Family based visas, permit one to enter the U.S. and obtain a green card.
 We will discuss how each of these family based visas work in this series of articles.
•       Fiance visa:   K-1
•       Spouse visa:  K-3
•       Parents of U.S. citizen children
•       Siblings of U.S. citizens
•       Children of U.S. citizen parents
•       Spouse and unmarried children of Lawful Permanent Resident

FIANCE VISA:  K-1 VISA
•       Must be a fiancé(e) of U.S. citizen (If you are a Lawful Permanent
Resident, you cannot sponsor your fiancé(e) )
•       You are seeking to enter the U.S. solely to conclude a valid marriage
with petitioner.
•       Must marry within 90 days after entry into the U.S.
•       Must adjust status within 2 years
•       You file the fiancé visa petition inside the U.S. once approved you
schedule your interview at the U.S. consulate where you are residing.
Processing times are approximately 4-12 months
•       Petitioner must provide criminal records
•       There must be no legal impediments to the marriage – so for example if
you are currently married to a different person, you must have a final
divorce decree before commencing the K-1 visa
•       Parties must have met in person within 2 years of filing the petition
(this in-person requirement can only be waived in extreme hardship to the
petitioner or the requirement would “ violate strict and long established
customs in the beneficiary’s culture”)

Spouse Visa:  K-3 VISA
•    Must be a spouse of U.S. citizen (If you are a Lawful Permanent
Resident, you cannot sponsor your spouse )
•    K-3 must be residing outside the U.S. to avail of this visa (this is not
filed for you if you are inside the U.S.)
•You apply for this visa in the country in which the marriage took place
•Children of the K-3 (K-4) – unmarried child of the K-3 need only
establish that they are the child of the K-3 to receive a K-4 visa
•Once the K-3 is approved by USCIS, then the file is forwarded to the
National Visa Center (NVC), where security checks will be made and once
cleared, will be forwarded to the consular post
•K-3/K-4 are admitted to the U.S. for a 2 year period only.  You file an
adjustment of status before the end of this two year period to obtain the
green card
•K-3/K-4 cannot change their status inside the U.S.
•Termination of the K-3/K-4 status: (termination will occur 30 days later
following:)
-K-4 marries
-K-3 divorces the U.S. petitioner
-I-130 is either denied or revoked
-Adjustment of status petition is denied or revoked
-Denial of the K-3 will result in the K-4 being terminated