MrMuffin

Hello All!

I joined the forum 5 years ago and was at the time interested in moving back to the UK with my USA-born wife. We have now been happily married for 7 years and have two kids both born in the USA too.

I am now becoming more anxious to get the planning for the move back underway. My parents are getting older and I really want to be back in the UK and closer on hand as they age further. Plus I miss my family terribly and get incredibly homesick and depressed. I have been in the USA for 23 years now and am very ready to go home.

I visited the forum and started poking around and one of the first postings I saw referred to new regulations that have just gone into place. I was hoping for a brief explanation of the regs and if they are going to affect us at all? I am starting to dig aorund and read more too. A brief overview of where we stand:

- I am still on a green card and have been renewing it as necessary.
- I have an up to date UK passport.
- My wife is USA born
- Our two kids (4 and 18 months) are both USA born and currently only have USA passports.
- We have been victims of the property decline and our house value and mortgage are about equal. We have 401ks and a little bit of savings but not much else.
- We have the ability to stay with family for a while when we first arrive but will need to find work. My wife is 35 and should be able to find something easily with her skillset. I am a freelance photographer and graphic designer and while it might take time to build some clients, I can probably get working fairly quickly.

My quandary is that I would love to get the kids into the British school system as early as possible. The 18-month old obviously has time but the (just coming up to) 4 year old is getting close by the day.

If anyone has any words of wisdom I would much appreciate it. I remember someone recommended that I become a US citizen before departing to make the return to the USA more possible should the need arise. But should I get British passports for the kids? Can I do that? I have to say I am overwhelmed by the situation but am trying to look at it as a series of smaller barriers that I need to address one at a time.

Thanks for anyone who has ideas or suggestions and I'm sorry if I am covering the same ground as previous posters. I will start digging through postings but was more concerned about these new regulations and how they affect me. Thank you!!!

Mummy in the foothills

Yes get your US citizenship, seeing your wife and kids have it, it will make life much easier should you move back or the kids move back one day.
Get the kids UK passports so they enter UK as citizens.
We registered the births with the British consulate in Washington DC You don't have to get the certificate, you can pick that up in UK for a lot less money.
Theres a sticky at the top of the page about the new rules and how much you need to earn or have saved. Also there is www.uk-yankee.com for more

MrMuffin

Thanks for the advice MITF, I appreciate it. I am digging through the stickys and postings and am trying to figure out first steps.

I have my own business which is pretty much internet based and I would likely still keep a bunch of USA-based clients. Question: I saw that the sponsor (me) needs to have the new salary requirements and it looks as though either 'salary income' or 'self-employed' income counts towards the requirements... I am assuming that my freelance business income would count, right? Would I need to show business records and US tax returns to prove this income? Would this be acceptable?

If I did qualify on the financial end... how soon would my wife be able to work? I am still confused about the 2-year period increasing to 5-years. Is that for her to become a UK citizen herself or can she not work or anything during that time?

Could the kids still start school etc?

Thanks so much!!

Englishmum

Hi and Welcome to the MBTTUK forum!

I've recently applied for US citizenship. Here how I applied and also my timeline:

Went to the official USCIS website (there are similar non-official/fake ones, so be careful!) This is the correct one:

http://www.uscis.gov

I downloaded the application form (N-400), completed it and sent it off with two passport photos and a cheque for $680 from my normal checking account.

I sent it by FedEx on 9th May.

I had my biometrics taken (fingerprints, photo etc.) at an ASC (Application Support Center) on 30th June.

I have to go to the main Immigration office in Newark, NJ for my interview and test on 22nd August. (Apparently in Newark it is generally the case that if you pass you take the Oath on the same day - ie. become a US citizen ).

OTOH my 23 year old son applied at exactly the same time as me, but at the ASC we had to go to different clerks for the fingerprints and photos. He is still waiting to get his letter for his interview and when he phoned the Customer Support office last week he was told he might not hear until October. The official timeline on the USC website (you are given a number to track ) is that it can take 5 months.

Hope this helps

robin1234

You mentioned in an earlier post that your children are four years and eighteen months, I think. So I'd say that on that score you can wait a few years. I'd say that so long as the children are elementary school age or younger the transatlantic move will not be a disruption. (My kids were 8 & 6 when we came to the states and they were fine.)

Then you mentioned that you have some retirement savings and some regular savings. Why not set a goal of two to four years maximum, and try to get the savings up to at least ₤62,500 then you can qualify for the new regulations through savings, and you don't have to worry about annual income...

Mummy in the foothills

If you meet income requirements already and your business will remain the same once you move, then it's just waiting for the US citizenship that will determine your timeline. That and getting the kids UK passports (that doesn't usually take very long, a few weeks)

WEBlue

If your wife succeeds in obtaining a spouse visa, she will be able to work with no restrictions from the time she arrives in the UK.

The new 5 year qualifying time means that she must wait that long before applying for ILR (i.e. permanent residence or settlement). It used to be two years to ILR for the family visas but that all changed last month. At the end of the 5 years, your wife can apply for settled status/ILR . . . if she meets all the requirements on the list in this link:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/vi...cp/settlement/

And your child can start school whenever you want upon arrival. Might be good to research schools a bit in advance. Good ones tend to be over-subscribed in some areas, requiring getting on a wait list. Many UK schools require you to prove you live in the school's cachment area.

MrMuffin

Great information thank you so much everyone. This gives me hope after all. I was starting to think of it as an unattainable mountain, but it sounds like it'll be possible after all.

Is it a difficult process to obtain the spouse visa for my wife? She is the type that won't be happy if she's not working... she'll drive herself (and the rest of us) nuts.

So now I need some good positive and friendly arguments to get my wife to agree to move. Is the 'Rovers Return' the best place for that?

Mummy in the foothills

Theres also some good return stories on how it has been in the Back home section

Englishmum

Go on, make yourself a cup of tea and read this very long thread with posts from Americans and Canadians living in the UK, stating what they love about living there :



"I need to hear good things about the UK"

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=3338.0

MrMuffin

Thank you so much! I'll read through that tomorrow morning

callowman

Interesting reading

Im a little confused with this money thing
So for me-UK citizen, and twin girls 13 yrs old they have both USA and UK passports

but the wifey is a yankee
so as we dont have (yet) the basic money requirement
does it mean when we DO get that money that me and the kids move to UK
while the wife has to stay in USA until I get a job?

the caveat- my wife is disabled and has guarenteed income (Disbalility and Social security) so in Essence we can live off HER money while I look for a job ...

Signed.. confused..
and the Brit embassy is terrible for info and when you DO find a number to call its a bloody 900 number that my carrier has blocked !

MrMuffin

Brilliant thread... thanks Englishmum for that!!

Pendles

Hi Mr Muffin Man,
we are in the same boat as you- little older though! Our children are 10 and 13 so even more terrifying thinking of moving them now - but our oldest won't start High School until next year so I am treating this as part of her life education!
I would really recommend you get your US citizenship asap - just in case - I never thought I would see the day come that I would have to worry about getting my hubby into the UK! so you never know what will happen in the years to come.
We are just at the beginning of this so I am sure we will be running into each other on here a lot in the coming weeks/months.
Now I am going to make a cuppa and read the thread Englishmum recommended!

MrMuffin

Great! Good luck to you. See you around. Enjoy the read!