ARN1954

My wife is applying for a spousal settlement visa as we want to the UK
We believe we can fulfill all the requirements
We are both retired
I am a UK citizen with US green card living in US for 40 years
We go back and forth to the UK regularly and have decided to move there permanently.
As I am not living in the UK will this pose a problem.

Pulaski

No. Not at all. Your situation is very common.

You should seriously consider applying for US citizenship before you leave, to give you permanent rights to travel back and forth unhindered by any need for an ESTA or immigration regulations.

ARN1954

Many thanks I thought that was the case but needed verification
Thanks for your advice but will never become a US citizen

MidAtlantic

I respect your position, but please note that there are people in your situation who later regretted not obtaining citizenship. The ability to enter the US without restriction is invaluable, especially if you have family in the US.

My wife and I are both US/UK citizens for that reason.

christmasoompa

Sorry to add to the chorus, but another vote for getting citizenship! If your wife can't settle in the UK and you wish to return to the US later down the line it would save her having to sponsor you again and go through all the hassle (and costs) of the visa app, and would mean you could never be refused entry either.

Your choice of course.

BritInParis

Can I ask which year do you and your wife marry? Does she have a parent or grandparent who was born outside the US? If so which country?

ARN1954

Yes but as a US resident I return to the US every six months
stay a while then return again to the UK again without a problem.

ARN1954

We were married in 1997.
My wife's mother is still living and is US citizen

BritInParis

I suspect that would quickly become a very expensive and inconvenient exercise rather than simply acquiring US citizenship before you leave.

BritInParis

Okay, never mind.

Pulaski

That didn't actually answer BiP's question. …. I am also a US citizen, but I was born in the UK.

In some cases countries allow citizenship to pass through more than one generation outside the home country, e.g. Italy, Hungary, and Ireland, so there is the possibility to claim a European citizenship, which if Brexit doesn't ever happen, could give a person some rights to live in the UK without needing visa sponsorship. So the question potentially becomes, "were any of your wife's grandparents citizens of a country in Europe". There are other nuances too, if someone was British and working for the British government outsdie the UK when their children were born outside the UK, can create opportunities to register as a British citizen.

christmasoompa

That may work short term, but you'd lose your permanent residency ('green card') if you tried to do that indefinitely. Hence the suggestions for getting citizenship, just to make it much easier in the future if anything changed.

Pulaski

There are circumstances where you could lose that right very quickly, either because of something specific to you, or because DHS/USCIS starts enforcing the immigration laws more rigorously - and given the current mood in DC, do you really think that isn't possible? It might not even require a change in the law, just an executive decision from the President.

What if they start stripping PR status from people who spend more than half their time outside the US? Returning ever six months might not be enough? How certain are you that couldn't happen?

And what if they look at how long you spend outside the US the next time you need to renew your green card? Again, they could very easily say "He comes in once or twice a year, but is spending nine months of the year outside the US: renewal denied!" Again, that could happen, on nothing more than an executive decision from the President.

jmin

Or if he gets sick around the six month period and can't make the visit as he has to stick around in the UK for treatment/is in the hospital. The likelihood of that happening increases with every passing year in retirement and is a very common reason for losing green cards. If he gets very sick the wife might decide she would like to deal with it back in the states so she has a support network but that will not be a choice any longer if he has lost his green card.

You can also lose it on entry if the CBP officer decides that you're living overseas even if you visit every six months. Returning briefly every once in awhile over an extended period of time is going to lead the CBP officer to believe that you're living overseas. Especially if it's timed at the six month mark. If he makes that finding or you tell them you're permanently living overseas, then you will lose your residency. If you lie to or mislead the CBP officer as to your residency the lie will also result in a loss of a green card.

To protect against losing the green card due to the issues above, you can apply for a re-entry permit but that won't work either because you'll have to lie on the applciation about where your permanent residence is. If you try to keep renewing that permit, they will probably decide you're not a resident and take away your green card.

It is odd not to get citizenship after being in a country for decades. Normally you would want to secure your right to remain. It takes just one small act to lose residency.

Getting the citizenship will be a lot less risky - and less expensive - than flying back every six months hoping that the CBP entry officer doesn't decide to take away your green card.

Pulaski

Agree.

There are a couple of mistaken beliefs that were true in the past (quite a long time ago now) and which still seem to be fairly common,and we see mentioned on BE from time to time even today, that (i) the UK doesn't allow dual citizenship and/or that you will lose your British citizenship if you naturalize as a citizen of another country, and (ii) that the US doesn't allow dual citizenship and/or forces you to abandon your other citizenship and/or confiscate your non-US passport. The first of those hasn't been true since the late 1940's IIRC and the second was found to be not true in the late 60's or early 70's (and I don't think had ever been legislated), so while the US State Department doesn't "recommend" dual citizenship they have recognized that they are more or less powerless to do anything about it if someone is (at birth) or becomes, a dual citizen.

There are some people who think that becoming a citizen will complicate your taxes, which has an element of truth in that you will have to prepare annual tax returns, but that is true anyway for permanent residents, so unless a permanent resident gives up their PR status/ green card there is no difference from a tax perspective between being a US citizen or being a permanent resident. Leaving the US and giving up your PR status to try to extricate yourself from the clutches of the IRS is a whole other topic, and not necessarily without some merits.

Then there are people who think that becoming American somehow dilutes their Britishness.