A Brit Who Fell For a Georgia Peach

Hello, I'm an Englishman trying to make sense of immigration (and laughing at the cultural differences) as I try to make plans. It seems quiet here, but the community looks good.

I 'met' my girlfriend online over 18 years ago, just another player in a game we both played and we became friends. Time passed, marriages failed, and we found ourselves getting closer. The next thing I know, I am flying out to see her, she's flying here to see me, I've introduced her to my family, and now I'm staring at the confusing world of visas and immigration.

We already had some drama - a minor mix-up regarding her ETA led to 7.5 hours in an airport convincing immigration that we were in love and that I was not a sex-trafficker - and so I think maybe we're both a little more nervous about not messing this up than most. But then again, I like to think that all our struggles mean that we've both proved to ourselves and each other that we're serious about making this work.

Don't worry man, even though most of what you read about is how hard it is to do the transatlantic thing, it is possible!  Granted I did all the hard bits a long time ago but it certainly gets better and easier as time goes on. 

I was the one stuck at the border once, for some unknown reason they insisted on calling my wife to be sure I could come in the country.  Thank goodness she happened to be have her phone close by or I guess I would still be there.  Now I've got my citizenship and I'm just as British as anyone else, maybe more.  So I waltz through the border like I own the place, because I do!

Good luck man

We've been doing the transatlantic thing since January. I went to see her in April for two weeks and then she came last month for four. We're aiming for a longer stay next time, but she said she needs to bring her cat. Thanks to my mother - a cat-show judge - we have a plan that involves meeting in Paris and we don't mind that somehow...

The original plan was to see if we could live together for a month without going mad, a precursor to a longer stay. About two weeks in, things were going so well that my parents were asking when she'd be back and how soon we thought the wedding would be. I mean, we had planned out a pirate themed wedding between the two of us (as she put it, she got her princess wedding last time - I pointed out she could be a pirate queen this time, which is surely an improvement) but I wasn't expecting my family to take to her quite so enthusiastically.

Welcome to the forum. I love that you're surrounded by cat people!