If your sweetheart hails from another country you are probably wondering how to get him or her in your territory as fast as possible, perhaps to meet your family, plan the wedding or just to spend some time together before the big day.
If your significant other is not a United States citizen, you can get a fiancee visa by filing a petition with USCIS - i.e. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The document is known as the 'Petition for Alien Fiancee' or Form I-129F. Once the petition is approved, your fiancee has to obtain a visa issue by a United States Embassy or consulate abroad.
If you get a fiancee visa approved, once your fiancee enters the U.S. the wedding must take place within 90 days of his or her arrival.
If (horror of horrors) he or she does not marry you within this time or marries somebody else (!) then your fiancee must leave the United States. Until the marriage takes place your fiancee will be deemed a foreign national seeking to temporarily enter the United States for a specific purpose i.e. a 'non-immigrant'. As such, he or she is not allowed to obtain extensions of the 90 day non-immigrant admission period.
If he or she wants to live and work permanently in the United States, an application for permanent residency must be applied for after the marriage. If he or she does not intend to become a permanent resident they will be required to leave the country within the original 90 day non-immigrant permission granted when you get a fiancee visa.
Remember that after he or she arrives in the country, your beloved will initially get a 'conditional' permanent residence status for a period of two years following your marriage. This is granted when the marriage is less than two years old at the time of adjustment to permanent residence status.
If you get a fiancee visa granted it is valid for a 'once only' entry to the United States. If he or she leaves the country before the marriage, a new visa will have to be applied for.
