I have Spouse Visa questions please...

Hi everybody. I am new to this forum here, thank you for reading!

I was introduced to a guy from England through his friend.   We have been corosponding thru email and phone since July of this year and he is planning on visiting me in New Jersey for the first time in December this year.  (I do know that meeting one another is a requirement for a visa)  I will be applying for my first passport very soon as well for the future.

Once we have met, he says I should take a trip to London and stay with him to see if I like the UK.

Once I arrive back we will make plans for him to come to the states again and marry here in New Jersey then he will fly back to London himself.

I think the easiest and most feasable way would be to apply for a Spousal Visa. 

I have a few questions. 

I have not been in work for years... The last job I had was in 1998. My unemployment is not due to any kind of disability, I have just been supported throughout this entire time. I am presently on Welfare at the moment, went through some school and doing job searches to gain employment here first.

Does it make a difference if I haven't been employed for a long time?
Does it make a difference if I have no checking or savings account on record?

(i know they look at the 'sponsor's' info but I do not know if they look at mine)

I also have bunches of debt here in the USA.  Will MY debt be an issue if I get married and eventually the creditors will latch on to my new partner's bank account???

When I get to the UK on a Spouse Visa, can I start work right away?
Is it difficult for an American to find work in the UK???  Like since i have limited job experience, I would just look for any old convienient store job until I find something better.  Just curious if it's difficult to find work as an American in England?


Please let me know the about the spouse visa steps I need to take and the best route according to my situation...

thank you so much!

You've already posted this and I believe it was addressed here: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=56919.msg808071#msg808071

So now he's coming in December and not October?

For a Spousal Visa
See this page for visa requirements and what you should gather before you apply: http://www.londonelegance.com/transpondia/spouse/

This is the site that you will apply on: http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/

Hey, thanks for responding...yes I do remember writing that a little while back.  I posted again because I wanted to be more clear actually. 

What I didn't ask in my last post was about marrying him and my concerns that IF MY debt could be attached to his name and my creditors would go after him and HIS savings or bank account and garnish his money since we are legally married??

I am not sure on how that goes...?

I wouldn't want that to ever happen.


Thank You! 

What I didn't ask in my last post was about marrying him and my concerns that IF MY debt could be attached to his name and my creditors would go after him and HIS savings or bank account and garnish his money since we are legally married??

I am not sure on how that goes...?

This is not an immigration or a visa issue.

You're better of discussing it with someone like a debt collector or your specific creditors and ask them what their procedure is. As what you will get here would be PURE speculation.

Regarding your debts following you to the UK...as far as I know, debts are limited to a single country and cannot cross international borders.  So no, they could not garnish your BF's wages for your debts, even if you're married, assuming you are residing in the UK. (The caveats here are that: 1) I'm not an expert 2) I don't know what sort of protection you get - or don't get - as a non-UK citizen, though I'm fairly certain they can't touch your BF if he's a UK citizen.)

However, if you ever decided to move back to the US, your credit would be completely shot if you had many debts go into collections/go ignored for months/years. I would strongly recommend having a definite plan for how to pay back your debts so as not to limit your options in the future. (Best case scenario: you decide you want to move back to the US together for various reasons; worst case: something happens to the relationship and you move back alone, something happens to your BF and you move back alone, your living situation there deteriorates to the point where you have no choice but to move back, etc.)

I would recommend calling your creditors and discussing your situation. Provided they have no way to garnish your wages, you should be able to work out a deal with them...even if you just promise to send them $5/mo until the debt is paid off, if you send that $5/mo in to them regularly and on-time, they can't really complain (unless they find out you're making $100,000/yr or you start buying yachts or something).

You can start work right away on a spouse visa. As far as how difficult it is to find a job - it depends. The economy in the UK is (arguably) just as shot as it is here...if you're just looking for a cashier type position, it may be easy to find (esp. in large areas like London with lots of retail) or nearly impossible (in small towns with a handful of shops).

ok, right.... i know it's not a visa issue... but just wanted to know if anyone else had these sorts of problems if you marry someone and their debt gets pushed onto your partner.

 I certainly hope not.  i have to find a place online to get this information...

oh.... and yes,  we changed the dates to visit and he's coming in december to visit me!! we had to reshedule!

 I cannot wait to see him!!!

I cannot find how much the sposal visa is....??

Go to this website: https://www.visainfoservices.com/Pages/Welcome.aspx

Select 'United States' from the drop down menu and then 'Visa Fees' from the menu on the left.

Thank you for that debt info equestrianerd.  We would never plan on moving back to the usa if I were to marry him... so I am glad my debts do not cross the pond into his bank account.  good.  I do know I have to sort all this out, but I am thinking ahead in case it doesn't get sorted while here.

I also want to know.... do we get married first and then apply for a visa?  I am not sure of the order of things to do.

A spouce visa is easier than a fiancee visa right?  and less expensive...?
I can't find the amount of money needed to apply. 


say if I had limited money....  do I have to visit london first before we get married?  I mean what if he came here to visit me in december to meet me in the flesh...then after a while, he comes out again to marry me in the states and go home...  does that matter that I have never been in the uk before?  will it make it harder to get accepted?

What are the usual conditions that a spousal visa would get denied?

thanks! 

thank you... i went to the fee site for the united states and it said  585 pounds and I have to apply online since I am in the USA... right?

what is 585 converted into dollars?

If I recall, they do the conversion for you at the end and they don't update the exchange rate all that often. But if you want a rule of thumb, it's been running about $1.60 to the pound lately.

I also want to know.... do we get married first and then apply for a visa?  I am not sure of the order of things to do.

If you are applying for a spouse visa, you must be married first.

say if I had limited money....  do I have to visit london first before we get married?  I mean what if he came here to visit me in december to meet me in the flesh...then after a while, he comes out again to marry me in the states and go home...  does that matter that I have never been in the uk before?  will it make it harder to get accepted?

Whether or not you have visited the UK before is not going to effect your application.  You and your boyfriend can get married on his first visit to America if you want to; there is no requirement that you have to meet more than once.  The fact that you will have only known each other for 3 months is another story.  I'm not here to pass judgement but I hope you've thought that through.  Also, if I were you and I had only known someone for 5-6 months (by the time he comes to visit in December) and I got married the first time we met, I would work hard on proving that my relationship was genuine.  This could look very suspicious to the ECO if you do not have sufficient evidence to prove that you are not just marrying him and trying to move in order to escape your currently "not so good" situation in the US.  That is not professional advice, just my personal opinion.

what is 585 converted into dollars?

I applied for my visa a few weeks ago and it cost $1,024.85.

Thank you for that debt info equestrianerd.  We would never plan on moving back to the usa if I were to marry him... so I am glad my debts do not cross the pond into his bank account.  good.  I do know I have to sort all this out, but I am thinking ahead in case it doesn't get sorted while here.

A lot of people don't plan to move back, and yet they do. So I would caution you not to just consider this a "get out of jail free" card, because you never know what will happen down the road. (Also, I'd recommend checking this with your creditors and/or a professional, as some debts may be able to follow you - IRS taxes owed, etc.)

That said, best of luck to you with the visa process.

what is 585 converted into dollars?

I applied for my visa a few weeks ago and it cost $1,024.85.

Interesting because the website I gave cyberpunk also listed the cost in dollars and according to UKBA and WorldBridge the fee for application from the US is $995, if you mail your documents directly to the Consulate yourself then you have to pay an additional $12 fee to have your visa & paperwork returned by UPS.

Category: Settlement  ($)/(£)
 
Spouse/civil partner of a settled person: 995/585
 

If I recall, they do the conversion for you at the end and they don't update the exchange rate all that often. But if you want a rule of thumb, it's been running about $1.60 to the pound lately.

The visa fees are updated quarterly and do not reflect the current exchange rate on the day of application. The last update was 17 August so there should be an update around Visa Application Fees sometime mid November.

From WorldBridge:

Visa fees are payable in US Dollars by credit card online.


Online payments are made using a major credit card.

Dependants are charged the same fee as the main applicant. All dependants who are travelling must pay the fee whether or not they are included in the main applicant's passport.

The visa application fee reflects the administrative costs of processing an application and is not refundable if your application is refused. If a payment has been made and the application is not submitted or if the applicant refuses to provide biometric details with their application, then we will refund the fee.

These fees are effective for all visa applications made from 17 August 2009.

The consular rate of exchange is $1.70=£1. Please note the visa fees are subject to change.

Honestly, I'd take your time with this.  As another poster said, you guys haven't met yet so you may be jumping the gun. 

And don't abandon your debts in the US.  If things don't work out (and I hope they do, but just to be practical), it makes sense for you to square things away financially anyway.  Talk to your creditors and figure out a payment plan - you'll find that most are willing to work with you.  And it's fairly easy to do payments from abroad, as that's how I'm paying my student loans and such.

On a practical note - if you guys do start to proceed, I would start socking away money  now, as the visa itself and the move is going to cost quite a bit.

'I have not been in work for years... The last job I had was in 1998. My unemployment is not due to any kind of disability, I have just been supported throughout this entire time. I am presently on Welfare at the moment, went through some school and doing job searches to gain employment here first.

Does it make a difference if I haven't been employed for a long time?'

Well, you're going to need to provide a CV I would expect or some kind of job history when applying for jobs - the fact that you haven't been in work for more than a decade may, in that case, harm you.  However, there are any number of threads on this forum about people having a tough time finding work even with a fantastic CV because they don't have UK job experience - it's all about figuring out a way to get your foot in the door to gain that experience and then going from there.

As others have said, don't burn your bridges behind you as far as your debt is concerned - you haven't even met this guy in the flesh yet!  Believe you me, things can change pretty quickly, even when you think you're in a good, well-established marriage.  There is also the matter of settling into a new culture - some find it a piece of cake, some struggle with it for years, and some don't give it that much time...it's a big step, and if you've never even visited the UK, it's an even bigger one.  

I hope your visit in December goes well - that should really be your first point of focus at the moment...

x-posted with sb15