shakefon

Hi all,

I am a british citizen by birth and moved to the US in 2008 with my US citizen wife. We had a son in July 09, born in New Jersey.

We now want to move back to the UK, but our heads are spinning with conflicting information on the web.

We have been married for 2.5 years and have lived together the whole time.

What visa should I be applying for to allow my wife and son to come back with me legally? Any ideas on costs & timeline?

Thanks in advance!

Mummy in the foothills

Your son may already be eligible for a UK passport so won't need a Visa. For your US wife you may want to look at visa info online at http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en
and also there are lots of USC at www.uk-yankee.com who know a lot about the Visa process for spouses.

jaxslad

what is your visa status in the us now?

reason i ask is.... maybe it might be best to get your usc before you all decide to leave.....this could save a lot of problems as your usc wife, might want to move back to the us a few yrs down the line....then you would have to go through all the immigration process again....Do you want to do that again?

shakefon

I'm an LPR in the US, but only since June 2008. We had intended to stay here forever, and to get my citizenship, but we would have to wait a further 3 years beyond August 2010 and that's just not viable in our situation.

Thanks for both your replies, I'll see if we can get the little one a british passport.

jaxslad

hmmm ya seem to be in a hell of a rush to get out..
But before you and your usc wife & 6 mth usc son leaves the us make sure you get whatever documents to leave the us and enter the UK..
Plenty of info and good members on this site who may be able to help.

I wish you & Family all the best in your journey fella.

robin1234

Another good resource on the web for migration to the UK is transpondia

This flow-chart from transpondia makes the process clearer than trying to read some confusing texts, I think... from your initial post, your wife's situation is described in the fourth box down on the left-hand side of the flow-chart.

jaxslad

May i ask of why you want to move back?

shakefon

Thanks for the additional info from everyone - much appreciated as we're getting lost in the process a little!

Reason for moving back is mostly employment based - nothing doing over here despite 6+ months of applying, while back in the UK I've had 3 offers and countless responses to applications. That and family support, we have our young child and no family here, no friends either (get out the violins, eh?!!)

Does anyone know if I apply for son's UK passport over here, will I definitely have to take him to an interview? We're stuck out in the wilds of Montana and have no idea how we can do that on our limited funds. Can I just get him a settlement visa and then get his UK passport once we're over there? He has a US passport.

Mummy in the foothills

I applied for first UK passports for all my kids who were born in the US, I've never been sent for an interview.
For middle sons first one I got a call from a lovely scottish lady who asked me to fax them a photo copy of the picture page of his US passport. So make sure to get him a US passport too.
It sounds like a wise move, for job and family

shakefon

Family is the most important thing for me now so the decision was pretty easy when we weighed things up!

Thanks Mummy in the foothills, could I ask you roughly how long yours took to come back? Just an approximate timeline would be great to know if possible

Mummy in the foothills

Honestly I don't remember. It's been 2.5 years since I did a first passport. I was pretty fast I wasn't expecting it for ages and it suddenly turned up in the post.
With the first child I did expedited so I could go to see family when he was pretty new.

Englishmum

Hello 'Shakefon' - you can download the application forms for a child's passport here:

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/passpor...-passport-usa/

(Apparently they're trying to issue standard passports within 10 working days but it does say that it can take longer for a first passport for a child as it can be more complex).

You MUST mail the application to the British Embassy in Washington DC and not one of the consulates in some other US cities. You need to complete the C-2 form for your child.

Passport FAQ's

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/passpor...s-usa-canada1/

Passport Photo rules (very strict!!!)

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...tion/DG_174152

Unless you are having major problems with applying for a passport for your little one, I wouldn't bother making an enquiry with their so-called "Careline" as it costs a whopping US$2.50 per minute - more from a mobile phone! (I don't know what it would be via Skype?) See here:

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/passports/contact-us

However.....there is a British Consular officer called Dean (based in Florida) who often posts on the USA boards and has been very helpful. You can look him up if you go to the salmon pink 'Search' feature at the top of this page, click on 'advanced search' and type in 'British Consul' (posts made by).

(I bet you're frozen in Montana....I'm currently in New Jersey and it's friggin freezing here....)

Hope this helps!

shakefon

Thank you Englishmum, further great info there and very helpful.

We're frozen in Montana today as we finally have snow and -12F temps! Up until yesterday it was t-shirt weather though and no white christmas, very strange. We moved here from New Jersey, I don't envy you :P

Applications all sent off! Thanks all, this is a great community.

shakefon

Update in case it helps others:

Got spouse visa for wife, it was approved in 4 days and delivered 2 days later (amazing)

Applied for Son's first UK passport via Washington, it's due to come tomorrow or friday along with my renewed passport (managed to let it expire here, dumb!!)

So we're off next Tuesday. Excitement tinged with a little sadness, I have loved my time in the US. Very much looking forward to job, family & friends back in the UK soon though!

Mummy in the foothills

Safe trip home. Let us all know how it's going once you settle in.