The fiancé visa enables a U.S. citizen to bring and marry a non-citizen fiancé(e) in the United States. 

The application is initiated by filing a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). 

Upon approval, the petition will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) and ultimately to the consular post or U.S. Embassy in the country where the non-citizen is residing. 

The fiancé(e) is then contacted by the U.S. Embassy for visa processing which includes a medical examination and visa interview. 

The fiancé(e) visa is a non-immigrant visa which is issued for a period of up to six (6) months during which time, the fiancé(e) must enter the United States. 

In the event that the fiancé(e) is not able to enter the United States during the validity period of the visa, a new visa must be applied for with payment of the appropriate processing fees. 

From the time of entering the United States, the fiancé(e) has ninety (90) days to marry the petitioner.  Once the marriage ceremony has taken place, the immigration processing must continue.  The alien now acquires a conditional legal permanent resident status. 

This means that before the second year anniversary of acquiring the greencard, the couple must report back to CIS and apply to remove the conditional status and show that they are still legally married.  This is done by interview and once the immigration officer is satisfied, the conditions on the greencard will be removed and the alien will now get a regular greencard.

To be eligible to apply for this visa, both the petitioner and fiancé(e) must be legally-able to marry each other and must have physically met each other within the last two (2) years before applying for a fiancé(e) visa. 

However, in certain circumstances, the in-person meeting requirement may be waived.  The alien may also bring his/her unmarried children, who are under age 21, to the United States.

The U.S. citizen petitioner must be able to provide the CIS with documents evidencing U.S. citizenship. 

An original U.S. birth certificate, U.S. Passport, Certificate of Naturalization, or Certificate of Citizenship are acceptable forms of proof of U.S. citizenship. Biographic information is required for both the petitioner and fiancé(e) as well as photos taken within thirty (30) days of filing. 

If either the petitioner or fiancé(e) have been previously married, a copy of any divorce decrees, death certificates, or annulment decrees must be provided. 

If the petitioner or fiancé(e) are subject to any age restrictions, then proof of permission to marry must be submitted.

With respect to the visa processing at the consular post, processing fees are involved and the fiancé(e) is required to submit to a medical examination at a U.S. Embassy-approved or official medical facility. 

For the final phase of the visa processing, the fiancé(e) will be interviewed by a consular officer and will be required to submit the following documents:

(1) valid Philippine passport;
(2) copy of the applicant's birth certificate;
(3) legal documents proving the termination of a previous marriage;
(4) Police clearances; police certificates from all foreign countries where the applicant lived for at least six months starting at the age of 16;
(5) evidence of the relationship with the petitioner;
(6) evidence of financial support;
(7) medical examination, and;
(8) visa photographs. 

With advances in technology, communications, and travel, meeting people from all over the globe and falling in love becomes easier and the fiancé visa makes it faster for couples to be together in the United States. 

If you are thinking of applying for a fiancé visa and don’t know where to start, do not hesitate to seek the assistance of a competent attorney, although he or she may not be able to help you find love.

Atty. Michael Templo is an attorney admitted to practice law in New York State and Federal Courts and is a partner at Templo & Templo with offices in New York, USA and Makati City, Philippines.  Atty. Templo specializes in US Immigration matters.  The discussion above is not intended as legal advice, and cannot be relied upon for any purpose without the services of a qualified professional.  For your comments and questions, Atty. Templo can be reached at mdt@templolaw.com or log on to www.templolaw.com.