Marrying an Alien: The Initial Research

My boyfriend David is French. And I am an American. Here is our story-as it happens-of my quest to marry a foreigner, bring him to the US on a Fiancee (K-1) visa, get a green card and one day, obtain US citizenship. I hope this site will help others out there simplify the craziness that is US immigration and explain the Fiance K-1 visa, I-129 petition process, Social Security Card, bank account application, and other related issues in plain English. It seems there are few good resources for US citizens marrying foreigners, and I hope to keep you from having to do as much of the hard work as we had to.

David and I have been in a long-long distance relationship for over a year now, yet always planning to marry. I have been casually searching the Web for a few months now for references on the best way to marry a foreigner and bring him/her to the US. I suppose there are a number of different approaches you can make, but there are a few general sites that seem to be relevant for all and worthy of your bookmarking:

US Citizenship & Immigration Services

How do I bring my fiance to the United States?

Sifting through all this information and masses of documents, David and I decide to try for a K-1 (Fiancee) Visa. A K-1 visa is a type of visa that will allow your fiance to come live in the US during the time you are engaged up until your marriage date (for 90 days max). Before the K-1 visa, your fiance/fiancee would have had to come into the country on another type of visa, marry you, and then might have to go back to his or her home country while you work on paperwork. Ideally, the K-1 visa seems to help smooth the bumps in the process.

There are other visa approaches that a couple might consider of course, dependent on the situation. The K-1 seems to be best for us. Keep reading my blog to learn more about the K-1 visa and see how our journey goes.