After the Fiance Visa in granted.....and with 6 months with which to exercise it....

Crazy4Cali says on Jun 25, 2006, 21:32:

In a word, no. Your fiance has six months from the date the K-1 fiance visa is issued to enter the U.S. Once your fiance enters the U.S. on a K-1, they have 90 days to get married and file for an Adjustment of Status (AOS), return to their home country, or go "out of status," a.k.a. illegal.

If the foriegn citizen leaves the country for any reason prior to obtaining their "green card," the USCIS assumes they have abandoned their appliction for residence and they need to get another visa (of some kind) to re-enter. For this reason it's very important that your fiance NOT leave the U.S. while all this is going on.

There is an exception, however...

When filing for the AOS, you can also file for an Advance Parole, which allows the foreign citizen to leave the U.S. AND re-enter before they have their green card, without abandoning their petition for residence. It's like getting a note from your mom (or your Uncle Sam, in this case).

But your fiance cannot reenter the country before they have their green card witouth the Advance Parole. So basically, the soonest they could leave with permission to reenter is about three months (depending on the USCIS office that will handle their case) and that's only if once your fiance arrives, you got married the minute they stepped off the plane and filed for the AOS and AP as soon as humanly possible.

Once they have a green card, then they can come and go as they please. I think they have to spend a minimum time (180 days?) in the U.S. but I'm not sure.

0 funny, 0 helpful.