If your foreign-citizen fiancé is in the United States on a K-1 visa to get married, they can bring their legally recognized child(ren) into the United States. Your fiancé’s child qualifies under the K-2 visa program if the child is:
• legally recognized in your fiancé’s home country as their child by adoption, biological or genetics
• under 21 years of age
• not legally married
Family unity is one of the primary goals of immigration policy in the United States. Under U.S. immigration law, an immediate relative is a parent, spouse, or an unmarried child under 21. Your foreign fiancé’s child is recognized as their immediate family. A K-2 nonimmigrant visa allows the child(ren) of a K-1 fiancé visa holder to enter into the U.S. and to apply for an immigrant visa: eligible children of K-1 visa applicants receive K-2 visas.
• The child has the option to either accompany the K-1 parent to the United States or join the K-1 parent within one year from the visa’s date of issuance.
• If the one-year limit is missed, then another separate immigrant visa petition is required.
K-2 Visa Requirements
The following documentation and forms are required for a K-2 visa application:
• Form DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application
• a recent photograph
• Passport (valid)
• Official copy of birth certificate
• Permission from the child’s other legal parent
• Completed Form I-134, Affidavit of Support and sponsor documents
• Medical exam and report by an approved physician
Many K visa applications were delayed due to the global pandemic. As immigration processing and consular operations return to normal operations after the COVID closures, the State Department has given the processing of K visas high priority. The U.S. Department of State (DOS), which processes K visa applications, has instructed U.S. Embassies and Consulates to give the processing of K visa cases high priority.
If you are married or engaged to a U.S. citizen and want to move to the United States, contact the experienced immigration attorneys at Godoy Law Office in Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, to advise you on your case. Please contact our office or call us at 630-912-0322.
