Chris_tanj

Hello I just wanted to outline my situation and see what people thought would be the best way to tackle it:
I am 19 years old currently in my first year of university studying a Law degree (this is in English law at University of Cambridge). I have two years of study left on this.
I am engaged to an American citizen who is 20 and currently is employed.
We have no children together.
We have been together for two years which have involved me travelling to the USA three times. I intend to go there this summer, either as a visitor or on a work and travel visa, with regards to the latter I have got application forms and been in touch with one firm and have an application but I have not made a definite decision on this.
I would like to go into postgraduate once my course is over, which is in two years. I have no financial capabilities to finance my way through Law School in the US.
I would in the future like to move to the US.
The following routes have been going through my mind, and I wanted to see what other people thought of them and which is the most viable:
1) Is to attempt to get sponsorship for a US Law School and then try and get a Law firm to sponsor my employment.
2) To complete my course at Cambridge, take a year out, complete the K-1 Visa process and then attempt to apply for US financial Aid and apply for a Law School in the US for the following academic year. This option I have no idea whether it is possible.
3) Finish my course, complete K-1 Visa, move to California and take the Bar Exam with just my Cambridge degree (my fiance lives in WA).

Just Jenney

Your post suggests that you want "marriage visa advice" but your post is primarily about how to get to the US so that you can continue your education. For example, option #1 has nothing to do with marriage-based immigration, or your fiance, at all.

Option #2 is fine except that you will probably need to obtain your green card, at a minimum, before you can qualify for any substantial financial aid. Depending on when you get over on the K-1 and apply for AOS, this could take some time.

Option #3 has you doing a K-1 visa but then moving to California while your fiance lives in a different state. While it's not unheard of for a couple to live separately, it does seem a little strange why you wouldn't just move to Washington and take the bar exam there.

I see you've already started another thread in the US Immigration forum -- you might be better off sticking to that thread, since the majority of your questions aren't really revolved around marriage-based immigration. Instead, your fiance just happens to be in the picture and it appears that the K-1 is a safety net in the student visa thing doesn't work out.

~ Jenney

Chris_tanj

Thank you, and with regard to my fiance and California she has said she would happily move there. I would not want to move there on my own. And yes you are right about the education thing, but my main aim is to just get to the USA to be with her, that does not seem to have come across at all.

ian-mstm

While it's possible, it is highly unlikely that a US law firm will sponsor you. They want the finest they can get and, in their mind, that means a US law degree, not a UK one. Regardless, you would need to pass the US state bar exam in order to practice in that state. You stand a much better chance of getting accepted to a US law school than you do of being sponsored by a law firm. You would also end up paying international tuition rates and that is very, very expensive.


For federal financial aid, you must be at least a US permanent resident and that might take up to a year or more after marriage before you become a PR. That said, there are other financial aid options (just not federal ones). This plan has some merits.


If you can take the bar holding a UK law degree, then this seems the most feasible course of action.

There is a 4th option. In your final year at Cambridge, you marry your fiancee, and she then petitions for a CR-1 (spouse) visa for you. You're going to be apart anyway during that year, so why not make the most of it. It takes 8 - 10 months to get the visa, but once you have it, you have 6 months in which to use it... and the day you enter the US, you become a PR.


Just so you know right up front... US immigration laws are specifically designed to keep non-US citizens out of the US. It seems that your final plan will have to be some sort of compromise between what is ideal and what is possible. Good luck to you.

Ian