If the foreign fiancee is from one of the poorer "third world" countries and is not wealthy, probably the only type of U.S. visa she will be able to legally obtain is a K1 Fiancee Visa.

If the foreign fiancee is from a wealthy country she may qualify to enter the U.S. under its visa waiver program, or she may be able to obtain a U.S. B-1/B-2 visitor visa or some other type of U.S. non-immigrant visa. However, this does not mean she can simply marry a U.S. citizen while in the U.S. and remain here. The K1 Visa is the only visa available to a foreign fiancee if she wants to come to the US and marry.

It would be a fraud on the U.S. government for the foreign fiancee to come to the U.S. on a visitor’s visa, or some other visa or visa waiver, in order to marry here and remain in the U.S. Once she is married she will need to adjust status to become a permanent resident “green card” holder. At anytime, even after the green card is issued, the USCIS or State Department can discover the fraud and require that the foreigner return home, or deport her and bar her from returning to the U.S.

Even if the foreign fiancee is visiting the U.S. in good faith based on a visa waiver or validly obtained visitor’s visa, the USCIS will very often not allow her to marry and file for a green card. Especially since the attacks of September 11, 2001, it is likely the USCIS will require that she depart the U.S. When this happens, the fiancee visa will no longer be available to bring her back to the U.S. due to the marriage. Instead, a spousal visa would be required. The spousal visa can take a long time to obtain, requires twice the paperwork as the fiancee visa and costs more in filing fees than does a fiancee visa.

It is difficult enough to be separated from your fiancee while you are waiting for her K1 Visa to be approved and issued, but it is much more difficult to be separated for an even longer time from your spouse while you are waiting for her marriage visa to be approved. If your fiancee is currently in the US, you should obtain advice from a qualified US K Visa Immigration Attorney before marrying your fiancee.

In summary, the only proper immigration visa for bringing a foreign fiancee to the United States for the purpose of marriage is the K-1 fiancee visa. It is the only visa that ensures that she will be able to remain in the U.S. as the spouse of the U.S. citizen who sponsored her.