VISA2US Blog

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services filed a petition recently requesting permission to raise its rates. If this proposed rule is approved, certain applications and petitions will see filing fee hikes. As with any fee request, there are advantages and disadvantages to this change, but USCIS and the government aren’t making this decision unilaterally. Those affected by this rule and anyone with an opinion on the proposed rule may be heard, but the public comment period ended on March 13, 2023. What does this mean for you? Read on to learn the details.

The new cycle time goals chart released by the USCIS shows the agency’s ambitious goals when it comes to reducing processing times in the next fiscal year.

Applicant processing times can vary significantly depending on whether one is seeking temporary admission to the United States, filing for a waiver of inadmissibility, or seeking a family based benefit.

Waivers are not ordinary for fiancé visa petitioners but can be requested through supplemental documents and markings on the I-129F.

While U.S. citizens can file a special petition, the I-129F for their foreign fiancé in the K-1 non-immigrant visa category, green card holders cannot. There is no visa available for LPRs to petition for their fiancé who is living abroad. The couple needs to be married for this to be a possibility.

The I-129F is the Petition for Alien Fiancé, the USCIS form that needs to be completed by a U.S. based citizen who is petitioning on behalf of their foreign fiancé to come to the United States to marry.

The K-1 visa is granted for foreign fiancés so that they can legally travel to the United States and marry their partner within 90 days—the amount of time granted by the K-1 visa once approved.