Relationships can be hard, especially when your partner lives on the opposite side of the world. Thanks to the popular TLC reality TV show, “90-Day Fiancé,” viewers can watch couples with long-distance love stories navigate the fiancé visa process.
The goal? For some cast members, it’s about true love and a successful marriage (in America, of course). But for others, it often seems to be more about the green card. Regardless of motive, foreigners don’t automatically become U.S. citizens by getting engaged or married to an American. Applicants must meet several requirements and most importantly, prove their relationship is legit.
The 90-Day Fiancé Visa Process
A fiancé visa, also known as a K-1 visa, permits someone who is engaged to a U.S. citizen to immigrate to the U.S. as long as they marry the U.S. citizen within 90 days of their arrival. The person applying for a fiancé visa must be a citizen of the United States looking to bring their foreign fiancé to the U.S.
The application, known as Form I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), must be filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). To be eligible for a fiancé visa, the couple must:
- Intend to marry one another within 90 days of the foreign fiancé’s arrival in the U.S.
- Not legally married to anyone else
- Have met each other in person at least once within the last two years before filing
There are exceptions to the last requirement. The requirement is waived if the in-person meeting would:
- Violate strict and traditional customs of the foreign fiancé’s culture
- Result in extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen applying for the visa
Also, the intended marriage must be authentic. Both partners in the relationship must genuinely want to establish a life together and not just get married in hopes of receiving the perks of U.S. citizenship. Sometimes additional evidence or documentation proving the validity of the engagement is required.
If eligibility is determined, notice is provided to the U.S. embassy or consulate where the foreign fiancé resides, and a visa interview is scheduled. If the visa is approved, the foreign fiancé has six months to make their only entry into the U.S. Once the foreign fiancé arrives, the clock starts ticking and the couple has 90 days to get married. Currently, most K-1 fiancé visa holders are from the Philippines, Mexico, and Vietnam.
90-Day Couples That Break Up Before They Get Married
What if the couple doesn’t make it to the altar within their 90 days? Fiancé visas automatically expire after the required 90-day period and can’t be extended. If the marriage doesn’t happen within 90 days, the foreign fiancé has to leave the U.S. or risk violating federal immigration laws.
Possible consequences include deportation. This occurs when the government removes a noncitizen from the U.S. through formal removal proceedings. The noncitizen is also often banned from reentry into the U.S.
Luckily, couples that fail to tie the knot within 90 days have another option. They can get married later and file a Petition for Alien Relative or Form I-130. If approved, this allows a U.S. citizen to bring their foreign spouse to live in the U.S. as a permanent resident.
90-Day Couples That Split After the Wedding
Once legally married within 90 days, the foreign spouse can submit an Application to Register as a Permanent Resident (Form I-485). If approved, the non-citizen spouse receives a conditional green card for two years. To get a permanent green card, the U.S. citizen spouse must file a request to remove the conditions on the foreign spouse’s residence before their conditional two-year permanent residence status expires.
But what happens if the couple gets divorced? If the divorce occurs before the foreign spouse applies to register as a permanent resident, they cannot apply for a green card and will likely be required to leave the U.S. If the divorce happens after the foreign spouse receives their conditional two-year green card, it’s more difficult to become a permanent resident, but not impossible. In that situation, it’s wise for the foreign spouse to seek the help of an immigration lawyer.
Foreign spouses who have been married to a U.S. citizen for two years or more can apply for a permanent green card. Once received, it has to be renewed every ten years, and divorce no longer affects permanent residency status.
Someone with a green card can still get deported for committing criminal acts. The Immigration and Nationality Act allows the federal government to revoke the citizenship and legal status of immigrants who break the law. Former 90 Day Fiancé star Larissa Dos Santos Lima has been arrested and taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities multiple times because of domestic battery against her now ex-husband, Colt Johnson. However, her social media indicates that she’s still living in the U.S. and has not been deported.
Happily Ever After?
The success of 90 Day Fiancé has resulted in multiple spinoffs. Fans who originally watched Natalie Mordovtseva and Michael “Mike” Youngquist struggle to get married despite multiple red flags on 90 Day Fiancé season one now get to see Natalie’s move from Florida to Los Angeles on 90 Day Fiancé: The Single Life. The new show follows Natalie as she dates and pursues a modeling and acting career. Another spinoff, 90 Day: The Other Way, follows Americans who leave their lives in the U.S. and move to a foreign country to get married.
If you need legal advice, check out our lawyer directory to find an immigration attorney in your area.
Related Resources:
- Real or Reality Show? What Makes a Marriage Legal? (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
- Marriage, American-Style: Strange Laws and Oddities (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
- Legal Marriage Requirements FAQs (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
