lochnessie233

Hi! My boyfriend is English and I am American and we currently both live in London, I on a quickly evaporating student visa (ends in the end of Oct). We, of course, are in love, bff, don't want to part, etc. You know the story. I am very concerned about time frames and costs as we are both struggling a bit financially and want to choose the quickest/cheapest options.

So.. right now I've applied for my Certificate of Approval for Marriage from the UK Border Agency and once we get that we *could* get married over here 15 days after I notify my council, but we will need separate lawyers for a pre-nup and I'm sure that will cost around 500 pounds each (gasp).

However, I am not keen to stay in London as this is my third year and I am ready for a change but am scared of how long it will take for him to be able to work over in the US.

Do you think it is better to apply for a K-1 visa and then adjust status or to apply for a k-3? Which has more paperwork? Which is faster typically? The main concern is being able to work on either side of the pond. For me here, I'll probably not have huge success with finding a good job as I just graduated and my visa is expiring in a few months.

WHAT CAN WE DO!!?? It's such a financial, time-consuming mess-- international love, it seems. Any information about the process, time frames, costs, places to look for lawyers, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Please help!!

Marocco

Is there any point in having prenups in the UK? I thought they were not binding here.

Bluegrass Lass

Hon, you have 2 options:
- The K1 that you have already mentioned. This works well if you both want to get married in the US. There is the additional time involved in applying for Adjustement of Status, and there will be a gap in work authorization. So if being legaly to work right away, with no potential gaps, then you may not want to pursue this route.

- A CR-1/IR-1 visa. The K3 visa you mentioned is pretty much moot. The K3 was great several years ago, when an I-130 was taking years to adjudicate, however that is no longer the case. For the CR-1 visa, you need to be already married before starting this visa process. The one thing you definitely need to look into is whether or not you could potentially file the I-130 with the London Consulate (a process called Direct Consular Filing -DCF) if you are in the UK on a student visa. If you can, then it will only take about 4-5 months to process the visa, and when your then husband enters the US, he will be a Legal Permanent Resident, with the right to work from Day 1. However, if you do not qualify for DCF, then you will need to file the I-130 at a USCIS Service Center here in the US, and it will take about 8-10months to process.

With either of these avenues, there are filing fees, visa fees, medical fees, etc. that will add up. You may want to do a cost comparison to help you determine which may be a bit cheaper for you (but you must weigh that up with any disadvantages like not being able to work right away). The one other thing that hinders people is the fact that you, as the US citizen, need to be the sponsor for your future husband. You will need to meet certain income requirements, and if you cannot meet those requirements then you will need to have sufficient assets to cover the gap or you will need to find someone willing to be a joint sponsor. You can find sponsor information on USCIS's website. It is form number I-864. You can find the poverty level income guidelines on the I-864p. I think there is a wiki here as well discussing it.

Have a read through the wiki's on teh K1, CR-1 and I-864 and come back and ask your questions. Those wiki's make help to answer a few things for you.

I know how you feel about the whole international love thing. I, too, met my now husband while I was studying in Glasgow, and remember the heartache, worry, confusion about immigration and apprehension about the process. You just have to take it step by step, and try to stay patient.

Noorah101

Hi lochnessie, Welcome to BE.

As you've discovered, immigrating to the USA is not quick, easy, or cheap. You'll have to make plans and be patient.

The things to consider are:

1. Are you able to actually get married in the UK? If so, are you OK with spending 8 - 10 months apart as a married couple, if you return to the USA?

2. Do you qualify for DCF (direct consular filing)? My layman's guess is that you will NOT qualify for this, because your student visa is temporary and is indeed running out soon. DCF is available for USCs who reside more permanently in the UK. So, get ready for the longer (8 - 10 month) wait for his visa.

3. As a student, you probably don't - or won't - earn enough to be his financial sponsor. If you're young, you probably also don't have assets. Therefore, you'll need to look into a Joint Sponsor. It can be anyone 18 yrs old or over, USC or US PR, living in the USA, who qualifies. Sunflower girl pointed you in the direction of the I-864 and I-864P.

4. If you want NO gap in work authorization, the way to go is the CR-1 spouse immigrant visa (not the K-1).

5. Both the K-1 and Immigrant Visa end up being around the same amount of money, just paid at different stages. Figure around $2,000 to $2,500 for the whole thing....fees, medical, travel to interview, photocopies, etc.

Come on back with any specific questions.

Best Wishes,
Rene

jeffreyhy

ln,

An advocate of the 'penny wise and pound foolish' philosophy, eh?

Why do you leave out the immigrant visa option? It may fit your criteria better than either of the K visas.

Regards, JEff