Updated November 1, 2026

K-1 visa requirements: eligibility, documents and money, step by step

To get a K-1 fiancé(e) visa, the petitioner must be a US citizen, you must both be legally free to marry, you must intend to marry within 90 days of the fiancé(e)'s entry, and you must have met in person in the 2 years before filing. The fiancé(e) then shows the embassy a passport, civil documents, police certificates, a medical exam and evidence they won't need public support.

Every requirement below comes from USCIS, the State Department and its Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 502.7), checked on November 1, 2026, including the income figures and fees.

What are the K-1 visa requirements?

A petition filed too early can't be fixed later. The Foreign Affairs Manual says a K-1 petition filed while either of you was still legally married can't be used for a visa, even if the divorce became final afterward. If that's your case, a new petition is the way forward.

What if you haven't met in person in the last 2 years?

Under 8 CFR 214.2(k)(2), USCIS can waive the meeting rule in two cases only. You submit evidence for one of them with the petition:

• Extreme hardship to the US citizen petitioner from having to meet in person.
• Strict and long-established customs of the fiancé(e)'s foreign culture or social practice that a meeting would violate.

For the customs waiver, the regulation adds that you must also show every other part of the traditional arrangements has been or will be met. Without a meeting or a waiver, USCIS denies the petition, but you can file a new one once you've met in person.

What does the US citizen need to file Form I-129F?

Form I-129F (edition 01/20/25) goes to the USCIS Dallas lockbox. It can't be filed at a US embassy, consulate or USCIS office abroad. The fee is $675, per USCIS Form G-1055 (edition 10/26/26). USCIS's initial evidence checklist asks for:

• proof of the petitioner's US citizenship: a US birth certificate, naturalization or citizenship certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or unexpired US passport
• a final divorce decree, annulment order or death certificate for every earlier marriage of either of you
• one color passport-style photo of each of you, taken within 30 days of filing
• evidence that you both intend to marry, and to marry within 90 days of the fiancé(e)'s admission
• evidence that you met in person within 2 years of filing, or evidence for a waiver
• proof of any legal name change, and evidence for an IMBRA waiver if one applies
• full certified English translations of any document in another language

USCIS asks you not to send items with chips or batteries, thumb drives or discs, DNA samples, or graphic intimate photos as relationship evidence. Photos or copies of those items are fine.

Can the petitioner's past affect the K-1?

Yes. Two laws, both covered in 9 FAM 502.7-3(D), apply to the US citizen:

At the interview the officer reviews a USCIS pamphlet on legal rights and protections with the fiancé(e), tells them about any earlier petitions and reported criminal history, and gives them time to decide whether to go ahead.

What documents does the fiancé(e) bring to the K-1 interview?

The State Department's K-1 page lists what the fiancé(e), and each K-2 child, brings:

1. the DS-160 confirmation page (each applicant completes their own DS-160)
2. a passport valid at least 6 months beyond the intended stay, unless a country agreement exempts you
3. a birth certificate
4. divorce or death certificates for any earlier spouse of the fiancé(e) and of the US citizen
5. police certificates (rules below)
6. the medical exam from a panel physician
7. evidence of financial support (rules below)
8. two 2 x 2 inch photos, which our visa photo requirements guide covers in detail
9. evidence of the relationship with the US citizen
10. the visa fee receipt

Civil documents must come from the issuing authority in your country, and anything not in English or the local language needs a certified translation. Bring clear photocopies too, since originals are returned. Each embassy can add its own instructions, so read your post's K visa page as well.

Police certificates, in detail. Under 9 FAM 502.7-3(C)(3), applicants 16 and older need one, if obtainable, from their country of nationality if they lived there more than 6 months, their current country of residence if they've lived there more than 6 months, any earlier country where they lived 12 months or more from age 16, and any place they were ever arrested. No US police certificates are needed.

What is the K-1 income requirement?

The fiancé(e) must show they aren't likely to become a public charge. The State Department says they can show they'll support themselves or that the US citizen will, and the officer may ask for Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support, from the US citizen. For Form I-134, the sponsor's income needs to reach 100% of the federal poverty guideline.

Figures are for the 48 contiguous states, DC and the territories, from USCIS Form I-864P (effective March 1, 2026). Alaska and Hawaii are higher. The 125% column, a recent tax return and the other Form I-864 rules apply only later, when your spouse files for a green card.

• I-134 isn't automatic. The Foreign Affairs Manual says evidence of support is usually requested but not strictly required, and a healthy working-age applicant traveling alone may qualify at the interview without it.
• I-864 can't be required at the K-1 stage. A letter from the petitioner's employer or proof the fiancé(e) can support themselves can also work.
• No notary. USCIS says Form I-134 (edition 01/20/25) is signed under penalty of perjury, so it doesn't need notarizing.

What are the medical exam and vaccine rules?

Every K-1 and K-2 applicant, at any age, needs a medical exam by an authorized panel physician before the visa can be issued, and the embassy schedules the interview once the exam report is ready. Vaccinations aren't required for the K visa itself, but they are required later for the green card, so the State Department encourages getting them at the same exam. Under the Foreign Affairs Manual, children under 15 don't need a chest X-ray or blood tests, and the visa's validity should match the medical exam's.

Can your children come on a K-2 visa?

• The fiancé(e)'s unmarried children under 21 can get K-2 visas, but the US citizen must list them on the I-129F. No separate petition is needed.
• Each child needs their own DS-160, passport (or a place in the parent's), birth certificate, medical exam and visa fee. Children 16 and older need police certificates.
• Children can travel with the K-1 parent or after, never before. They must travel within one year of the K-1 visa's issue date, or they'll need separate immigrant visa petitions.
• For a child's green card later, the State Department says the stepchild relationship with the US citizen must be created before the child turns 18.

Do K-1 applicants need public social media?

The State Department's September 18, 2026 announcement lists K-1, K-2 and K-3 among the visas already covered by its online presence review, the vetting for which applicants are told to set every social media profile to public. Our visa social media requirement guide explains what that review covers.

What can stop a K-1 at the interview?

The officer decides whether the relationship is real. The Foreign Affairs Manual names facts that can raise questions when they differ from the petition: children not named in it, an earlier marriage that wasn't disclosed (even one that ended), or a current pregnancy. The officer can ask the US citizen whether they knew and still want to marry.

If the officer isn't satisfied the relationship is bona fide, the visa is refused under 221(g) and the petition goes back to USCIS with a recommendation to revoke it. Our K-1 interview questions guide covers what officers ask, and the 221(g) guide explains the refusal sheet.

What does a K-1 visa cost?

The Foreign Affairs Manual says there's no separate K processing fee and no reciprocity fee on top of the application fee. Timing for each stage is in our K-1 visa processing time guide.

What are the rules after the fiancé(e) enters?

• The visa allows one entry within its validity, at most 6 months from issue. A CBP officer decides on admission, and the sealed packet from the embassy stays closed until then. Our US border questions guide covers that inspection.
• You must marry within 90 days of entry. K-1 and K-2 status ends at 90 days and can't be extended.
• The fiancé(e) can apply to work right after entry (valid only for those 90 days), or with the green card application after the wedding.
• USCIS says that, generally, the fiancé(e) can't get a green card on any basis other than the marriage to the petitioner.

Visaful is an AI mock interview app for US visa interviews: an AI officer asks your visa's questions out loud and shows what to fix.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.