and then apply for a green card while residing in the country. The main advantage of the K-3 visa is that the foreign national can wait for the green card while living with the U.S. spouse, decreasing the amount of time the couple must live apart.

In general, the application process for the K-3 visa is divided into four main steps. First, the U.S. citizen spouse must submit a Form I-130 Petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The second step sounds a little tricky. After USCIS receives the I-130 Petition, it will issue an I-797 Receipt Notice to the U.S. citizen spouse. Once the spouse has this receipt notice, the spouse files a second petition with USCIS called the I-129F Petition.

The third step comes after USCIS approves the I-129F Petition. After doing so, USCIS sends notification of the approval to the National Visa Center, which contacts the U.S. consulate in the foreign spouse’s home country and notifies the consulate of the approval. If USCIS approves the I-130 Petition in the meantime, USCIS will also send the I-130 approval to the National Visa Center. If that happens, the U.S. consulate will stop processing the I-129F and will instead process the I-130 Petition for the immigrant visa.

The fourth and last step is the K-3 visa interview at the U.S. consulate. The consulate schedules the interview and informs the foreign spouse of the date and time, as well as what documents the spouse should bring, such as a passport and a passport photo. Once the consulate officer reviews the documents and agrees that the foreign spouse qualifies for the visa, the officer will issue the K-3 visa and place it in the spouse’s passport. With the K-3 visa, the spouse can enter the United States and file the green card application, which is called the Form I-485 Application.

Experienced Wisconsin immigration attorney Spiro Nicolet can explain in more detail all of these processes associated with both the K-3 visa and the green card. At Attorney Spiros Stavros Nicolet, we can also advise on whether the K-3 process is best suited to the foreign spouse’s needs. Contact our office today at (773) 562-6884 or via our online form to speak to one of our attorneys about how you can come to the United States as a K-3 spouse!