As the foreign national spouse of a U.S. Citizen, there are several phases you must go through to obtain your K-3 visa.

Phase I: Submitting Form I-130
Your American husband or wife must file a Form I-130 petition to let the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) know that he or she would like to bring you to the United States where you will file for permanent residency. The I-130 petition is what every American citizen must file to bring in any family member to live in the U.S. With your petition, however, your American spouse must indicate that you plan on applying for a K-3 visa and that you will adjust your status once you enter the U.S.

**In order for you to receive your K-3 visa, it is important that your I-130 visa is not approved until after you enter the U.S. Otherwise, you will have to go through the immigrant visa process before you enter the country rather than after.

Your spouse must also include separate visa petitions for your children (who must be under 21 years of age) at this time. If your children are his stepchildren, they must have been under 18 years of age at the time the two of you were married in order to be eligible for this petition. In addition to form I-130, your spouse must also submit photos, pay a fee, and submit other documents and forms (such as the Biographic G-325A form).

Phase II: Submitting the Fiance(e) Visa Petition
Your American spouse receives an I-797 notice regarding your I-130 petition. He or she can now file a petition for your K-3 visa.

Below is the list of documents, as well as the forms that you and your spouse will need to fill out to apply for the K-3 fiance(e) visa petition:

• Form I-129F: The Petition for Alien Fiance(e) form
• Form G-325A: You and you spouse must both provide biographical information on these forms.
• Proof that your petitioning spouse is an American citizen
• A copy of the I-130 form that your American husband or wife filed, proof of mailing, and your spouse's I-797 receipt notice
• Photos of both the petitioning spouse and the immigrating spouse. The photos must be in U.S. passport style.
• Payment of the I-129F visa fee

This packet of information must be submitted by your American spouse to a special USCIS office in Chicago. Once the immigration office there receives your application, they will send your American spouse an I-797C Notice of Action that will let you know how long the petition process will take and whether or not more forms or documents are needed from you and your spouse. Both of you will receive a notice from the USCIS letting you know when your petition has been approved and when your interview will take place.

Phase III: Receiving Your "Instruction Package"
After your form is approved by the USCIS, the National Visa Center will preprocess your application. You will then receive an "Instruction Package" with forms to fill out and submit to the U.S. Consulate in the country where you are filing your petition.

The list of documents, as well as the forms you will have to fill out and include:

• Form DS156: The Nonimmigrant Visa Application. Everyone who is considering temporarily spending time in the United States must fill out this form.
• Form DS156K: A supplemental form to Form DS156.

After you submit these forms, a security check will be performed to make sure that you don't have a criminal record. The police in the country where you are a citizen, the FBI, and the CIA will all be asked to perform a security check on you.

Phase IV: Your "Appointment Package"
You are scheduled for an interview, and you will receive an appointment package, which will include more forms for you to fill out and submit at your consulate interview. You will be asked to take a medical exam and turn its results in during the interview.

Forms and documents you may need for your appointment at the consulate may include:

• A copy of your American spouse's latest U.S. tax return.
• Evidence of your U.S. spouse's employment.
• Letter(s) identifying and verifying your American spouse's bank account numbers.
• A copy of your I-129F petition.
• Form I-134: To be filled out by your American spouse. In this form, your spouse will explain how you will be supported financially once you are living in the U.S.
• Two copies of forms DS156 and DS156K.
• Birth certificates for you, your American spouse, and any children who will be coming to the U.S. with you on K-4 visas.
• U.S. Passport-style photos of you and your spouse.
• Your security clearance certificate from police.
• Fingerprints.
• Medical exam results.
• Legal evidence that you and your spouse are legally married to each other.
• A valid passport from you (the immigrating spouse's) country of citizenship.
• Payment of the application fee.
• Other forms that the consulate may have requested from you.

If all goes well at the interview, you will receive your K-3 visa. Your children, if you have any, will have accompanied you to the interview and received their K-4 visas also. You will have six months to enter the United States on your K-3 and K-4 visas.

Applying for your K-3 visa can be a long and tedious process, and any errors in submitting your application can lead to even longer delays and possibly the denial of K-3 visa application.

At Sagaria Law, P.C., our immigration lawyers can help you through this process, and if there are any problems that do arise, we have the skills and experience to handle them so that you can obtain your visa and begin your new life in America with your family. We can also help you apply to become a permanent resident once you enter the United States.

Our immigration clients now living in the United States with their families, after successfully obtaining their K-3 visas, can be found in cities and towns across the country, including the metro areas of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Chicago, Miami, Dallas, and Seattle. To schedule a free consultation with one of our immigration attorneys, contact Sagaria Law, P.C., toll-free, at 1-800-941-6730 or contact us online.