moving to the USA, is it possible??

Hi All,

I hope that someone out there can help a Brit wife!

My American husband came over to live with me on a settlement visa in late September. I have been also living abroad in various European countries for the last ten years so I am also trying to get used to the UK way of life again. I moved back to the UK as it seemed it was the easiest and fastest way to be with my DH.

Maybe we were abit naive to think that the UK would be the easiest option, the wages here are considerably lower than we are both used to, plus we really miss his family and would love to go the USA to live. My Dh is getting really down as he thought he would have a job in no time, any thing casual just to keep him busy, but its been a nightmare trying to get him a national insurance number without a job, and a night mare trying to get a job come to think of it!

I know we have not given it a lot of time here, but having been reaquainted again with life in the UK, I just cannot imagine ourselves settling here forever.  The costs from everyday items to housing, petrol, etc. really seems way out of proportion here (save the NHS).

I have read through some of the posts here and if I have correctly understood, we will not be able to apply here for a K3 visa until he has ILR???

They cannot surely demand that he stays here for two years before applying. I really do not want to be parted from him again for such a long period, is it possible that his parents sponsor me, so he can stay here with me during the K3 visa process?

Can anyone give us us any clarification of the process?? Thanks for listening to me rambling...........


Cally

Hi Cally

I'm no expert on the US immigration process not having gone through it (...yet ...) but my understanding is if your husband doesn't have ILR, he can still file for you but not at the US Embassy here, he has to do it in the US. I am sure someone else on here will be able to tell you more about it.

Liz

Hi Cally,

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this topic at the moment--most of it caused by one experience of one UK Yankee member and a re-write on the Embassy's website.  From what I understand, it's up to the embassy's discretion whether to process your application or not. If it looks like you are trying to sidestep the system (i.e. just moving to the UK to get a quicker visa) then they might reject the application. This was the case for the UK Yankee member Emmy. It may not have been Emmy's intention to sidestep the system, it just appeared that way because they had only been living in the UK a matter of weeks when they applied and their application was denied. There are others who have not received ILR and are DCFing now. I have a friend who has lived here 9 months and her petition for her husband is being processed at the embassy now.

Please find text pasted below from another thread that also explains what I have stated above:

As I mentioned in another thread that clause has been on the website since at least last July and several of us were able to apply and get our visas before and after that time. (I mean those of us who hadn't been here long enough to be the ILR stamp).

I do believe that they have the right to deny applications that seem suspect. Again though, if you truly live here then you don't have the physical presence to be applying in the states. I think its a judgement call by the Embassy....if you look legit.......then they will process your application.  If not then I am sure those who really need to make it happen sooner (life circumstances sometimes dictate choices) they can contact an attorney who may be able to assist.


Julie

Hope that helps.  You could always call the embassy to get clarification before starting the application--good luck though as sometimes the people who man the phones seem to be reading the same text from the website and cannot offer anything more in depth.

Jenninberks

Hi Cally,

Since your husband has only been here since late September I agree with Jenniberks....give them a call or maybe send them an email at londonconsular@state.gov

If you call....make sure the person you are speaking with sounds like they know what they are saying and get their name.  To be safe, I would also send an email to get something in writing. (i.e. - if they say yes you can apply via the Embassy), you can then send a copy of that email with your paperwork along with a letter explaining that your previous correspondence confirmed you could do so. Bottom line....get something in writing before sending the application.    

Best of luck to you guys!  I share in your frustrations. My husband (Brit) and I are moving back to the states soon....for many of the same reasons you mentioned.  I have been here a 1 1/2 yrs and I still haven't come to terms with the high cost of living.

Please keep us posted!

Julie

Cally,

I just thought of something else (which may be obvious so apologies)...it would probably be best to have your husband do the calling/emailing since he is American. I say that only because of the sensitivity of his short time living over here, that way he could state his case for wanting to return to the states with his UK spouse. 

Julie

Just wanted to add to the OP's that the Embassy are usually known for responding to e-mails reasonably quickly - but not this week! So, don't be too disappointed if you don't get a response immediately (from someone who has rushed home from work and booted up to check every day this week 

Good Luck,

Sheril.
* also a "dcf'er"!

sorry.. what is   a DCF  and an ILR?? 

sorry.. what is   a DCF  and an ILR?? 

 I am so sorry, when you "live" this, you tend to live by the short-hand also- I should have clarified.
 DCF = Direct Consular Filing and ILR = Indefinite Leave to Remain
The first one is the process to repatriate to the USA whilst the US citizen is resident in the U.K and the latter, the legal status to work and reside in the U.K

Sheril 

Thank you all for the replies,

Its really great to have other people to talk to about the visa process. I cannot believe how difficult they make it for married couples.
My DH agrees that we should probably wait a month or two before contacting the American Embassy. I just hope that Immigration will not give us a hard time when we start the application
His family want us back in the US as soon as possible, which makes me feel really bad, I just hope he does not have to return to the USA before me for the sponsorship. I do not know if I could handle another long term separation again.

Has anybody had to go through K3 visa process without having ILR recently??
I know that each case is individual but I just need that bit of "hope" at the moment.

Cally xx

We went through the process (the DCF process as listed in the ticky topic at the top of this board) a few months ago. We had only been married just over a year when we applied and we got through just fine. As the rules change about these things it seems to really be a case by case basis - and I have no idea what they'd tell you about your situation. As New-Dawn wrote, they are good about replying to emails, and I suppose you can always apply and hope they let you in - and if not, you just have to wait.
  Do email them though (you are a lot less likely to talk to a helpful person on the phone!) - and let us know what they say.

Hi Cally,

As mentioned previously, we tried to apply via the Embassy in London and was denied on the grounds that my US spouse hadn't stayed here long enough to be considered a "permanent resident" (even though the UK government saw her as one!).  We moved over here at the end of June, and applied in August.  We were denied about 2 weeks later AND we had a lawyer working for us.  Basically we came over with the intention to stay here, but then I got offered a position in the US with my current employer.  By the time we were denied we had been here for 3 months already.  I spoke with the adjudicator several times on the phone but he was not willing to change his mind whatsoever.  He told us to apply in the US, and when we told him we had no address in the US (as we had moved here), he told us to "use a friends or family's address".

After arguing the case for several weeks (faxes, phone calls, and the lawyers talking to them), we finally gave up and filed with the Texas Service Centre, using my friends address in Texas.  This was in early October, and the case has since been forwarded to the California Service Centre (all Texas I-130's are being processed in California due to Texas being overloaded).  The current processing date for California is September 13th, so they havent even looked at our application yet - the processing dates seem to have stalled in California, most likely due to the holidays, elections or simply priorities - no-one seems to know anything, not even the National Customer Service Centre.  Ironically, had the Embassy told us at the beginning that they wouldn't accept it (we asked them before we filed and they said it should be okay), our application would have already been processed in the US!

My advice is to wait for at least 6-12months before applying to the Embassy directly - the adjudicator wouldn't commit to an actual figure, but he actually "suggested" that we should have been living here for 1.5-2yrs to ensure processing!

Good luck!

Thanks!

S.

Thanks Emmy for your response,

WOW what a nightmare. We have recently wrote a letter to the US embassy in London, and we are awaiting a reply (there is a problem e-mailing them at the moment).
I can understand the US immigration point of view about couples wanting to expedite the procedure, but in our case it really its quite different.

I suppose we did not really think about what would happen if he did not like it here in the UK, we had to make a decision about moving to one country and took the "easy option", the K1 application seemed to be so complicated and long-winded.

I guess we are both overwhemlmed by the cost of living here, and with only one of us working there is  quite a strain. I think if he had a job things would not be so bad for him.

The frustration!!!!

Thanks everybody for your advance

Cally

Conshohocken, just to touch on the other problem you said you are encountering. Look at some of the threads on national insurance numbers. To get one, all your husband has to do is prove he is actively job hunting. He does not have to be offered a job FIRST before he gets one! Nor does an employer need one immediately to offer him a job!

Cally,

Wish I could offer advice instead of just sympathy, but anyway, where in the UK do you live and what type of work does your husband want to do?

Jim

Conshohocken, just to touch on the other problem you said you are encountering. Look at some of the threads on national insurance numbers. To get one, all your husband has to do is prove he is actively job hunting. He does not have to be offered a job FIRST before he gets one! Nor does an employer need one immediately to offer him a job!

yes but... when you go to apply for a NIN they say come back when you have a job... seems they don't want to be bothered making sure your eligible to work in the u.k... they want a prospective employer to jump thru those hoops... but it is true you can get a job without one... IF you don't mind giving the government a third of your wages in emergency tax... granted you get it back when you get your NIN but DAMN!!! it hurts while your waiting