Visa Categories

Fiancé/Fiancée of U.S. Citizen

U.S. State Department /  U.S. Embassy/Cons/IV  /  Seoul, ROK

The fiance petition I-129F is the first of three steps necessary for a foreign citizen beneficiary to come to the U.S. for marriage and residence. The I-129F must first be filed with and approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) in the U.S. Next, the CIS sends the approved I-129F to the U.S. State Department for visa processing overseas at a U.S. Embassy where the beneficiary applies for a fiancé visa (K-1). Third, after the beneficiary receives a K-1 visa, the beneficiary travels to the U.S. to marry the petitioner. The final step follows the marriage, when the beneficiary seeks legal immigrant status with the CIS.

The petitioner must be a U.S. citizen, the petitioner and beneficiary must have met in person and both parties must be legally free to marry. The CIS requires that the petitioner mail an I-129F to the regional CIS center in the U.S. nearest to the petitioner's U.S. home for adjudication. The petitioner may expedite adjudication by:

• Listing a U.S. civilian contact address, as well as an overseas or APO/FPO mail address, if applicable;
• Listing ALL children of the beneficiary, living or dead, regardless of their location, and attaching copies of their birth certificates;
• Explaining, in detail, the circumstances of the initial meeting and following courtship, using extra sheets as necessary;
• Attaching evidence of an on-going relationship, e.g. transportation tickets, travel orders, letters, telephone bills, photographs;
• Providing documentary evidence of the petitioner's US citizenship and of the legal termination of any prior marriage of either party; and
• Enclosing the appropriate petition filing fee

It generally takes the CIS a minimum of 6 weeks to adjudicate an I-129F. Once approved, CIS sends the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC) in Portsmouth, NH for internal clearances, and then to the U.S. Embassy closest to the beneficiary's residence overseas for K-1 visa processing. Receipt of the approved petition overseas takes a minimum of 4 weeks. An approved I-129F is valid for four months from the date of approval.


When the U.S. Embassy Seoul receives the approved I-129F from the NVC, When the U.S. Embassy Seoul receives the approved I-129F from the NVC, we send instructions and forms to the beneficiary. The instructions tell the beneficiary to gather and hold the following documents prior to the K-1 interview: 

• Passport valid for 8 months


• Two completed Electronic Nonimmigrant Visa application DS-156, each with a photo (white background) attached.


• Fiancé/e visa application (DS-156K)


• Immigrant visa application (DS230 Part I)


• Birth and marriage certificate, if applicable


• For Korean, family relation register under 1 year old, along with English translation


• Korean National Police Certificate; Police certificate from other countries.


• Medical examination


• Affidavit of financial support (Form I-134) from the petition, with evidence of current, sustained income or assets


• Signed and dated letter from the petitioner addressed to the U.S. Consul, reaffirming the petitioner's intent to sponsor the beneficiary as a fiancé(e) and to marry in the U.S. This reaffirmation letter will revalidate the I-129F if its USCIS approval is more than 4 months old


• MRV fee receipt from Shinhan Bank. Here's how to pay the MRV fee.
   

 
It is up to the beneficiary to complete the application and gather the documents required to set up an appointment.  All immigrant visa appointment requests must be made on the internet. Appointment dates will be posted on our website by case number within 4 weeks. The beneficiary must bring all of the required documents to the interview. 

A K-1 visa will be delivered back to the applicant via Embassy-approved courier within several working days if the beneficiary is found to be qualified. A K-1 visa is valid for six months (limited to the validity of the medical examination) for a single entry into the U.S. The parties must marry and report their marriage to the CIS within 90 days after entering the U.S. Once married, the beneficiary may apply for permanent residence and remain in the U.S. while CIS processes the application.

Since processing time for each case differs depending on the circumstances of the case, we urge that firm wedding arrangements wait until after the beneficiary has the K-1 visa in hand.



Updated: November 8, 2010