Current Timelines For K-3 Visa

USCIS Processing Delays And The K-3 Visa

The following article is written for those interested in the United States visa process for foreign family members of an American Citizen.

In 2010, the United States National Visa Center announced that it would be "Administratively Closing" K-3 visa applications when the K-3 visa petition is received after, or with, the underlying I-130 petition for immigrant visa benefits. This announcement meant that the K-3 visa would be effectively discontinued so long as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) could continue to quickly adjudicate I-130 petitions.

Recently, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service announced that due to errors arising from internal redistribution of caseload, adjudication of I-130 petitions (petitions for visas such as the CR-1 or IR-1) sent to the USCIS's Texas Service Center could be delayed. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is responsible for adjudicating immigration petitions. The K-3 visa was designed to provide a travel document for the spouses of American Citizens who are foreign nationals and wishing to travel to the United States to await processing of an immigration petition therein.

The K-3 visa was created pursuant to the provisions of the so-called "LIFE Act" enacted under President William Jefferson Clinton. The National Visa Center in 2010 unilaterally made the decision to place K-3 visa applications in "administrative closure" where the adjudicated I-130 petition arrived prior to, or with, the K-3 application. This announcement made some sense at a time when USCIS was adjudicating I-130 petitions in such a timely manner that K-3 visas were no longer necessary. Under the current circumstances where the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service has admitted to causing a situation where a large number of case files have yet to receive adjudication within the estimated processing timelines it raises the question of K-3 visa petitions for such cases. Where a petitioner filed an I-130 petition and the adjudication gets delayed, the K-3 visa may be the solution to getting a foreign spouse into the USA in a timely manner.

The K-3 visa is technically a non-immigrant multiple entry spouse visa. Those who enter the United States on a K-3 visa must either adjust their status in the USA or undergo Consular Processing outside of the United States.

Working Mother

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