K-3 visas permit foreigners to live with their spouses who are U.S. citizens or legal residents while their spousal visa applications are pending. K-3 visa applicants are required to (1) have an interview, (2) submit to a medical exam, and (3) pay a $265 fee plus other costs.
Below our Las Vegas immigration attorneys answer frequently-asked-questions about “non-immigrant visas for a spouse” in Nevada, including processes, time frames, interviews, and fees. Click on a topic to go directly to that section.
- 1. How do I get a K-3 visa in Las Vegas, NV?
- 2. Can my kids come if I have a K-3 visa?
- 3. How long do K-3 visas take to process?
- 4. How much do K-3 visas cost?
Also see our articles on K-1 visas in Las Vegas Nevada, K-2 visas in Las Vegas Nevada, and K-4 visas in Las Vegas Nevada.
1. What is the process for getting a K-3 (non-immigrant spousal) visa in Nevada?
The first step is for the sponsoring spouse (the husband or wife who is a U.S. citizen or green card-holder) to file a Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Once the USCIS sends back a receipt notice, the sponsoring spouse then files a Form I-129F for the foreign spouse. (If the USCIS happens to approve the I-130 form prior to the I-129F form, there is no longer a need for a K-3 non-immigrant visa, and the spouses can continue with the process of applying for an immigrant spousal visa.)
Once the National Visa Center (NVC) approves the I-129F petition and informs the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate, the foreign spouse will receive instructions on how to apply for the K-3 visa. The foreign spouse will be required to get a medical exam and attend a visa interview. The foreign spouse is mandated to bring various documents to the interview, including (but not limited to):
- a current passport
- a completed DS-160 form
- 2 passport-style photographs of the foreign spouse
- evidence that the foreign spouse will not need the U.S. government’s financial support (Form I-134)
- evidence of the marriage (marriage certificate, photographs, etc.)
- evidence of a medical exam
- various civil documents (birth certificates, divorce certificates, etc.)
- fee payments
After the foreign spouse receives the K-3 visa, he/she may travel to a U.S. port-of-entry (if flying to Las Vegas, the port of entry is McCarran International Airport). There, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will review the foreign spouse’s travel documents and determine whether to let him/her in the country.
Learn more about the process of getting a K-3 visa. And learn about the path to applying for U.S. citizenship (naturalization). Note that if the sponsoring spouse needs to get fingerprinted, Nevada has two immigration offices that offer fingerprinting: the Las Vegas Immigration Office, and the Reno Immigration Office.
2. How do my children come if I get a K-3 (non-immigrant spousal) visa?
When the sponsoring spouse originally fills out the I-129F form, he/she needs to add the foreign spouse’s children’s names to the petition. Once the USCIS processes this form, the foreign spouse files the K-3 visa application for him/herself and separate K-4 visa applications for each child. Note that the children must be unmarried and under 21 years old to qualify for a K-4 visa application. Learn more about getting K-4 visas in Nevada.
Note that in some circumstances, the Child Status Protection Act may allow children with pending visas to stay in the U.S. even if they turn 21 while the visa is pending.
3. What is the time frame for getting a K-3 (non-immigrant spousal) visa?
First, the USCIS has to approve the K-3 application, which takes up to five months. And then the foreign spouse’s local United States consulate has to approve the petition, which takes up to another three months. So the entire process spans up to eight months but can last as few as five months.
4. What is the price of K-3 (non-immigrant spousal) visas?
The K-3 non-immigrant marriage visa fee is $265, but note there are other fees the sponsoring spouse or foreign spouse will need to pay throughout the non-immigrant visa application process. The sponsoring spouse pays $420 for filing the I-130 form and $325 for filing the I-129F form. The foreign spouse has to pay for a medical examination and fingerprinting fees.
For more information, see the Department of State’s fees for visa services and USCIS’s schedule of filing fees.
Call a Nevada immigration attorney…
If your husband or wife is foreign and wishes to live in Nevada on a spousal/marriage visa, contact our Las Vegas immigration attorneys for a free consultation. Call us for a consultation.
For other options for traveling or immigrating to the United States, see our article on Nevada visa laws. Also see our article on how to become a U.S. citizen in Nevada.