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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Fill out Form I-129F online

Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)

Form I-129F is the petition a U.S. citizen files with USCIS to bring a foreign fiancé(e) to the United States to marry (K-1 visa). It is also used for a foreign spouse to come on a K-3 visa while a Form I-130 filed for that spouse is pending. The form asks about you, your beneficiary, how you met, and certain criminal history.

Fill out Form I-129FBlank form from the USCIS

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Edition
Edition 01/20/25
Pages
12
Fillable fields
445
Checked against the USCIS
November 8, 2026

GuruPDF is not affiliated with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This page explains the form in plain words; it is not legal or tax advice. Always check the official instructions before you file.

Who uses Form I-129F

  • U.S. citizens who want a foreign fiancé(e) to come to the United States to marry them (K-1)
  • U.S. citizens who have filed, or are filing, Form I-130 for a spouse abroad and want the spouse to come on a K-3 visa
  • Petitioners whose fiancé(e) or spouse has unmarried children under 21 who may come as K-2 or K-4
  • Interpreters and preparers who help a petitioner complete the form

Before you start

  • A copy of proof of your U.S. citizenship, such as a U.S. birth certificate, Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship, Form FS-240, or valid unexpired U.S. passport
  • One color passport-style photo of you and one of your beneficiary, taken within 30 days of filing
  • Addresses and employers for the last five years for you and your beneficiary, and both sets of parents' details
  • Divorce decrees, annulment orders or death certificates that ended any earlier marriage of either of you
  • For K-1: evidence that you met in person in the two years before filing and intend to marry within 90 days of entry; for K-3: evidence that you filed Form I-130 and your marriage certificate
  • If you met through an international marriage broker: its contact details and a copy of the signed consent form it got from your beneficiary

How to fill out Form I-129F

  1. Part 1, Items 1-5: your numbers and the classification

    Enter your A-Number, USCIS Online Account Number and U.S. Social Security number if you have them. Select Item 4.a for a fiancé(e) (K-1) or Item 4.b for a spouse (K-3). For K-3, Item 5 asks whether you have filed Form I-130 for your spouse, and you must include evidence of that filing, such as a Form I-130 filed together with this petition or its receipt notice. Type N/A for any question that does not apply to you.

  2. Part 1, Items 6-42: your names, addresses and background

    Give your full legal name, any other names used, and your mailing address (Items 8.a-8.j). List your physical addresses (Items 9-12) and employers (Items 13-20) for the last five years, current first. Then give your sex, date and place of birth, marital status, both parents' details (Items 27-36), any previous marriages and the date each ended (Items 37-39), and how you became a U.S. citizen (Items 40-42).

  3. Part 1, Items 43-51: earlier petitions, children and places lived

    Say whether you have filed Form I-129F for anyone else and, if so, give that person's name, A-Number, the filing date and what USCIS decided. Give the ages of any of your children under 18, and list every U.S. state and foreign country you have lived in since your 18th birthday.

  4. Part 2, Items 1-36: your beneficiary's details

    Enter your fiancé(e)'s or spouse's name, A-Number and U.S. Social Security number if any, date and place of birth, citizenship, other names used and mailing address. Give their addresses and employers for the last five years, their parents' details, and any previous marriages with the date each ended.

  5. Part 2, Items 37-62: travel, children, relationship and visa post

    If your beneficiary is in the United States now, give how they last entered, their Form I-94 number and passport details (Items 38.a-38.h). List each of their children (Items 39-44), the U.S. address where they plan to live, their address abroad, and their name and address in their native alphabet if it does not use Roman letters. Items 51-54 ask whether you are related and whether you met in person in the two years before filing (select N/A in Items 51 and 53 if the beneficiary is your spouse). Items 55-61 ask about any international marriage broker, and Item 62 names the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where they will apply. The instructions say a spouse who married you outside the United States must apply for the K-3 visa in the country where the marriage took place.

  6. Parts 3 and 4: criminal history, waivers and biographic information

    Part 3, Items 1-3.c, ask about protection or restraining orders and about arrests or convictions for the specified crimes. Items 4.a-4.b ask about any other arrests, citations, charges or convictions in any country. Items 5.a-5.d ask which multiple filer waiver you request; 5.d is the box for a spouse beneficiary or a petitioner who is not a multiple filer. Part 4 asks for your ethnicity, race, height in feet and inches, weight in pounds, eye color and hair color.

  7. Parts 5-8: contact details, signatures and extra space

    Enter your phone numbers and email in Part 5, Items 1-3, then sign and date Item 4. An interpreter completes and signs Part 6, and anyone who prepared the form for you completes and signs Part 7. Use Part 8 for answers that do not fit, giving the page, part and item number each answer refers to. Put your name and A-Number (if any) at the top of each extra sheet, and sign and date each one.

After you fill it out

File the signed petition, with your evidence and photos, at the USCIS lockbox named on the official Form I-129F page, by U.S. mail or courier. Check the filing address on that page, and the fee on the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055), before you send it. If USCIS approves the petition, it sends it to the Department of State (for a fiancé(e), to its National Visa Center), and your beneficiary then applies for the visa. You can check your case status on the USCIS website.

Signing: Print the form and sign Part 5, Item 4 by hand: USCIS does not accept a stamped or typed name in place of a signature and rejects unsigned petitions. A photocopy or scan of the original carrying the handwritten ink signature is accepted, and any interpreter or preparer must also sign Part 6 or Part 7.

Watch out for

  • USCIS rejects an unsigned petition, and also rejects one with any of these left blank: the classification you request, your family name, mailing address and date of birth (Part 1), and your beneficiary's family name and date of birth (Part 2).
  • Send all pages from the same edition, with the edition date and page numbers visible at the bottom of each page. USCIS may reject a form with missing pages or pages from another edition.
  • Answer the criminal history questions in Part 3 even if a record was sealed, expunged or cleared. If the petition is approved, information about protection orders and criminal history is passed to your beneficiary through the Department of State.
  • Do not send original documents unless the instructions ask for them, because USCIS may destroy originals it did not request. A document in a foreign language needs a full English translation with the translator's signed certification.

Questions about Form I-129F

What is the difference between a K-1 and a K-3 petition?

K-1 is for a fiancé(e) who will enter the United States to marry you within 90 days of admission. K-3 is for a spouse for whom you have filed, or are filing, Form I-130, who will enter to wait for an immigrant visa. USCIS notes that a spouse is no longer eligible for a K-3 visa once the Form I-130 is approved.

Do my fiancé(e)'s children need their own petition?

No. An unmarried child under 21 of a K-1 or K-3 beneficiary may apply for a K-2 or K-4 visa without a separate petition. USCIS says to include the children's names on Form I-129F (Part 2, Items 39-44) if you want them to come.

What if we have not met in person in the last two years?

Answer No to Part 2, Item 53 and explain in Item 54 why you are asking for an exemption. The instructions allow one only if meeting would have meant extreme hardship to you or would have violated strict, long-established customs of your fiancé(e)'s culture, and you must send evidence.

Can I type my name instead of signing?

No. USCIS does not accept a stamped or typewritten name as a signature. Print the form and sign it by hand in ink.

What happens after USCIS approves the petition?

USCIS sends the approved petition to the Department of State. For a fiancé(e), the National Visa Center forwards it to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where your fiancé(e) will apply, and a consular officer decides whether to issue the visa.

Official information

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

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