Hello,

I am a US citizen (female) and my boyfriend is British. I am doing an MSc course and am in the UK on a student visa. He is a third-year PhD student. We live together in London. We want to get married and move to the US after I finish my degree in summer/autumn 2008. After preliminary research on the USDHS/Immigration website and this forum, we think it would be best for Paul to enter the US on a K-1 fiance visa, then apply for AOS once we get married.

We don't have any special circumstances such as criminal records, past marriages, children, or previous immigration difficulties that could complicate our case. We'd like to get married in my hometown in Alaska this summer but aren't dogmatic about the date or place.

The only hitch is that I am a student and (apart from my student loan) do not have an income that meets the requirement of 125% of federal poverty guidelines. Once I finish my degree I should be able to find a job in the US. I understand that we can have a sponsor with a high income (my parents in this case), so my current lack of income shouldn't be a problem.

I have a few questions. I apologize if these have been answered elsewhere in the forums; my quick search of recent threads didn't turn up anything.

1) A fairly basic clarification: are we allowed to start the process of applying for a K1 visa while I, the US citizen, am in the UK?

2) I am easily intimidated by paperwork, bureaucracy, and authority figures. Given this and the number of horror stories on these forums, would it be worthwhile for us to have a consultation with a lawyer to set us on the right track? We don't have a lot of cash to spend on lawyers but it may be worthwhile if doing so prevents us from making a costly mistake later in the process.

3) Any recommendations for a lawyer here in London who's knowledgeable about US immigration law? aila.org only lists lawyers in the US and Canada.

I would appreciate any advice.
Laura

If you have been living in the UK for 6+ months, would it be possible for you to marry in the UK? If so, that would be your quickest and easiest route for you to both enter the USA together next summer. I am not sure if you can marry him on your current visa, but just thought I'd ask, because Direct Consular Filing (DCF) would be your easiest route. Only available for married folks, though.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Here's a couple ....
http://www.usvisalawgroup.com/
http://www.usvisalawyers.co.uk/

No, you must be in the US.

And you are going for a degree? BTW what horror stories have you read on these forums? Do they perhaps involve foreign fiancees that reside in third world nations or from India, the Philipphines, etc.?

Always worthwhile to have a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney.

BTW your parents do not need a HIGH income to meet the poverty guidelines. In fact, for a family of two with the foreign fiancee the figure is under $20,000 annually. Not a very high income.

Do a search of the BE site. Lots of British attorneys specializing in USCIS immigration law in London.

PS Rene gave you the best option.

That is not true--she can send an I-129f petition from the UK, but she needs to have a US address on it.


Laura, please read the links in my signature. The easiest way (IMO) is to get married there and apply for an immigrant visa. You may do this if you have been resident in the UK for 6+ months.

Don't worry.. you didn't miss anything.. they don't tell you about this way on the USCIS site --not anywhere obvious, anyway.

It takes about 4-6 months to complete, and when he arrives in the US, he is a Permanent Resident immediately (and can go to work!).

Make sure there is no problem with YOU returning to the UK on your student visa after getting marreid to a UKC.

Even though she is currently living and schooling in the UK? Doesn't seem right but what about the USCIS is !!

meauxna and noorah, thanks for the tip on DCF... unfortunately I found this quote of a US State Department memo on the link in your signature:

"To demonstrate residency in a consular district, American Citizen petitioners must be able to show that they have permission to reside in the consular district and that they have been doing so continuously for at least six months before filing the petition. Individuals who are in the country on a temporary status, such as student or tourist, would not be considered to meet the residency standard."

So it looks like we will have to go ahead with the K-1 option.

I still consider myself a resident of the US, in the town I grew up in. It's where I go back to between school and travel and I've never established permanent residence anywhere else. So meauxna, if you are right, I can send my I-129f to the USCIS from London but should include my permanent US address.

This may be something to ask a lawyer!

Anyway, thank you for the advice.

Sitkalaura...you and your boyfriend are very educated persons. Also, as you are both from "first" world countries you have dodged a lot of land mines already.

As long as your boyfriend has never had any issues with US immigrations, any criminal records, or prostitution it is very much a DIY opportunity. Whether or not you choose to DIY is a very personal decision. The attorney will basically be using information that you provide to fill in the paperwork anyway. So his work is only as good as yours anyway.

My wife was from one of those "third" world countries with a high rate of prostitution (she wasn't one btw ). She had some other issues with USCIS though. I was turned down by some attorneys and others wanted in excess of ten grand. Ultimately, I decided to handle it myself and did fine. I did drop the ball a few times and lost a month getting her here. Then I had a few problems adjusting status once she was here.

But, immigrations was in a state of flux during my case. Heck, they had three different names! Some of the problems were mine and some were just growing pains post 9/11 and some were related to that witch named Katrina!

Basically look at the application form where they ask if you have been a hooker, nazi, criminal, etc, and if there are no issues... it is pretty much gathering information and filling out forms. You know like applying for admission to a university?


Good luck which ever path you choose.

t

Laura,
Lesson One: what is written on an official website or seems to be policy isn't always what is practiced in reality.

You may want to look into it further and contact the USCIS Field Office in London.

good luck, whichever way you choose!

PS: if you choose this method, being in the UK does not exist. They will not send you any mail overseas; you must petition as if you are in the US.
However, the petition can be posted from abroad.

This is oh so true!

Laura, just to make sure you understand, if you find out you qualify for DCF in London, you will have to marry your UKC fiance before filing the paperwork. Depending on where/when you want to get married, this could be an issue for you. As Meuxna mentioned earlier, you also need to find out if there would be a problem with using a student visa to re-enter the UK. Let's say you visit Germany or go home for Christmas, you may have an issue with re-entering on a student visa if you are married to a UKC.

Do some research before jumping the gun. As Rete pointed out earlier, if you were capable of filling out the paperwork for applying to school or a loan, or studying abroad, you are just as capable of filling out the paperwork required for Immigration! It's not that complicated - just a matter of following the instructions (which any good student can do)! A consultation w/an attorney isn't a bad idea, but I know on my meager student salary I wouldn't have been able to afford an attorney. You should def consider filing the forms yourself.

But if you get married, couldn't you get indefinite leave to remain in the UK. (I've read this can be done relatively faster than in the US). At this point the fact you are a student would become moot.

IANAL, but in terms of the paperwork, read the instructions carefully, use this forum some people can provide good feedback to assist you. My wife and I did it ourselves, and they let me stay in the US. We must have done something right.

Hi:

You've run into a common misconception -- although it is possible to do an I-130 in London, it is NOT direct "consular" filing -- the provision you note is for countries in which the US-DHS [of which US CIS is a part] does not have an overseas office. In those countries, the consulate is out of the I-130 loop until the I-130 is approved by USCIS.

I understand that this can also be confusing due to the fact that those overseas DHS offices are physically located in US Embassies or Consulates.

This is for general comment only and not intended as legal advice. I am a lawyer but I'm not your lawyer -- I do not take business off this list.

sitka,

Read the I-129f instructions. There is a very clear and specific instruction explaining where a petitioner who does not reside in the USA must file their I-129f petition.

Regards, JEff

As usual, excellent point!

Mentioned in the I-130 Overseas Filing link, but often ignored.


For anyone else who didn't read further, to specifically what London USCIS requires for an i-130 filing, well, here is the link: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/dhs/form...for_spouse.pdf

The USCIS Overseas Field Office list is located here: https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?ac...office_type=OS