K-1 Fiancee Visa Immigration Attorney
Assisting U.S. citizen petitioners across the United States with their fiancée visa cases since 1996.
Call to discuss your case and to obtain a questionnaire to start the process:
I typically do not ask for a consultation fee from a fiancée visa caller who is interested in hiring me to prepare and file his or her I-129f fiancée visa petition and act as their attorney of record throughout the fiancée visa process. Give me a call (916) 451-4992 so we can talk about your case and answer any questions you may have about the services I provide. After our call and being retained, I will e-mail a questionnaire to you to get the process started.
DOMA and Same-Sex Couples: Note that on June 26th 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional, and since that time I have assisted many same-sex couples with their fiancée based immigration cases. Call my office for a free consultation if you are in a same-sex relationship and are interested in discussing a possible fiancée immigration case (916) 451-4992.
New evidence requirement for cases when the couple met using the services of an International Marriage Broker (IMB): Note that starting September 17th 2013, there is a new evidence requement for cases where the U.S. citizen met his or her fiancée using the services of an International Marriage Broker (IMB). Go to my 1st Phase K-1 Visa FAQ page for additional information. If you are contemplating using the services of an International Marriage Broker to initiate contact with a foreign national, read this information before selecting the International Marriage Broker.
Are you a United States citizen contemplating marriage to a foreign fiancée?
If so, you may submit an I-129f Petition For Alien Fiancée in order for your fiancée to obtain a K-1 visa to use to travel to the United States for your wedding. Once your fiancée has arrived in the United States, you will have up to 90 days in which to marry.
When contemplating marriage to a foreign fiancée it is best to start the process with realistic expectations concerning the likely amount of time it will take the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Service Center to approve your I-129f petition and the amount of time it should reasonably take the U.S. Consulate to perform its work in issuing the visa. Poor timing can ruin your wedding plans and the USCIS typically won't expedite a case just to meet your wedding arrangements. I'm happy to discuss your fiancée visa case with you to determine when your case should be filed in order to fit in with your wedding plans.
Please note that the K-1 visa is only available to fiancées of U.S. citizens and when I am retained to work on a fiancée case, my “client” is the U.S. citizen petitioner.
From Fiancée Visa To Greencard - A Two Phase Process:
I have divided the immigration process (for someone using a K-1 visa to enter the United States) into two phases. Depending on your particular situation you may retain me to complete the paperwork for the 1st filing phase (obtaining a K-1 visa), the 2nd filing phase (obtaining conditional permanent resident status), or both phases of the process.
Even though a couple must marry within 90 days of the foreign fiancée's entry, some don't for various reasons. Perhaps the foreign fiancée is homesick or decides he or she is not adjusting to life in America. Perhaps one of you will have a change of heart. For these reasons, I have separated the process into the 1st phase K-1 fiancée visa process, and the 2nd phase application for permanent resident status. There is no reason to pay for the 2nd phase until after your fiancée enters the United States and your marriage occurs.
Basic Eligibility Requirements:
To submit an I-129f Petition For Alien Fiancée, the following are the "basic" eligibility requirements:
1) You must be a U.S. citizen
2) You and your fiancée must be free to marry, and have met in person within two years before the filing of your I-129f fiancée visa petition unless; a) the requirement to meet your fiancée in person would violate strict and long established customs of your fiancée's foreign culture or social practice; or b) it is established that the requirement to personally meet your fiancée would result in extreme hardship to the U.S. fiancée; and
3) You and your fiancée intend to marry within 90 days of your fiancée entering the United States.
Children:
If your fiancée has unmarried minor children (under the age of 21), they can usually accompany their parent to the U.S. on K-2 visas. Each child will have to satisfy all visa eligibility criteria, and custody issues relating to the child’s other biological parent might prevent a child from being able to move to the U.S.
What an experienced K-1 visa immigration attorney brings to your case:
There are three fundamental things an experienced K-1 visa immigration attorney brings to any family based immigration case that will lead to a successful outcome in the least amount of time. They are:
1. Identification of potential “red flag” problem issues:
An experienced K-1 visa immigration attorney will carefully evaluate your unique situation and facts to identify any “red flag” issues that may be present in your case, and take the appropriate steps to reduce the odds of any given potential problem turning into an actual problem.
While all couples and/or families share some similar characteristics, each couple or family has a unique history and set of facts. I believe I’ve seen just about every unusual client fact pattern that can possibly come up, and that experience has given me a keen eye when it comes to spotting potential problem issues and deciding what steps to take in order to best manage or eliminate the potential problem.
2. Tailor the client’s documentation and supporting evidence to achieve a “well documented” submission while at the same time avoid beginner mistakes and “overkill”.
An experienced K-1 visa immigration attorney is going to avoid beginner mistakes that often occur when someone is working on their first immigration cases. There are many mistakes that do-it-yourselfers or immigration attorneys with limited K-1 visa experience make that are subtle and difficult to anticipate. For example, something as simple as putting “N/A” on a form instead of “None” can cause the USCIS to issue a Request For Evidence (RFE) which will delay the processing of a case.
After getting to know the couple’s unique set of facts, my job is to put together a well-documented submission in order to make it as easy as possible for the immigration officer to approve the petition and the Consular officer to approve the visa. To do this, I try to achieve a balance between putting together a “well-documented submission” while at the same time avoid engaging in “overkill”.
I’ve toured each USCIS Service Center in the USA multiple times (As well as multiple tours of the National Visa Center) and interviewed the officers who adjudicate these petitions and I know what they want to see and how they want a case presented. Just as important, I also know what they don’t want or need, and I know what sort of file presentation has the potential to irritate them and I apply this experience to each and every case. An experienced K-1 visa immigration attorney won't simply follow the bare-bones instructions on the form, and will instead tailor your submission to fit your unique situation and facts.
And most importantly…
3. Quickly take action and fight for the client by contacting the USCIS or U.S. Consulate in order to quickly resolve any mistakes the USCIS or U.S. Consulate make along the way.
While issue spotting and case presentation is vitally important in every immigration case, so too is being able to quickly resolve USCIS and/or Consulate mistakes that can come up as the case progresses through the system. The USCIS and/or Consulate can and do make mistakes far too often even in the most perfectly prepared case, or in cases that do not present any “red flag” issues. Quickly resolving USCIS and/or Consulate mistakes is the most important thing an experienced K-1 visa immigration attorney brings to any immigration case.
An experienced K-1 visa immigration attorney should be able to quickly resolve any USCIS or Consulate mistake by communicating directly with the USCIS or Consulate.
My practice is located in Sacramento, California and therefore I practice within the jurisdiction of the California Service Center: The California Service Center is much faster in the processing of I-129f petitions than other USCIS Service Centers and I've had great success in having my east coast and southern client's cases routed to the California Service Center for swift processing as compared to the processing that would have occurred at the slower USCIS Service Centers.
The Keys to Swift Processing: Typically it is less of a question of “if” a visa will be issued and more of a question of “when” the visa will be issued. Hiring an experienced K-1 visa attorney who can spot and minimize potential problems, avoid common beginner mistakes, put together a well-documented submission, and most importantly, quickly resolve any USCIS and/or Consulate mistakes that come up along the way is the most effective way to get the petition approved and the visa issued in a timely manner.
Personalized attention to each case:
In all of my years of helping clients with their K-1 fiancée visa cases one thing has remained the same: the individual attention I give to each and every case. I’ve never hired an assistant, secretary or paralegal and I have no plans to do so in the future. I answer every telephone call, write every letter, and personally prepare, file and follow up with each case.
My client’s important immigration cases are simply too detail oriented to pass any responsibility on to another person. This is extremely important when it comes to spotting potential problem issues that may be present in a case. I do not believe that delegating tasks to a secretary or other type of assistant, or for that matter between multiple attorneys is in the client’s best interest.
I work "with" my clients, and working together as a team we are able to properly prepare and file the case quickly and obtain the K-1 visa in a short amount of time.
Click here to read about the services I provide and the flat-rate attorney fee to act as your attorney of record throughout the K-1 fiancée visa process.
Click here for instructions about sending materials to my office.
Click here to read Frequently Asked Questions about the fiancée visa process.
Click here to read comments from former clients.
Another Option For The Do-It-Yourselfer: K-1 Fiancée Visa Consultation Case Review:
If you don’t want full service representation but you would like me to look over your case before you submit it to the USCIS, I also offer a “consultation case review” service for the Do-It-Yourselfer.
I’ve done this many times in the past and in doing this work I’ve never failed to spot serious mistakes made on the forms, errors in the type of evidence used to substantiate the case, beginner mistakes and unwarranted assumptions being made by the petitioner about case processing and how the system works, etc.
Click here to read more about my K-1 Fiancée Visa Consultation Case Review service for the do-it-yourselfer.
DISCLAIMER: Read the full length disclaimer here.
Matthew Udall is an active member of the California State Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association, and licensed to practice law in California. The information given at this web site is intended as general information only and is not a substitute for the services of an immigration attorney in your specific case. Reading this webpage or website does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Visa Earth – The Law Office Of Matthew Udall.
Please note that any attorney fee listed in this website is subject to immediate change upon publication of the new attorney fee.
Attorney Advertising: Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Any testimonials or endorsements which may appear on any page of this website do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
