Arranging for a K-1 visa to be processed in a third nation when a gay candidate is at danger in their own country.
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Question
While traveling, I met and fell in love with a local of an African nation known for imprisoning homosexual or LGBTQ persons. We’re both guys, and I’m a citizen of the United States. We’ve been Skyping for months, and I’d want for him to visit the United States and marry me. However, he is traveling throughout the globe and has not returned to his own country out of fear. Obtaining a visa on the basis of marriage to another guy would instantly “out” him and put his life in risk in that country. Where can he apply for a K-1 fiancé visa?
Answer
You’ve posed an excellent question. The standard policy of US consulates and embassies across the globe is to process K-1 fiancé visas solely for residents and nationalities of the country where the consulate is situated, or for those with some ties to that country (for example, are living there on a long-term visa).
A traveler who is simply passing through, or who enters a nation just to get a visa, is unlikely to elicit assistance in organizing what is known as “third-country processing.”
Fortunately, the United States State Department acknowledges that homosexual and lesbian couples seeking K-1 fiancé visas face a unique and potentially perilous scenario. As a result, it has created procedures for dealing with such issues on an informal basis. However, you will need the assistance of an attorney since the procedure must be completed fast and accurately.
You can probably begin the procedure on your own. You would do this normally: you, the US citizen petitioner, would prepare and send a visa petition (USCIS Form I-129F) to US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
On the form, there is a question indicating where consulate the applicant will apply for the visa at. (It’s Part 2, Question 62 in the form’s 7/23/20 edition, which expires in 2022.) You have no option but to include your fiancé’s home country consulate, but don’t worry, the following steps should take care of this.
After receiving a USCIS receipt for your I-129F submission, you must contact the National Visa Center (NVC) at [email protected] with the topic “K-1 URGENT” in the subject line. Your USCIS receipt number, your name, your fiancé’s name and place of birth, and a thorough explanation of why he is frightened to fly to his native country must all be included in the email. In addition, the email must provide up to three other US consulates, in order of preference, where your finance would want to attend the visa interview.
It’s also recommended utilizing the NVC’s online enquiry form to ensure your message is received.
Following that, the NVC will engage with the consulates indicated and schedule the K-1 visa interview. If all goes well, your fiancé will be awarded a K-1 visa for admission into the United States.
Another thing to consider is which nations may issue your fiancé an entrance visa. You cannot just mention a few nations and expect the NVC to handle the rest. It has no means of facilitating entrance for someone intending to visit a US embassy there.
Again, involving an attorney would be a fantastic idea. The USCIS approval of Form I-129F is only valid for four months, so if you start this procedure on your own and then fail to guarantee that the remainder of the process is completed swiftly, you may have to start again.
