Best approach?

Hi there,

I posted this under repatriation and received a good tip that I might do better to post it here (thanks for the tip!).

My beloved b/f and I are thinking of moving from London to the US. There are a number of reasons, but primarily that my job is coming to an end here, he wants to change his, and we want to move house as we are not really enjoying where we live now. We've realised that selling our flat here will only mean taking on a bigger mortage if we buy a bigger place, but by moving to the US we could buy a place outright, or at least make a substantial downpayment and have very little mortgage. Very temtping! Additionally, I am struggling being so far from everyone now that a relative is very ill, another is starting a family, etc.

I am 35, he is 42 and we would have money from the sale of our flat and some savings to tide us over. If life in the US goes horribly wrong or we are unhappy after a year, then we would consider coming back here.

We would probably rent a place in the US for the short-term and buy once we had jobs. My BIL runs a real estate company so will help us on that front. I kept a US bank account and credit card so that we have some sort of credit history.

I have ILR via residency after living here for 4 years on a work permit and I plan to apply for citizenship this winter when I reach my 5 years.

Now that I've listed a bit of background my questions to you are:

1) is it possible for him to come over with me and be able to work without us going the fiancee or marriage route? We will marry someday, but I don't know that we need to focus on so many life changes at once.
       
In other words, how difficult should we expect it to be for to get a visa on his own, as he would do if I wasn't in the picture? His brother (English) and sister in law live in the US (via a work visa she obtained). She is Vietnamese and grew up in Australia and his brother is English. I'm not sure what sort of visa he has (we'll ask).

2) does is make a difference if we have a job or not? I could potentially get transferred back to my US company, but I don't particularly want to unless it helps us. (i.e if I am being transferred is it easier to bring him along?)

3) what is the ballpark timeline for financee visa, should we decide this is the right step for us? How many months do we allow?

5) Do we need sponsors? If yes, what is their role?

I appreciate any and all help. I'll also be going through the pages here for info, but I thought I'd start my own thread, too as I struggle to pick the option that is right for us.

Many thanks,
Jen

Jen,
It won't be easy for him, since your not married and he doesn't have a work sponsor he will only be allowed to stay 90 days or less on the VISA waiver program in the states. So if your question is can you both move to the states, unmarried, and can he work and live happily every after as a Brit, the answer is no. If you two are planning on getting married I suggest the easy way for him to immigrate to American. You both fly back, find a place to live together, you go to work, and just before his 90 days is up, fly to Vegas and get hitched! Once he's married to an American and the right paper work is field with the INS or homeland security or what ever they call it now, they cannot force him to leave the country when his visa expires. The paper work can be done by you or an attorney and once it hits the immigration office things will move forward. You'll have to go to the nearest INS office and get a few things done, one is a social security card. That's how my wife and I did it. She's a Brit and moved to the states, we got married in Vegas, four months later she had her Social security card, her travel documents and her status was changed. We moved back to England two years ago and I have to say that it took 4 years for her to get her final green card, and we were in England when we got the letter, what a system in the states. I suggest you find a lawyer, I did and it made the process less daunting!

I think I answered you other post too....

1) is it possible for him to come over with me and be able to work without us going the fiancee or marriage route? We will marry someday, but I don't know that we need to focus on so many life changes at once.

The only way he can come over without marring you is
 - he's a US citizen
 - he can claim a green card through a parent residing in the US
 - he gets a work permit through a company

He can come to visit, often even with a B1/B2 visa, but he wouldn't be able to work. (DH did this when he was visiting frequently to lessen the immigration hassle)

2) does is make a difference if we have a job or not? I could potentially get transferred back to my US company, but I don't particularly want to unless it helps us. (i.e if I am being transferred is it easier to bring him along?)

You being employed in the US would help, as you could be his sponsor for a fiance visa.  The catch is he can not live in the US while he's waiting for the visa.  He can visit, but can't stay in the US to wait for it.  It's also issued out of the embassy in London.

3) what is the ballpark timeline for financee visa, should we decide this is the right step for us? How many months do we allow?

From filing first form in the US to getting married was 8 months.  We could have married 2 months sooner, but DH had to change his interview around work.

5) Do we need sponsors? If yes, what is their role?

If you have a job, you would be the sponsor.  The sponsor is a person who signs a contract with the federal government stating that they take full financial responsibility for the immigrant until they have amassed 40 social security points.  At that time they qualify for social security benefits.


Whatever you do, don't have your bf come into the US as a visitor and try to pass off the 'we met on vacation and had to get married'.  If they find out he could be deported and you've solved nothing.  If you decide to get married in the UK and bring your bf over as your spouse there are people here who've gone that route too.

Good luck on your decision.