I-129F petition
USCIS Russian Fiance Visa Support
Expert Tip # 2
Don’t try to get a waiver to avoid the requirement to meet your Fiancee in person. Unless it is incontrovertible that you are not physically able to meet her, attempting to avoid the meeting reflects poorly on whether the relationship is truly sincere. The Fiancee Visa eligibility rules require that you have met your Fiancee in person within the two years prior to your filing your application. The regulations provide a loophole allowing a waiver to the physical meeting. This waiver has been written to allow couples with special circumstances to skip the meeting, specifically if the meeting will cause “unusual hardship” or violates strict cultural or religious practices. If your religion arranges marriages and the bride and the groom are not allowed to see each other till the wedding day, or if you are in an iron lung, then by all means apply for the waiver. However, hating to fly or not wanting to pay for a plane ticket or having a busy work schedule will not result in the waiver being granted. Remember, USCIS needs to be convinced of the seriousness and sincerity of your relationship in order to approve the visa application. One expects a sincere suitor eagerly anticipating spending his future life together with his Fiancee to not miss any opportunity to meet and be with her as early and as often as possible.
More Expert Fiancee Visa Tips
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As a K-1 visa holder you may file Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization with the USCIS office
that serves the area where you live for a work permit (employment authorization document). For more
information see How Do I Get a Work Permit (Employment Authorization Document)?
To bring your Russia fiancee to the USA you will need a fiancee visa (K1 visa). There is NO OTHER AMERICAN VISA available for marrying in the U.S.
Other types of visas for a Russian fiancee such as tourist, student or business visas are not suitable if your intention is marriage. If you marry your girlfriend visiting you on one of those visas, her legal status in the USA will be questionable, and she may be refused permanent resident status on the basis of visa fraud if the USCIS (former INS) believes her aim of visiting United States was simply for marrying a US Citizen. Once a violation of visa regulation is recorded, it will be difficult if not impossible for the person to ever receive a K-1 visa or any other type of visa to the USA.
Deciding whether to hire an immigration attorney is an important decision. Some immigration matters can be relatively straightforward. Many times, however, it is useful to hire an immigration attorney--for three reasons. First, immigration law is one of the most complicated areas of U.S. law (second only to tax law). Second, U.S. immigration law is changing all the time, and it is hard to keep up, even for many immigration lawyers. Third, immigration lawyers can help make sure that your application goes through the immigration bureaucracy smoothly and quickly. However, inquire with the residency program you are joining about the possibility of someone from the system handling immigration for you (big hospitals and universities often have such offices).
If you decide you want to hire an immigration attorney, there are many ways to find a good one. You should do research. Ask your colleagues from the program (they went through the same process just last year or two years ago) about good immigration lawyers (they do not need to be located in the area in which you will be working). Your employer may know of a good immigration lawyer. Many immigration lawyers are members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). You can find out whether there are any AILA immigration attorneys in your area
