The new K and V visa categories

The new categories of nonimmigrant visas created by the LIFE Act may be issued to certain spouses of Lawful Permanent Residents, their dependent children (V1, V2, V3) and to spouses of U.S. citizens who were married overseas and the dependent children of the alien spouse (K3, K4). Those issued any of these visas may enter the United States as nonimmigrants to complete the process of immigration in the United States.

Attention:

The new K3 and K4 visas are not available at this time. INS is developing the special petition needed to start the process. 

The new K visa

What does the “new” K mean:

The purpose of new K visa is to reunite families that have been or could be subject to a long period of separation during the process of immigrating to the United States. Holders of the new K visas will be able to wait in the US for this process to be completed.

The new parts of the K category are intended for use by both a spouse of a United States citizen and by the spouse's children. The nonimmigrant visa for the spouse will be called a K3 visa and the visa for the spouse’s children will be called a K-4. 

The original K (fiance/e) nonimmigrant visa category for the fiance/e of a US citizen will continue, though it will now be called the K-1 for visa purposes. The visa for a child who will be immigrating with a K-1 alien will still be a K-2 nonimmigrant visa. 

How do I qualify for a K visa?

To qualify for the new K nonimmigrant visa (known as the K3 NIV),the applicant for the visa must prove:

1. his/her marriage to a U.S. citizen is valid, and

2. he/she is the beneficiary of a petition (I-130) already filed with the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, but which petition has not yet been approved by INS, AND

3. he/she is also the beneficiary of a special petition filed with and approved by INS in the United States, AND

4. he/she wishes to enter the United States to await the approval of the I-130 petition by INS or the availability of an immigrant visa. 

All four qualifications must be met before overseas processing of the request for the K visa can begin.

If an I-130 petition for the spouse is already at the overseas post, then an immigrant visa will be processed instead of the nonimmigrant K visa. If an immigrant visa based upon the I-130 petition for the spouse has already been denied, then neither the spouse nor the spouse’s children may qualify for a K3 or K4 visa. 

K3 and K4 Visa Applications:

Applicants for the K3 and K4 visas must apply for those visas in the country where the marriage to the US citizen took place.

Exceptions: 
If the marriage took place in the US, then the visa application must take place abroad in the country where the visa applicant resides.

If the marriage took place in a country where there is no US consular section providing nonimmigrant visa services, then the application for a visa shall take place in the country designated by the Department of State for immigrant visa processing for residents of the country where the the wedding took place. 

V1 and V2 Visa Applications:

Applicants for V visas must be made at the post where their immgrant visa was to be processed. Generally this is the overseas post named in the I-130 petition upon which the claim to V status is made. 

Application fee: Each visa applicant must pay the Machine Readable Visa processing fee to apply for the visa (currently $45). Each consular section abroad has a specific means of collecting this fee. For example, some posts require pre-payment of this application fee through a bank or other collection agent. Consult with the post that will be processing the K or V visa about ways to pay. Details should be available on websites linked to below. 

Medical Examination fee: Each applicant must have a medical exam by a doctor chosen by the US consular officer to give such examinations . Since these medical examination fees are different in each country, applicants for the V or K visa should consult with the post they will be processing with to find out the cost of these required medical examinations. Only the Embassy or Consular appointed panel physician can complete these examinations. Check for details through the websites linked below. 

Other fees: There are no visa reciprocity fees for these visas, and, aside from fees required for the processing of waivers of ineligibility or any required fingerprinting or, in certain cases, for special delivery arrangements or special telephone-arranged interview appointments, no other fees are required. Applicants will also require proof of the relationship claimed in the form of marriage and birth certificates or certain foreign police certificates which might require fees to be paid to other governmental agencies. 

What does the “new” V visa mean?

The new V1 and V2 nonimmigrant visas allow certain spouses of lawful permanent residents and the children of those spouses to travel to and from the US and to reside in the US while they wait for the final completion of their immigration process. It does not matter whether that process will be completed by adjusting status in the US or in securing an immigrant visa overseas. The spouse and unmarried children of lawful permanent residents who qualify for the V1 and V2 visas will be able to visit and reside with their lawful permanent resident family member. The V visas for adults will be valid for multiple requests for entry for ten years; for children under the age of 11, these visas will also be issued for multiple entries and with a 10 validity date; for children 11 years old or older, the visa will be valid for multiple requests to enter and will remain valid until the holder’s 21st birth day. Moreover, holders of V1 and V2 visas may apply for employment authorization documents to work in the US. Other benefits available with V1 and V2 status after admission or after INS has changed an alien’s status, are discussed at the INS website, http://www.ins.gov.

Who does not benefit from the V visa?

Among those who do not directly benefit from this “new” V visa are:

• brothers and sisters of lawful permanent residents;

• Parents of US citizens; 

• Grandchildren of lawful permanent residents;

• Beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant visa petitions; 

• Individuals whose priority date is current and whose I-130 petition is already at an overseas post and who either have already been interviewed by a consular officer or have an interview date already set with a consular officer overseas

• To qualify for a V1 visa, an applicant must be the spouse of a legal permanent resident.

• To qualify for a V2 visa the applicant must be the child of a V1 visa applicant or have been separately petitioned for by his or her lawful permanent resident parent (a child is defined in the law as an unmarried son or daughter under the age of 21). 
  
  Though the Department of State has identified all individuals presently in its files who might qualify for either visa, there will be others whose cases will emerge as INS discovers files that it has not forwarded to the Department and still other cases will, with the passage of time, become eligible. Petitioners, their beneficiaries, and their legal representatives should examine the circumstances and timing in cases involving the circumstances set out below, to see if they meet or will meet sometime in the future the requirements for this new category of nonimmigrant visa. 

• Eligibility for Spouse (V1):
  
  The spouse of a lawful permanent resident of the United States (a “green card” holder) may apply for a V1 nonimmigrant visa overseas, if the following conditions are met:
  
  The lawful permanent resident filed an immigrant visa petition for his or her spouse on or before December 21, 2000, and 
  
  The spouse has waited three years since the filing of the petition and has not been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview. 
  
  The spouse may be waiting either for INS approval of the petition or, if the petition was approved by INS, for availability of a visa number in order to complete immigrant visa processing. 

• Eligibility for Children (V2):
  
  For the child of a V1 applicant to qualify for a V2 visa, it must be established that: 
  
  he/she is the child of a principal applicant who qualifies for V1 issuance, or
  
  he/she is the child of an lawful permanent resident who filed an I-130 petition in his or her name, and the priority date and the three-year waiting period since the filing of the petition both meet the requirements of V eligibility.