Rights and Protections for Foreign-Citizen Fiancé(e)s and Spouses of U.S. Citizens and Spouses of Lawful Permanent Residents

"If you are immigrating to the United States to live permanently, following U.S. immigration laws, we welcome you.  We understand you may not be familiar with laws in this country.  We want you to know, under all circumstances, domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse are illegal in the United States and that all people in the United States are guaranteed protection under law from abuse.  All victims of domestic violence, regardless of their immigration status, may seek and receive help.  This webpage and the pamphlet below inform applicants applying for K-1 visas as fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens, K-3 visas as spouses of U.S. citizens, IR-1/CR-1 immigrant visas as spouses of U.S. citizens, and F2A immigrant visas as spouses of lawful permanent residents (LPRs) of their legal rights relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.  Additionally, K-1 and K-3 visa applicants are provided with any existing criminal background information on their U.S. citizen fiancé(e)s or spouses that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), received from other government agencies during processing of I-129F petitions filed for them.  The U.S. Government created the pamphlet below based on a U.S. law, the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (Title D of Public Law 109- 162), which reaffirms and strengthens the U.S. Government’s commitment to fight domestic violence and abuse in all forms." - DOS, undated.