Ives

I'm the USC and dh is the UKC, we're in the UK and I've been here 12 years. I'm tired of being here and the small space and want to move back, but how do you do it with no job over there? I know I can get dh the Green Card in 4-6 months through DCF, but we couldn't get jobs before applying for this, because of this time frame.

So, anyone else taken this plunge, quitting jobs and moving your whole family to the US, hoping it would work out and you'd find jobs to support your family?

I keep going back and forth every couple years, but it just sounds like such a bad idea financially.

elizabethsmum

Hi :-) My hubby is a USC we lived in the USA for 6 years but then moved to the UK in 2007 my husband wants to go back (we have 2 children ages 10 and 15) I have a few contacts in the USA and they have offered me work when I get back my husband is a chef so hopefully he will be able to get work quite quick. We will be staying with my mother in law for a month or so but we are saving up so that we have at least 3-6 months worth of rent/bills etc so that we have a little cusion. It is scary but we are taking the plunge! My husband is an only child and his Mom is not getting any younger plus my kids want to go back.

jeffreyhy

If you're really risk averse, you might want to return to the USA yourself and not petition for your husband until you've found a job. If a bit less risk averse, submit your petition to USCIS in London and then return to the USA, giving yourself 4 months or so to find work.

Otherwise, if you have substantial savings that you can afford to draw down, go ahead and 'take the plunge'.

Regards, JEff

jeffreyhy

Sounds like you've 'done your homework'. Best wishes.

Regards, JEff

celticgrid

Yes, been there, done that. I'm sure plenty of people do it, with varying degrees of success.

It is scary, of course it is. You plan for the worst, you understand that the roads are not paved with gold over here, you take a very calculated risk. We did it in 2008, just as the global economy was heading down the tubes, with children aged 5 and 10.

(We didn't deliberately wait for the economy to self-destruct before moving, it just coincided and was an additional challenge. )

It costs. If that's what you mean by a bad idea financially. I guess it depends on what you are trying to achieve as to whether it is worth it.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Ives

I wish I could go back myself first, but we have 2 kids ages 3 and 5, so I need to be here to look after them, and if I took them with me, no one could look after them over there! My hometown is a dead end back woods place, so it has to be somewhere else. I have a friend in Florida offering to help us out, either letting us stay with her and her family or finding us somewhere. But no jobs.

I don't even know what I am looking to achieve or want, I just know I don't want to be here anymore. But from talking to friends, it seems just as hard to get jobs and buy a house, etc in the US as the UK. But at least the weather's better! Sigh.

Noorah101

Maybe this friend and her family will help you with child care if you move to the USA first? That said, since you've lived in the UK for a while, don't you have anyone there who can look after them while your husband is working, if you leave them there with him?

The US economy seems to be picking up, although slowly. Regarding getting a job, I guess it depends what you are willing to do for work. Another major concern for you and your family would be health care in the USA. With no job to go to which provides health insurance, you run the risk of racking up huge medical bills if anyone in the family gets sick.

If I were you, and set on coming back to the USA, I'd come to the USA first (either with or without the kids), get a job which includes family health insurance, and then petition your husband to join you (Immigrant Visa, which takes 8 to 10 months to process). The kids, being USCs, could join you anytime after you have health insurance in place, if your friend's family can help with child care.

Rene

jeffreyhy

There's no daycare in the UK? No friends or husband's family nearby?

Regards, JEff

vtcarter6

Yup, it is scary. We're thinking of doing the same thing next year, with a newborn and a 2 year old. And if my husband (French citizen) can't get a decent job offer in the US then there's pretty much no point for us as a family, since I earn half what he does.
I've been naive about immigration pre kids and I absolutely don't want to make mistakes this time. But all in the interest of buying time (for husband to get a job offer), would it be unwise to activate the green card and then directly apply for a reentry visa (or whatever it is that allows green card holders to reside outside the US for a year without relinquishing their status)?

Noorah101

It's better not to enter the USA until you are ready to make the USA your permanent home. That said, if you have the immigrant visa in hand already, you only have 6 months from the date of the medical to use it or lose it. If you MUST use it, then you can enter the USA, become a US PR immediately, and then leave the USA, yes. However, make sure you establish some ties to the USA, make sure you have a US mailing address (for the green card and SS card to arrive at), try not to stay outside the USA longer than 5 or 6 months, and be able to prove the visit abroad (outside the USA) was temporary in nature.

I would not enter the USA, then turn right around and leave for a whole year, no. You put your new US PR status at risk that way.

Rene

Michael

2014 should be a little less scary since health care reform starts. From my understanding, if the family is not provided with employer health care, families below 125% of the poverty level get free Medicaid and between 125%-400% of the poverty level are government subsidized for private health insurance. According to the health care reform bill, families between 125%-400% of the poverty level or unemployed can apply for the subsidy when applying for health insurance coverage and then either pay back part or all of the subsidy or get refundable tax credits when filing their tax returns for that year (still not determined exactly how that will work as to whether the family will be on Medicaid or private health insurance since annual income will be unknown if unemployed).

She can use the following calculator to estimate costs and subsidies based on expected income for the year.

http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-c...or/#calcParams

Ives

Thanks for this!!! I knew something was happening in Jan 2014 but couldn't find any details.

Michael

The supreme court ruled that states can opt out of the Medicaid part and many republican controlled states initially claimed they were going to opt out. However since the federal government will be paying for 100% of the additional cost of Medicaid for three years and will slowly reduce their share to 70% after that, many of the republican governors have backed down. Make sure you go to a state that is honoring the new Medicaid coverage in case it is needed.

As far as the private insurance policies with subsidies, all states are required to offer that. Some states are setting up their own exchanges while others are using the federal government exchanges to sell the private insurances (basically web sites). There are only three different policies that will be offered (Bronze, Gold, and Platinum) each with a low deductible and co-pays. Since there are only three different policies that can be offered, insurance companies will be competing primarily on price since the coverage is exactly the same for all companies. HMO's may be cheaper but PPOs offer more flexibility.

TimandRae

Yup, we're taking the plunge as we speak. My wife's already finished work and I've got a week left. Our belongings were collected by the shipping company this morning so we're 'camping' in the house for the next three weeks until we fly.

We're very lucky that my folks live just down the road here in the UK so are available to look after our little girl as and when it's needed and we're going to be moving to live with my wife's folks for the first while in the US as we get ourselves established.

Do you have family in the US? Are they in a postition to provide help with the move, whether it's financial, logistical or simply looking after the kids? It's an absolute god-send having grandparental backup and the task would be exponentially more difficult without it.

I'm job hunting online at the moment and will really get to it once we get over the pond. Again, we're lucky to have a bolt-hole that will give us the space to look for jobs that we really want, rather than just grabbing the first that come our way.

The move is daunting - and more than a little bit scary. There have been more of a couple of occasions when I've woken up in a cold sweat things, "What if...." but then it's a big move and I think I'd be a bit worried if I wasn't turning these things over in my head.

My wife got her UK citizenship last year so we do have the fall-back of moving back here if things just aren't working in the US.

I'd strongly recommend that you look into getting your citizenship too before making any move. The rules for bringing non-EU spouses into the UK are getting tighter all the time and it's only going to become harder.

All the best with your move, should you decide to make it.