Fiancee Visa, K1 Visa

Like most native born American men, I had never had any dealings with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and I had no idea what a fiancee visa, or K1 visa was. I only knew that I wanted to bring a Russian woman, who was living in Ukraine, to the United States to continue a courtship that began on the Internet and led to Kiev, Ukraine.

It was at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev where I talked to a U. S. Embassy official from a black phone hanging on a 10 foot iron gate outside the embassy that I learned about the fiancee visa, also known as a K1 visa, and that I needed to file an application or petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

I was advised that Ukrainian citizens filing an application for a tourist visa to come to the United States must file certain U.S. Visa application forms, pay a fee, undergo a security clearance, make an interview appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev and successfully demonstrate their intent to return home rather than stay permanently in the United States.

An application for a tourist visa will not be granted if, in the judgment of the interviewing US Citizenship and Immigration Services consular officer, the applicant has not met all of the necessary criteria. So, a tourist visa that I had so easily obtained through the mail for my trip to Kiev is virtually impossible to obtain for citizens of Russia and Ukraine because they can't prove sufficient ties to Russia or Ukraine that would ensure their return.

The consular official then explained that I could file a fiancee visa application with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service and after 8 - 12 months, I might expect my Russian friend could receive a K1 visa to come to the United States. In the meantime I was welcome to return to Kiev for as many visits as I would like and I could hire an immigration attorney specializing in fiancee visas to help me process the paperwork which might expedite the fiancee visa process.

I had known this woman for less than 30 days, of which we actually spent four days together, and all of a sudden the US Citizenship and Immigration Service is telling me that I had to propose marriage and file a fiancee visa application if I wanted to bring my friend to America. I was astonished! I was angry!

But there was something ringing in my ear that wouldn't go away. When I left my Russian friend at the Kiev train station, we embraced and she whispered in my ear: "I Love you Robert" The first thing I did upon my return to the US was to hire an immigration attorney.