Fiance Visas:
Myths vs Facts About K1 Visas

by Deborah Weber

As I enter my seventh year of practicing fiancee visa law I have a number of observations to share with prospective and current clients.

#1 MOST FIANCEE VISA RELATIONSHIPS ARE LEGITIMATE

There is a common misconception that marrying a foreign woman is somehow unseemly or less real than marrying an American woman. We have all heard the term “mail order bride” which would describe a situation in which the American man has not met his foreign fiancee but rather has picked her picture out of a catalogue and ordered her to be delivered. Immigration law does not in fact allow for “mail order brides.” A chief requirement of the fiancee visa is that the American petitioner and foreign beneficiary have met in person within the two years prior to the filing of the fiancee visa petition. Opponents of the fiancee visa who speak of mail order brides are only revealing their ignorance of the law and procedure of the fiancee visa.

In my experience the relationships between foreign woman and American men are every bit as real as any relationships involving American men and American women. Furthermore, the divorce rate among my clients is negligible as compared to the typical American divorce rate. I am in contact with many of my early clients and I know that they are happy with their marriages. My clients, both the men and the women, tend to be loving and sincere. Contrary to myths about the fiancee visa the men are rarely abusive and the woman are rarely fraudulent or dishonest.

#2 THE FIANCEE VISA PROCESS IS LONG AND
STRESSFUL

It is exhilarating for my clients when I file their petitions and they get the receipt from the USCIS showing that their case is under way. The exhilaration is infectious. Even after all these years of practicing immigration law I still excited for my clients when we get the initial USCIS receipt. Unfortunately, the filing of the petition is just the first step in a long and complex journey. People need to be realistic and manage their expectations when they file their fiancee visa petition. The process is long. You will be very unhappy and disappointed if you expect that your fiancee will be here within a few weeks of filing the petition.

Some USCIS Service Centers are faster than other and some foreign consulates are faster than others. With the right combination of a fast USCIS service center and a fast foreign consulate a fiancee visa can be obtained in 4-6 weeks. A case filed at the Vermont Service Center and processed at the American Consulate in Mexico would be the fastest combination. A fast time line is not, however, typical. The USCIS California Service Center can be slow and consular processing in China is very slow. I have an attorney who works for me in China and helps my
clients navigate consular processing in China and still the process is very slow. Consular processing in the Philippines is faster than in China but still the process can take several months.

If you have realistic expectation of the time line of the fiancee visa process you will be delighted when the visa is granted. The process is slow, but if the case is done correctly the fiancee visa will be granted.

#3 IMBRA IS LARGELY IRRELEVANT

The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2006 was designed to eliminate the exploitation of foreign women by American men. In my opinion IMBRA is a solution to a non existent problem. I have never seen the type of exploitation and abuse IMBRA was designed to remedy. Furthermore, as a practical matter IMBRA does not effect the vast majority of cases. It only really affects American men with serious criminal records and American men who have filed previous fiancee visa petitions. At the time IMBRA was enacted people feared that it would eliminate the fiancee visa. That has not happened.

#4. LOVE IS COMPLEX AND WONDERFUL

Yes, a beautiful 25 year old foreign woman really can fall in love with a 55 year old American. I have seen it happen many times. Foreign woman tend to be less concerned with superficial attributes than American women. Most foreign woman are looking for a loving and stable man. They are not as concerned with the age of the man as they are with the quality of his character. The successful marriages my clients have built stand as a rebuttal to the cynical critics of the fiancee visa.

#5 THE AMERICAN MEN AND FOREIGN WOMEN COME FROM ALL WALKS
OF LIFE

My American clients are completely normal people from all walks of life. My clients have included multi-millionaires, doctors, accountants, car salesmen, plumbers, truck drivers, pilots, members of the military, business owners, nurses, dentists, corporate executives, artists, senior government bureaucrats, waiters, card dealers, engineers and scientists. There is no typical fiancee visa petitioner. The foreign women are also completely normal and from all walks of life. The foreign fiancees I have obtained visas for include doctors, dentists, senior government bureaucrats, engineers, business owners, waitresses, nurses, students, and lawyers.

Deborah Weber is the principal attorney in a fiancee visa law practice in Minnetonka, Minnesota. To learn more about the fiancee visa process please visit Deborah’s website at Fiancee Visa Lawyers.

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