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by rayiner 26 days ago
The K1 visa is even more temporary! It’s only for 90 days, and under the section 1255(d), the government doesn’t even have the power to convert a K1 visa into permanent residency. It’s like a tourist visa. The visa itself is not a pathway to anything.

People who come here on a K1 get permanent residency once they get married through a different statutory route: 8 USC 1154. But that has nothing to with the K1 itself. That route is available to anyone married to a US citizen, including illegal immigrants under certain conditions, or aliens who get married abroad. The K1 visa isn’t a stepping stone to permanent status. It’s just a convenience that allows people to have the wedding in the U.S. instead of the spouse’s home country.

1 comments

> It’s like a tourist visa. The visa itself is not a pathway to anything. > ... > People who come here on a K1 get permanent residency once they get married through a different statutory route: 8 USC 1154. But that has nothing to with the K1 itself.

The UCIS explicitly links the K-1 (which has the words temporary and non-immigrant visa scattered throughout) to a de facto path to permanent status (see below). The fact that the two are different statutes is moving the goal posts (i.e., a logical fallacy). The government clearly sees them as a linked pathway to permanent status.

> "If you are a U.S. citizen who wants to bring your foreign fiancé(e) to the United States in order to get married"

https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-of-us-citizens/visas-for...

> The K1 visa isn’t a stepping stone to permanent status. It’s just a convenience that allows people to have the wedding in the U.S. instead of the spouse’s home country.

There's a reason they require a medical exam to be filed with the consulate as a part of the K-1 application, they expect you to be in the U.S. for a long time. K style visas are a lot more than a convenience, they are the law of the land and have been so for nearly 75 years.