robert m.

Hello,
I'm Rob, and I have a few questions to ask about this. It's probably all over the place, but I didn't figure everyone's situation was exactly like mine.

I've been with my girl for almost 2 years long distance. I visited her in December at her parents house for approximately 45-46 days, and she decided to come back with me and do the same thing.

Sad thing is, she got deported back to the U.S within 3 days of stepping foot in the U.K. She was allowed to be with me until the next flight, so we took a coach to mine and chilled a while.

We obviously did things, and she got sent back almost 1-2 months ago.
But she's been telling me she's missed her first period, and today she was supposed to, and it looks like she might be missing the next one as well..

MEANING. She's got a high possibility of being pregnant, she has a lot of other signs like pains under her stomach, nausea, fatigue, etc etc.

Down to the basic point, I don't want to just sit here in another country and do nothing, I love her with all my heart and soul, and before I ever thought this girl was pregnant I was going to propose to her after her 18th birthday in the summertime, and get married over there in the U.S. But now, if she really is pregnant (idk if her period might be delayed or what not) But saying she is, I wanna support her and be there for her no matter what.

How do I go about doin this? My mind is kind of rattled at the moment and I need some pointers. She's trying to get a job where she's at, and has been since she's gotten back from U.K, but to no avail. Right now I'm on jobseekers looking for a job and such, so she's at her moms house trying to leave so she can support herself and now possibly a child.
What visa do I need to get?
How does the process work?
We need to get married sometime, housing etc etc
I just need some help here basic bottom line, can anyone help out?
Thanks

Noorah101

Hi Rob, Welcome to BE.

Start by reading this comparison chart of the marriage-based visa options: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Compar...ge-based_visas

Basically you have 2 choices. Have your fiancee file an I-129F now, and then in about 6 to 8 months you can move to the USA, get married within 90 days, and apply for permanent residency. This will be your fastest choice, because the petition can be filed soon.

The other choice is to get married as soon as you can (you can marry in the USA on the VWP), then return to the UK to do an Immigrant Visa. About 8 to 10 months later, you move to the USA and become a permanent resident upon entry. This one takes a little longer, especially because you have to be married first, before the I-130 can be filed.

One problem I see is that she's currently only 17. She needs to be 18 in order to sign the I-864 Affidavit of Support. Since that Affidavit of Support is not required for the K-1 visa (but is required after you arrive, which will be after she turns 18), that might be the wiser visa to apply for. The Affidavit of Support for the K-1 visa is the I-134, which her parent can sign (for example).

You can visit the USA on the VWP while the visa process is going on, but only the typical 90 day visits, and not back to back visits.

Rene

Noorah101

Why did she get deported from the UK?

Rene

robert m.

Fair enough on the applications part, that's made this a lot simpler.
And yes, this is all planned after she turns 18, which will be May 11th.
She was deported.. we took a flight for 9 hours back here in the U.K, we arrived together, and I got my baggage, and left her to go through the immigration.
First, the guy who detained her gave her no reason, made several calls to her mam back home in the U.S, which would've been at about 5 a.m her time, asked questions to ensure she was her daughter, which apparently took 2 hours to do. Took my passport, and hers, told her he was going to ask me some questions (which he never did I might add), and left her sitting with about 6 other people.

They pat searched her 4 times, took her mug shot and fingerprints, went through all her luggage which was about 3 bags, read her diary in front of her with the other lady that was searching her bags, took her to the detention facility, had her pat searched again, locked up her bags and then proceeded to interrogate her 3 different times. Normally I'd say she was being questioned, but this wasn't the case at all.

What they finally came down to was I was on job seekers funding, which calls it "public funds"
She had about 2-300 pound in her pocket when she went through Heathrow, and another 2 grand in an account at home. She had a ticket for 6 months, which is the longest you can stay in the U.K. I didn't approve of it myself, but her parents bought her the ticket for christmas, and since all was done, there wasn't any way to change it back. Her parents thought it would be a great idea to spend more time with me, seems as we're a long distance couple, and it doesn't look good to anyone else given the fact we met online -_-

Bare bottoms, they released her after 9 hours of being in the detention facility, while I was debating the immigration officer for being prejiduced, and racist. The officer that handled her case first was a pakistani/black, which I had no problem with until my girlfriend apparently heard she had "pissed him off". The ladies that searched her bags joked about it and said there was no possible way she'd be let through, and after I'd heard about that I demanded a female officer of the same race as her, (caucasion). The first officer said she had no money on her at all, until the second officer arrived and she thoroughly proved she had sufficient funds until the money would be wired to my account which I had arranged.

After that we took a 6 hour coach to mine. The second immigration officer suggested and advised we get the proper documentation to prove she could stay. So we did. Phone calls to her mother for documentation of proof she had the money in her own account, bank statements, permission slip from both her parents who copied their ID'S to the permission slip proving who they were, and valid signatures.

On the 13th, we went back with the proper proof, and they said, "We are sorry you went through all the hassle, but the deportation is too far into process to stop it."... We were 3 1/2 hours early to her flight.

Needless to say, she went home despite any efforts we made with, and I quote, "95% of people in your same situation are allowed through every day. 5% are deported because the immigration officer woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Today's that day for you."

I apologize for the long drawn out episode as I am still raw from the incident. We're brushing it off, and I'm considering going to the U.S to be with her. We found that if couples are married and together outside of the U.K for 4 years approximately, they are granted Indefinate leave to remain, and naturalization within a few weeks after. I have no problem doing this, and I just hope we can get through this.
(Again I apologize)
Thank you for the information, I will use it to my fullest benefit.

robert m.

And btw, thanks for the welcoming.

Another thing, does she have to be 18 to fill out the petition form? I-129F?

robert m.

Another thing, what does she need to do on her side of the board? Preperation etc etc, and what are the costs? Thanks for all the help and advice so far. xD

Noorah101

First choose which visa you want to do, then ask about the specifics. What needs to be done on her part is different for each visa.

Rene

Noorah101

Go to www.uscis.gov, forms, I-129F, and read the instructions.

Rene

Noorah101

depends which visa you're going for, but if you budget about $3,000 you should be ok either way.

Rene

ian-mstm

First off... you need to calm down. Your thoughts are all over the place and you're anxious and, perhaps, a bit desperate. That's a lethal combination when dealing with US immigration and always leads to bad decisions! You've already made some bad decisions, so now you need to sort things out.

You have two choices for a visa - a fiance visa (K-1) or a spouse visa (CR-1). Each has pros and cons... here's a chart.

You have a lot of research to do... a lot, and you're going to be learning a new language: immigration-speak. It's not something you can digest in a day... but here's something to get you started: start right now to get used to the fact that you won't be moving to the US anytime soon. You can visit... but you can't stay without the proper visa. If your fiancee is pregnant, she's going to have to deal with it... mostly without you being there. Accept that fact, and move forward.

While you can probably marry prior to her turning 18 (depending on which state she lives in), she can not sponsor you until after she turns 18 - and she must be the one to sponsor you!

Further, there are very real and legally binding financial commitments that your (then) wife must make with the US government. That must be done before you ever become a US permanent resident (= green card).

Bottom line - this is not something you can slap together in a week or two and consider it done and dusted. You are both going to be dealing with US immigration for several years, so the sooner you can wrap your collective heads around it, the farther ahead you'll be.

Ian

jeffreyhy

It seems that you've rejected the option of your fiancee emigrating to the UK?

Regards, JEff

Noorah101

I'm not quite following this part. If you are talking about coming to the USA and becoming a permanent resident, there is no such thing as "Indefinite leave to remain" in the USA, and naturalization does not happen within just a few weeks.

If you're talking about the USA, you first become a permanent resident (which is different in timing between the K-1 visa and the CR-1 immigrant visa). After being a PR for 3 years, you can apply for US citizenship. It takes about 6 months to complete the citizenship process.

If you are talking about the UK, then I believe she has to immigrate to the UK for all that to happen (indefinite leave to remain and then UK citizenship). It doesn't happen while she's in the USA.

Please clarify.

Rene

robert m.

Fair enough, and understood.

robert m.

No. Not rejected. She wants to come here and do just that, she's done about 2 months worth of research on it. Thing is, by May she'll be 18, which means she can attempt to come back here. She's still currently looking for work, and a place to support herself eventually. We still have a couple days to confirm whether or not she's absolutely pregnant, but if i go over there, its plan B to be honest with you.

It's about 2-3 grande total in order for her to come here apparently, and with the sh** jobs over there, that's not looking so good. As the previous commenter said, I am absolutely anxious because I didn't expect this to happen, and I think I need to learn some patience with it.

Bottom line, I want to ensure we cover everything if we decide to go either way. We both don't want to spend another 1000 dollars on a ticket to get deported back again, or worse. The immigration officer advised we obtain a spouse visa, and we would absolutely be let through. But I know there's little things they look for in order to keep her out, that's their job yea?

robert m.

Yea, yes, I used ILR for over there, that's my mistake. And it sounds a bit tougher to get through on the U.S's side, but if its really what we want then we'll have to go through with it.