Visa for Same Sex UK spouse

Hello Everyone

My partner and I want to move back to the US so that she can experience living there for a while, and then we can decide where to live permanently moving forward. We'd like to leave first part of May 2016; I don't know if the visa processing times would impede upon this though, or if she'd be allowed to travel while they consider the application, should it go past May 2016, from filing in January 2016.

Is there any advantage to filing the I-130 petition to get the ball rolling while we're in the UK? I was thinking it would be good to file here as my UK job currently would meet the financial requirements.

As for the financials, do they consider only the most recent tax return information, or do they account for the past 3 years? I will meet the requirements with the past two years from my job in the UK which began January 2014, but prior to that I wouldn't. I thought waiting to file the petition until January 2016 (once I've filed my taxes for 2015) would be best?

We will have been married for 3 years as of November 2015. I could be wrong here, but it's my understanding that my partner will receive a green card good for 10 years because of this, is that right?

Any advice/input is appreciated. Thanks!

Hi northUKbound,

I too have a same-sex partner and we literally just went through this process. I think most people would agree that as long as you are a UK Resident, which it seems you are, it would be much much much faster to go the route of DCF (Direct Consular Filing) while in the UK. It took my partner and I just over three months from when we sent in the I-130 to when he was issued a visa. They say 6 months or 10 months, but London seems to be much quicker. But it also depends on if you have everything in order. If you wait to file when you get to the US, it could take a year. Plus your partner wouldn't be able to join you for that (although I think there may be some visa you have to file separately to get them over but not sure on that one). All in all, it is much better to do it in London.

Your biggest challenge seems to be meeting the domicile and financial requirements. You have to prove that you are going to move back. That can either be by a job offer in the states, a lease agreement for a US apartment, or other strong ties. My partner and I got a house sorted before we filed so that was my way of showing I would be leaving the UK to reestablish domicile. The other problem will come with the financials. They are not interested in your UK earnings. You will either need to prove substantial savings or that your job in the US (meaning you have to get one first) will cover the minimum financial requirement. I believe it is something like 125% over the poverty line, which for a 2 person household is like $19-20,000 per year. If you don't have this, you can use a co-sponsor (like a parent) that will basically fill a form out to show their earnings are enough for their own household and yours. You also need to make sure you have been filing your taxes while abroad as they will ask for this.

You are correct that you have been married long enough to meet the indefinite green card and not the 2 year conditional one. However, as UK same-sex marriage has only been the law for a year, I assume you got your marriage elsewhere? Or did you convert your civil partnership? Just make sure you have the marriage certificate and not just a civil partnership. I'm sure you know that but wanted to make sure.

My final words of advice are, although UK Yankee forum is an excellent source for US-UK bound people, I would suggest using visajourney.com as well. It focuses solely on US bound immigration.

Good luck and feel free to message me with any questions as it is still very fresh on my mind!!! :-)

Hi there

Thank you for your response; this is all great information.

We entered a civil partnership in 2012, but this will be converted to marriage, and will be dated from 2012 according to the registrar here in Manchester.

There's a chance that my current job may continue in the US - a big turn from a couple of months ago when my contract extension was in question. If this is the case I won't need to worry because I meet those requirements. If it does not continue and I need to get a new job that's fine, but do sponsors need to have held the new job for a certain length of time?

Funnily enough, my brother has gone through this situation with his wife, who is from Mexico. She entered the US (I'm not sure on what visa) and didn't have to leave because they got married within a certain amount of time of her being there. They then applied to convert her status and she has since received her green card. Do you know anything about what visa my partner could come over on initially if we went this route?

Thanks for your help

Not sure about the length of time you would need to prove income if you got a new job as we didn't go that route. However, it'd be worth a look on the embassy website just to check.

It sounds as though your brother and his spouse entered on a finance visa. They are required to get married...I think within 90 days from entry. Then they apply for a change of status to get the green card. However, you wouldn't be able to apply for that one. I really think the best thing is to file DCF with the embassy in London and apply for a IR-1 visa. Its all on their website on what you need and the forms you require. One thing you can start to get is a police report for your British Spouse. It states on the Embassy site how to get this. But if you are wanting to speed this process up, being prepared is key. So get all of the documents you will need now and then when the time comes, it will be much quicker.

I would also ensure you filed your taxes this year and get those in order. You should print the last three years tax transcripts from the IRS website. This is enough for the embassy.