Q: If we have not met in person is it difficult to get a fiance visa? What would be our best course of action to take?
My fiance and I met on line over 3 and a half years ago. We fell in love over this time and now we both want to marry and have him emmigrate permanently to the US. We have communicated through video chats, 4-8 hour long calls daily, and messages, but we want to make everything legal and share our lives together.. He is from India and has never entered the US. As I am much older than him, his parents would not accept me, so I cannot go to live there. What are our best steps to procede? We need expert advice. Do we HAVE to have had one of us traveled to the other's country? Are fiance visas difficult to obtain? We are not rich people and he is only helping his father in certain areas, not really working at a job.
A: Meeting in person is generally required for either a fiance or spouse visa unless there is good cause to waive the requirement. Skyping or other forms of communication are not adequate. The idea is to avoid such things as mail order brides, a relic from the distant past. Given current technologies, people all over the world are able to have serious relationships without meeting. Even so, it is still generally necessary to meet in person before proceeding with US immigrant processing.
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