The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act (LIFE Act) and
its amendments established a new non-immigrant category
within the immigration law that allows the spouses of
U.S. citizens to be admitted to the United States in
a nonimmigrant category. The admission allows the spouses
to complete processing for permanent residence while
in the United States. In other words, it reduces the
long waiting periods compared to marriage based immigration
visa petitions.
USCIS will grant the applicant with a two-year admission
period when the K3 visa holder enters the United States.
It allows those admitted to have permission for employment
on receiving Employment Authorization approval from
the USCIS using Form I-765, while they wait processing
of their case to permanent resident status. Foreign
national spouses present in the United States can travel
outside of the US and return using their K3 visa. Also,
your children can accompany you to the U.S. on the K4
dependent visa as long as they are named in the visa
petition.
Requirements for the K3 Visa:
A person may receive a K-3 visa if that person
- has concluded a valid marriage with a citizen of
the United States
- has a relative petition (Form I-130) filed by the
U.S. citizen spouse for the person
- seeks to enter the United States to await the approval
of the petition and subsequent lawful permanent resident
status, and,
- has an approved Form I-129F, Petition for Alien
Fiance, forwarded to the American consulate abroad
where the alien wishes to apply for the K-3/K-4 visa.
The consulate must be in the country in which the
marriage to the U.S. citizen took place if the United
States has a consulate that issues immigrant visas
in that country. If the marriage took place in the
United States, the designated consulate is the one
with jurisdiction over the current residence of the
alien spouse
Applying for the K3 Visa:
Before you apply for the K3 visa, your U.S. citizen
spouse must file Form I-130 on your behalf with the
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) service
center that has jurisdiction over your place of residence.
Your spouse will then receive Form I-797, Notice of
Action, indicating that the USCIS has received the Form
I-130. Your spouse should then file on your behalf a
copy of this Form I-797 along with a USCIS Form I-129F
to the following address:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
P.O. Box 7218
Chicago, IL 60680-7218
The USCIS after adjudicating the Form I-129F forwards
it to the appropriate American Consulate so that you
can apply for the K3 visa.
Checklist
For K3 Visa (PDF)
Disclaimer
" Any information on this website should
not be construed as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. The information is intended to be
general and should not be relied upon as being specific".
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