I want to get my husband's green card while we are resident in UK

Can anyone direct me to the proper website or give me a first-hand account of going through the process of getting your British spouse's passport stamped while resident in the UK? Although we don't plan to immigrate anytime soon, it seems like a good idea to go ahead and get that taken care of so we can go when the mood strikes

You can't.  You have to be making the move to the US in order to get your husband's green card.

Check out the repatriation section of the forum, as there are a lot of stories there from US citizens in the UK now making the move back to the US with their UK spouse in tow.

The only way I know how to do it is the DCF process - go to the Repatriation Board for that. It is the process of a US Citizen living in England applying for their British partner, also living in England, for entrance into the US. Basically, the green card process. But you have to be planning on moving back to do it, as far as I know you can't just get his green card and move whenever you want. After you get the visa in London (you actually get the green card after you've arrived in the US) you've got 6 months to move, but they want a US address and stuff when you apply, so you'd have to have plans to live in the US. They won't give out green cards unless they know you're coming.

Marlespo - great minds think alike! 

You can't get a green card, or even work towards it, when in the UK.

But that's what the whole DCF process is about. Getting the proper clearance to get to the US to get the green card. If a green card is their goal, the DCF process is the way, and that starts in the UK.

I hate to ask questions that have probably already been answered, but I don't have to have a job or anything lined up do I? For example, say we were going to move in with my parents until one of us finds work and we can get a place. Is that viable?

By all means, ask away! Sometimes it is hard to sort through all the stuff to find the answer you want.


I'm gonna go ahead and move this topic to the repat section.

You don't have to have a job. You have to fill out a form (I-864) whic is the Affidavit of Support. It says you can support him while he's in the US basically. If you can't (just as I can't, as I don't have a job there and don't want to move out before him) - you either get a joint sponsor (someone in the US to fill out the form as well and say that they will support you and pay the government back if you go on welfare etc) or you use your UK and/or US assets to help: which basically means a house.

Make sense?

Read the topic "Comprehensive Timeline for DCF" in this room for an idea of what we're going through at the moment.

We are moving over with me having no job, having found a joint sponsor in the US (my brother), and having no house in either country to help us out with.

Hiya Carla,

to answer your original question - you can indeed apply for an immigrant visa while resident in the UK. An immigrant visa is basically your husband's ticket through the doors of the US. When he gets to the US with this visa in hand, they'll stamp his passport with a temp "green card" until his actual green card arrives, which takes a couple of weeks. In a previous post a few hairs were split about the immigrant visa / green card thing. The end result of all this application business is indeed a green card.

Anyhow... if youre resident in the Uk you can apply for a petition to take your husband with you back to the US through the US Embassy in London. This process is called Direct Counsular Filing (DCF). You can do all of the applications while in the UK and you can do this any time you like.

You did say that you didnt have any real intention of immigrating at the moment but that you wanted the option there and ready to go should you suddenly fancy a move. Thats not really possible. You can NOT maintain both a green card and a primary residence in the UK. Doing so will result in the green card being revoked. You can reapply, but they would likely take into consideration on the second application that the first green card was revoked and why. Keep in mind a green card is a RESIDENCE permit, not a passport.

Once you have the immigrant visa you have 6 months to use it. Once you have the green card stamp in your passport you can remain out of the US for up to one year at a time. After a long period of being out of the US you will likely have to show why you spent such a long time abroad. A valid reason would be liquidating one's property to facilitate the move to the US. The big rule that you should keep in mind is that once you have the green card you HAVE to spend the majority of your time LIVING in the US in order to maintain the green card. You cant live in the UK and keep that green card in your back pocket for a rainy day.

But really once you DO decide to make that move, it doesnt take very long to make the applications. Generally the people here have had their visas within a couple months. So having the facility already prepared isnt a problem. You'll have it all sorted before you know it

Best of luck!
Sarah

PS: Hope that makes sense. If you have more questions about time limits and being abraod while having a green card, just lemme know. Martin and I are experiencing this issue first hand as Martin already has his green card but we are stuck in the UK trying to sell up. Personally I have to advise strongly against applying before youre 100% ready to go. We've not been in the US for 6 months and every day we're out of the US the higher the risk that martin could loose his green card. Its not a very nice position to be in.