Has Entertainment Media Glamorized the K-1 (Fiancée) Visa?
Guest blogger: Leslie Beaudin, law student, University of San Francisco:
The United States offers the K-1 nonimmigrant visa for the foreign-citizen fiancée of a United States citizen. Through this visa, the fiancée is able to travel to the U.S. for 90 days to marry their U.S. citizen sponsor fiancée.[1] Once married, the foreign-citizen spouse will apply for adjustment of status to become a lawful permanent resident.[2] Essentially, this visa will allow a U.S. citizen to marry on U.S. soil their fiancée that they met abroad and bring their foreign fiancée (now spouse) into the U.S. to live with them permanently. As romantic as this is, U.S. media has taken this visa and capitalized on it to create at least 16 different television shows.
The television network giant TLC created the show 90 Day Fiancée in 2014 as a docuseries that followed the stories of four women who were trying to travel the U.S. to their American fiancées and get married.[3] Of course, wild drama follows with the stress of the immigration process, wedding planning, and maintaining a long-distance relationship. Since 2014, TLC has created so many sequels and spin-offs based on this fundamental story. These sequel shows include the stories of couples meeting and getting engaged abroad, following couples from previous seasons, and reaction shows of successful couples watching new seasons.[4]
In addition to the group shows, TLC and other networks have involved favorite stars from the 90 Day Fiancée family to participate in their own TV shows. For example, a set of twins who were finding love have their own show as well as an entire family who did not support her daughter or her foreign-citizen fiancée. After all of this media attention and inevitable sponsorships that these couples or individuals receive from this fame, it begs the question: have these TV shows glamorized the Fiancée (K-1) Visa?
Such a question is often asked for other shows based on love like the Bachelor/Bachelorette or Love is Blind. I was a fan of 90 Day Fiancée as well as the Bachelor or Bachelorette over the years, but there is a noticeable difference in not only the recycled stories used and the level of fame winners (and losers) receive, but also the ultimate success of the couples who “find love” on these shows. With the rise of social media and the amount of fame one can grab from views and sponsors, more and more contestants on shows like 90 Day Fiancée are only looking for more followers as opposed to love or a spouse to spend the rest of their lives with.
The Fiancée (K-1) visa is one of the most requested U.S. visas, and one can argue that the handfuls of TV shows that are out there based on this visa adds to this popularity. Most recently, participants of these shows have come forward and admitted that their participation was fake and all they wanted was the fame and followers that come with nationwide attention. Some have also said that their earlier seasons were scripted, and the drama was created by the producers for clickbait, but they still loved each other and were really going through the visa process.
Throughout all of this drama and generated stories, it is true that some of the couples are really trying to unify and get married so they can live together in America, but on the other hand the ridiculousness and negativity clouds the visa process and makes it seem like the visa process is easy and the only issues are of the cross-cultural type. What the shows gloss over is the fact that these individuals are seeking to live in America and the process is not just about a couple acclimating after spending so long apart or their families accepting their love, it is about the fact that there are people who are denied K-1 visas because those looking for fame in these 90 Day Fiancée shows received visas instead.
[1] Nonimmigrant Visa for a Fianc(é)e (K-1) (state.gov)
[2] Id.
[4] TLC GO – Watch TV Shows Online
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