As is the K-1 fiance visa. Talk to us of how the purpose of the K-1 fiance visa is a "nonimmigrant" visa that is for people to be allowed "temporarily" into the US to see their spouse, and that it is "delusional" to think that that might be a path to permanent residency with their spouse.

Because the words temporary amd nonimmigrant don't carry the meaning that you're imbuing into them. Fiance visas operate very similarly to these dual intent H1 visas. You're granted a temporary nonimmigrant status while you pursue a permanent one. The words nonimmigrant and temporary doesn't exclude pursuing a permanent status at all.

In the case of a K-1, it is assumed you will transition from a temporary nonimmigrant status to a permanent status. [1] Requiring folks to move to the U.S., and then go back out of the country to get a green card, only to return again, is absurd. That absurd dance for both K1 and H1 w/dual intents is the reason the laws and guidance provided to agents changed starting in the 50's through the 90's. These changes in guidance to agents are nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to suppress people coming to the U.S. lawfully, which is absurd and deeply anti-American.

[1] https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-of-us-citizens/visas-for...

The K1 visa is even more temporary! It’s only for 90 days, and under the section 1255(d), the government doesn’t even have the power to convert a K1 visa into permanent residency. It’s like a tourist visa. The visa itself is not a pathway to anything.

People who come here on a K1 get permanent residency once they get married through a different statutory route: 8 USC 1154. But that has nothing to with the K1 itself. That route is available to anyone married to a US citizen, including illegal immigrants under certain conditions, or aliens who get married abroad. The K1 visa isn’t a stepping stone to permanent status. It’s just a convenience that allows people to have the wedding in the U.S. instead of the spouse’s home country.

> It’s like a tourist visa. The visa itself is not a pathway to anything. > ... > People who come here on a K1 get permanent residency once they get married through a different statutory route: 8 USC 1154. But that has nothing to with the K1 itself.

The UCIS explicitly links the K-1 (which has the words temporary and non-immigrant visa scattered throughout) to a de facto path to permanent status (see below). The fact that the two are different statutes is moving the goal posts (i.e., a logical fallacy). The government clearly sees them as a linked pathway to permanent status.

> "If you are a U.S. citizen who wants to bring your foreign fiancé(e) to the United States in order to get married"

https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-of-us-citizens/visas-for...

> The K1 visa isn’t a stepping stone to permanent status. It’s just a convenience that allows people to have the wedding in the U.S. instead of the spouse’s home country.

There's a reason they require a medical exam to be filed with the consulate as a part of the K-1 application, they expect you to be in the U.S. for a long time. K style visas are a lot more than a convenience, they are the law of the land and have been so for nearly 75 years.