Filling DCF as step parent or adopted parent?

A little bit of history.... I moved to the UK in March this year. Our plan was for me to adopt my step children (husband is a widow) after the year long residency requirement. We thought we would stay here for a few years, get use to being a family, then move in 3-4 years after I got my citizenship (as a precaution in case we wanted to come back to the UK).

As of the other day, we've decided it may be best for the children, aged 11 and 13 to move now, to have more time in US high school before going off to college in a new country. Anyway, this doing my head in, having to re-think the plan.


Facts:
I cannot file for adoption until I've been in the UK 12 months.
DCF takes 5-6 months, and is only good for entry within 6 months.

If I file for DCF in December at the latest, that should give us an answer by June, allowing us to move during the summer (July/Aug) so that they can start school in Virginia in late August.

But if I file in December, I won't have adopted the children yet. And depending on how long that procedure takes in March, I may not have adopted them by the time we move...

So long story short, I suppose, is it better for the children for us to apply for DCF after they are adopted (as far as future greencards, etc)? Does it give them any advantages over just being my step-children when we move over? Because if it would be beneficial to them, we could stay longer here in the UK so that everything is done in it's own time.

Any thoughts or advice welcome. Thanks!

I've had a search for you and found this page to contain the information you will need to make an informed decision.

Thank you Tam. I'm going there now to have a look.

Some of the posts I was going to reply to went missing while the board was down, but here was what I was going to say:

We haven't talked to a solicitor. Would love to, but we're living on my husband's benefits right now, and so there isn't really anything left over at the end the bills. I did know that there were other options to adoption, but as far as us leaving the country, I didn't know if there were benefits to them being my legal children. I learned in a different post that if I can adopt them, they may legally be USC when we enter the country, so I may not have to file DCF for them... I'm going to contact the adoption people I got the info from at the beginning of the year to ask about these changes tomorrow hopefully.

Thanks Sonya!

New today:

I emailed the US Embassy in London who sent me to http://adoption.state.gov/ and that has mainly to do with adopting unrelated children in a different country. I emailed them, and they got back to me today. I still have to go the immigrant visa route, and can do that anytime. They will be eligible for US Citizenship after two years residency with me. That can be here, there, or split any way it doesn't matter. I am thinking of some other details to follow up with them about, but I'm trying to process everything first, so I ask succinct questions that are easy to follow in this complicated situation.

I had kind of hoped (but didn't really believe) that if the adoption was complete, they could get US passports and be done with immigration. I knew it wasn't likely, but with all the red tape, a girl's gotta hope that something will be easy along the way. What was I thinking! LOL!

Something you might want to consider is doing the adoption and waiting the 2 years in the UK, that way you can get your UK Citizenship and then do the DCF for your husband and then he'll get LPR status immediately rather than having to adjust his status once you arrive in the US (and pay Uncle Sam - again).

That's why we were initially doing a 4 year plan. But then we realized that my daughter would be 18 not 17, and finished with her "high school" here. We wouldn't be able to enroll her in college right off upon landing in the US, and she would be stranded at home all day by herself.

But if we do two years, then my visa expires in March, and they're in school till July. So do I leave them... I really don't want to. But it's not worth the £££ to stay for 3-4 months. So do we take them out of school early? Possibly.

BUT, then if we stay two years, shouldn't we just stay three, and let me get citizenship? But then that's applying for my three year anniversary in March, and also needing to file DCF so that we could move in the summer. I don't mind taking them out of school as much as I mind having them start late in a new school.

I know that it will all work out somehow. I'm just a planner. I've got spreadsheets and lists and plans. And this whole math error has just done my head in. I'm no longer in control and it's driving me crazy.

Something you might want to consider is doing the adoption and waiting the 2 years in the UK, that way you can get your UK Citizenship and then do the DCF for your husband and then he'll get LPR status immediately rather than having to adjust his status once you arrive in the US (and pay Uncle Sam - again).

Why would he be adjusting his status? Whether the I-130 was filed here or in the US there is no adjustment of status.

Maybe you are confusing it with lifting of conditions which is required if the visa is only a CR-1?