Hello to everyone on this Forum.
I've been lurking around this forum for a while - and although not a regular poster up until now - I've read with great interest all the threads on visas, citizenship, repatriation etc.
My wife (Lisa - US citizen) and I (UK citizen) are both living in Scotland at present, but are mid-way through the process of obtaining a Spouse visa for me via the London US Embassy (my interview is at the end of March).
I really have found this website to be a fantastic source of information - as it seems there are a few people who have either just gone through the process, are at the same stage as me, or are still thinking about it and are not quite sure how to start.
We will be moving to Texas later this year (as long as the interview goes ok), we don't have jobs to go to, so its a big thought for us to give up 2 good jobs here, sell our house and most of our furniture and leave for Texas with a few suitcases full of clothes and a few boxes to ship with CD's, photos and a few other personal effects.
The reason behind our move is that I am "almost" 30 and Lisa is 2 years older, and we have been thinking of starting a family, and we feel that we could offer our kids much greater opportunities in USA than in UK. We got married in 2000 and Lisa moved to Scotland then, and we have lived here ever since. We visit US every year, and each time we go, it gets harder for Lisa to leave, and I also feel more comfortable over there also each time I visit.
We think we can have a better standard of living there, as homes and cars etc are so much cheaper than here in Scotland, and with the exchange rate so good right now, there might never be a better time to do this!
Our house has gone up by about £30k since we bought it, so that should give us a nice nest egg when we get there. House prices here are so crazy we could never aford the kind of house we dream of - but in Texas, is it much more affordable.
We will be staying with Lisa's brother in Winnie when we arrive, and I am looking forward to our little adventure. I don't want to wait as if we have a family here, we might find ourselves "stuck" in UK and regret never taking the risk of moving.
It is a risk - giving up our jobs and leaving my family behind - but we think this is the best thing for us and for our future children.
I have got great advice on here so far, and hopefully I will find more as I go through the process, and maybe help to advise others who are just starting the process.
