The K Visa
The purpose of the K visa is to reunite families that have been or could be subject to a long period of separation during the process of immigrating to the United States. Holders of the K visas will be able to wait in the US for this process to be completed.
The K category are intended for use by both a spouse of a United States citizen and by the spouse’s children. The nonimmigrant visa for the spouse is called a K3 visa and the visa for the spouse’s children is called a K-4.
The K nonimmigrant visa category is available for the fiancée of a US citizen (class K-1). The visa for a child who will be immigrating with a K-1 alien will still be a K-2 nonimmigrant
To qualify for the K nonimmigrant visa (known as the K3 NIV),the applicant for the visa must prove:
his/her marriage to a U.S. citizen is valid, and
he/she is the beneficiary of a marriage-based petition (I-130) already filed with the USCIS as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, but which petition has not yet been approved by USCIS, AND
he/she is also the beneficiary of a specialpetition filed with and approved by USCIS in the United States, AND
he/she wishes to enter the United States to await the approval of the I-130 petition by USCIS or the availability of an immigrant visa.
All four qualifications must be met before overseas processing of the request for the K visa can begin.
If an I-130 petition for the spouse is already at the overseas post, then an immigrant visa will be processed instead of the nonimmigrant K visa. If an immigrant visa based upon the I-130 petition for the spouse has already been denied, then neither the spouse nor the spouse’s children may qualify for a K3 or K4 visa.
