uk123

Hi,

I live in the UK with my American wife. We got married in the US, last year but we live in the UK. Her visa is all OK for living & working here in the UK (marriage visa).

Unfortunately, she hates it in the UK and is wants to go back to the US.

I informed her that it would take 6 months (give or take a month or two) to get my visa sorted out in London and we'd be able to go towards the end of the year. She was not amused at the prospect of waiting here another six months and did some "research" of her own. I came home from work one day and she said that I can enter the US on a VWP and when in the country we can start the process of the I130 etc upon arrival.

I've no doubt that she's right that we can start the application on US soil but I get the distinct impression that, by applying upon arrival, I'm either going to be deported immediately (if I'm lucky), or thrown in prison for a couple of months and then deported (a rather scary thought, if I'm honest!).

As far as I understand, doing this is deemed illegal and not a method that US immigration takes too kindly to.

We are fortunate enough to be able to prove we have enough money to not be a burden on the US and have an additional US sponsor to back us if we were to need any other money. She seems to think that this will be in our favor. I somewhat doubt that it'll count for anything with the friendly US immigration folk.

Has anyone ever managed to get residency via this method or am I going to be banned from the USA for life? Maybe she's just trying to get rid of me?

Any comments and advice gratefully received!

Thanks

fatbrit

I think that's a pretty good summary of the VWP express method. If you search for "10-foot pole" on here, you'll find many heated discussions. Are you feeling lucky?

uk123

Not really!! I think I'm on route to having my first conviction. She doesn't see the problem..... I Bl**dy well do, however!!:curse:

I'll have a look for the 10-foot pole, thanks.

meauxna

Yes!

uk123

Is that:
Yes, they've managed it?
Yes, I'm off to jail?
Yes, she's trying to get rid of me?

or yes to all the above

scrubbedexpat099

Turning up with your worldly pssesions on a one way ticket might crash and burn.

Best used when you come for hols and change your mind and stayt.

I guess some people can do this, not something I could.

BritishGuy36

She's wrong, you are right. Maybe it's time you had a frank discussion. Ask her if she wants to stay married to you (I'm not joking). If the answer is yes, then ask her why she wants to risk you being deported from the US, as that's a distinct possibility should you follow the method she is suggesting. And there's nothing you can do to minimise the risk of getting caught on the VWP express.

Get her to sign up to BE and me and a few other of the more brash posters will set to work on her, I tell you she'll regret ever bringing it up.

fatbrit

I object to misinformation. There's plenty you can do -- and a read through these very forums for an hour or six by an intelligent person will quickly work it out. It's just that discussing it causes consternation.

meauxna

Uhuh.

I've got no idea of wifey's motivations, but I have gone through a similar situation (I'm the US wife half). We looked at all the different options and weighed up which was most practical for us. We didn't want to stomach the risk of the cheating way (wife's recommended approach) since we both like predictable outcomes to important decisions, and we also couldn't tolerate the no-travel restriction he would face while waiting for that method to succeed (or not).

To add some chili to the mix, there is a possibility that London USCIS might not accept the I-130 from your wife now; they have been funny about people petitioning after 'too little' time in the UK, even when that time is +6 months legal residency. That would extend visa processing to closer to one year from application if you have to apply in the US. And plenty of angry weeks waiting and then getting rejected by London CIS.

Yours is a tough call.



edit: moved to the marriage-based visa forum.

lansbury

It is not the amount of time in the UK the Embassy looks at but the visa the US citizen is on.

It has to be what was originally called Indefinite Leave to Remain visa and is now I think called something slightly different.

BritishGuy36

Fair enough, I will answer your "objection" by saying that I perhaps could have phrased it better.

What I meant to get across was that regardless of whatever steps you take or research you undertake, you can't do anything to alter the rules, or to change in your favour the demeanour of the border control official at the POE.

That better?

Bluegrass Lass

I thought there were 2 "Leave to Remain" visas: Further Leave to Remain and Indefinite Leave to Remain. I was under the impression that you would obtain the Further Leave to Remain visa first, and then after 18mo (or so?) you would apply for the Indefinite Leave to Remain.

If a USC has to have Indefinite Leave to Remain to file in London, then a USC would need to be living in the UK for a few years before being eligible for Direct Consular Filing. I don't think this is the case - they need to be there longer than 6mo, but I don't think they require several years (from what I've read). I could be wrong about that though.

fatbrit

There is an element of luck involved, yes. But if you were so inclined, you could move the odds in your favor.

lansbury

You are probably correct. When my wife came over in 1996 she got a spouse visa for entry, which once stamped at the port was valid as an entry visa for 2 years. At the end of the 2 years she applied for the Indefinite Leave to Remain visa. I still remember the day we spent at Lunar House Croydon getting it.

I think you have to have the further leave to remain visa, which I think you get after 12 months but I could well be wrong on the time, as a minimum to apply for DCF in London. The entry visa valid for the how ever long that first period is is not sufficient.

When we applied for my visa in 2006 the USC was required to have the Indefinite Leave to Remain visa so as you say if you hadn't at that time lived in the UK for 2 years or more you couldn't use DCF.

lansbury

Well looking at the London Embassy web site it seems they have changed the requirement yet again it says:-

Proof of UK Residence: You must provide evidence
that you have permission to live and work in the
United Kingdom. Submit a copy of one of the
following:
�� Appropriate UK Entry Clearance Stamp(s); OR
�� If Dual National, your EU Passport; OR
�� U.S. Military PCS orders assigning you to the UK.

So it seems now as long as you reside in the UK there is no time requirement stated in their instructions.

That is what comes of relying on memory at my age, I should remember to always check first in case they change the rules.