sanielle

my boyfriend and i are do to start the ball rolling asap after the wedding (hes english i'm american and live in the uk) does anyone think that immigration could get funny as we are doing it straight after marrying?? anyone else done this before (we have been together for over 4 years)

Noorah101

How long have you (the USC) lived in the UK? If longer than 6 months in a permanent status, then you can send in the I-130 to London as soon as you have everything you need to file. It doesn't matter when you got married, no.

Rene

sanielle

ive been here about a year and ahalf, thanks for the reply

Rete

How long you have been residing in the UK is not the issue. The issue is in what capacity. Only certain status' are eligible to file at the US Consulate/USCIS in London. All others have to file their petition with the USCIS in the US.

Noorah101

What has your status been in the UK all this time?

sanielle

sorry! thought it would emial me everytime i get a response my status here in the uk is that of a french citizen i have dual passports (don't hate me cause im french

Noorah101

I'm sorry, I don't quite follow this. If you are a French citizen, but you have dual passports, does that mean you have dual nationality and you are actually a UK citizen also? If so, wouldn't your status in the UK be "UK citizen"?

Rene

Noorah101

Uh, in your first post you said you are American. So does that mean you have 3 nationalities? American, Friench, and UK? Perhaps by dual passports you means US and France? If so, you still need to have some kind of status in the UK.

For example, when someone comes to the USA, they are either a visitor, student, worker, spouse of a USC, depending on what kind of visa they entered the USA with. Their status in the USA wouldn't be something like "French citizen". What is YOUR status in the UK?

Rene

Ozzidoc

I read that the OP holds French and American passports, and has been living in the UK for 18 months, where she can live forever if she wants (unless the EU rules change).

The OP's status in the UK for immigration purposes is very likely to be "resident".

Unlike in France, a European citizen does not need to register here (UK). (And France may well have changed this requirement in the past few years.)

I'm sure that JAJ or someone will be able to explain this much better than me

hobbes79

Since she's French, she's European. I could be wrong, but I believe she's permitted to remain in the UK since it's simply another part of Europe.

There could be a tad more to it than that. But the OP is basically saying living in the UK isn't an issue for her due to her French (and therefore European) citizenship.

EDIT: Ozzidoc beat me to it :-)

Ozzidoc

LOL

Noorah101

OK, thanks guys! That clears it up. So the OP shouldn't have any problem marrying in the UK and doing DCF, since she'd be considered a resident in the UK.

Rene

sanielle

yeah, what those guys said. sorry to be confusing. Just scared that my partner and i will have to go thru some sort of bad-american-sitcom-style questioning as will be applying straight after marrying and not after 2 years or whatever. I want to go home for a while, and he wants to try something different, we figure this will be the easiest way for him to get out there and we would have got married anyway.

Just to clarify, thought it would be obvious but maybe not, we want to get a visa to go back to the states

sanielle

(we are actually the real life embodiment of the odd couple.. and even after 4 years we'd probably get all the questions wrong. my friend here joked they would ask what he thinks about something...and i'd reply he thinks what i tell him to..)

Noorah101

Well, the good thing is that the interview is only for him, not you. So only he will be questioned on anything.

I don't see any problem with filing the I-130 as soon as possible after getting married. Make sure to read up on filing the I-130 directly in London (called DCF on this forum...Direct Consular Filing). There are instructions on it on the US Embassy in London's website. Make sure to take a look at the I-864 at www.uscis.gov, Immigration Forms, I-864 and I-864P. You, as his USC sponsor, will have to show a certain amount of income or assets. Or, if he has income that will continue from the same source once in the USA, you can use his income as well to qualify. If he has assets, you can also include those if they equal 3x the amount you would have needed in income. The I-864P is the income guideline for you to follow.

You will also have to prove domicile in the USA or intent to domicile in the USA. A copy of your US tax returns are required, for the past 3 years I believe.

Best Wishes,
Rene