I'm Soooo New to this ...but love this site

Hello ,

  I have heard from some of you already & I'm so thankful for that , your all so nice & helpful here ... [smiley=wings.gif]

Well lets see , I ment my boyfriend on the net over a year ago , we've been back and forth seeing each other but we're tired of that we just want to be together so he's asked me to come live with him , now the fun part he has two kids and loves them with all his heart so I can't and won't ask him to leave them , & I have two kids that I've been alone with most of there lifes so they can and will go with me ...we have no idea how to go about doing the move thing or where to really start!!.. he found this site one day and we love it ..there are a lot of things that may or may not stand in our way & buy reading some of the stories here I know we can do this thanks to you... I'd love to hear all the stories that you all have , I'm sure they will all help ...really you already have you all givein us HOPE!!! something we really didn't have before ..so I'll stop babbling now & read more hope to get to talk to & get to know you all ..
  thanks for listening ,'
    Wild
[smiley=sunny.gif]

Hi Wild!  Welcome to the site!

Congrats on the big decision to move over.....it's an adventure you probably can't even begin to really imagine!

There are lots of folks here who have moved with kids, so I'm sure they will be a great resource for you.

At first it will all seem very overwhelming but most of us have come over after meeting a man, online or otherwise, and most have found it to be a wonderful, if often challenging, experience.  

Glad you're here and please let us know if you have any questions!  

tHANKS FOR THE WELCOME WISHSTAR,

  I really love this site , just reading the things you all write has really showed me that really is a chance to make this all come true ..now if I could only find the front of the line ;)so to speek, I'd be in heaven ..
  there are so many things that I need to learn & find out but I'm just not sure where to start , but this has been the best place sorce of Info that I've found , you are all wonderful people for doing this ..thank you  :-*thank you   thank you  !!!!

             

  hope to talk soon  

     .........Wild (aka, Debbie)  

Welcome Debbie!  I'm still in the US but will be joining my English fiance in the UK in mid-December. This site really is a great help both in preparing for the move (which has been my experience) and after you've already made the move.  There are some many feelings/concerns/etc. that you go through that I find no one else can truly understand like those that have been there or are going through it.  This site and these folks have helped me immeasurably and I'm sure you'll find it to be the same!  

Hey Wild,

You are so not alone my dear.  

We've all had the nightmare of making the move over and quite a few of us with kids. So feel free to shout any questions regarding visa's, custody issues or if you just need to holler about nerves, feel free to let it out here. This is site is priceless and will be your best resource in many ways.
I've left you some info in a reply in the Repatriation section if you get a chance to take a look.. I hope it will help answer questions for you and your daughter.
Let us know if we can help....we're always here.
Regards,
Red

Welcome to the site.  As feisty said, lots of others have made the move with kids...so I'm sure they'll be able to offer you fantastic advice.  Good luck!
wench

Happy Holiday to You ALL Of You !!
         stay safe ..... [smiley=wings.gif]
        I have a question   where do I start with all of this ? is there a site I should go to ? I just feel so Lost !!
            And I just want to say
  Thank you everyone for makeing me feel so welcome  here & for not makeing me feel like a dumb blond  


        Wild... [smiley=smiley.gif]

welcome welcome welcome, wild....glad you came upon our lil site.  definitely lots of info for ya here.  i definitely have been in your shoes.  met my hubby online also.  we've (the kids and i) have been here a year now and i dont regret it one second...yeah i miss my parents...but im still madly in love with steve and wouldnt change it for the world.  feel free to ask question anywhere you like...or you can always email me.  

Hello wild, welcome.

I guess the place to start is to decide what process will get you the end result you need. If you desire to live together, you can either come on a visitor's visa to stay a few months, or go for the fiance visa which will give you 6 months. Though at the end of that six months, you must either get married, or leave. The other options are work permits or student visa's. Post any questions about these in the Visa board to get the best answers.

Where abouts in the UK will you be planning to live?

Hello Leah,

Well right now in Hitchin Herts but weather we'll stay there is another thing we'll need a bigger place ....(we'll bigger then it is haha ) I do have a question on the fiance visa ( or even the visitor visa) can the kids be with you or do they have to wait in the states till your married I'm not laveing my kids behind , know what I mean ..theres just so much to know makes your head hurt .


thanks for the Info ..
   Debbie (aka Wild)

You will have to the same for your children, they can come with you. Peedal is here on a fiance visa with her children. Be sure to include their entry visa applications with yours. It's no small fee either, when I did it, it was just about 400 each. I can't remember the exact amount. I came on the spouse visa, so I'm not up on all of the fiance visa details. But if you get married in that six month period, you don't have to pay any more fees when you get your spousal visa. The application takes 2-6 weeks if you do it by mail. If you're close to your regional Consulate that handles applications, you can do it in a day, as long as you have all of the proper documentation/paperwork.

Hey Debbie,

Okay I saw the head hurting comment and had to chime in here (by the way from one mom to another, Excedrin migraine is a great thing to own when starting this whole visa process..trust me)

First off, I'm going to super duper uber strongly advise against you coming over on a 'visitor' entry. Get the visa's...fiancee or spouse but get em ! Here's why.....

You run the danger of being denied access to the country if immigration even suspects you're coming over for any other reason than a vacation. Given the fact that you have kids with you, a fair amount of luggage, and my gut feeling is you'll have to make some special arrangements given your daughters condition it's not worth the risk.
The other thing that's really important here (and it was my main concern) is you want to be able to get medical established for your daughter right away when you get here (I know it was my concern with Ariel) and if you're here as a visitor you'll still get treated in an emergency etc. but you can't exactly go down to a Doctors surgery and register with them right away. Given everything else you have to deal with you need that peace of mind. Soooooooo I'm going to advise you to get a fiance or spouse visa first.
You can go to the British Consulate website and get the forms
http://www.britainusa.com/visas/visas.asp
You will need to apply for a visa for all three of you (you and your daughters). Now unless you have full legal custody of your girls, you will need to get legal permission from the father to take the children out of the country. Feel free to ask any questions you want about that, every parent here has a story and there's almost nothing we can't answer when it come's to that situation  
Depending on where you live, you'll apply for your visa at your nearest consulate (either by mail or in person).  Once you have your visa, you're all set. When you get here you'll be able to register the girls for school, get the medical care going for your daughter, etc without any hassles.
Once again, holler when you have questions, but the first place to start is in getting your visas, you and significant other will have to chose if you want to come over on a fiance visa or if you want to get married in the States first and apply for the spouse visa.
In all seriousness Debbie, if I were you I wouldn't come over without a visa.....it's not worth the risk given your situation. It wasn't in mine.
Red

Hi (Wild) Debbie,

 I am Michele...  do not have any children so my experience there will not be of much help...  LOL, I also have not made my move yet... so I guess my experience there will also be of no help :-/  But I do have a boyfriend, well a fiance...  and we too are tired of the seperation commonly known as LDDS (Long Distance Distress Syndrome)...  Our problem is not deciding what we want or where we will live...  it is waiting for those lovely divorce papers (in england) that keep postponing our time.  

 We decided to not go for the fiance visa simply because I wish to go over there on a marriage visa allowing me to find work immediately.  and since we are waiting for the divorce papers to go through the courts...I can not get a fiance visa...  but, I am sensing that as soon as I hear those papers are in the courts, I will beg, borrow, steal and sell all my possessions to finally go home to England until it is time for us to marry here in the states...  (which we expect to be 12 weeks from the time papers are signed)

 So thats me story...  Love on the Cam 5 days a week...LOL!

 Good Luck and I hope all goes smoothly for you.

Michele

Guess Who ?....

  I feel so dumb sometimes when it comes to all this ..bless you all ..let me see if I get this right , Mark can come here and we can get married and then I can go there on a SPOUSE VISA ?... how would that work wouldn't he have to get a visa to do that here?..or not because he wouldn't be liveing here and does anyone know how it works as far as meds go  we all have monthly meds to take  :-/...and I know how that damn Immigration goes get someone whos haveing a bad day and they want to ruin yours!!!.....
(I do know that even if we marry here it will take time to get there  , it's just that sounds better in my case anyway )

  Thank you Red , you are so very kind  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

   Debbie  

Hey Debbie,

Okay here's the good news....No Mark does not need a visa for the two of you to get married in the States. He can come into the country on 'vacation' and you can get married without a visa. This would only make things difficult if you were planning on living in the States, but if you're planning on moving to England you can do so without a hitch.

In determining what would be the safest way for us to move over and be together Tim and I both felt our best option was to do exactly this. We were married in California and when our marriage license came through, I went down to the consulate in LA with all the necessary paperwork and got spouse visas for myself and my 3 children. Personally speaking, if you and Mark are comfortable with getting married in the states before you move, I'd personally advise it. It was so much simpler that way for us.

This guaranteed us medical, both NHS and access to Tim's private insurance, which given our circumstances with Ariel was the only way we really both really felt comfortable she would be properly taken care of if something happened. It worked out very well actually. Also since I had to get a stipulation to my divorce agreement, it just seemed safer to request permission to take my son and go live with my 'husband' as opposed to my 'fiance'.

As for your meds, not to worry. Bring everything with you...to be safe get refills of everything before you leave. When you finally get moved over and settled, you will just register with a your local GP and they will fill your prescriptions for you. The nice thing, prescriptions are much cheaper here but make sure you bring your bottles with you as some medicines here are licensed under a different name.

Last, I had my husband take a look at where your fiance currently lives. You're less than 100miles from a world renowned expert in OI (Dr. John Bishop) at Sheffield Childrens, so if you need to make day trips for your daughters treatments, it's very feasable.

Don't apologize or feel like your questions are dumb ever. I had the same questions, concerns, and confusion so I understand. You're dealing with all the usual issues of a transatlantic relationship and then some! Just take a breath and take it a day at a time....

Red