Your best option is to use a licensed US Immigration Attorney experienced in the K1 visa. Your next best option is to handle the paperwork yourself. Your least desirable option is to hire a “fiancee visa service”.

1. You can attempt to handle the paperwork yourself.

   You and your fiancee fill out all documents yourselves, send them to USCIS, and wait for the results. This is your least expensive, but a potentially problematic method. You will find that if you call the USCIS by phone, each USCIS officer will give you a different opinion based on his or her own personal knowledge (or lack thereof) or level of experience. The USCIS is in no way responsible for what they tell you on the phone regardless of what is said. Even if the USCIS phone officer or web site gives you inaccurate or outdated information, you are still required to meet the current and correct policies or your fiancee visa will be denied or delayed. USCIS and U.S. Consulate policies and procedures change frequently and you must meet current standards throughout processing.

2. You can use a so called "fiancee visa service" to assist you.

   In this way you hire somebody to type the documents for you and your fiancee, send them to USCIS, and wait for the results. This is probably the least desirable method as the "services", although they may lead you to believe they are attorneys, are in fact not US Immigration attorneys. When a problem or delay occurs in the normal course of processing (which happens much more often since September 11, 2001), they cannot represent you or your fiancee before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") or with the appropriate U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate. When they cannot provide immigration help, or are unwilling to do so, you have no one to complain to because they are unlicensed and unregulated. Especially, do not hire an agency overseas. Fiancee visas are processed according to U.S. law, not the laws of the country where your fiancee resides. "Foreign agents" outside the U.S. are nearly always a scam. Always require an attorney license when hiring an immigration service.

3. You can hire a U.S. immigration law firm that specializes in fiancee visas.

   Although this is the more expensive of the three approaches, if you want your fiancee with you in the U.S. with speed and certainty and with the least amount of hassles, delays, investigations or denials, this is certainly the way to go. A licensed US Immigration Attorney is held responsible for advice given to you, unlike the USCIS phone officer or a “fiancee visa service”.

   In your search for a U.S. immigration law firm to handle your matter, it is important to find an attorney who has the knowledge and skill to work your case through the system in a timely manner to the successful issuance of the visa and who has the necessary experience and established connections. The K1 visa represents a very small part of immigration law. Each case is different, so seek legal assistance from a firm or immigration lawyer with experience in handling K1 visas.