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Table of Contents

Title page and table of contents ………………………………………………………………………………..…..1

Overview of I-129F Petition Documents……………………………………………………………….……....2

Approximate Visa Process Timeline and RFE Note……………………………………………………….…3

Interview Details……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……4

Common Interview Questions…………………………………………………………………………………….…5

Interview Outcomes……………………………………………………………………………………………………...6

Flight to USA and Port of Entry……………………………………………………………………………………….7

Red Flags………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8

K-1 Fiancé Visa VS. CR-1 Spousal Visa………………………………………………………………………..….9

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)………………………………………………………………………………10

Fiancé Letter of Intent Sample……………………………………………………………………………………..11

Email to Consulate Requesting Interview Sample………………………………………………………..12

Last updated: May 14, 2019

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Congratulations on your engagement! This guide will go over the K-1 process from start to finish, with a focus on
what the U.S Consulate in Casablanca specifically looks for. The K-1 fiancé visa allows a US Citizen to bring their
foreign fiancé to the USA to get married and become a permanent resident. To be eligible to file for the K-1
fiancé visa you must:

 Have met in person within the past 2 years.

 You and your fiancé(e) must be free to marry. This means you must both be unmarried and any
previous marriages must be over with finalized divorce, annulment or death documentation.
 The petitioner must be a U.S citizen.

 Money order, check or credit card payment of $535

 Cover letter highlighting packet contents
 I-129F Form: Petition for Alien Fiancé
 Form G-1145 (allows the petitioner to receive status updates via text)
 2 Letters of intent to marry (sample on page 11) one for petitioner, one for beneficiary, both signed
 Proof of petitioner’s US Citizenship (copy of passport pages, copy of birth certificate)
 Passport style photo (1 for petitioner, 1 for beneficiary, with your names written on the back of each
photo). Photos must be 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm).
 Copy of final Divorce Decree(s) or Certificate(s) for the US Citizen and/or foreign fiancé if either has
been previously married.
 Proof of having met in person within the past 2 years (passport stamps, boarding passes, photos,
receipts from your trip(s))
 Relationship evidence (photos together, chat/call logs, letters and gifts to one another )
 If you met online, proof that the website you met though is not an International Marriage Broker
(IMB). This is done by sending a copy of the terms of service along with your petition, or ideally
having written proof like an email from the company stating that they are not an IMB.

Where to mail the I-129F petition:

For U.S. Postal Service (USPS):

USCIS
P.O. Box 660151
Dallas, TX 75266

For FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:

USCIS
Attn: I-129F
2501 South State Highway 121 Business
Suite 400
Lewisville, TX 75067
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The current (May 2019) timeframe for the K-1 petition from filing to interview is around 8-10 months.

Step Timeline (Approximate) Information

1 N/A Send I-129F Package

2 2-3 weeks
3 5-7 months
4 2-4 weeks
5 1-3 weeks
6 2-8 weeks
7 1-4 weeks
8 NA
9 1 month
10 1-4 weeks
First Notice of Action (NOA1)
U.S. Petitioner Receives first Notice of Action (NOA) acknowledging K-1
petition has been opened
Second Notice of Action (NOA2)
U.S. Petitioner Receives second Notice of Action (NOA) acknowledging K-1
petition has been approved. This does NOT mean that the visa has been
approved.
Case is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). Two weeks after you
receive the NOA2 you can contact the NVC to see if they have received
your approved I-129F and issued a case number. You can contact them at
603-334-0700.
Once you have your case number, you can track the status of your case
on CEAC case tracker. The status will move from ‘AT NVC’ to ‘IN TRANST’
to ‘READY’
Once your case is listed as ‘READY’, you can begin emailing the consulate
requesting an interview date. Unlike most other consulates and
embassies, you cannot schedule the interview online and you will not
receive an interview notice in the mail. The quickest way to receive the
interview date is to email the consulate (sample email on page 12). The
email should include the petitioner and beneficiary’s first and last names,
date of birth and the NVC case number (CSB…) and USCIS receipt number
(WAC…) The email should be sent to: IVCasablanca@state.gov
The consulate will respond to your email and provide the beneficiary with
an interview date and instructions on what documents must be brought
to the interview. Generally, you will have about 1 month to prepare for
the interview.
The beneficiary must complete the DS-160 online prior to attending the
interview
Beneficiary has Interview at U.S. Consulate in Casablanca
Assuming the beneficiary is approved at the interview and no additional
documentation is requested, the visa will be printed and issued within 1-4
weeks. The beneficiary will pick up the passport and visa at the selected
Aramex location

Note about Request for Evidence (RFE):

During the initial stages of the visa process, as you wait for NOA2, USCIS may send you a letter with a
request for evidence. Common RFEs include copies of divorce decrees, incorrect passport photo sizes,
missing or incomplete pages of the I-129F, or additional relationship evidence. USCIS will give you 60
days to respond to the RFE and mail in your supplemental evidence. RFE processing times may vary, but
generally an RFE adds about 1 additional month to the visa processing timeline.
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The beneficiary will attend the interview at the U.S Consulate in Casablanca. The consulate is located at:
Boulevard Moulay Youssef, Casablanca 20250, Morocco.

Only the beneficiary is allowed to enter the consulate, and they must present the appointment letter
they received in the email from the consulate.

Documents to be brought to the interview:

 Signed (beneficiary) visa appointment instructions page (received through email from
Casablanca consulate along with interview appointment date)
 Signed (petitioner) I-134 Affidavit of Support
o Additional I-134 signed by co-sponsor if applicable
 Financial Support documents: 6 months of pay subs, 2018, 2017, 2016 tax transcripts (download
your transcripts free online here), letter from employer
 Beneficiary passport (needs to have at least 6 month validity)
 Original birth certificate of beneficiary, as well as certified English translation
 Original police certificate of beneficiary, as well as certified English translation
 Original court record of beneficiary, as well as certified English translation
 Original certificate of singlehood/celibacy as well as certified English translation
 Two 5cmx5cm color passport photos of beneficiary
 Medical Examination packet
 Proof of ongoing relationship – Additional photos and chats that occurred after the initial filing
of the I-129F petition
 DS-5535 Supplemental Questions for Visa Applicants (optional, and they may not take it even if
they end up requesting it)
 DS-160 Confirmation Page
 $265 visa fee (can also be paid in MAD equivalent)
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- How did you meet your fiancé(e)?

- When did you first meet in person (if met online)?
- How many times have you met in person?
- How long did you date before getting engaged?
- When did you get engaged (exact date)?
- Who proposed and how?
- What did they say to your proposal?
- When was the last time you saw your fiancé(e)?
- Did you have an engagement party?
- What do you (beneficiary) do for a living?
- What does the petitioner do for a living?
- When are you planning on getting married?
- Do you have any wedding plans (location, guest info)?
- What does your fiancé(e) like (hobbies)?
- What kinds of things do you enjoy doing together?
- What do you and your fiancé(e) have in common?
- Have you met or spoken to your fiancé(e)’s children or any other family members?
- Where does the petitioner live (state, city)?
- What do you love about your fiancé(e)?
- What is your fiancé(e)’s name?
- How old is your fiancé(e)?
- What do you know about your fiancé(e)’s previous relationship (if applicable)?
- What faith does your fiancé(e) practice?
- What is your faith background?
- Has your fiancé(e) ever been convicted of a crime?
- Has your family met your fiancé(e)? What do they think of them?
- (If using a co-sponsor)Who is your co-sponsor? Why are they willing to sponsor you? How was
your fiancé(e) able to afford trips to Morocco if they have a limited income?
- What do you plan to do once you arrived in the USA?
- Why did you decide to marry in the USA rather than in your country?

The beneficiary should bring any new evidence that you have gathered since the initial filing of the I-
129F. This includes photos, chat logs and proof of any additional visits. However, the Consular Officer
(CO) is not required to look at any of the evidence brought to the interview.
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Approved:
The CO will verbally tell the beneficiary their visa has been approved. They will be given a document that
goes over how to sign up for Aramex, which is the courier service where they will pick up their passport
and visa. The visa is usually printed and issued within 1-4 weeks after the interview.

Administrative Processing due to missing document(s):

The CO will hand the beneficiary a white 221g paper which a checklist of items. They will generally
highlight any item(s) that need to be submitted in order to further process the visa. Once the beneficiary
obtains the document(s), they will send them to the consulate via Aramex. Once the consulate receives
the document(s), they will generally approve and issue the visa within 1 month. Occasionally, AP may
take several months. If you have been waiting more than 1 month after submitting the requested
document(s), you may want to reach out to the consulate or contact your congressman to get an update
on the status.

Administrative Processing due to DS-5535:

The DS-5535 is a form that asks for the travel history, social media handles and family information
regarding the beneficiary. This form has been in use since 2017, and is thought to be connected to
‘extreme vetting’. The CO will inform you that your case needs to undergo additional administrative
processing. Some officers will tell you that they will be sending the DS-5535, while others give no
additional information, but the beneficiary generally receives the DS-5535 via email a few days after the
interview. The DS-5535 can take anywhere from 4 months to over 12 months to process. The positive
news is that most applicants who have been asked to submit the DS-5535 are eventually approved,
though it may take months of waiting.

Denied/Refused:
The CO will hand the beneficiary a white 221g and inform them that the case is being returned to USCIS.
If the CO asks to keep the beneficiary’s passport, it could be sign that they will be sent the DS-5535, or
that the case still needs to undergo other administrative processing. There have been instances where a
beneficiary will be approved for the visa even when given the white 221g, however this outcome is rare.
If the CO returns the passport to the beneficiary, it is generally a sign of an immediate refusal and the
case will be returned to USCIS where it will expire. In this outcome, it is recommended to reach out to
your congressman for help, but if there is no progress, you will need to re-file the K-1 visa or marry and
file a CR-1 spousal visa.

Unknown Administrative Processing:

The CO will hand the beneficiary a white 221g with no markings to indicate anything is wrong or missing.
Most of the time, these cases end up being sent back to USCIS to expire. You can try to get a
congressman to inquire on your behalf, however if the petition is expired (and they expire after a few
months), it is unlikely that there will be any progress made and you will need to re-file or marry and file
the CR-1 visa petition.
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After the interview, you can check the status of the case on the CEAC tracker. It is very common for approved
cases to be listed as being under ‘Administrative Processing’ for several days after the interview. Generally
the status will change to “ISSUED” within 1-3 weeks.

The beneficiary will need to sign up with Aramex to track and receive the K-1 packet and passport. Generally
Aramex will text or call the beneficiary when the passport is ready to be picked up from the selected Aramex
location. As soon as you have the passport with the approved visa in hand, you are ready to travel to the
USA!

Note about transit visas: Moroccans do NOT need a transit visa if they are making 1 connecting flight within
a Schengen country. Popular countries for Moroccans to travel through without needing a transit visa are
France, Germany, Spain and Portugal. However, you should still check with the airline to be sure that you do
not need a transit visa. Another popular route is through Canada, where Moroccans DO need to apply transit
visa if they wish to have a connection there.

Port of Entry (POE)

The POE is the point in which the beneficiary first officially enters the U.S. It is not necessarily your final
destination in the U.S.

Example (multiple flights and layovers):

Casablanca Frankfurt, Chicago Detroit

Germany
(Port of •Final
•6 hour Entry) destination
layover, no
transit visa •4 hour
required layover

Upon arriving at immigration and customs, the beneficiary may need to ask which line they need to enter as a
K-1 visa holder. Once they approach the desk of the immigration officer, they will need to hand them the
sealed K-1 packet that was given to the beneficiary by Aramex. The immigration officer then may ask
questions about the purpose of their trip to the U.S. Some officers ask basic questions, like what is the
petitioner’s name, where do they live, are you here to marry them. Others have reported being heavily
interrogated by the immigration officer. They can and sometimes do ask very personal questions, or may ask
to see the beneficiary’s phone and social media. A K-1 visa holder CAN be turned away at the port of entry,
however this is extremely rare and generally only occurs if they are found to have violated the terms
of the K-1 visa (for example, the immigration officer finds proof that they are already married).
Generally, the POE process is nothing to stress over, as you will soon be reunited with your partner as you
prepare for your marriage and the adjustment of status process!
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Morocco is considered a ‘high fraud’ country due to a high number of people abusing visa privileges the past and
present. Because of this, it makes it harder for Moroccans to be approved for both non-immigrant and immigrant
visas. Having red flags in your case does not always mean the petition will be denied, but you will want to make sure
that your case has strong evidence to prove to the consular officer that your relationship is real and not just for visa
purposes. We all feel that our love is real, but in order to prove that to the consular officer, whose job is to
determine if the applicant qualifies for a visa or not, there must be strong evidence. Some common red flags include:

 A large (10+) year age difference between the petitioner and the beneficiary, especially when the
petitioner is an older woman and the beneficiary is a younger man.
o This is no quick or actual solution to this issue. Consular officers realize the cultural importance
of having a child in Morocco, so if the older woman is still of childbearing age, this may be a
slight benefit. It is commonly thought that the consulate cannot deny a visa petition based on
age difference alone, however the consulate will rarely say a denial was due to age difference
alone, rather it was due to ‘lack of a genuine relationship’.

 Only having met once, or having very brief visits to get to know one another
o While the minimum requirement for the K-1 visa is to have met at least once within the past 2
years, the more visits you have, the more relationship evidence you will have to present to the
Casablanca consulate.

 Substantial language barriers

o The consular officer will want to know that you are able to communicate effectively as a couple.
Try to submit chat evidence of advanced conversations (more than just ‘hello, how are you’) that
you have with your partner. It can help if the beneficiary is able to confidently attend the
interview with and English speaking visa officer, however if you both share another common
language like French or Arabic, doing the interview in English is not as important.

 Family Acceptance and Communication

o Family life is especially important in Moroccan culture and tradition. It is important that the
petitioner is able to meet at least some of the beneficiary’s family if they live in Morocco. Take
photos with family and submit them with your I-129F petition. If the petitioner or beneficiary
have children from a previous relationship, the consular officer will often ask if there is any
communication between the children and your partner. If possible, the petitioner should bring
their children to Morocco to meet the beneficiary, or at least have proof that the children and
the partner know about one another.

 Affidavit of Support and Income

o It is important to prove to the consulate that the petitioner will be able to financially support the
beneficiary once they arrive in the USA. While the I-134 only requires you to make 100% of the
poverty level (determined by your household size), eventually you will need to make 125% in
order to petition for adjustment of status once your partner is in the US. You can use a co-
sponsor to help you meet the income requirements, however if you chose to do this, make sure
the beneficiary can confidently talk about them and explain why they agreed to be a co-sponsor.
The affidavit of support is important, because the petitioner needs to be able to proof to the
consular officer that the beneficiary will not become a public charge in the U.S.
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K-1 Fiancé Visa:

Pros:

1. Slightly quicker than the CR-1 visa process. Current processing times are around 8-10 months vs. 12-
14 months for CR1.
2. Allow for the marriage to take place in the U.S. This can be important to individuals who want their
U.S. based family to witness and attend the wedding.

Cons:

1. Requires Adjustment of Status (AOS) after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)
2. Beneficiary cannot leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approximately 5-6
months) or green card (anywhere from 4 months to 12+ months)
3. Beneficiary cannot work until she/he receives EAD (approximately 5-6 months) or green card
(anywhere from 4 months to 12+ months)
4. Generally in Morocco, less K1s issued each month (can vary from 0-1 to around 15-20 per month)
5. No option to re-affirm the petition if refused at consular level
6. Higher overall cost compared to CR-1

Total Cost of the K-1 Visa process (not including airfare, medical, translations):
$535 (I-129F filing fee) + $265 (fee paid on day of interview at the consulate) + $1225 (AOS) =$2025

CR-1 Spousal Visa:

Pros:

1. No Adjustment of Status (I-485, I-131, I-765) required.

2. Beneficiary can immediately travel outside the US
3. Beneficiary is authorized to work immediately upon arrival
4. Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US
Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with green card,
SS card, and passport.
5. Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
6. No expiration - if denied, USCIS will tell you all the reasons why and give you a chance to appeal
(though this make take 6-12 months)
7. U.S permanent residents can petition for their spouse (U.S. permanent residents cannot petition
anyone for a K-1 visa)

Cons:

1. Longer processing time (12-14 months compared to 8-10 months for K-1)
2. Marriage process in Morocco can be tedious, though you could also marry in another country if you
want to.

Total cost of the CR-1 visa process (not including airfare, medical, translations):
$535 (I-130 filing fee) + $445 (NVC) +$220 (Immigrant fee) =$1200
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Question:
Can we have an Islamic marriage (Nikkah) in Morocco and still apply for a K-1 Visa?

Answer:
While a religious marriage is not considered a legal marriage, there have been instances where visas have
been denied because the CO saw photos of a religious marriage ceremony and deemed the couple ‘married’
and therefore ineligible for the K-1 visa. This usually happens when photos submitted as evidence show a
religious ‘marriage’ ceremony, or the beneficiary refers to the petitioner as their husband/wife during the
interview. While there have been many who have gotten away with hiding or just not mentioning the
religious ceremony, it’s not recommended to engage in and especially submit photographs of any kind of
marriage ceremony, even if the ceremony taking place is not legally binding. Occasionally K-1 petitions are
denied due to the CO finding evidence of a religious marriage, and in those instances, the couple must then
get legally married in Morocco and file the CR-1 spousal visa.

Question:
Can we submit photographs of our engagement party/ceremony? Or will the CO see it as being ‘too
married’ like mentioned in the question above?

Answer:
The consular officers are trained in recognizing Moroccan culture and traditions. Because engagement parties
are common in Morocco, it is also common to include photos of your engagement party as evidence in your
K-1 petition. Just make sure the photos don’t look too much like a marriage ceremony. Photos of you both
wearing traditional clothing and sharing milk, dates and sweets are acceptable.

Question:
Do we need to use an attorney or specialized visa service to file our petition?

Answer:
In most cases, you can assemble and file the K-1 petition completely on your own. Using visa guides and
reading and learning from the experiences of those in this Facebook group (Moroccan Visa Journey) that
have successfully completed the K-1 journey, you don’t need to pay someone to file the paperwork on your
behalf. A lawyer does not always guarantee that the visa will be approved, and if you do choose to use a
lawyer or visa service, make sure that they have experience handling cases going through the Casablanca
consulate. In most cases, your money is better spent making an additional trip to Morocco so you can
strengthen the relationship evidence in your petition. Having attorney or visa service file your petition will
NOT give your case any preferential or expedited processing.

Some situations in which you may want to involve an attorney are:

 The petitioner or beneficiary has an extensive criminal history (especially if the crime falls under the
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act)
 The beneficiary has a ban on entering the U.S, or has a history of overstaying previous visas
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(Beneficiary/Petitioner NAME)
(Street Address)
Rabat,
Morocco

United States Department of State

United States Consulate, Morocco
8, Bd Moulay Youssef
Casablanca

Date xx-xx-2019

Dear Sir or Madam:

I, (beneficiary first and last name), do hereby state that I am legally able and willing to marry (petitioner first and last
name), and intend to do so within 90 days of my arrival into the US using the K-1 visa.

Yours truly,

(Beneficiary name typed)

Beneficiary handwritten signature

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Below is sample of the email sent to the Casablanca Consulate requesting an interview date (You do not
need to do the medical exam prior to asking for an interview date. Some of the panel physicans will
require you to give them the date of the interview before they will schedule the exam. Additionally, Dr.
Maach is no longer an approved panel physician).

The consulate’s response: