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Are you thinking about bringing your beloved from Brazil?
Chance meetings through the Internet
will not do!
The intending spouses are supposed to have met in person within
the past two years of the
filing of fiancée visa. It does not
mean, however, that the couple is required to have had sex.
By
Edgardo Quintanilla
Now that the joy of Carnaval is over, Americans who found their love in Brazil may wonder how they can legally
bring that special person to the United States because they want to get married here in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Try the K Visa!
This article explains the process for seeking such visa. The K Visa or Love Visa is used to bring a future spouse for
the purpose of marrying that special someone within 90 days of arrival in the United States.
The process is divided into two stages. The first involves the filing of an application of a fiancée visa (K1 Visa) by a
U.S. citizen. The second deals with the consular processing of such petition in Rio de Janeiro.
Note that a fiancée visa can be used to bring along the under-21 years of age children of the intending spouse (K2
Visa) at the same time as the main squeeze!
The first requirement for seeking a fiancée visa, which must be signed and filed on Form I-129F with the local Service
Center of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly INS), is to show that the petitioner is a U.S. citizen. The
special someone of the Love Visa is the beneficiary.
At the time of filing the K visa, both parties have to be eligible to get married. It doesn't matter whether they are
divorced or widowed, the petitioner and the beneficiary have to be eligible to get married.
Secondly, the petitioner has to show proof that the intending couple met in person somewhere in the world, not
necessarily in Brazil, during the past two years immediately preceding the filing of the application for a K Visa.
Chance meetings through the Web or the Forum of Brazzil.com will not do! The requirement that a couple has to
have met does not mean that the couple is required to have had sex. The requirement is that the intending spouses met in
person within the past two years of the filing of the I-129F. The exception to this rule is if compliance would result in extreme
hardship to the petitioner or if it is against the custom and practice of the beneficiary's foreign culture.
Proof of the meeting can be through airplane tickets, photos, letters, e-mails, postcards, phone bills, which recreate
the time within the past two years when the intending couple met in person.
The better organized the presentation of the evidence is, the easier it will be for the adjudicator of the K visa to make
a positive decision.
Any foreign language document that is presented in support of the I-129F visa must be completely translated with a
certificate of translation.
Thirdly, the petitioner has to show proof that he or she is not indigent or poor. Show proof of employment in the
U.S. and taxes filed and paid. Present a well-prepared affidavit of support on behalf of the future spouse.
Fourthly, the intending beneficiary of the K Visa has to be someone who is admissible to the United States. Persons
who have committed crimes in Brazil or the United States, such as cases involving visa overstays or who were deported from
the United States, might not be found admissible by the consular officer. Certain crimes make a person inadmissible, such as
drug or theft crimes.
The processing of a K Visa petition by the Service Center of the BCIS may take around 3 months before it is
approved to the National Visa Center. The consular processing in Rio de Janeiro of an approved K visa may take at a minimum 3
additional months before it is schedule for an interview.
Be patient with the system! Consular processing is taking longer because of additional checks on the identity and
immigration history of the petitioner and beneficiary as required by an enhanced enforcement investigation of intending
immigrants in order to protect the security of the United States.
Here is a recommendation that may make things easier for the fiancée at the consular processing interview. Take all
original documents with you and copies of all documentation filed in support of the K Visa.
After admission into the United States, marriage is expected to take place within 90 days of arrival, as well as a
petition for a green card to obtain lawful status in the U.S.
Edgardo Quintanilla, Immigration Lawyer in the United States, is a member of the State Bar of California and the
American Immigration Lawyers Association. He can be reached at
eqlaw@pacbell.net
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