If you are engaged to a non-citizen of the United States, you may want to begin your lives together straightaway. But as you apply for their legal entry into the country, you may grow concerned about whether being a same-sex couple will diminish this opportunity. Continue reading to learn how you can obtain a K-1 visa for your same-sex partner and how an experienced fiancé visa lawyer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from Sesini Law Group, S.C., can help you through the application process.
Can I obtain a K-1 visa for my same-sex partner?
The short answer is, use, you may obtain a K-1 visa for your same-sex partner via Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé. This is thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision in Windsor v. United States. Here, the United States Embassies and Consulates have been ordered to handle K-1 visa applications that are based on same-sex partnerships in the same way that they handle those of opposite-gender fiancés. With this, the stepchildren acquired in a same-sex marriage may also qualify as beneficiaries of the K-1 visa.
What immigration requirements must be met for a K-1 visa?
You must understand that, for a chance at a successful K-1 visa application, your fiancé must meet the same immigration requirements as an opposite-gender fiancé would. And as their fiancé inviting them into this country, you may have to pass certain tests, as well. Such immigration requirements, that must be met within the application and in the interview, are as follows:
- You must prove that you are a United States citizen (i.e., a copy of your birth certificate or unexpired passport).
- Your fiancé must prove that they have legally terminated any previous marriages, if applicable.
- You and your fiancé must prove that you met each other at least two years before your filing date.
- You and your fiancé must prove that you know complete information about each other’s lives (i.e., details about family members, past relationships, employment history, etc).
- You and your fiancé must prove that you are genuinely interested in each other and are serious about your marriage.
- You and your fiancé must prove that you are people of good moral character.
It is also worth mentioning that the K-1 visa is explicitly intended to allow your fiancé to legally enter the United States for the purpose of marriage. With this, you must enter a relationship that is legally considered to be a marriage within 90 days of your fiancé’s arrival. Meaning that you cannot simply be involved in a civil union or domestic partnership.
With this complex application process ahead, you must not go through it alone. Rather, you should have a skilled Milwaukee, WI family immigration lawyer from Sesini Law Group, S.C. stand by your side throughout. Contact our firm today.