bigboab5

Hi peeps,

Thought I best start this ball rolling now, so I know what is ahead of me and my wife.

Next year (30th June 2011), I will retire from work at the grand old age of almost 53 on a full pension. My wife and I will have been married for 9 and a half years by then and she has lived in this country since Oct 2001. She is an American Citizen and will be my sponsor (I-130 I think). She has ILR in this country though she has not taken out UK citizenship. I am a UK citizen.

As I retire at end of June, I will be living on my pension from that date and will have a fairly large lump sum. Our plans are to move to the states and buy a house there. So how quickly should I apply for the visa after I retire? is there only the I-130 to fill in or is there more to it than that. (I know there is an interview in London and a medical at some point). Any further pointers would be great.

Thanking you in anticipation

Bob

Noorah101

Hi Bob,

The process you'll be doing is called Direct Consular filing, or DCF, on this forum. Here is the Wiki Guide to DCF. Have a read of that, and come on back with any questions:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/DCF_I-130_Filed_In_London

Currently, the DCF process takes between 4 - 6 months, from filing I-130 to getting the visa interview.

Rene

ian-mstm

She should consider UK citizenship if she's eligible. Tremendous advantages for her if she ever wants to live in the UK again (or anywhere else in the EU, for that matter)... and the future is always uncertain.

Ian