Immigration Attorney Vinh K. Ly Examines Fiancé(e) Visas

In an effort to illustrate how visas and immigration work in the United States, attorney Vinh K. Ly, a Vietnam native who has worked to make the processes of obtaining visas, green cards, and citizenship easier by applying his background and knowledge to clients’ situations and speaks multiple Chinese dialects fluently, asks and answers the following hypothetical question pertaining to fiancé(e) visas:

Question: I’m a U.S. citizen and I have a Chinese girlfriend who is still in China and is pregnant. What’s the best plan for getting her here? If I marry her there and the child is born abroad, will our child be a U.S. citizen? Before learning of the unexpected pregnancy, we planned to apply for a fiancé(e) visa for her, and marry here. Now we are confused as to how best to proceed. Will the pregnancy prevent her from getting a fiancé(e) visa?

Answer: “If you marry your fiancé before your child is born, the child will be a U.S. citizen,” noted Ly. “That’s true assuming you have spent at least five years in the United States (two of which were after age 14). If the child is born in the U.S., the child will be a U.S. citizen despite whether you are married or not. You may want to marry her in China as soon as possible and file a spouse petition for her. Her pregnancy shouldn’t prevent her from getting a fiancé(e) visa, but by the time she gets the visa, the child may have already been born. If marrying your fiancé abroad fits into your plans, do that and then file USCIS form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for her.”

About Vinh K. Ly, Attorney & Counselor at Law 

Attorney Vinh K. Ly specializes in immigration law, personal injury and criminal defense. He assists clients that are attempting to apply for a visa or green card or are facing the possibility of deportation.

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