applying for US jobs while living in the UK

My husband and I are starting to think about our move back to the US, and so I'm starting to look for jobs. My husband is in academia, so it's not a problem for him to be living here and applying for US-based jobs, but I'm not so lucky. I imagine a lot of employers might be reluctant to interview someone who's living on another continent even if they're planning a move back to the US. Has anyone had experience doing this? Should I put a local address (my in-laws' or my parents') on my resume? What about the phone number?

Standard resume format doesn't include physical address. I'd just make sure you have an american phone number for them to contact you, employers won't want to make international calls for interviews. If you're very concerned, I would just include in your cover letter that you're returning to the US. Also make sure your resume is in the US format, which has changed quite a bit in the last 5 years. Do you have any contacts in the US at companies you'll be applying to? That would help you a lot as well.

Any ideas on how to get a US phone number? I thought I could use Google Voice but it only works if you're in the US. 

You could buy a subscription on Skype, then choose the country, area code and number you want. If you have the Skype app on your phone, you can answer it like a regular call as long as you have a strong enough data signal. Alternately, callers can leave voicemail.

Click 'Skype number' here for more: https://www.skype.com/en/features/

Oh that's handy, thank you!

When I wanted to move back to the USA from the UK, I found that if I was persistent, about 5% of my effort resulted in fruition from those hoping to "rescue" me and bring me back to the USA.

I wish it were the other way around. All of the UK recruiters can see my UK experience on my CV and could care less. It is no selling point to them whatsoever...AWFUL!

Side note: be persistent. I had an interview when I returned. I didn't get the job, but got the interview. I rarely pass the interview and get the job though.