Spouse or fiance?

STARTING May 15, fiancees (K1 and K3 as well as their derivatives) will be scheduled for interview at the US Embassy instead of using the drop box or the walk-in system. This follows the procedure change from the time the fiancee visa petition is approved.

K-1 visa is issued to the fiance(e) of a US citizen. Before the K-1 visa could be issued to an alien fiance(e), a petition must first be filed by the US citizen fiance(e) with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service Center. The form to use is the I-129F Petition for Alien Fiance(e). There are four Service Centers in the US named after the state in which the Center is located: California, Nebraska, Texas and Vermont.

K-2 is the minor child of the K-1. Only one I-129F petition is filed. The minor child of the alien fiance(e) is a derivative beneficiary.

Why the spelling "fiance(e)"? Fiance is for males, fiancee for females.

K-3 is a nonimmigrant visa issued to the spouse of a US citizen. K-4 is the visa for the minor child of the K-3.

The K-3 and K-4 visas were created on Dec. 21, 2000 with the Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act (LIFE). The new K visas were designed to have families together instead of waiting for years before an immigrant visa could be issued.

The spouse and minor children of US citizens are considered as non-quota relatives of US citizens. This means once a visa petition is approved, the spouse and minor children are immediately eligible for the issuance of their immigrant visas. However, the Service Centers still have a huge backlog, a legacy of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Processing times at service centers

The processing of petitions at the BCIS Service Centers illustrate the wisdom of the new visas K3, K4 and the V visas. V visas were also created on Dec. 21, 2000 but are intended to unite the families of lawful permanent residents. To qualify for the V visa, the alien spouse must be the beneficiary of a visa petition filed by the lawful permanent resident spouse on or before Dec. 21, 2000. The petition must have been pending for at least three years and that an immigrant visa has not yet been issued to the alien spouse. The V visa is issued to allow the alien spouse to join the petitioner instead of waiting for years for the priority date to be current.

Type of Petition CSC NSC TSC VSC

I-130 IR 12-16-02 5-28-02 6-08-01 8-21-02

I-129 F 2-13-03 12-02-02 11-16-02 4-28-03

I-129 LPR 4-06-98 5-17-01 4-03-98 2-08-99

Notes: CSC = California Service Center; NSC, Nebraska, TSC, Texas and VSC for Vermont.

I-130 IR is the petition for the spouse, minor child or parent of a US citizen. I-129F is the fiance(e) petition. I-130 LPR is the petition filed by a lawful permanent resident (green card holder for spouse/minor child).

As the figures would show, without the K3 visas or V visas, the spouse, minor child of a US citizen would have to wait for at least a year (for all Service Centers except for Texas where the wait would be about two years). This approximation is based on the fact that the processing time refers to the BCIS only.

After the petition is approved, the file goes to the National Visa Center for a series of procedural compliance, payment of processing fees and only after completion would the file be sent to the US Embassy in Manila (or the appropriate consular post) for the visa interview. So, after approval with the BCIS, there is another six-month wait.

With the K3 and K4 visas, the spouse or minor child of a US citizen would wait only about 4-6 months, instead of years.

For the V visas, the spouse and minor child of lawful permanent residents could join the petitioner in months, instead of waiting for years.

Fiance, not spouse

As for the visa issuance to fiance(e) of US citizens (those who are not yet married to the US citizen petitioner), the US Embassy announced a new procedure. Before May 2003, fiancee petitions are forwarded directly to the US Embassy after approval of the INS/BCIS. Now, the petition approval is sent to the National Visa Center first. NVC then assigns a number and subsequently forwards it to the US Embassy. The Embassy then schedules the interview using the case number assigned from NVC.

Visa applicants at the US Embassy, Manila

All nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applicants must have their documents ready for presentation when they appear at the Embassy grounds.

There is a three-step and security level check up.

First, is determining your purpose. The guards tell you whether you may proceed or return another day for the processing schedule. See below:
· Notarials -- 8 to 11 a.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the American Citizen Services (ACS) Window No. 10.
· Legal Capacity to Marry forms are issued on ACS Window 12 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. only Monday to Friday
· Passporting and Citizenship matters at ACS Window 4, 8 to 11 a.m. Monday to Friday.

Second, you present the documents to the Guard at Gate 3 (Non-immigrants) or Gate 2 for Immigrants. The gate assignment may change on any day. The Guard may allow you to enter to ask information. The window is at the center, between Gates 2 and 3. Application forms are also given to individual applicants, not travel agencies.

Third, You are allowed entry. Non-immigrants are called in batches and allowed entry into the Nonimmigrant Visa Room/Section in limited numbers. Immigrants are allowed into the immigrant visa room/section based on their time schedules and availability of seats, but more are allowed than the non-immigrants.

Cell phones are allowed as long as you turn them off.

Portable cameras, laptops and recording media gadgets are not allowed.

Crispin R. Aranda is a US-based immigrant specialist and Executive Director of the Immigrant Visa Center. You may contact Crispin R. Aranda at usvisacenter@yahoo.com or call up the Immigrant Visa Center in Quezon City at +632 411-0806, +632 414-2655 or +632 373-6799. In San Francisco, California, the number is +415 834-1052.