At the beginning of a new decade, it is good to revisit the current K3 application procedure for any innovation or revision. The US Immigration law, though continually updating itself to suit 20th century, did not make any change relevant to rules and regulations relating to K3 application process at the start of the year.
The most recent information on K3 visa is the approximate processing time issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services or the USCIS issued last September 30, 2009 stating that the average period for K3 visa processing is five months. However, please take note that this period only includes the period to process the Form I-129f and does not include the time spent for the prerequisite Form I-130.
The eligibility requirement remains the same. Only alien spouse married to a “US citizen” may be given a K3 visa. The K4 visa for children of K3 visa holders or applicants are still available as derivative visa.
Furthermore, there is no change in the application procedure. Like before, there is still a need for the US spouse to file with the USCIS Center which has jurisdiction over his place of residence initially a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) and consequently, upon receipt of the First Notice of Action, a Petition for Alien Fiance (Form I-129f). Once approved, the National Visa Center or NVC will process the documents and collect the appropriate fees. It is the job of NVC to forward the documentations to the US embassy in Thailand and schedule the applicant for a consular interview. The NVC will notify the applicant of the interview date and ask the latter to follow the instruction in the website of the respective US Embassy. Moreover, an Instruction Package for K visa Applicants (Packet 3) may be downloaded.