My heads spinning

Ok.  Here goes.

My name is Brian and I live in South Dakota, USA.  I met my girlfriend online and we have decided to get married.  I spent 4 months over in the UK just visiting and no visa.  We are not rich and I am worried about the way the government will look at us.  She works but it is technically a temp to hire job right now.  So she is not permanently employed yet.  But this place is a place that hires temp and eventually hires permanent.  I work in a phone center here in the US and she is working in a phone center over there.  We're not middle management we're not scientists basically I do decent for myself and support myself.  Now I plan on moving there and getting married and I'm worried that we're not making enough money. 

The other thing I'm really worried about is the age gap.  I'm 24 and she is 39.  Hey love hits ya when ya least expect it.  I am worried they won't believe that our marriage is for real that our relationship is real.  I'm worried they will think I'm just trying to get into the country.  But I'm also thinking if they make a determination on age difference that it would be considered discriminatory.  Although I don't know if that is something that is protected from in the UK. 

She has kids and gets some money from the government because she is divorced and he doesn't pay a dime towards them and she can't afford to pay rent and feed them and all that alone.  But she does have a job.

OK I'm beginning to ramble so I'll stop here.

Anyone that can give some advice and possibly some positive outlook would be much appreciated.

Hi Brian

Not sure from your post if you plan to come over here on a fiance visa and then marry or get married and then come on a spouse visa, so I'll assume the former.

A fiance visa gives you 6 months here during which time you cannot work and you are supposed to get married by the end of the 6 months. Your GF has to show she can support you and provide you with accommodation for this period in order to get the visa. You also have to show evidence of your relationship. As you have been over here to visit her for a few months you should have no problem on that score.  We showed a ton of emails, photos, airline tickets etc and that was sufficient.

After you get married you apply for a 2 year spouse (live & work) visa. If you have had a fiance visa, there isn't much to it, just show the marriage certificate basically. If you get married in the US & then apply for the 2 year spouse visa to come over here you will have to show evidence of the relationship. 

The two year visa carries the condition "no recourse to public funds" ie you cannot directly receive any state benefits. Your GF's entitlement to state benefits may be affected by getting married, she should check that out.

I don't think the age gap would be a problem, as long as they can see the relationship is genuine.

Good luck

Liz

The other thing I'm really worried about is the age gap.  I'm 24 and she is 39. 

That's about 15 years difference, and not really enough to justify a refusal in its own right.  The last time I read through a case where they refused a fiance visa on age difference, the man was 21 and the woman was 64 - they didn't think it was a credible relationship.   They may probe a bit as to how you met, but it's logical they would do that.  I would not worry too much about a 15 year difference in age.

wow I remember the spinning head stage! overall the picture you paint doesnt sound too much different from mine and I have my fiance visa in hand and am ready to head over there in August. The only thing that rings a bell of concern to me is the fact she is currently receiving help from the government. You have to show you can live without recourse to government funds. The amount you need to earn isnt stated anywhere..and they seem to be pretty flexible with it. Does she have family that might be willing to say they will lend a hand if needed? Do some research as to job possibilities for you...that will help..you can't officially look for a job until you are married but you can demonstrate you are qualified for positions that earn blank amount of money.

hope this helps some.....feel free to send a message with anymore questions

Helena

She can continue to receive her benefits. As a UK citizen she is entitled to them. The only stipulation is that she cannot claim more because she has you living with her.
Do you have any savings? However little will greatly strengthen your case. Anything over $1000 would be very positive. You can prove your savings with your latest few bank statements.
The age gap I don't think would be a problem. If you were from a third world country it might raise eyebrows but I do not think they will think an American would marry a British woman for purely economic reasons.

It's natural to worry about getting a visa (no matter what kind!), but your case sounds like it's on the up-and-up.  In my opinion, it'd be best for you to get a spousal visa (meaning your fiancee' would fly to the US, you'd get married and apply for your spousal visa in the US, and then you'd both return to the UK).  I say the spousal visa rather than the fiance visa because financial issues seem to be important to you -- with a spousal visa you can work immediately, whereas with a fiance visa you'll be unemployed for up to six months (or longer!).  If you're asked why you "skipped" the fiance visa (you won't be asked), you could just give that for a reason--you wanted to be able to work immediately to contribute to your shared expenses.

My husband and I went the spousal visa route and we weren't asked about our relationship history at all.  We were asked for the basic documents (see my site below) and sent on our merry way.  I think that there's less suspicion surrounding a spousal visa because you've already exhibited some level of committment by marrying the person.

Your age difference, while substantial, isn't one that's overly suspicious.  If she were 70 and you were 30, you might run into trouble, but 15 years isn't too much of a difference when you really think about it.

Also, the fact that you've already lived together in the UK really strengthens your case.  You have shown a desire to get settled and learn about the UK and your girlfriend has supported you (and/or you've relied on savings) for the duration of your stay.

Why 'at least 6 months' of being unemployed if you go the fiancé visa route? You can switch to the spousal visa and therefore be able to work as soon as you get married. You do not have to wait until the 6 months are nearly up to do that. We got married 2 weeks after DH arrived on a fiancé visa and he was working a month later.

I do agree that it is cheaper to go the spousal route, but everyone should get married in the country they want to marry in, if possible.

She can continue to receive her benefits. As a UK citizen she is entitled to them. The only stipulation is that she cannot claim more because she has you living with her.

I didn't mean she couldn't receive a benefit because she is marrying someone from the USA but if her benefit is related to the fact that she is a single parent, her eligibility might be affected if she gets married, that's all.

Hi,
I'm the other half that belongs to the one whose head is spinning!

Ok thought I would just explain what benefits I am on.
I claim family tax credit and working tax credit as I am a single mum working full time with 2 kids in tow. I know that the benefit will decrease once Brian and I are married and that doesn't bother me as I'm sure he will get a job pretty quick once we are married.

What does bother me is the fact that I'm not employed permanently yet, I should get permanent employment but it takes time and the call centre I work at is quite large they only take on so many a month, it seems most people have to wait 6-8 months so still have 4 months to wait maybe, and we want to get our visa for October.
Nickee

oh another British wife, well hello! so do you mean you are worried that you don't earn enough to show immigration that you can support Brian til you get married? if he has got savings he can show that as a means of support and presumably he will live with you, which takes care of most of the rest, especially if you can show you will get married fairly soon after he arrives.

What she means is that since it is not permanent employment they will frown on that.  It is not an issue of money really it is an issue of the fact that they will see it is not "technically" permanent.  But I think if she got a letter from them saying she is temp to hire the letter would solve the problem.

Do they want to see your outgoing bills also?  I'm finding it encouraging talking to people here.  It seems that they don't really go over it with a fine toothed comb.  And I did spend 4 months over there and she was able to support me solidly on her own.  I did have savings but that went to keeping my apartment and stuff over here.  Better work some overtime and get my savings up.

No we didn't show details of outgoings. I just had a letter for my employer saying how long I'd worked there and my salary.  I don't know if they would be worried about Nickee's job being temporary, I doubt it, as long as she has a reasonable income level. 

Do you know what a realistic income level is : gets a lil worried now:

don't worry so much!    i don't earn a lot and it was fine, i don't think they look for an exact figure and i think they realise 2 can live as cheaply as 1, honestly when we applied it seemed like they hardly looked at any of the stuff we gave them.

Ok thank you I have so many more questions to ask think I'll leave them for another day
Nickee