A K1 visa or a fiancée visa will allow you to stay temporarily with your soon-to-be partner, who’s a US citizen. This is generally better than others for a lot of reasons. However, the bottom line is that it can be the key to permanently staying in the US without getting a green card or going through very complex processes.
If you’re still not decided on whether you should get a K1 visa or not, then below are some reasons and K1 visa benefits that may finally convince you to do so. But before you can experience any of it, you have to adhere to the K1 visa requirements.
Note that you will need to work with an immigration lawyer to acquaint yourself with what you’re getting into fully. It will also help you avoid legal issues in the long run.
#1: You have enough time to know your fiancé more.
Unlike other visas where you either have to stay too long or too short to fulfill requirements, a K1 visa will permit you three months or 90 days. This is just enough for you to live with your fiancé and make a decision on whether you really want to push through the marriage or not.
What makes this even better is you can directly get married within three months. Otherwise, you can simply fly back to your hometown if it doesn’t work. We hope that it works, though, so both of your efforts won’t go in vain.
Either way, you’ll be glad to know that a K1 visa offers sufficient time to get used to your future marriage life with your partner.
#2: K1 visas have a relatively short processing time.
Other visa types take at least a year to process. This can take even longer if you face some issues when it comes to legal matters and likes.
However, a K1 visa only needs 5 to 7 months to fully complete your registration. The given period also involves all the necessary application processes, so you won’t have to worry about whether there are additional things to take care of.
The 5 to 7-month waiting time is much faster compared to 2020s 6 to 9 months. Hence, you can expect it to speed up even more in the coming years. Nevertheless, you should rely on the former for now.
#3: You can immediately stay in the US after marriage.
A marriage visa will only let you stay in the US for a few years before you will be opted to go back home and renew your applications.
This is what puts a K1 visa on a pedestal because you can immediately stay and settle down in the US as long as you get married to your partner in three months. You can process your additional immigrant visas from there.
All in all, this means that you won’t have to worry about constantly paying for flight fees for the sole purpose of reapplication. You also won’t have to go through additional hassle since most US states have their own immigration offices.
#4: Applying for a K1 visa is more convenient than other kinds.
The application process itself for a K1 visa is convenient. It doesn’t require that many documents compared to a marriage visa. You also have a lower income requirement, which is another benefit that you can get from it.
K1 visa holders also need to submit only one document upon their arrival in the US. Specifically, you need to take care of Permanent Residency papers. This is in contrast to other immigrant visas that will require you to go in and out of offices even post-arrival.
#5: The COVID-19 pandemic has little effect on K1 visa applications.
The COVID-19 definitely had a big toll on immigration processes. Fortunately, it had little effect on K1 visas, which means that you can highly expect your application times and documentations to stay like it is. You won’t have to worry about major changes and additional requirements before and during your stay in the US.
Summary
To summarize, the benefits of the K1 visa lie in its general specifications. With it, you will have an efficient way towards being a US immigrant. At the same time, you won’t have to compromise and trouble yourself in marrying your fiancé since it’s only a three-month witing time.
Overall, getting the K1 visa will give you more pros than cons. All the requirements, interviews, and other paperwork that you will have to fulfill will be worth it.
Keep in mind, though, that this will only work if you have a stable plan and you have enough knowledge over what the said visa type needs. To ensure the best results, we highly suggest working with a professional legal expert.
