The first step in applying for a fiancé(e) visa is for the U.S. citizen (the petitioner) to file Form I-129F with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in the United States. The petition cannot be filed in Hong Kong.

Unmarried children under the age of 21 are eligible to derive status from the fiancé(e) visa petition filed on behalf of their parent and their names should be included in the petition. If the U.S. citizen is the natural father or mother of the child, the child may have a claim to U.S. citizenship – please contact the American Citizen Services unit for further information.

The average processing time of the fiancé(e) visa applications ranges from six-to-nine months. Once a petition has been filed, the petitioner may track the status of the pending case online at the USCIS website. Applicants who are missing documents at the time of their interview should expect to experience delays in the visa process.

If you plan to return to your permanent place of residence outside the United States after the marriage ceremony in the United States, you should apply for a B-2 visa, or if eligible, travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program Visa Waiver Program.

Once the visa petition is approved by USCIS, it will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) in New Hampshire for additional processing. If the fiancé(e) visa applicant is resident in Hong Kong or Macau, the petition will then be forwarded to the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong. The Immigrant Visa Unit of the U.S. Consulate will send an instruction packet to the applicant noting required documents including civil documents, police certificates, affidavit of supports, etc. Applicants born in the Philippines or carrying passports issued by the Government of the Philippines should carefully read the “Review Embassy/Consulate Instructions” (Please visit Supplements by Post to review Embassy/Consulate instructions from Hong Kong).

After applicants return required forms to the Immigrant Visa Unit, staff will send the applicant an email with instructions on next steps, including scheduling a medical examination, and scheduling their IV interview appointment. All IV appointments are scheduled through the Global Support Services (GSS) platform. Please see also instructions relating to the medical examination process (PDF 192 KB).