The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides a nonimmigrant visa classification, Fiancee Visa K1, for foreigners  coming to the United States to marry U.S. citizens and reside in the U.S.

If your fiancee is not a citizen of the United States and you plan to get married in the United States, then you must file a visa petition with USCIS on his/her behalf. After the visa petition is approved, he/she must obtain a fiancee visa issued at a U.S. Embassy or consulate abroad. The marriage must take place within 90 days of him/her entering the United States. If the marriage does not take place within 90 days or your fiancee marries someone other than you, he/she will be required to leave the United States. Until the marriage takes place, your fiancee is considered a nonimmigrant. A nonimmigrant is a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United States for a specific purpose. A fiancee may not obtain an extension of the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.

If your fiancee intends to live and work permanently in the United States, he/she should apply to become a permanent resident after your marriage. (If your fiancee does not intend to become a permanent resident after your marriage, your fiance/new spouse must leave the country within the 90-day original nonimmigrant admission.)

Who is Eligible for the Fiancee K1 visa

U.S. citizens who will be getting married to a foreign national in the United States may petition for their fiancee. You and your fiancee must be free to marry. This means that both of you are unmarried, or that any previous marriages have ended through divorce, annulment or death. You must also have met him/her in person within the last two years before filing for the visa. This requirement can be waived only if meeting your fiancee in person would violate long-established customs, or if the meeting  requirement would create extreme hardship for you.

You may also apply to bring your fiancee's unmarried children, who are under age 21, to the United States.

Fiancee  Visa (K1) Requirements

1.  A U.S. citizen must file an I-129F visa petition with USCIS for the issuance of a fiancee visa.
2.  Both the U.S. citizen and the fiancee must remain unmarried until the arrival of the fiancee in the U.S.
3.  The foreign  fiancee and U.S. citizen must have met personally at least once in the two years before the petition was filed.
4.  The marriage must take place within three months of the fiancee's arrival if he/she is to remain in status.

Will I Get a Work Permit?

After arriving in the United States, your fiancee will be eligible to apply for a work permit. (You should note that USCIS might not be able to process the work permit within the 90-day time limit for your marriage to take place.)