Dave_Was

Hello Everyone,

I have a question about the possibility of moving to the UK.

Currently I am living and working in the US on a work visa, H1B, and my wife is with me on a dependant visa, H4.

My work visa says that if I lose my job, I need to either find a job within 10 days or leave the US.

Now if the worst case scenario happened and I lost my job, I would be able to return to the UK without any problems as I am a UK citizen. However, my wife would need a settlement visa. I would of course like her to be able to move to the UK with me.

My question is, is there anyway I can get a settlement visa for her as insurance as I work in the technology sector were things are always up and down and layoffs are fairly frequent.

Also if this is possible do you have to move to the UK with a short amount of time?

I've emailed the UK Visa folks and they just point me to the application form and no answers.

Thanks,

Dave.

Elvira

I am not quite sure what a settlement visa is, but as far as I know it is very quick and easy for a British citizen to get a visa for his/her spouse to come and live in the UK, though initially they would normally just have ordinary leave to remain.

From what I've heard it only takes a few days, if that!!

AFAIK, Indefinite Leave to Remain (the equivalent of PR) will be granted after 2 years of residency in the UK.

All in all it's easy-peasy compared to the US process. And she can work immediately And no healthcare costs/insurance to worry about

Elvira

Have a look at www.uk-yankee.com - they have a section on bringing foreign spouses to the UK

Dave_Was

Thanks Elvira,

Where my concerns come from are twofold.

Firstly, I had a friend who was an UK citizen and also got married to a girl in India and applied straight away for her to come to the UK. He told me the appointment took two months to get and then he had to prove employment, etc in the UK. Looking at the UK Visa website the employment requirement seems to be a case of not wanting foreign spouses to be a burden on the UK welfare system.

My situation is such that if I lost my job in the US I would have to return to England within days, so I wouldn't have a job in England. As for a place to stay I could always go back to my parents place, they have the space and would be able to provide documents saying that they would let me stay there.

Does it make any difference how long you have been married? My friend tried to apply after a week, whereas I have been married for about 9months.

I would like to do everything in the US, rather than her going to India and then having to apply from there. I think that would be the nightmare, her having to return to India and me the UK.

We have started the GC process but who knows how long that will take and it also seems a bit hit and miss.

I'll try the website you suggested.

Thanks,

Dave.

Scout

Trust me........if you lose your job in the US then they won't deport you with in days.............months or years maybe...but the BCIS is a joke with doing anything in a timely matter. I got my UK spouse visa in the US in about a week.