Hello from Nebraska!

Hello everyone. My name is Travis, and I am having visa roadblocks. We aren’t getting clear answers from anyone, and those that seem to have a solid answer want £185+ an hour!
Charlotte is my fiancé, who currently lives in Cornwall UK. We’ve been told we either need a combined savings of £33k+, or she being the sponsor, needs to earn an £18,600 annum. We don’t make either requirement, and are getting pretty desperate at this point. It’s been a frustrating past few months, trying to get answers. I don’t have any UK immigration experts near, and neither does she. Could someone point me in the right direction as to what we should do? I plan to move to England with her, at first at her parents’ house, and be married to the love of my life. If we can’t get married right now, is there any way I can get a job that’s not on the job shortage list of high profile doctors, lawyers, etc.? I work in construction, and have been for 7 years. Thank you everyone! I’m new to this place, and I’m still learning how to navigate through the forums, so bare with me. 

Hello everyone. My name is Travis, and I am having visa roadblocks. We aren’t getting clear answers from anyone, and those that seem to have a solid answer want £185+ an hour!
Charlotte is my fiancé, who currently lives in Cornwall UK. We’ve been told we either need a combined savings of £33k+, or she being the sponsor, needs to earn an £18,600 annum. We don’t make either requirement, and are getting pretty desperate at this point. It’s been a frustrating past few months, trying to get answers. I don’t have any UK immigration experts near, and neither does she. Could someone point me in the right direction as to what we should do? I plan to move to England with her, at first at her parents’ house, and be married to the love of my life. If we can’t get married right now, is there any way I can get a job that’s not on the job shortage list of high profile doctors, lawyers, etc.? I work in construction, and have been for 7 years. Thank you everyone! I’m new to this place, and I’m still learning how to navigate through the forums, so bare with me.

Hi Travis, and welcome.  Congratulations on finding your partner.  I'm sorry it hasn't led straight to happily ever after for the two of you.

I'm afraid that you have been advised correctly... the UK government requires that its citizen make a certain minimum income to be able to sponsor their spouse to join them in the UK.

The only exemptions from meeting the annual income requirement are making up the shortfall with savings using the formula

£16000 + 2.5×(shortfall amount) = how much savings either you or she (or both combined, but nobody else can be named on the account) needs to have had for at least the last six months before you apply,

or

If she receives one of the following benefits, you can apply showing "adequate maintenance" rather than meeting the income threshold:

 Disability Living Allowance.
 Severe Disablement Allowance.
 Industrial Injury Disablement Benefit.
 Attendance Allowance.
 Carer’s Allowance.
 Personal Independence Payment.
 Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the
Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
 Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension
under the War Pensions Scheme.

If she does not meet these criteria, can you sponsor her to come to live in the US with you?

Hi Travis, 

She is permitted to work more than one job to meet the £18,600 requirement, we had one member work three jobs, just to make it.
Once you are in country with permission to work, your employment income can be counted too for subsequent applications. BUT, the fiancee visa does not give you permission to work until after you apply for further leave to remain. For this reason, many couples get married first in the US and then apply directly for the spouse visa.

Unfortunately the UK is very anti-immigration and it's all about money, money, money.

If the financial requirement hurdle is too difficult to overcome, have you considered having her move to the USA?  You can have third party sponsorship (if you do not make the US's much lower required amount) and it's a far cheaper process than the US to UK visa path. 

Welcome to UKY!

The visa-related stuff has already been covered, but just wanted to say hi and welcome. 

Welcome to the forum (all the good advice has been given already, so thought I'd just say "welcome").