Going back to the US with my kids

This might sound silly, but I haven't seen the answer in the posts that I've read... I'm here in the UK with my two children on the Spousal (and dependent) Visas. We have been here since May and are positively miserable...so we've made the decision to go back to the states. I know that I will have to go through the immigration process for my UK DH, but will I need to do anything for my children or myself? Can we just jump on a plane and get out of here? What about if we've been here more then a year? Will the process be the same?

Thanks a bunch!

You should look at www.diveintoamerica.com they have everything you need with regards to info about moving back, if your children are USC also then it will just be your husband who requires a visa.

However you need to show you can support him ie with employment and the above site will give you the info you need and how much you will need to earn or have in savings to support your husband and family. I think when we looked for a family our size (6) we required in the region of $130,000 or there abouts it may have gone up now, they also take into account anything you own that you can sell i.e. a house ect.

But your husband will require a medical down in London and you need to start the process of getting permission off the US Embassy in London to apply i-130, & then so on, they appear to be moving quiet quickly at the moment so months so it seems.

Good luck the above site is great very nice people and really helpful with info.

Indy

Here is a link that may be helpful to you for your husband.

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

Somewhere within the site it discusses income/assets that you must have to qualify for the visa. (Sorry its been a while since I went through the process so I can't quite remember).

Check out the link, below, to the USCIS site. The poverty guidelines for the I-864, (affadavit of support which you must fill in) can be found here - it's a pdf document.

The I-130 form and instructions can be found here. It's best to check for any updates on the USCIS site when it comes to the forms as the London Embassy doesn't tend to update their forms promptly.

Thanks for the links...I've started collecting the paperwork already. 

I must ask one more question however... does the process take longer if I go back to the states and start his application from there? It just seems sensible for me to go there, find a job and get a place for all of us.

When we moved in June 2008 it was taking far longer for people who filed from the US.  We filed in London (DCF) - sent the paperwork in in Feb and had the visa in hand in the beginning of June.  The only big catch with filing in the UK is that you will either need to show proof of the assets that Chris mentioned or find a co-sponsor with a US income that is large enough to "support" your family.  Look at the diveintoamerica site - there's good info there.

I must ask one more question however... does the process take longer if I go back to the states and start his application from there? It just seems sensible for me to go there, find a job and get a place for all of us.

Yes it does take longer if you have to go through the service centres in the US but there's nothing to stop you, the USC, filing the I-130 via the DHS unit of the US Embassy in London and then going to the US to set up your new home/life ahead of your husband getting his visa and moving over.

Do the DCF from London, it definitely takes longer from the US - you can, however, go to the US while the DCF process is going on and find a job, it is just that your husband has to remain in the UK

This was way back in 1999 but my husband adjusted status in the US (he was a student and applied for adjustment of status to greencard after we got married). It took 3 years for them to process the application, no joke. He had to apply yearly for work authorization and advanced parole so we could travel.

The upside was that by the time it was processed we had been married for more than 2 years so his greencard didn't have to be conditional

Now just to apply for citizenship. We were out of the country for one month too long and now we have to start the clock over! arrgh.

I would apply via the consulate in the UK if at all possible. Will save you time, stress and money.

Due to the economic slow down and the lack of work for DH (who's in the building trade), our move back to the US is going forward. My girls and I will leave at the end of this month, and DH will follow us about 3 weeks later for a couple of months until work picks up as scheduled in July.

Our plan was to DCF here first, but with DH having no work at the moment, him staying here without any income would be rather impossible. He's going to spend a couple of months with us in the states while I look for work and a place, and then come back to the UK and work for 3-6 months before the next visit. Once I find work over there, we'll apply for his Visa. DH will continue to visit us as often as possible (every 3-6 months) until the time that he gets the Visa and can move there permanently. It's not an ideal situation, but we think it's the only way to get our lives back on track.

I know that DH can only visit the US for 90 days at a time...is there a limit as to how often he can visit for that amount of time? I've had people tell me ways around it, and that we can apply for his Visa once there, but we want to do it the right way and not step on immigrations toes at all. He'll take over our tenancy agreement to show immigration his intent to return, along with his return airfare itinerary...but will that do?

I'm rather concerned about him having problems going through immigration without me for that long of a visit...is there anything else that we can do to make extra sure he has everything to satisfy them of his return?

Stressed to full potential ~ Michigal ~

I know that DH can only visit the US for 90 days at a time...is there a limit as to how often he can visit for that amount of time?

A general rule of thumb is to spend as much time out of a country you are visiting as you do in it. It may sound cryptic but you won't find any hard and fast rules written down anywhere. He should have with him any proof of his intent to return to the UK after his trip but it should only be shown if it is asked for - volunteering information can only serve to make things more complicated than they should be.

Now my info is over two years out od date here...but when DH was coming over to visit us in the US he never had a problem.

Please do not try to have him stay from within the US, the burden of proof for that type of application is very high. Either do DCF here or the apply from within the US, BUT unless they have changed the rules once you make the application it is VERY likely that he will be refused entry should he try to visit then. And the application takes nine months to a year. We could not take the seperation...so I hope you consider it carefully.

If I were to apply for him from the states, would it matter if he were there for a two-month visit when the application was submitted? He wouldn't plan to stay, but if we could apply for his Visa at the beginning of a visit, it would be nice to shorten our time apart during the process. We would like to keep things as much by the book as possible, but don't think that that much time apart would be very manageable for either of us. I know I could visit the UK, but don't see that happening regularly enough to keep us happy either.

Or...what if I were to come back over for a couple of weeks once he's back to work? Could we DCF then, or do I have to "live" here at the time of the application? It is possible that I could come back after a couple of months without my kids for that purpose.

I'll be sure that he keeps his rental agreement and something about work in his bags "just in case" the information is requested...but won't offer it. He hates going through immigration on a normal visit and always feel nervous and worried they won't let him in, so that might just make him feel a bit better.

We submitted our application while he was in the USA. But like I said once it was submitted, that was it for visits. Basically that is when the US begins to assume that your intention is to immigrate and that you will be a risk of overstaying. Until the application is submitted there is a low risk of being returned, but once it is...it is almost a certainty in their system and no amount of paperwork protects you.

Even after we withdrew our application, my husband's passport is still flagged in the US immigration system. An extra screen always comes up...I assume about our withdrawn application. To be safe I always bring his complete file including the letter of withdrawal and proof of ties to the UK. I know one day we are going to get a hard a$$ that pulls us.

To apply from within the US is going to mean at least six months apart...likely nine and possibly over a year. You can visit him, but he will not be able to visit you.

As for DCF, I am not sure...but I doubt that will be an option as it is meant for families that are resident in the UK and wish to return as a family unit. It though takes half the time for the application. Any chance you could tough it out here for 3 to 6 more months and do it this way? Remember that if finances are the issue, the US still allows co-sponsors so a family member or close-friend could do that.

you should really do DCF if you don't want to be apart for very long. i have to admit I don't know much about the angle you're trying to do this with. My husband was on a student visa, so here already, when he adjusted his status. You definitely need to look at some US immigration forums.