Life Act - K and V Visa Categories

These categories of nonimmigrant visas were created by the LIFE Act. They may be issued to spouses of Lawful Permanent Residents, their dependent children and to spouses of U.S. citizens who were married overseas and the dependent children of the alien spouse. Those issued any of these visas may enter the United States as non-immigrants to complete the process of immigration in the United States.

The K3 visa category is available to spouses of U.S. citizens for whom an immigrant petition has been filed with INS, but due to processing delays, the petition has not yet been approved by DHS. This non-immigrant visa status will allow these spouses (K3) and their minor children (K4) to enter the United States to wait for DHS approval of the immigrant visa petition.

To qualify for a K3 nonimmigrant visa, applicants need to:

• Prove his/her marriage to a U.S. citizen

• Have evidence that an immigrant visa petition (Form I-130) was filed with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, but that the petition has not yet been approved by INS.

• Have a Petition for Alien Fiancée (Form I-129F) approved by DHS in the United States

Applicants for K3 visas must apply for the visas in the country where the marriage to the U.S. citizen took place.  However, if the marriage took place in the U.S., the visa application must be presented  in the country where the visa applicant resides.

The DHS has Service Center designed to handle LIFE Act petitions. The Missouri Service Center (MSC) adjudicates all I-129F petitions for K-3 visas. Once the I-129F is approved, the I-130 paper file as well as the electronic file will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). NVC will process the information and send it to post.

The immigrant visa unit at the US embassy in Madrid will contact you if they receive an approved petition for a K3 visa.

The V visa category allows certain spouses (V1) of lawful permanent residents and the children (V2) of those spouses to reside in the United States while they wait for the final completion of their immigration process.

To be eligible for a V visa applicants need to meet the following conditions:

• The lawful permanent resident must have filed an immigrant visa petition for his/her spouse on or before December 21, 2000

• The alien spouse must have been waiting three years since the filing of the petition and  not yet been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview

If you have received Form DS-3052 form the National Visa Center, complete and mail it to:

Embassy of the United States
Immigrant Visa Unit
Serrano 75
28006 Madrid, Spain