US fiancé(e) visa K-1: timeline, consulate, medical, wedding

The K-1 route step by step

Warsaw, Almaty or Tbilisi

Rules per the State Department list; experience paraphrased from the chats for December 2025 - June 2026, without names.

• Warsaw. per the State Department list (checked Oct 2, 2026) the main immigrant-visa post for Russian and Belarusian nationals; the State Department does not say which list K-1 follows. In the chats: with a Russian address in the petition the case goes to Warsaw; a Schengen visa is needed, and members said Poland does not issue them to Russian citizens - they travelled on other Schengen countries' visas
• Almaty. on the State Department list for Russians - only for the IR-5 category. In the chats: some moved a K-1 from Warsaw to Almaty with an NVC inquiry (in December 2025 the transfer was confirmed in 4 days, instructions came a month later), others were asked at the interview why the case moved, where they work and how long they live in Kazakhstan, and after more than 6 months there a Kazakh police certificate was requested
• Tbilisi. in the chats for June 2026 - a K-1 interview took a couple of hours, but the consulate asked for a second Georgian police certificate

The medical under the current CDC instructions: what is out of date in the chat handouts

The fiancé(e)-visa chats pass around the US Embassy Warsaw handout on the medical (March 2023) and a CDC Q&A. Some of their rules have since been replaced by the CDC technical instructions for panel physicians - below is what applies as of Sep 30, 2026.

• Panel physician only, tests ordered by them. An exam by any other doctor, even in the US, is not accepted. The syphilis and gonorrhea tests are ordered by the panel physician at the exam; tests done earlier or elsewhere do not count.
• Tuberculosis: chest X-ray from 15, blood test from 2. A chest X-ray is required for everyone aged 15 and over in every country. The IGRA blood test is required from age 2 where the WHO-estimated tuberculosis incidence is 20 or more per 100,000. HIV is not tested. The 2023 Warsaw handout describes the earlier scheme: a skin test or IGRA only for children aged 2-14.
• Syphilis 18 to 44, gonorrhea 18 to 24. The syphilis test is required for everyone from 18 until their 45th birthday, the gonorrhea test from 18 to 24; younger or older applicants are tested only on suspicion. The 2023 Warsaw handout says "from 15", but the age limits above have applied under the CDC instructions since Sep 3, 2021.
• Vaccines: 14 diseases, COVID-19 is no longer on the list. The K visa itself needs no vaccines, but I-485 will require the CDC list: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, rotavirus, Hib, hepatitis A and B, meningococcal, varicella, pneumococcal and influenza. The old handouts still name COVID-19; the current list does not. At the exam one dose of each missing vaccine is enough, and a lab test showing immunity is accepted instead of records for measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis A and B, polio and varicella. The physician records everything on form DS-3025 - the record you show later at adjustment.
• Validity and pregnancy. The tuberculosis clearance is valid for 6 months from the end of the evaluation (3 months after tuberculosis treatment), and the visa cannot outlast the medical. A pregnant applicant may postpone the X-ray until after delivery or have it with a double lead apron on written consent; live vaccines are not given in pregnancy.
• What leads to a health-based refusal. Under 42 CFR 34.2: active tuberculosis, infectious syphilis, gonorrhea, infectious Hansen's disease (leprosy), quarantinable diseases named by presidential order and diseases reportable to the WHO as a public health emergency. Some of them can be waived with Form I-601.

Documents: US Embassy Warsaw handout on the medical exam, IV/F11/RUS, revised March 2023; CDC: questions and answers on the immigration medical exam (from the chats); CDC technical instructions for panel physicians - tuberculosis (effective Jan 24, 2024), syphilis and gonorrhea (Sep 3, 2021), vaccination (updated Mar 11, 2025); checked Sep 30, 2026; 42 CFR 34.2 on eCFR, checked Sep 30, 2026.

IMBRA: what the fiancé(e) learns about the petitioner and what the rights pamphlet says

The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA, 2005) added a check of the US citizen petitioner and a mandatory rights pamphlet to the fiancé(e) visa. The USCIS pamphlet (edition of Jan 7, 2011, also in Russian) comes with the visa; the rules below were checked against the I-129F instructions, edition 01/20/25.

• The petitioner's record goes to the fiancé(e). The citizen must list in I-129F any protection orders and convictions for the specified crimes (domestic and sexual violence, child abuse, stalking, homicide, kidnapping, trafficking, three or more drug or alcohol convictions) with court-certified records. After approval USCIS sends a copy of the petition with this information, plus anything it found itself, to the State Department, which gives it to the fiancé(e).
• The multiple-filing limit. If the citizen has filed I-129F for two or more fiancé(e)s before, or less than two years have passed since filing a petition that was approved, a waiver is required - without it the petition cannot be approved. After two approvals, USCIS tells both the petitioner and the fiancé(e) about any new petition filed within 10 years of the first.
• Meeting through a paid agency. If the couple met through an international marriage broker, the petition must include the fiancé(e)'s signed consent to release their contact details. The broker must run a background check on the US client, disclose it before sharing contacts, and may not deal with anyone under 18.
• Rights in case of abuse - regardless of status. The pamphlet lists: anyone may call the police and get a protection order, divorce needs no consent of the spouse, victims have the VAWA self-petition and U status, and the application is confidential and not disclosed to the abuser. It also gives free 24-hour hotlines with interpreters, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233.
• A conditional green card after the wedding. If the marriage is less than two years old when I-485 is approved, the green card is conditional for 2 years; the spouses file I-751 together within the 90 days before the second anniversary of the conditional status. After divorce, abuse or extreme hardship, I-751 is filed alone with a waiver request. Marriage fraud carries up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Documents: USCIS: IMBRA pamphlet on the legal rights of immigrant victims of domestic violence, edition of Jan 7, 2011 (English and Russian, from the chats); USCIS: Form I-129F instructions, edition 01/20/25, checked Sep 30, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much is I-129F and can it be filed online?

$675 per the USCIS fee schedule (G-1055), checked Sep 30, 2026. There is no online filing: the form goes on paper to the USCIS Dallas lockbox.

Where do Russians interview for a K-1?

Per the State Department list, immigrant visas for Russians are scheduled in Warsaw (Almaty and Tashkent only for IR-5); the State Department does not say which list K-1 follows. In the 2026 chats K-1 interviews took place in Warsaw, Almaty and Tbilisi.

Are vaccines needed for a K-1 visa?

Not to issue a K visa, per the CDC rules; the panel-physician medical is mandatory. Vaccines are needed when filing I-485 after the wedding, so the chats advise getting them early and keeping a copy of the record.

What if we do not marry within 90 days?

K-1 status expires after 90 days and cannot be extended; you must leave or risk removal. A marriage after day 90 goes through I-130 instead, and a K-1 fiancé(e) generally cannot get a green card on another basis.

Did the 75-country visa pause affect K-1?

The State Department pause page spoke only of immigrant visas and did not mention K. In the chats in January 2026 some K-1 applicants first got 221(g), and by late January members said consulates had been told the pause did not apply to K-1; in June one member still reported a visa held citing the pause. On Aug 24, 2026 a court vacated the pause for everyone - see the court-cases page.

Where next

• Form I-129F: the fiancé(e) petitionfee, where to file
• Family and statusesspouses, children, I-130
• Public charge: I-134, I-864 and a self-checkthe fiancé(e)'s income, a sponsor
• Form I-485: the green card after the weddingadjustment of status
• The US visa medical exampanel physicians
• Visa and green card lawsuits 2026the 75-country pause

Consulates in community reports

Sources

• USCIS: Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)
• G-1055 - the current fee schedule
• USCIS: visas for fiancé(e)s of US citizens (K-1, 90 days, I-485)

  The USCIS page was last updated in 2018; check timing and fees on the form page.

• State Department: nonimmigrant visa for a fiancé(e) (K-1)

  Read from the web-archive copy of Jul 13, 2026: the State Department site did not open on Sep 30, 2026.

• State Department: immigrant visa applicants interview in their country of residence or nationality, from Nov 1, 2025 (updated Jul 15, 2026)
• State Department: embassies and consulates that process immigrant visas (Russian nationals - Warsaw; Almaty and Tashkent - IR-5 only)
• CDC: vaccination technical instructions for panel physicians (K visas - vaccines at adjustment)
• CDC: panel physician instructions - tuberculosis (chest X-ray from 15, IGRA from 2)
• CDC: panel physician instructions - syphilis (ages 18-44)
• CDC: panel physician instructions - gonorrhea (ages 18-24)
• 42 CFR 34.2 - communicable diseases of public health significance
• USCIS: Form I-129F instructions, edition 01/20/25 (PDF)
• Form I-134 - declaration of financial support
• USCIS: affidavit of support I-864 - who must file (the 08/24/26 edition from Oct 1, 2026)