My husband and I plan to move to the states in the next couple of years. I'm and American Citizen and he's a British Citizen. This isn't something we're looking to do right away but I'd like to get a heads up on where to get started and what kind of things to expect.
So if anyone has any helpful advice it would be greatly appreciated

Hi and welcome to BE.

Look above in the Wiki Guide, for an article on applying for an Immigrant Visa, with the I-130 filed directly to London (commonly called DCF - Direct Consular Filing).

That should get you started. Come on back with any specific questions.

Rene

If you have the opportunity to become a UK citizen prior to leaving, do it. Also, if you have children who are US citizens, they will need a US passport in order to enter the US.

Ian

You need to sponsor him for a spouse visa.

Start here:

Green Card for an Immediate Relative of a U.S. Citizen | USCIS

At a point during the process you will need to provide info that you can support him (financial requirement) so read up on that.

You can do direct filing in London DCF.

The whole process - from when you apply to when he enters the US - is about 6 months for DCF I believe.

Have you been filing your US tax returns, as required by US law, while living in the UK? If not you should file the last three years, and every year going forward.

I didn't know US citizen children needed to enter with their US passports. Mine have travelled for visits on their Uk passports for the last few years, but when we travel over for the move they need to have their US ones?

Yes.... you are entering the US on a permanent move.

YOU will have your US passport, your husband will have his visa and the children? will have UK passports? are they only visiting? the officials will have many questions. Better to have their passports for permanent entry.

Clearly the kids don't have much say in the matter, but, US Citizens are required to use their US Passport whenever they enter the US. Evidently it is not rigorously enforced, but them's the rules.

It might not be rigorously enforced, but it can and does lead to unpleasant visits to "secondary" for interrogation questioning when the CBP officer notices.

Oh, duh, and of course they were travelling with ESTA before, and they won't be this time... hadn't thought this one through, obviously. (Way too many things requiring thinking through right now!)
Will add renew kids' passports to the very long list...

Just for clarity, in most cases a US citizen's children will also already be US citizens, and will have been from birth, hence the need for the passport.

If a US citizen cannot pass citizenship to their children, which can happen if the US was born outside the US and has not lived in the US for enough "qualifying years" then the children will need a US immigration visa if their parents are immigrating to the US, but, IIRC, will become US citizens at the moment they clear immigration on arrival in the US.

If your children are US citizens, they are not (and have never been) eligible to use ESTA/VWP. Under US law, they should have been entering on US passports.


By law, all US citizens must enter the US using US passports. This is true whether they're moving permanently or simply visiting.

Ian