Ethiopia K-1 or Fiancee Visas
Ethiopia Fiance Visa preparation
Your Ethiopian Fiancee will be requested to bring the following documents to
the consulate interview.
Passport
Birth Certificate
Marriage Certificate (for K3) / Divorce Certificates
Police Certificate
Medical Exam Envelope
I-134 plus 3 recent years tax transcripts
Evidence of Relationship
2 Passport photos required for police certificate (can be b/w)
K3 filing / interview may be done on a walk-in basis if the petitioner appears at the Consulate in person and pleads his/her case. Otherwise, the Consulate will schedule the interview within 6-10 weeks of receiving the file from the NVC.
Upon receiving packet 3, the applicant should complete all documents requested on the checklist and obtain both the medical and police certificate. Medical takes appr. 3 days total to complete. Police Certificate takes 2 weeks but can be expedited upon request.
The problem in terms of total processing time appears to be that the Consulate will take time to actually send out packet 3 (word is that this may take 1-2 months easily). If the USC petitioner is in Addis, the petitioner can pick-up packet 3 at the Consulate by showing the NVC letter. This speeds things up dramatically.
A complete and accurate filing along with good relationship evidence is the key to a speedy processing of the visa. Also, for all couples that are mixed, the Ethiopian K3 visa applicant will very likely have to go through the interview in English unless it can be established that the petitioning USC spouse speaks Amharic.
The US embassy in Addis Ababa Ethiopia
PO Box 1014
Entoto Street
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Telephone:
251-11-1242424
Fax:
251-11-1242435
Below is a short youtube video that describes how to get your Fiancee Visa
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Some fiancees think they might want to get married, but are not 100% certain, and need more time to get to
know each other or to adjust to the new country. The fiancee may qualify for a visitor visa if the intention
is not to get married in the USA (but to come and go and get married in another country, to return again on an
immigrant visa). However, by applying for a K-1, the foreign fiancee may be much more open about their
intentions since the purpose of the visa is to allow a foreign citizen to remain in the United States for 90
days to get married, with the idea of living and working legally after marriage. If the intent to marry is
made clear enough, and something does happen that makes the couple decide not to marry, then the fiancee may
leave the country without repercussions. However, in the case that the couple marry after entry on another type
of temporary visa, there are some penalties under the law. In many cases the marriage will be upheld and
immigrant status granted to the foreign spouse, but sometimes the foreign spouse risks being deported. Limitations
have also been put into place to discourage marriage by visitors on other visas. For example, a K1 visa may
not be issued to a recent student visitor (to discourage foreigners being students merely for the purpose of
meeting US spouses). Though the K1 visa may take more time in planning, it minimizes risks that wedding plans
will be scuttled at the last moment by a denial of admission.
Expert Tip # 12
Don't violate the terms of the Fiancee Visa. Sometimes after the Fiancee Visa is granted, couples think to marry twice, once immediately among her family and friends in her country, and then a second time later with his family and friends in the U.S. They plan to "game" the visa process by only reporting the second marriage on the Adjustment of Status. This is a bad idea. When entering the U.S. the Immigration officer will ask her "Are you single?". If the Fiancee admits she is in fact already married to the Sponsor, she will be refused entry to the U.S. and sent back. The application process would need to be started completely over this time with the Husband now petitioning for a Spousal Visa. Enjoy an informal engagement party with her family and friends, but never enter what would be considered a legal marriage before she enters the U.S. Only as a single woman may she travel to the U.S. in compliance with the terms of her Fiancee Visa.
More Expert Fiancee Visa Tips
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