never mind

thanks, i've solved my problem.

You have one legal option - return to the US to get your spousal visa and take your chances.

We don't give advice on how to do anything illegal on this forum - and continuing to live in the UK past your entry clearance is illegal.

Were you planning on overstaying your one-month visa when you "applied" for it?

You're going to have to leave the UK no matter what, really.  If you want to marry here, you'll need to apply for a special permission visa -- but that's not really an option as you're here illegally at this point.  The only thing would be to return to the US and get married there.  Even if you could legally marry here, you'd still have to go back to the US to apply for your spousal visa, so you might as well kill two birds with one stone.  Getting married is the easy part, though -- there's no guarantee that you'll get your spousal visa if you have a history of attempting to enter the UK unsuccessfully and THEN overstaying your visa when you're granted one.   

I think you will need to provide the dates you've entered and exited the UK when you apply for your spousal visa.   There's also probably some sort of mark in your passport indicating that you were denied entry in the past, so you're going to have to explain that.  You're also going to have to explain why you chose to overstay your most recent visitors visa.

How is your situation otherwise?  Is your fiance employed?  Does he have a place of his own?  Can he support you financially until you find work here?

Sorry, I can't give you any advise.  Just hope that anyone who's reading this and thinking about doing things illegally(lying to immigration, overstaying their visa) will rethink that.  It's much, much easier to jump through the right hoops to begin with than to try to sort out the whole mess afterwards.  Good luck.  

we are already married. i am asking if it's possible to apply for the spousal visa here in the UK or if it's better to do it in NY.
also, does getting married after your visa had expired, if it still is admissable?

yes we have a place of our own and my husband supports me.

You'll have to apply for the spousal visa in the US. It can't be done from the UK unless you married on a fiancee visa.

You'll definitely need to go back.  You will be deported and possibly denied entrance ever again if they find out you are there illegally.  You should go back to the US and try to get a spousal visa.  If you are unable to obtain one you may need to have your husband join you in the US.  It will mean time apart from your husband, but you have no other options.  All of us on this board have had to spend time apart, so we do  know how difficult that is.  Good luck to you.

also, does getting married after your visa had expired, if it still is admissable?

You can certainly apply for a spousal in Croydon, and there is no rule that says you cannot apply.  The catch is that it's a guaranteed refusal.  In your case, it's best to do it in person so that you don't have to suffer the embarrassment of the police coming around to your house to serve you with the AR order. 

Going in person gives you the opportunity to get your refusal *and* your AR in one go.

In perspective, this is the sort of abuse that brought about the rule changes in April 2003:  non visa nationals deceiving an Immigration Officer about marriage plans.  It's an incredibly selfish act and it hurts all of us who have had to live with the consequences.

While agreeing with everything everyone else has said, I would not advise slinking out, but rather facing it heads-up and working for a voluntary assisted and avoiding the AR.  The only reason I would say that is because the date on the marriage certificate is a glaring footprint, and I trust the Home Office more than the Foreign Office to sort through it more quickly.

In perspective, this is the sort of abuse that brought about the rule changes in April 2003:  non visa nationals deceiving an Immigration Officer about marriage plans.  It's an incredibly selfish act and it hurts all of us who have had to live with the consequences.

Cheers Garry!  I completely agree.  While I'm not here on a fiancee/spousal visa nor am I seeking one, I worked really hard to find a way to come to the UK legally.  It wasn't cheap and it wasn't easy but I did it.  Considering all the complaining that Americans do about illegal immigration in the US, I can never quite wrap my head around Americans who become illegal immigrants themselves.  It's frustrating and makes life harder for the people who want to do things the legal and proper way.

It's frustrating and makes life harder for the people who want to do things the legal and proper way.

Yes!  You know, I really wonder about all these folks who post all about their illegal stay in the UK and deception to IOs right on a public forum.  Just about a/one can see it, including employees of the Home Office.  I know if I were illegal, I'd do my best to hide and keep a low profile, not post on an internet forum looking for ways to cheat the system. 

first of all, i am asking these questions because i seriously need advice, not to be burned at the stake. i know i am here illegally, why does everyone have to reiterate that?

thank you for advising me to go turn myself in!
what is "working for a voluntary assisted and avoiding the AR" mean?
what is "AR"?

second, i never "deceived" the officer. i didn't plan on getting married and at the time my boyfriend was not my fiance. i am not abusing the system, i am not working, i am not using NHS.
give me a break. i did "play by the rules" and they screwed me for a tiny miniscule time difference. then i was treated like a terrorist!

i know it's selfish to want to be with the love of my life.. sue me!!

first of all, i am asking these questions because i seriously need advice, not to be burned at the stake. i know i am here illegally, why does everyone have to reiterate that?

thank you for advising me to go turn myself in!
what is "working for a voluntary assisted and avoiding the AR" mean?
what is "AR"?

second, i never "deceived" the officer. i didn't plan on getting married and at the time my boyfriend was not my fiance. i am not abusing the system, i am not working, i am not using NHS.
give me a break. i did "play by the rules" and they screwed me for a tiny miniscule time difference. then i was treated like a terrorist!

i know it's selfish to want to be with the love of my life.. sue me!!

K, Garry.  I see your point about why the Home Office introduced all those new marriage rules. 

A lot of people trying to get here have fled their homelands in mortal fear for their very lives, and yet some folks see reason to flout the law b/c they can't be seperated temporarily from their boyfriend.   

You want advice, you've gotten it.  You can either face up to it as Garry wrote (he's a licensed immigration adviser, btw) or leave the country before you get caught. 

first of all, i am asking these questions because i seriously need advice, not to be burned at the stake. i know i am here illegally, why does everyone have to reiterate that?

thank you for advising me to go turn myself in!
what is "working for a voluntary assisted and avoiding the AR" mean?
what is "AR"?

second, i never "deceived" the officer. i didn't plan on getting married and at the time my boyfriend was not my fiance. i am not abusing the system, i am not working, i am not using NHS.
give me a break. i did "play by the rules" and they screwed me for a tiny miniscule time difference. then i was treated like a terrorist!

i know it's selfish to want to be with the love of my life.. sue me!!

No, you didn't play by the rules.  Playing by the rules means you don't fly to Amsterdam and re-enter at another port.  It means you fly home and apply for a fiancee visa.  You should've left the country before your one month visa expired, married in the US and applied for your spousal visa. 

AR = deportation which will happen when you apply for a spousal visa in Croydon.  Voluntary assisted means you turn yourself in and throw yourself on the mercy of the Home Office to grant you a visa.  You took a big risk in overstaying your visa.  A blue passport doesn't entitle you to do whatever you want.  There are rules.  Don't get mad if people remind you of the fact that you broke them. 

It's hardly fair that you are here illegally, seeking help and advice about how to continue to stay here illegally.

If you're concerned about being with your dh, apply for an American visa for him and move to the US.  That's about all you're going to get as the HO will probably not be too thrilled to have you here.

Could we limit our responses to constructive advice please? Thank you.

first of all, i am asking these questions because i seriously need advice, not to be burned at the stake. i know i am here illegally, why does everyone have to reiterate that?

There are lots of people who wander through here who obviously have no idea of what immigration law entails.   There are people who think that marrying a UK citizen automatically makes them legal residents, which isn't true.  We don't know what you know about the law, so it had to be clarified that you are here illegally.

second, i never "deceived" the officer. i didn't plan on getting married and at the time my boyfriend was not my fiance.

Maybe not, but at some point during the last month or so, you decided to get married.  When you made that decision, you accepted responsibility for finding a legal way to do it.  Theoretically, you could have been gone for two or three days -- a quick flight back to NYC to apply for your spousal or fiancee' visa in person would have done the trick and would have saved you the trouble that you're about to encounter.
 

i am not abusing the system,

Technically, you are.  You've gotten married on a tourist visa (which, incidentally, isn't even allowed anymore -- did you get married before 1 Feb?).  Your current illegal status is an indication that you have abused the system.  It might not have been intentional, but that's a moot point now.

i am not working

yet.

i am not using NHS.

yet.


I really don't understand how you can say that you've played by the rules.  The rule was that you had one month here.  You didn't leave after one month and you got married (during or after?) your one month.

If you want to live here, you've got to get the appropriate visa.  Either go back to the US and apply for your visa or take Garry's advice and turn yourself in.  If you don't do one of those, what kind of quality of life will you have here?  You can't work.  You'll never be eligible for citizenship.  You can't leave (unless you're deported) for fear of not being allowed back in.  For your own sanity and your husband's sake (and that of your future children, if you want any) take care of this now so you can get on with your life.

I really do wish you luck.  I hope you'll keep us updated on your case.