Have you ever been to a farm? Have you seen any hens? Did you notice that hens do not have incisors or molars, basically meaning they do not have teeth. That is where the saying came from “rarer than hen’s teeth.” In the immigration world, the K-3 qualifies as the hens teeth of visas.
Last year, two people in the entire world received their K-3 visa and there is no question that more than those two people had applied for the K-3 visa. However, K-3’s were not always rare, there was a moment in history, back in 2004 when 13,000 K-3’s were approved.
So, what is the K-3 visa? The visa is for certain spouses of US citizens, certain, not uncertain. So, if you are a US citizen and are sponsoring a spouse, and that spouse is residing overseas, you file an I-130 green card petition. The processing time of the I-130 green card petition is generally longer than the processing time posted by USCIS for K-3, the I-129F form. Once the receipt notice has been received for the green card petition, you can submit a K-3 petition. What used to happen is that because the I-130 took longer to process, the K-3, which took less time, would get approved. The case would go to the consulate, and the spouse who was overseas would apply to get a K-3 visa and they would enter the United States through the K-3 visa. Once in the United States, they would apply for the green card through an adjustment of status.
However, there is a low chance of obtaining the K-3 and there has been a steady decline in the number of K-3 visas getting approved. If you would like to look at the statistics, please direct yourself to the nonimmigrant statistics report which will provide you with decades of statistics.
Lastly, If you or someone you know has applied for the K-3 visa and has arrived in the United States on the K-3 visa, please contact us at usavisalaw.com through our contact page. We would be happy to listen to your story.