The 90 Day Fiancé franchise has made the term “K-1 visa” widely recognizable among fans, as it’s the means by which Americans can sponsor their foreign-born fiancés to come to the United States for marriage. However, a legal expert exclusively tells In Touch that recent changes made to the K-1 visa program could potentially impact current and future 90 Day Fiancé couples.

“Immigration officials are applying more scrutiny to relationship authenticity and shared finances. They’re doing more background checks and monitoring applicants’ social media for fraud indicators,” immigration legal expert Elizabeth Ricci, Partner at Rambana & Ricci, tells In Touch.

The K-1 visa process is notoriously expensive and can take several years to complete, from initial filing to final approval. Elizabeth says that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is set to implement a “new version of the Form I-129F, which is used to sponsor a foreign fiancé,” explaining, “It will have stricter formatting and filing requirements.”

“Couples should expect to wait a year or more and be ready for unannounced home inspections, for Fraud Officers to interview with friends, coworkers, and neighbors, and to receive Requests for Evidence for more proof of the legitimacy of the relationship,” the legal expert explains.

In addition, Elizabeth says the “on screen behavior” of 90 Day Fiancé cast members “could certainly impact their immigration cases.”

“For example, jokes or contradictory statements would likely used against them. (USCIS, however, would likely overlook any favorable factors displayed on the show.),” she explains. “If USCIS determined that a cast member committed fraud, they could have their residency denied or be denaturalized in the future.”

Over the years, fans have seen plenty of TLC couples break up after their 90-day weddings in the U.S. — for example, Yve Arellano and Mohamed Abdelhamed, Mohamed Jbali and Danielle Mullins, and more recently, Jasmine Pineda and Gino Palazzolo as well as Rob Warne and Sophie Sierra. 

However, Aníbal Romero, Attorney at Law and Owner of The Romero Firm, explains that the recent changes could even impact couples who are already married and have completed the K-1 visa process, as the next step — filing for an adjustment of status — may now be affected.

“They’re going to scrutinize the relationship. They’re going to look at financials. All of you need is one officer to say that for whatever reason, you don’t qualify, or you didn’t fill out the forms the right way and this could delay the process for at least a year,” the attorney explains, adding that USCIS agents are “getting directives from the superiors to look at every case and not be lenient.”

“Normally, USCIS officers are pretty lenient when it is an adjustment of status,” she says. “Which is basically the green card, but sometimes they’re not. And it becomes a problem for the clients.”

If a couple’s permanent residency isn’t approved after filing for an adjustment of status, Aníbal says the appeals process “can take years.”

“Some of these cases are taking four to five years,” the legal professional reveals. “Again, I think the important part here is to realize that a denial could mean that person remains in limbo for several years.”