Can someone give me advice?

I am a 26 year old UK citizen and have just returned from 17 months in the USA completing a International turf program through Ohio State University. I met a girl after 5 months and we literally hit it off straight away. We were joined at the hip all the time and decided to marry in the USA in December. I have met her family and she is already in contact with mine.
My visa expired in December out there and i returned to the UK yesterday. Our plan is for her to come to the UK. She has always loved the thought of living in Britain. She works for a major software company that has offices in the UK.

Our intention was to apply for a spouse visa for her straight away. Seeing as i have just returned to the UK i have currently no employment. I have literally loads of prospects having completed a hard training program in the US. I have been offered work but suitable for me so far.

I co own my own property with my Brother and that would certainly be a great place for us to stay for a few months. We hope to move to London soon after she arrives to gain more life experience and further our Resume/CV's. I have many opportunities down and so does she.

My question is : Do you think its OK to apply for a Visa just now when i have no emplyment? As i say its just round the corner but we dont want to be declined.

I've been away from her for 2 days and its tearing me apart.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Congratulations on the marriage!

Just one question at this time, how much savings do you and your wife have?

I would say we had roughly 6000 pounds.

I never thought that would have much bearing on our situation seeing as we're both going to be employed pretty soon. She's actually getting a transfer so she doesn't have to worry.

Im just picking and choosing jobs at this point.

You need to appreciate that it is necessary to show that your wife will not need to claim certain Public Funds. Accordingly having £6000 of savings can only assist in the passing of that financial test.

Your wife has a definite job to come to? If so, is there documentation to show that? And is your house reasonably near to where she is hoping to work?

And as regards that house, assuming the visa is granted, how many people will be living there? That is, how many adults, and how many children, and as regards any children, their ages?

Also, and you might need to grab a tape measure, ignoring any kitchen, bathroom or toilet, wherever their size, how many rooms in the place exceed 50 square feet in size?

All this is of course to see if you can show that the accommodation test has been passed. That is, that the place is "suitable" and certainly not overcrowded.

Hey frankmoray...congrats on the marriage. I'm actually from Columbus, Ohio (Home of the Buckeyes) and moved here to the UK in August to join my husband.

Since you're married now, you simpy have to show you have the funds to support yourselves without your new wife requiring access to public funds and like JohnL said, a suitable place for the both of you to live together, which won't be overcrowded. My husband and I are just in a small 1-bed flat, but we're the only ones who live here.

 Do you or she have any job offer letters? Sometimes they help to show prospective employment.

Thanks for the replies..

The thing is i do co own my own home with my brother. It's certainly big enough. It has two bedrooms a bathroom, kitchen and a large living space.

I have a couple of letters asking for my services but i've spent so much time and money in America doing my training course i'm not wanting to scar my resume by taking any job(my resume is v strong).

We both have wealthy familys who would support us either way.

I'm in a tricky situation.

Our ultimate goal is to move to London area before the summer. My wife has had interviews down there and people are interested in her(she's a clever lady!)

Now she could show job offer letters for herself but there from London(nowhere near my house).

Same with me, my job offers are mostly from London, some near my house but not many.

Do you understand where i'm coming from? It's tricky.

I could pursue my career down in London before she gets here(meaning i have to wait months to see her, it's been a couple of days since i last saw her and it's tearing me apart) not sure if i could do a few months.

I could get a job and apartment down there but only having one income in London isn't a smart move. I would need her income too.

I;m not sure if that made any sense but im not thinking straight being away from her.

Any more help advice would be appreciated.

Thank you. These forums are such a big help!

Hi Frank,

You sound a lot like me and my UK husband. He lived in the US for three years after we were married, and move to the UK in May of this year. We were moving over without jobs (or without job offers, as we wanted to travel a bit before settling down), and had approximately the same amount in savings. We moved in with his parents for a few months, both got jobs in London after we traveled to Egypt, and just moved into a flat in London in October.

The visa process went as smoothly as could be, and everything has fallen into place fairly quickly.

Also keep in mind that the first days of separation are the hardest.  It's never fun to be that far apart, but it does get easier.   

Thank you for your support and replies.

I spoke to my wife tonight.

We spoke a little about the situation and we kinda decided to wait until we're both financially stable. We thought of march/april for her to come over. Obviously meaning we don't apply until February(depending on how long the visa takes and if we're actually given one) .By that time I'll definately have a job, have some money saved and a secure place to live(it'll be a small studio!)

Does being apart for a few months have any effect on the visa app?

Thanks again.

While that is a little hard, having a job will take the process from "uncertain" to "a done deal".  Especially now, I think with the economy, the ECOs are going to be looking at financial situations in greater detail and ensure that the immigrant can really support themselves.

Does being apart for a few months have any effect on the visa app?

My husband and I were apart for 12 months while I applied for the fiance visa. We just sent a letter to say how we stayed in touch during that time. It seemed to help.

While that is a little hard, having a job will take the process from "uncertain" to "a done deal".  Especially now, I think with the economy, the ECOs are going to be looking at financial situations in greater detail and ensure that the immigrant can really support themselves.

I'm not sure it is uncertain, actually. He has job offers he can show, owns his accomodations, assuming they are suitable, and importantly, has £6k in savings. Yeah, having a job would be swell, but I think he's could be good to go without it.

Frank, if you're in doubt, and money is not an issue, hire an expert to do your app for you. For a price of an appointment, you'll find out if a visa approval is possible in your particular situation and if not, what you're missing.

Congratulations on your wedding.  I'm a native Clevelander myself.

As Kitsonk said, having a job will most likely seal the deal for you.  If you have the opportunity to be choosy over your job all the better to not mar your CV or your finances.     I know the wait can be unbearable, but in the end it'll be worth it!  Good luck!

I'm not sure it is uncertain, actually. He has job offers he can show, owns his accomodations, assuming they are suitable, and importantly, has £6k in savings. Yeah, having a job would be swell, but I think he's could be good to go without it.

Not necessairly.  If they have little or no savings, if the job offer is for a small amount of money or the job offer isn't clear, it leaves the interpretation of that up to the ECO.  If the ECO cannot easily forsee that the applicataint or the sponsor would be able to support the applicaint they may refuse the application.  I would hate to say "obsolutely good to go", but obviously you feel comfortable stating that...

Ah, but you forgot about the rest of her post, kitsonk, advising the OP to speak to a professional.  When it comes right down to it, no one but an ECO can provide the true answer, but a professional could at least give a good idea of the chance of success in their situation...