greencard & marriage

Hello

I have been in the UK on a work permit for over 5 years now and I just received my ILR.  I married a British citizen 3 years ago.

My question is....if we want to move back to the USA in another year or so...what steps do we take? Will he automatically get a greencard as we will have been married for a few years already?

Thanks

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/iv/immrel.html

The best place to start and that will also provide links to the USCIS website (Formerly INS) and hopefully answer your questions.

Check out the links in my signature, below. You will need the I-130 but you might want to download that one from the USCIS site rather than the US Embassy one as you will always find the most up-to-date form on there.

Have a look at that as well as the I-864 which is the affadavit of support you will need to fill out.

You might want to check out visajourney.com, diveintoamerica.com and britishexpats.com for people who are also moving spouses to the US.

Hello

I have been in the UK on a work permit for over 5 years now and I just received my ILR.  I married a British citizen 3 years ago.

My question is....if we want to move back to the USA in another year or so...what steps do we take? Will he automatically get a greencard as we will have been married for a few years already?

Thanks

Nineteen years ago I was a Brit marrying an American and no, the receipt of a green card is not automatic just because you are married and have been for some time. You have to obtain, fill out,and file a boatload of paperwork which has to go through an approval process that may or may not be rejected if there is just cause, just like with every other aspect (such as visas to enter on, etc).

My first step was literally to just contact my nearest branch of what was then called the INS, and ask to be mailed all the necessary forms (this was 1989 before the internet made form downloads possible and ubitquitous -- you have the internet now!)

You have to provide certain documents, meet financial criteria file applications accompanied by hefty filing fees. They eventually call you as a couple in for an interview and make a decision about granting a green card based on evidence that shows the marriage is not just a "Paper marriage." You won't have any problem convincing them, I'm sure, but just to let you know, they still have to put your marriage through the rigmarole of establing that you guys are legitimately a couple; it's routine but far from automatic, and the process has to be gone through before the non-US citizen gets issued with a green card upon the (former) INS's decision to okay the application. It's also a pricey process and can take a while -- in my part of the US, the system was even backlogged by being overburdened by applications, and took longer than normal just to get approved each part of the way through it all. It's a paperwork slog just like when an American applies for ILR in the UK.

You will be fine but be prepared to know there is a whole process to your spouse being granted a green card and it doesn't just happen because of your existing marriage. Best wishes.

Thanks for your replies. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but was just wondering if it would be less difficult as we already have established ourselves as a married couple etc.

Are we able to apply for the greencard while we were still living and working in the UK? As in - can we do our interviews etc etc at the embassy here in London?  I was reading some sites and it said to submit the application and petition and then remain in the USA till you get a decision.

Thanks

Are we able to apply for the greencard while we were still living and working in the UK? As in - can we do our interviews etc etc at the embassy here in London?  I was reading some sites and it said to submit the application and petition and then remain in the USA till you get a decision.

Thanks

The reason I gave you the US Embassy website and not the USCIS website is that it details the process of someone applying for their spouse whilst in the UK.

You're kind of putting the cart before the horse. You have to get the visa first before going to the US. The 'green card' or Legal Permanent Resident card is issued when you actually arrive in the US. The visa is surrendered upon entry and the card is mailed to subsequently.

Because you've been married more than 2 years your husband can get a permanent resident status immediately once he arrives in the US on his visa. If you had been married less than 2 years he would be a 'conditional resident'.

Being married for a period of time does help, and loads of us have gone through the process, though it is never the same twice it seems as there is always a little tweak here or there. But it is definitely doable.

thanks everyone!!

one question (sorry if its a really stupid one) but i was looking through the forms i would need to fill in and it says as a sponsor i would have to fulfull certain income requirements which is fine because i more than meet them....but it asks for tax info for the last couple of years. all of my income for the past few years has been earned in the UK. of course i have always still filed a US tax return, but is that enough to show? or do i have to already have a job in the USA to show?  i work in IT marketing so it would be easy enough to just hop into another job stateside but i was wondering if i'd already need to be set up over there with a job for the purposes of the forms.

thanks!

your US tax returns are enough on your part. without a job waiting on the other side they may want a co sponsor though, someone in the US who can show Their paperwork to basically say they'd cover for you if you became dependent. That would depend on how much money you have, and I'm sure your hosue has something to do with it but we didn't have a house when we moved so I didn't have to deal with that part. I had to get a co sponsor it was super easy and no prob, the website will detail what they want from you (the sponsor) before asking for a co sponsor. 

You just have to show that you have filed taxes in the US. We didn't have jobs but we had enough finances so we didn't need a sponsor, so you don't always need a sponsor if you don't have jobs lined up.

Thanks everybody!

One more thing - it says I have to file the forms where the marriage took place...but that was the Dominican Reublic! Although I wont be too put out if I 'have' to take another vacation

Marlespo - we dont own property either. I want to rent over there for a while to see if hubby likes it as much as he thinks he will...and to make sure I dont end up missing the UK.

Do you guys know how much savings i'd need to show in order to be able to sponsor hubby myself if we move there without jobs lined up?

Do I have it right that we file the forms and the visa takes about 4 months and then we have to move there within 6 months?

Are there medicals that he has to take to pass?

Thanks!

Course there is also something else to think about too. Since you have gotten your ILR and its possible you may want to come back here to the UK to live. You'd also be wise to stay here in the UK long enough to get naturalisation/citizenship and get UK passport . Makes life a lot easier should you stay out of UK for several years then decide you want to come back.
Just something to think about.

There are formulas to work out how much savings you need and I thought they were on the actual paperwork you fill out (I864 I believe). You have to calculate family size, and then look up the poverty level for that family size and it is a percentage of that.

I will try to find the actual link because I filed all my paperwork over a year ago and things may have changed since then.

He will need to go to a medical, it has to be with a doctor they have approved. He will also need a police background check.

edit to add link http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3183.html:

snippet...

What Cash Value of Assets is Needed?

To be counted, the cash value of assets must equal five times the difference between the sponsor's income and 125 percent of the poverty line for the household size.

Note that household size includes children that live with you at any point, even if it is not full time.

One more thing - it says I have to file the forms where the marriage took place...but that was the Dominican Reublic! Although I wont be too put out if I 'have' to take another vacation

You'll likely be eligible to file through the DHS office of the US Embassy.

Do you guys know how much savings i'd need to show in order to be able to sponsor hubby myself if we move there without jobs lined up?

Have a look at the .pdf file, here, for the current values. This can, and will, change in the future so be sure to check back on the USCIS site.

Do I have it right that we file the forms and the visa takes about 4 months and then we have to move there within 6 months?

Yep.

Are there medicals that he has to take to pass?

Yes, he will have to undergo a medical in London prior to his visa interview.

Thanks

Kaylesh - I am able to apply for uk citizenship now...just waiting to come back from my visit home before I have to give up the passport again as my ILR took almost 4 months! I will be applying in March. If I move to the USA, they wont take back my UK citizenship for any reason will they? I know with iLR they revoke it if you move for more than 2 years.

It's going to be hard getting him to a medical. He hasn't been to the doctor once in the time that i have known him! I will have to work on that one ha ha ha!