If a U.S. citizen plans to marry a Philippine citizen, the most important advice we can offer is to begin the preparations early to bring the new spouse to the United States. Depending on the circumstances, and on what type of visa is best, processing time can take as long as several months. What follows is the assumption that the U.S. citizen is marrying a Filipino, though much of this advice also applies to the marriage to anyone who is not yet a U.S. Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident.
Visa and citizenship laws must be considered when planning a new life. There are different visas for different purposes of travel. The first step is to decide whether one will marry in the Philippines before traveling to America or if one will marry in the United States. The fact that the U.S. citizen has married a foreign national (or the inclusion of his/her spouse on his/her orders if s/he is with the U.S. military) does not automatically allow his/her spouse to travel to the United States or live there without the appropriate visa.
The K-1 visa allows a fiancé(e) to travel to the United States, marry a U.S. citizen, and then adjust status there to become a legal permanent resident (LPR) in the United States. After the K-1 visa is issued by the U.S. Embassy in Manila and the soon-to-be spouse enters the United States, the wedding must take place within three months of the visa holder's arrival in the United States.
The first step in applying for a K-1 visa is for the American citizen to file an I-129F petition with one of the four U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Service Centers in the United States, located in California, Texas, Nebraska and Vermont. The K-1 visa is similar to processing an immigrant visa petition in that civil and financial documents are required.
The unmarried children under age 21 of the K-1 visa holder may be given K-2 visa, if they seek to accompany or follow to join the primary visa holder.
Although the K-1 and K-2 visas are described as nonimmigrant visas, these visas are processed at the Immigrant Visa Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. Please view the Immigrant Visas pages of this website for more details. For additional information, one may also reach them at:
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