Leyther

Not that Wikipedia is a great resource in the first place to gather facts, but the way that I read the the bolded print is that the PROTECT law was written to protect minors in other countries from U.S. citizens and U.S. PR's from traveling abroad for the purpose of illicit sexual conduct with said minors.

I don't believe this applies in the case of the OP were a minor conducted in consensual under-age sex with an adult in a foreign country-- then again, I am laymen and not a professional-- just my take on the Wiki reading.

robert m.

Yeah that was my exact first thought, I'm thinking eh? The U.S makes laws against its own citizens to protect other countries from them?

If there really is any other documents that state it's illegal for what happened I truly want to read them, I don't want to dig too deep of a hole as it is.

Rete

The age of consent for sexual relations vary from state to state as does the age of consent to marry legally. As for the age requirement to sign the I-130 or the I-129F it is age 18.

You say her family "trusts" you. Will they still trust you once they learn that their daughter has had pre-marital sex and is now pregnant? Does that home school usually have a more rigid morally then the average person.

cosmicjunkie

You took the words right out of my mouth!

Mummy in the foothills

Then that sounds like the most likely route, apply for a visa for her to come to UK, and get married and live there. But do it before April, when the new income guidelines come in affect.

ian-mstm

I used to teach GED courses to adults and am a certified GED tester. I can assure you, they aren't equivalent despite what the paper says. Anyway... water under the bridge now.

Ian

SanDiegogirl

Yikes ...... this sounds weird. You checked out the age that you could legally have sex with your girlfriend before you visited her?

Who does that?

..... and you seem to have an awful lot of information as to illicit sexual acts with underage persons in foreign countries.

Are you for real?

Englishmum

My thoughts exactly.

And why on Earth didn't they use contraception? As my sister would say, "he must have a dick for brains"

He says he is "on Jobseekers" ie. unemployed. He won't even be able to support his girlfriend and baby (if she's pregnant). Who is going to financially support them if they want to live in the UK?

In addition, as someone already pointed out, the foreign bride or groom has to be 21 years old to get a visa to reside in the UK (there were too many problems with abusive arranged marriages of young girls from the Indian sub-continent, so the age was raised).

SanDiegogirl

If one reads his original posting he has been in this 'relationship'for two years, and the girl is still only 17!

This is either a complete figment of his imagination or this has been a very unorthodox situation and one which marriage is not the answer.

Bluegrass Lass

This past year, I can't remember which court it was, but a court ruled that it was illegal to require foreign spouse's to be 21 or older (against some human rights convention or something like that, IIRC). That was a fairly recent change, and I believe it is now 18 and over to be married.

BUT, given that she won't be 18 until May, and wouldn't be able to apply for a visa until then, they won't be able to file before the big changes in April. And that would pretty much toss out the idea of them moving to the UK..unless he can pick up a job making more than £26k to £31k per year (that is what it appears the level will be).

Robert, you need to tell your girlfriend to head to Walgreens and get a pregnancy test. You both need to know if she is definitely pregnant. I won't go into the whole moral aspect of this situation - you've already got some of that from the other posters (who I agree with).

In my estimation, your more feasible option is for you to move to the US. Which would mean that I hope your future in-laws are willing to sponsor you, unless your g/f can get a job making about $19k/yr to meet the Affidavit of Support guidelines.

jeffreyhy

How about the reverse - his parents sponsor her to the UK? Or doesn't UK immigration law provide for that. $23,162, if she's pregnant. And 2 kids with a baby living just above the poverty level is going to be a really fun-filled life. Regards, JEff

Bluegrass Lass

Thanks for that. I wrongly assumed for 3 peeps, the guidelines were around the $19k mark.

The UK is a bit more vague when it comes to allowing 3rd Party sponsorship. There are also some big changes coming down the pipe in April, they haven't been fully announced yet, but it's possible they will be doing away with 3rd party sponsorship. Needless to say, the UK changes are pretty biased towards UKCs with money or higher income, leaving those lower income folks out to dry if they want to bring their foreign spouses to live there. It's not a good situation.

fatbrit

Think it's going to be a lawsuit situation myself.

jeffreyhy

Not a good situation for who? For the people who can't afford to do what they want to do? I suppose. But for the people who would otherwise end up paying, in one way or another, for the people who would do what they can't afford to do, it's a good thing.

Regards, JEff

Bluegrass Lass

Not sure what you mean by your last sentence Jeff. I don't know how aware you are of typical salaries in the UK, but setting £26k to £31k as a required income will end up excluding around 50% of the population. How fair is it that only the upper half of society would be allowed to bring their loved ones to live there? How fair is it that a couple that has spent their whole lives in the US, but then want to retire in the UK, won't be able to, because they don't meet the income guidelines? Even tho they have sufficient income to care for themselves? Right now, £26k is approx. $42k USD. Just how fair would we all find it if suddenly you needed to earn over $40k to bring your spouse over? Also keep in mind that salaries in the UK are no where near as high as the US. Salaries are depressed there - for example, my IT hubby was earning $55k here, but in Scotland the average was around $45k. If they set the income level too high, there will be whole regions of the UK, where salaries are no where near as good, that will not be able to sponsor their foreign spouse. It's going to be a cluster f&ck waiting to happen, if they make these changes. Especially more so, since EU citizens residing in the UK won't have to adhere to these guidelines. So an EU cit could bring anyone they wanted to live in the UK with them, but a UKC wouldn't be able to!

Now, I do think the US guidelines are really set a tad bit low, esp if you are supporting children. But doubling them is not right either!