More details to this question:
I am a Pakistani and my fiance is a US citizen. We both want to get married but we never met before face to face due to some problems.
11 ANSWERS
You cannot qualify for a K-1 visa if you have not physically met. You need to do that before your fiance can petition for you. You can meet in some third country if he is not able to travel to Pakistan.
Answered on Sep 11th, 2012 at 2:57 PM
Immigration Law Attorney serving Long Beach, CA
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Law Offices of Brian D. Lerner
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A Fiance Petition needs to be prepared. This is a petition that will allow your fiance to come to the U.S. in a relatively short period of time. Usually, it takes around 6 to 9 months for the petition to be approved at immigration in the United States.
Subsequently, the approval would be sent to the U.S. Consulate or Embassy in your fianc?e's home country. When your fiance comes to the U.S., you will have ninety days to get married.
Our firm can prepare the entire Fiance Petition and make it so it goes smoothly and correctly. You have to have physically seen your Fiance in the last two years. You must meet in person.
However, it is possible under certain circumstances to get a Waiver of that requirement.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 9:52 AM
U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law Attorney serving San Diego, CA
Partner at
Kazmi & Sakata
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There are exceptions for processing a K1 based on a waiver of the meeting requirement. As a matter of discretion, the director may exempt the petitioner from this requirement only if it is established that compliance would result in extreme hardship to the petitioner or that compliance would violate strict and long-established customs of the K-1 beneficiary's foreign culture or social practice, as where marriages are traditionally arranged by the parents of the contracting parties and the prospective bride and groom are prohibited from meeting subsequent to the arrangement and prior to the wedding day.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 9:51 AM
Litigation Attorney serving Pearl River, NY
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Law Office of Bijal Jani
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Your fiance must file for a fiance visa for you in the USA. Once the application is approved, you will be notified to appear at the consulate for interview.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 9:51 AM
As you have recognized, succeeding with a fiance visa for a couple who have not met face-to-face can be quite problematic.
The USCIS, as well as immigration attorneys experienced with family-based applications, nonetheless are familiar with the circumstances and types of evidence that can show a genuine marriage-engagement relationship.
Approval of these types of applications are based largely upon the subjective discretion of the reviewing immigration official, and so it is critically important to adequately explain and document the reasons to believe the relationship is bona fide notwithstanding that the couple has not met.
Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 9:51 AM
Immigration and Naturalization Attorney serving San Diego, CA
Partner at
Feldman Feldman & Associates, PC
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You will need at least one face-to-face meeting before a K-1 can be filed. This can take place anywhere.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 9:50 AM
Intellectual Property Attorney serving Menlo Park, CA
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Sheppard Mullin
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Must meet during the past 2 years unless you can show some serious difficulties why you could not meet him.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 7:30 AM
There are certain exceptions to the requirement that you must meet person to person to have a K-1 sponsor and be eligible for a K-1 visa. Please contact an immigration attorney such as myself, or another of your choice to set up a consultation to discuss your potential eligibility and the process of applying for a K-1 visa.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 7:28 AM
Rebecca T White
Unless you can show a strong cultural reason for not having met face to face you will not be granted the K-1 visa.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 7:25 AM
Civil Litigation Attorney serving New York, NY
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Havens & Lichtenberg PLLC
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The fact that you have not met does present a problem: in the West, people seldom decide to get married without ever seeing each other. The U.S. consular officer might feel that, under these circumstances, you should not be given a visa. But it does not mean you should not try. After all, the filing fee for the application is smaller than the costs of your fiance's trip to Pakistan. When you go to the U.S. Consulate for a visa interview, aside from the documents the consul will tell you to bring (passport, birth certificate, police certificate of good conduct, etc.), bring with you evidence showing communications between you and your fiance: letters, e-mails, gifts and photographs he sent you, printouts of telephone service records showing calls between him and you; ask your fiance to write an affidavit about your relationship; if he has a close friend or a relative who knows about his feelings for you, that person should write an affidavit, too. If the consular officer will, nevertheless, deny you a visa, your fiance would have to come to Pakistan and either go to the consul with you - or to marry you there.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 12:55 AM
Immigration Attorney serving Arlington, TX
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Law Office of Pho Ethan Tran, PLLC
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In order to qualify for a fiance petition, the petitioner and beneficiary normally have to have met in-person within the last 2 years unless you have a legitimate reason for not meeting each other. The petition is filed on form I-129F.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 12:42 AM