Overview
The fiancé(e) K-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen. The K-1 visa permits the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) to travel to the United States and marry his or her U.S. citizen sponsor within 90 days of arrival. You can learn more about fiancé(e) visas on the Department of State website.
How to Apply
To apply for a fiancée visa, follow the steps on the Fiancé(e) Visa Process on usvisas.state.gov. The U.S. citizen fiancé(e) (the petitioner) must file a Form I-129F petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). Petitions must be filed with USCIS in the United States and cannot be filed with the U.S. Embassy. Processing time is available at the USCIS website.
Tracking Your Case
Once USCIS approves the petition, it is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will assign a case number and send the petition to U.S. Embassy Bangkok’s Immigrant Visa (IV) unit.
You may track the progress of your case from NVC to the IV unit at Visa Status Check. The IV unit is only able to respond to inquiries once the cases have been transferred to our office. Please first determine where your case is in order to contact the appropriate office.
The Interview
Once the National Visa Center (NVC) has finished processing your case, you will receive a notice that your case has been sent to the U.S. Embassy Bangkok’s Immigrant Visa (IV) unit. This transfer will take approximately three weeks. Please refrain from sending inquiries to the Embassy during that time, as we will not be able to provide any detailed information about your case before it is received.
Upon receiving the visa beneficiary’s file from NVC, the Embassy Bangkok’s IV unit will email visa instructions to the beneficiary with instructions how to schedule an interview. The instructions can be found on our website at this link or on the scheduling website for review and advanced preparation. However, beneficiaries may not schedule appointments until the U.S. Embassy Bangkok IV unit sends an email with instructions. If you make an appointment before the IV unit is ready, your appointment will be canceled.
Due to the individual nature of such cases, it is not possible to send instructions or allow an appointment to be scheduled until the Immigrant Visa unit receives the visa applicant’s file from NVC. If the Visa Status Check website says your case was transferred to U.S. Bangkok’s IV unit and you have not received instruction by email within a three-week period, you may email the IV unit at visasbkk@state.gov to request a status update.
Important Notes:
- Applications incomplete at the time of the visa interview will result in a minimum 10 -15 business day delay in adjudication of your application. Administrative processing required for incomplete applications and other reviews in individual cases may require more time depending on the nature of the review. You are strongly advised to have all required documents at the time of your visa interview.
- Please be on time for your appointment. Appointments for applicants arriving late may be cancelled and rescheduled for a later date.
- If your medical examination report will not be completed by the time of your interview, please contact the IV unit at visasbkk@state.gov as soon as possible to reschedule your appointment.
- A decision about a visa application cannot be made until an applicant formally applies and is interviewed. Therefore, applicants should NOT make any travel plans, quit their jobs, sell property, or take any other action contingent upon the issuance of an immigrant visa until the applicant has physically received his/her passport and U.S. immigrant visa.
- Petitioners are not permitted to attend the interview. Applicants should be familiar with all of the documents they are presenting at the interview and be able to provide the consular officer with all requested information. An exception is made for immigrant visa applications under the age of 18 who may be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
After the Interview
After the interview, if the consular officer requests additional information or documents during your interview, you will need to submit them at Thailand Post document drop-off locations (Bangkok locations (PDF 78 KB) or other locations (PDF 90 KB)), which will deliver your documents to the Immigrant Visa unit at this address:
U.S. Embassy Bangkok
120-122 Wireless Road
Lumpini, Patumwan
Bangkok 10330
Attn: CONS/IV
Visa Issuance
The validity of an fiancé(e) visa is tied to the validity of the applicant’s medical examination report. Therefore, if you plan to travel to the United States after the expiration date of your medical exam, you will need to complete a new medical exam that is valid during that travel period. Please be sure to inform the consular officer so a 221G letter may be provided for directions on how to submit the exam at a later date.
After the visa is approved, the visa package will be mailed to the applicant’s address registered on his/her GSS profile within 7-10 business days. Please ensure that you register your address on the GSS website correctly and update any changes before your interview. Remember to print out and submit the GSS address registration confirmation page to the IV unit with your Packet 3 documents. Applicants are reminded not to purchase plane tickets or make any other plans until the visa package, including passport and U.S. visa, is received.
Before Traveling to the United States
- Check your visa package and information on the immigrant visa.
- DO NOT open the sealed packet. You must carry the sealed visa packet with you when you travel. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the U.S. port of entry will open this package and examine the documents inside.
- Travel within the visa validity period. You can use the existing visa to travel to the United States until the expiration date.