How Can a Ukrainian Bride Get a US K1 Visa?

October 7, 2024

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7 min read

To begin with, mail order brides from Ukraine are one of the most beautiful in the world and probably the ones who are the most wanted by American men. But before marriage, you need to think about a fiance visa for Ukraine lady so that she legally stays in the US. To make your experience of getting a K1 visa for Ukraine fiancee less stressful and more organized, we prepared this short and helpful post for you.

Check if you’re eligible a K-1 fiancée visa

Before marrying a Ukrainian girl and inviting her to the US, you must apply for a K1 fiancee visa. But first, you need to check these factors to understand whether you’re eligible for getting this kind of visa to the US, so here is your K1 visa checklist:

The sponsoring spouse must be a US citizen, not a green card holder.
The sponsoring US citizen must be able to financially support a Ukrainian fiancee who is coming to the US. Otherwise, you’ll have to have a sponsor of your own, who can officially present you both.
You both are legally free to get married. You’ll have to present special documents like a death certificate or divorce records.
You’ll have to prove your relationship is real. Authorities might ask you to show your personal correspondence in order to check your relationship status.
You’ll have to meet at least once in real life within 2 years before applying for a K1 visa for Ukraine mail order bride. Meeting each other in person is a very important check factor for the officials.
You both have to confirm that you’ll be getting married within 90 days after the foreign spouse’s arrival to the US. You’ll have to present special assigned documents, wedding place booking, or wedding invitations – anything that officially does prove your wedding is going to happen.

There can be some exclusions for each of the mentioned factors, but in general, you need to match all these requirements to bring single ladies from Ukraine to the United States. That’s why marrying someone from Ukraine needs some preparation but it never means an impossibility.

Apply for a K-1 fiancée visa

Application for a K1 visa is a multi-step process that demands different levels of preparation. But first, check out the vital numbers about how much is a K1 visa, the period of how long does it take to get a US visa for your Ukrainian fiancee, and the average rate of K2 visa approvals in the table below.

💰 The total K-1 visa cost	$800
⌛ K-1 visa timeline	From 10 to 15 months
✅ K-1 visa rate of approvals	86,7% in 2021

Step 1: File Form I-129F

The process of bringing your Ukrainian girlfriend to the United States starts with filling out the I-129F form for K1 visa. This form must be filed by a US citizen and its aim is to prove the validation of your relationship. And here is the checklist of documented proofs of your relationship which must be attached with the I-129F Form:

Proof that personally you are a US citizen – a copy of your US passport or birth certificate.
A copy of your fiancee’s passport.
Any evidence that can prove your relationship is real. These could be pictures of you both, tickets from the trips you’ve taken together, any personal correspondence, social media chats, mails, or letters.
Before submitting the form you need to collect the proofs that you’ve met with your Ukrain mail order bride at least once within the two-year period – pictures, flight tickets, or hotel-approved reservations.
Each of you must sign documents where you tell about your relationship status and confirm that you’re getting married within 90 days after Ukraine bride’s coming to the US.
A copy of all previously applied I-94 Forms which are the arrival and departure records of your foreign fiancee.
One passport-style photo from each of you.

Once your Form I-129F is approved, USCIS will send you an approval notification and then your Ukrainian fiancee will need to complete the online DS-160 form. This is an actual application for a K-1 visa and it’s very important you print the hard copy when it’s submitted. After this, you’ll need to prepare particular documents for your K1 visa interview. And here is a checklist:

For your foreign fiancée:

Two passport-style photos
Birth certificate
Valid and unexpired passport
Police clearance obtained from all countries of residence of more than 6 months
Medical exam form (foreign physicians have to be authorized by the State Department)
Proofs of your relationship

For you as a US citizen:

Form I-134
Most recent tax returns
Proof of relationship (copy of the approved I-129F package originally filed with USCIS)

After you collected all the required documents you can proceed to the next step, which is an actual K1 visa interview.

Step 2: Attend the visa interview

A K-1 visa interview is taken by your Ukrainian bride at the nearest US Embassy in her homeland. You have to be prepared for a precise questionnaire from the officer, as he/she will be deciding on giving your mail order bride a visa. For that purpose, we collected the list of the most common K1 visa interview questions an officer asks:

❔ Questions to your foreign fiancee:

What is your name and birthday?
Where were you born? What is your nationality?
Have you ever visited the United States before? On what type of visa?
Were you ever involved in marriage before? For what reason did the marriage end?
Have you ever been under arrest or convicted of a crime?

❔ Questions to you about your foreign fiancee:

Where does your fiancee live?
What is their job?
Have you met the parents of your fiancee? If you haven’t, why haven’t you done so yet?
Has your fiancee ever been in a previous marriage before? What happened in their relationship?
What do you love most about your fiancee?
What languages does your fiancee speak?

❔ Questions about your relationship and upcoming wedding:

When did the two of you meet? Describe how you met and how you both fell in love.
How many times have the two of you met in person? On what occasion?
Are there any activities that the two of you particularly enjoy during your relationship?
How do you maintain communication during a long-distance relationship? Is it difficult for you to be apart from each other?
Please describe how your fiance proposed to you.
How many people will attend the wedding?
Why did you decide to hold your wedding in the United States instead of your own home country?
What plans do you have for your honeymoon?

❔ Other important questions:

Do you work anywhere right now? What is your current workplace?
What is the color of your fiance’s eyes?
Does your fiancee have any pets? If so, how many do they have?
What is the religious background of your fiancee?
Does your fiancee have a criminal background? Have they ever been convicted?

All these questions have one similar but very important aim – to decide whether your relationship is valid or not.

Step 3: Come to the United States and get married!

Right after your fiance visa for Ukraine soulmate is approved you’ll have a total of 6 months to bring your Ukrainian mail order bride to the US and get married after that within 90 days. The whole trip ideally has to be sponsored by you as you’re considered a sponsoring fiance. In case you changed your mind and don’t want to get married, your mail order bride must leave the country right away before her 90-day stay ends.

The whole purpose of a K-1 visa for Ukraine brides is to give a couple some time to come to the US before getting married. To make sure a couple wants to get married and is ready for it. The process of getting this kind of visa can be really time-consuming and stressful at one point, but the results you get at the end of your journey are really worth it.