What is K3 Visa?
A K-3 visa allows spouses of U.S. citizens to enter the U.S.
A U.S. citizen should file a non-immigrant US K3 Marriage Visa also known as K3 Spouse Visa to bring his/her foreign spouse into the country.
Once the K3 marriage visa is granted, the applicant is allowed to enter the U.S. The K3 visa is valid for two (2) years.
The alien spouse, who is now in the U.S., must apply for an Adjustment of Status (AOS) to convert the non-immigrant status into that of an immigrant.
K3 visa holders are allowed to work while in the United States as long as they get the required Employment Authorization Document from the local USCIS.
How to apply for a K-3 Marriage Visa
If there is a pending application for “Petition for Alien Relative”, Form I-130 filed by the American spouse with the local US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) where the U.S. citizen/petitioner resides, then the application for K3 marriage visa will be accepted.
The US K3 marriage visa usually takes around eight (8) months to process. Once the K-3 visa is approved and the spouse is allowed to enter the US, he/she may now be allowed to apply for an Adjustment of Status (AOS) in order to convert his/her status.
U.S. citizen qualifications
- A U.S. citizen and at least 21 years of age
- Must be married to the beneficiary (foreign spouse)
- There must be a valid, pending application for a Petition for Alien Relative under Form I-130
- The U.S. petitioner must pass the minimum income requirement provided under the law
Alien spouse Requirements
- Must pass the medical exam before the interview at the U.S. consulate is conducted
- Must be legally married with the U.S. petitioner
- Must intend to live in the US
- Must be of legal age to marry in the local country, with no legal impediments
Adjustment of Status
Adjustment of Status (AOS) refers to the procedure that allows foreign nationals already in the U.S., who are eligible to receive an immigrant visa and for whom immigrant visa number is immediately available, to apply for immigrant status with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
You may apply for Adjustment of Status after your immigrant visa petition is approved by the USCIS, and a visa number is readily available to you.
Note: Visa numbers are limited by law for certain family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents and for employment based cases. This means that even if the USCIS approves your immigrant visa petition, you may not get an immigrant visa number immediately. In certain cases, several years could pass between the time USCIS approves your immigrant visa petition and the Department of State gives you an immigrant visa number.
Who may apply for Adjustment of Status?
- Immediate Relatives of U.S. citizens
You can apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence if you satisfy the following conditions:- You are the spouse, unmarried child (under 21 years old), or parent of a U.S. citizen; and
- You have an approved family-based immigrant petition, or you can file one concurrently with your adjustment of status application.
- Beneficiaries of Family-based immigrant petitions
You can apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence if you satisfy the following conditions:- You have an approved family-based immigrant petition
- You have a current priority date available to file for adjustment of status
- Beneficiaries of Employment Based Green Card Petitions
You can apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence if you satisfy the following conditions:- You have an approved labor certification or are exempt from labor certification requirement
- You have an approved employment based immigrant petition
- You have a current priority date available to file for adjustment of status
Dependents of Principal Application preference categories
If you are a spouse or an unmarried child under age 21 of a principal applicant in a preference category, you may be eligible to receive following-to-join benefits. you may apply to adjust to permanent resident status at the same time that your spouse or parent applies for following-to-join benefits for you.
Dependents of Lawful Permanent Residents
You may apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence if you satisfy the following conditions:
- You are a spouse or an unmarried child under age 21 of a lawful permanent resident
- You have an approved family based immigrant petition
- You have a current priority date available to file for adjustment of status
U.S. Citizens’ Spouses who entered the U.S. on K-1Fiancee Visa
If you were a fiancé/e who was admitted to the U.S. on a K-1 visa and then married the U.S. citizen who applied for the K-1 visa for you, you may apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence
Your unmarried, minor children are also eligible for adjustment of status.
Note: If you did not marry the U.S. citizen who filed the
K-1 fiancee petition on your behalf, or if you married another U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, you are not eligible to adjust status in the U.S.
Important: If you married the U.S. citizen but not within the 90-day time limit, your spouse must now file USCIS Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.
The “Relative Visa”
Petition for Alien Relative under Form I-130 is also referred to as the “Relative Visa”. This is the primary visa which the US immigration law provides to the American spouse wanting to petition his relative to the U.S. This is the required form to be filed by the applicant before the K3 visa.
Technically, the Petition for Alien Relative under Form I-130 is sufficient even if the K-3 visa is not yet filed by the applicant.
However, the processing of Form I-130 is somewhat slow and tedious as the approximate period of processing and issuance of such a visa is for two (2) years.
The advantage of this type of application is that, it is an immigrant visa; therefore the applicant will no longer apply for an AOS once it is issued. The only problem with this kind of application is that the applicant is not allowed to enter the US until its approval.
Thus, most applicants resort to the simpler K-3 visa which takes only around six to eight months to process, allowing the applicant to be together with the American spouse in a span of only six months more or less.
Two years is also given to the K3 visa holder to convert the status from non-immigrant to an immigrant.
