K-1 fiance visa for the US

[dweebi]

Hi guys! question, can a L1 visa holder petition someone for K1 visa? Thank you.

[fragmentedmind]

Hi guys! question, can a L1 visa holder petition someone for K1 visa? Thank you.

No, only U.S. Citizens can petition someone for a K1 visa.

[dweebi]

No, only U.S. Citizens can petition someone for a K1 visa.

that was quick, thank you fragmentedmind =)

[JoeKano]

Is it easier to get a tourist visa and just get married in the US or get married in the Philippines and have the spouse apply for a relative petition?

It is illegal to go to the U.S. on a tourist visa and get married when the reason for going there is to get married.

[JoeKano]

If the divorced petitioner is now a US citizen, she can file a fiance petition.

Most petitions like this are approved the same as any other simple fiance petition. But if USCIS or the Embassy suspect fraud with the first marriage, there will be problems!

Agree about most petitions being approved by the USCIS and the Embassy.

However, the potential problem is with the CFO. You can bet that the CFO will want to see the USC's divorce papers.

There's a possibility that when they see the USC's divorce papers, they will refuse to grant a CFO sticker to the USC's fiancé(e) because the USC petitioner (a Filipino who got divorced in the U.S) first will be required to either get an annulment or a recognition of foreign divorce.

[JA]

Agree about most petitions being approved by the USCIS and the Embassy.

However, the potential problem is with the CFO. You can bet that the CFO will want to see the USC's divorce papers.

There's a possibility that when they see the USC's divorce papers, they will refuse to grant a CFO sticker to the USC's fiancé(e) because the USC petitioner (a Filipino who got divorced in the U.S) first will be required to either get an annulment or a recognition of foreign divorce.

Very good point! What strange laws.

But will CFO even know about petitioner's prior marriage? I do not remember them asking for or having access to the petitioner's information, and a copy of the visa petition is never required for the counseling.

[JoeKano]

Very good point! What strange laws.

But will CFO even know about petitioner's prior marriage? I do not remember them asking for or having access to the petitioner's information, and a copy of the visa petition is never required for the counseling.

Yes, the CFO will know about prior marriages because they routinely require seminar attendees to submit the petitioner's divorce papers. The CFO has also been known to require a petitioner's CENOMAR. And on more than one occasion, they have asked for other proof of a petitioner's singleness, which has usually been satisfied by submitting the petitioner's U.S. federal income tax return which shows that he filed as "single."

I would be interested to know whether a beneficiary who obtained a K-1 fiancé(e) visa at the U.S. Embassy Manila, and who did not have a CFO sticker, could travel from the Philippines to a country which doesn't require a visa (such as Hong Kong), and then fly to the U.S. from there.

Interestingly, Filipinos who reside outside of the Philippines, and who obtain a K-1 fiancé(e) visa at the U.S. Embassy where they reside, do not need a CFO sticker in their passport in order to board a flight to the U.S.