amariedavies

I am an American, my husband is British. We are in the UK, working our way back to the USA. I have been in the UK since Nov 2011, and am in the process of confirming whether or not my ILR status, received in 2003, is still valid. Anyway, my question is actually whether or not I could file to the London embassy for his USA visa. I have been in the UK for over 2yrs legally, but I don't have an entry clearance stamp in my passport. I do have my ILR stamp though. I noticed they ask for the entry clearance stamp but I've never had one, but my ILR status looks to be valid, would my ILR stamp suffice as proof of legal residency to file to London?

Thank you for your help, sorry if this sounds confusing!

Angelia

Noorah101

It seems like you've asked this (or similar) questions on other threads as far back as April 2013.

Yes, you've lived in the UK for more than 6 months, so file the I-130 directly to London.

Rene

jeffreyhy

To the USCIS field office in London. Your petition to have him recognized as your husband.

Maybe. Your current status in the UK is unclear from the way you've described it.

Regards, JEff

ian-mstm

She entered as a visitor... and decided to stay. I'm not sure she can file directly to London. Regardless, had she filed the I-130 to the US back in April when she first asked the questions, her husband would already have his visa and they'd be living in the US at this point in time. Now though, they're just starting out!

Ian

Noorah101

I agree. IMO she should go ahead and try filing to London...it will only take a couple of weeks for them to say yes or no. Then she will know for sure how to proceed.

Rene

jeffreyhy

I think you are talking about you petitioning for your husband, with the USCIS London field office, not him applying for his visa at the consulate.

Yes, having indefinite leave to remain will work for you. You've lived in the UK for 6 months or more?

Regards, JEff

amariedavies

Sorry for all the confusion. I've been tugged about by immigration so I've had to somewhat change the way I move forward and migrate back to the USA. When we came to the UK Nov 2011, it was only for a visit - we were living in the USA. While being here, my husband's mother became gravely ill, and we decided to stay by her side. During that time I realized that I would need to sort out how to legally stay (I was unaware that my previous ILR status was still valid - received 2003). So I refiled for an extension of stay. There was some issues with the payment not going through on time, and I was denied the extension March 2013, but filed an appeal (the issue was not my fault) and won on the basis that my previous ILR was not formally revoked and my daughter is British - received the formal letter from the judge the other day, she was not pleased with how immigration have handled our case. UK immigration have had all of my documents since August 2012, so I have been unable to file for anything relating to the USA. My husband had permanent residency in the USA before we left. We inquired about simply doing the returning resident visa and immigration told us we'd have no chance, it was too late. So we assume that our only option is to start over. I am now wondering if I could file in the UK or if I have to file to the USA. Whenever I've entered/returned to the UK since receiving my ILR, I've never been given an entry clearance stamp, just a regular one. As of right now I am still awaiting my documents (passports, etc).

Thanks again for all your help. Been a stressful time. To top it off my poor mother-in-law sadly passed away on our only childs first birthday. Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe how I feel!

Angie

ian-mstm

They lied! You probably can do an SB-1.


File to London. You won the appeal.

Ian

Noorah101

Do not go by what "immigration" (whatever that is) tells you. Government agencies can be wrong, and are not held responsible for giving you bad information. Abandonment of US PR status is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Depending on your husband's circumstances, he may or may not have abandoned his US PR status.

Although this is probably likely, I wouldn't say it's your only option at the moment. You might want to first look into the returning resident visa, before starting all over.

You can file the I-130 to the USCIS field office in London.

Rene

amariedavies

With regards to inquiring about the SB-1, we contacted the US embassy in London, and explained the situation (including his mother's death) and they still seemed confident that it would fail, so I was quite discouraged. We've also had to sell our car in the US (to my cousin, funded my UK visa), and closed our bank account - simply because they began to charge monthly fee to keep it and we couldn't keep up. Plus we had been living with my family for a while, times got a bit tough financially, so we didn't have our own home in that sense. My husband got a job here eventually, and being that we've been here so long, we've been in an apartment. No car though. Anyway, I worry that we don't have much to go on as far as "ties" to the USA other than my family of course. Figured we wouldn't sound very convincing as far as the returning resident thing goes.
Does seem a shame of course to start over though.

Angie

ian-mstm

With respect, what they thought is irrelevant. The requirement is to demonstrate you never intended to abandon the US as your permanent residence. You did what you did as a matter of survival - not because of something frivolous. If you can document that each tie you severed was because of an ongoing situation with your MIL, I think you have a good chance. That all said... honestly, at this point in time, there is absolutely nothing to lose by trying.

Ian

jeffreyhy

This inquiry should have been made of a US immigration attorney, not "immigration", whoever that is. The consular section in London?

It's not to late. An immigration attorney can review your situation and help you present it in the manner will give you the best chance for success with an SB-1 visa. How you say it can be as or more important than what you say. Or perhaps the lawyer will confirm that your chances are bleak if that is indeed the case.

Regards, JEff

amariedavies

Thank you all so much for your input! I suppose there really is a lot of gray area within the law as I was told in the letter of my extension that I had no right to appeal, and look how that has gone!
You guys have been great, I will keep you updated! Thanks so much!

Angie :-)

amariedavies

I'm back! So after much hassle following my approved appeal, I received permanent resident cards for my daughter and I ( valid from Feb 8th 2014 ), seems like they did away with my previous ILR status. They also didn't return my passports/documents etc. until a couple weeks ago! So I haven't been able to file anything anywhere - pertaining to my husbands US visa. The question now is, should I file the I-130 to London or the US? Does my permanent residence have to be valid for 6 months prior to filing to London, making it August before I can file? I don't have an entry clearance stamp in my passport - only the residency cards. Thanks once again for your input, I feel like such a ragdoll lol

Angie

Noorah101

If you are still living in London, you can file the I-130 directly there.

No. You just have to have been physically living in the UK for 6 months prior to filing the I-130.

Rene