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Can I Use Copies of Documents in a K-1 Visa Application?

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the K-1 fiancée visa and specifically a question which comes to the lips of many of my clients over the years and just folks that are kind of interested in the topic just sort of more generally is the question, "Do I need to send in originals with respect to a visa application for a K-1 or a visa petition for a K-1 or will copies suffice?"  Well the short answer to that question is “that's going to depend on circumstances”, although generally speaking, copies are often sufficient although many times certification and authentication of those copies are also necessary with respect to a given filing.  

What are we talking about here?  Well there's going to be certain circumstances unfortunately. It tends to happen in more non-routine matters sometimes pertaining to prior criminal activity; sometimes pertaining to one's legal status as a US citizen. For example if one was born abroad under, how do I put it, non-routine circumstances  you are going to see circumstances where it may be required that the adjudicating officer wants to see an original document.  This doesn't happen overly often but I have seen it occur where original documentation was requested.

Generally speaking though,  especially for more routine documentation, it has been my experience that copies are usually sufficient but again one has to go ahead and make sure that those copies are authenticated and certified in such a way that they will be acceptable for example to the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of State. There are various means and methods of doing that.  It's my opinion that it is probably a good idea contact a legal professional in order to ascertain one’s situation if there really is a genuine question that's kind of a " burning" question for lack of a better term on this topic. It is probably good idea to contact a legal professional in order to get some more information because ones circumstances may dictate whether or not copies or originals are going to be necessary within a given case.