Thinking of moving back to UK

After being here 5 years we are looking for jobs back in the UK. Quick history - I am a UK citizen who met and married US husband 8 years ago. We were married in the UK and moved to the US 3 years later. His indefinite leave to remain in the UK is now invalid. I have a US green card.
We are anxious to know if anyone else has started this process or been through it and if so could you help with the following:
1. Do I need to get a job and accommodation before he can join me in the UK?
2. Could he go back as a returning resident?
3. Can a family member act as a sponsor if I haven't got a job?
4. How long does it take to get a spouse visa (through San Fransisco)?
5. Anything else we should know!!
Many thanks
TBP

1. Do I need to get a job and accommodation before he can join me in the UK?
My husband (UK Citizen) and I have been married for 8 years (living in the US that entire time) and I applied for my Spousal Visa and we are both here in the US now.  He did not have to go back to get a job/accommodation first.  We just sent our pay stubs from here, available jobs that we printed from online just to show there are jobs available and our CV's to show that we are employable.     We are staying with his parents at first so they wrote us an accommodation letter and we sent in a recent mortgage statement, a copy of the registry/title plan view, pictures of the rooms and a floorplan that my FIL drew up.

2. Could he go back as a returning resident?
Not sure about this one somebody with more experience in that will have to come around to help out.

3. Can a family member act as a sponsor if I haven't got a job?
From what I have read on here there can be no more 'sponsors' like that.

4. How long does it take to get a spouse visa (through San Fransisco)?
If you live in San Fransisco I would assume you would apply to the LA Consulate and right now Visa's are taking around 20 days maybe a little more.  If you use a courier it could get it down to a couple of days.

5. Anything else we should know!!
Since your husband had his ILR so many years ago I do not believe he would have taken his Life in the UK Test for it.  In my case since DH and I have been married for more than 4 years and living outside of the UK I was able to get my Spousal Visa w/ a KOL Stamp which means that once in the UK I can immediately take the Life in the UK Test and apply for my ILR rather than having to wait the normally required two years.

However if I would have already taken the Test in the UK before I applied I could have actually applied for my ILE from within the United States and bypassed the Spousal Visa altogether.  But we weighed the cost and because of high ticket prices it cost us less to just go ahead and so the Spousal and then the ILR from within the UK later.

But.... If you have a trip to the UK planned you can have him study and schedule the test while over there and go the ILE route when you are back in the US.

If you do not do the ILE route then be sure to specifically ask for the KOL in your sponsor letter and in your application (additional information space).  They will not automatically give it to you, you have to ask for it and provide some documentation to prove you have lived together.. Usually people just send the last 4 years of joint tax returns.

If I am wrong about any of this I am sure somebody will come along to put me right!   

That is about right.

It may be possible to apply for returnign resident, but a spousal visa will be easier and probably quicker. 

Vicky

2. Could he go back as a returning resident?

If he applies with a KOL certificate, they will issue residency.  Otherwise he can apply under Paragraph 282c and get residency as soon as he passes the test.

If he applies as a Returning Resident, and that is granted, he effectively gets his ILR reinstated? Is that correct? If so that is surely the way to go, given it would cut out the need to apply for ILR in the UK (cost £750 or £950).

Also, the cost of applying for Returning Resident is $431, as compared to a spouse visa costing $1082.

More information in the INF 8 guidance notes

That would be the way to go if the returning resident visa was as straight forward as the spousal visa, but it is not, and there is a far higher risk of refusal.

Vicky

He wouldn't apply as a returning resident.  Mostly because he can't establish strong ties to the UK that excuse an absence greater than 2 years.

But he can apply for ILE (i.e., residency) if he has a KOL certificate, and he meets the other conditions.

Both returning residents *AND* holders of ILE enter the UK under Paragraph 18 of the rules, and both statuses are fundamentally equivalent, if not wholly equivalent.

Thank you all for your really helpful replies.

I'm thinking that the returning resident route sadly isn't the best way to go as apart from me, my family, a couple of UK bank accounts and visits his ties to the UK wouldn't suffice.

So, the logical thing to do is to get spouse visa while in the States, travel to the UK and apply for ILR after getting the KOL certificate. I did look into traveling to the UK and getting the KOL certificate then applying directly for ILR but according to the Home Office web site:

When you contact the test centre to book a test, you will have to wait a minimum of 7 days before you take the test. You should receive the offer of a test place within 28 days and should not have to wait longer than 56 days.

The time frame is far too open ended for this to be possible.

Not only was the process so much easier when he first moved over in 2000 but it was so much cheaper. Am I right that the cost of a spouse visa is 515 GBP, the ILR 750 or 950 GBP (the latter being preferable then he could start work straight away - providing, of course, he could get a job) and the life in the UK test 34 GBP?
He would also have to travel from Seattle where we live to San Fransisco or LA for the biometric finger scans as well (they closed down the Seattle office last year).

He would have to apply on line for the visa and they ask for your UK address and itinerary. As we do not have anywhere to live would it be OK to give my sister's address and as for itinerary - looking for work? ancmc said she and her husband did something similar - was it accepted?

I appreciate any advice / information

Thanks in advance,
TBP

Am I right that the cost of a spouse visa is 515 GBP, the ILR 750 or 950 GBP (the latter being preferable then he could start work straight away - providing, of course, he could get a job) and the life in the UK test 34 GBP?

Those prices are correct but not sure what you mean about the latter being preferable so that he can start work right away?  If he enters on a Spousal Visa (KOL Stamp or not) he would be allowed to work right when he enters.  He would not need his ILR to work.

He would also have to travel from Seattle where we live to San Fransisco or LA for the biometric finger scans as well (they closed down the Seattle office last year).

Really?  I would think there would be somewhere much closer than that?  They use the US Offices and would think there would be something much closer to the Seattle area than San Francisco or LA?

He would have to apply on line for the visa and they ask for your UK address and itinerary. As we do not have anywhere to live would it be OK to give my sister's address and as for itinerary - looking for work? ancmc said she and her husband did something similar - was it accepted?

My little ticker/timeline says it all....     We used a courier and was approved the same day they took it into the LA Consulate and we leave in a week!  Like I mentioned before we will be staying with DH's parents and this is exactly what we sent:

o   Letter of Accommodation from DH's Father and Mother (Original and signed by them)
o   Recent Mortgage Valuation Statement
o   Entry from Land Registry (Register and Title Plan View) (Printed from Internet)
o   Property Details (Floor Plan and Photos)

If you need help with anything feel free to PM me!  I'll be happy to help with any other questions you have about what we sent in.   

I got my biometrics done in Portland, Oregon where I live. It's only a 3 hour drive I think, something like that, I picked up DF from the Seattle airport as it was less expensive and we both wanted to explore Seattle a few days before his flight left =) Seattle is awesome =)

or I think Horizon still offers daily flights to Portland etc....