If you are a US citizen engaged to a foreign national and would like to get married in the United States, then you may be able to sponsor your fiancé(e) for a K-1 visa. The K-1 is somewhat of a hybrid visa, as it is often grouped with nonimmigrant visas but provides a direct path to immigration — as long as the marriage takes place.

The requirements for the K-1 visa are the following:

1. You and your fiancé(e) intend to get married no more than 90 days after your fiancé(e) enters the United States on the K-1 visa.

2. You and your fiancé(e) are both free to marry, meaning all previous marriages have been legally terminated by death, divorce, or annulment.

3. You and your fiancé(e) have seen each other in person within the two years before the application is filed (with a few narrow exceptions).

The K-1 visa application process involves two steps: First, you must petition for your fiancé(e) here in the United States. Then, after this petition is approved, your fiancé(e) may apply for the actual K-1 visa at his or her nearest US consulate.

Once the marriage takes place, the foreign national may file a family-based Green Card application. If the marriage does not go through as planned, however, then the K-1 visa becomes invalid and your fiancé(e) must leave the United States.