A K-1 visa requires a foreigner to marry his or her U.S. citizen petitioner within 90 days of entry, or depart the United States.
Once the couple marries, the foreign citizen can adjust status to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States (Green Card holder).
Obtaining these documents was a time-consuming process and involved acquiring medical and police clearances for the Vietnamese citizen, and notarized embassy certificates from the American.
[3] On April 7, 1970, Congress passed Public Law 91-225, which amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and created the K visa category.
[6] Typically, Embassies request that fiancé(e)s bring evidence of their relationship to the interview, such as photographs together, correspondence between the two, phone bills showing calls to each other, etc.
Some individuals, such as those with certain untreated communicable diseases, those who have committed crimes of moral turpitude, those who are addicted to illegal drugs, persons who were previously deported from the US, and those who have engaged in acts of terrorism or are members of a designated terrorist organization, are ineligible for any immigrant visa.
This requirement may be waived by the Department of Homeland Security, but only for cases with strong cultural or religious traditions which preclude such a meeting.
Visa applicants are required to demonstrate to the Consular officer that they are unlikely to become public charges in the United States.
(The precise definition of a "child" for immigration purposes is complex, taking into account the various permutations of adoptive, stepparent, and half-sibling relationships that are possible.
It was created to allow a foreign spouse of a US citizen the opportunity to enter the US as a non-immigrant and adjust status to a lawful permanent resident by filling out the I-485 form to the USCIS.
[14] To partially address these concerns, Congress passed the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986, which placed a two-year conditional period on a foreign spouse's permanent residency.
Professor Lenni B. Benson of the New York Law School has stated that although the K-1 visa program is widely associated with sham marriages, "It is not true in the majority of cases."
The act requires that persons granted a K visa be given a brochure detailing the rights and protections for foreign spouses in the United States, and requires that American petitioners who have been convicted of certain crimes of violence, abuse or multiple crimes involving drugs declare this on the petition, among other things.
[17] Additionally, under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, any person convicted of a felony sex crime involving children is ineligible to petition a foreigner to immigrate to the United States, including on a K-1 visa.