Savanna

Hello everyone,

I'll try to make this quick- I'm a UKC married to a USC, we were married in the US on a waiver visa and he has been here in the UK for 2 years now. He's really unhappy here and wants to move back home.. and what a stress that is eh?

I feel everything is against us.

I have a criminal record from my younger, wilder days.. no drugs or murder lol but its record none the less.

He is only 22, so he has never filed any taxes. We have no assets, no money Im on medication that I would need over there.

So, the plan is he goes over and gets a job, petitions for me and the kids to follow.. but even with a going rate job, they wont think it enough to support a family of 4.

Ive tried to explain that is very difficult to get in to the US, but he just keeps saying everything will be ok.. he hasnt got a clue what is ahead of him.

Will our poverty be a problem and where do I start?

Noorah101

Go to www.uscis.gov, Forms, and look at form I-864P. Look at the 125% column for the family of your size. You say "kids", so I assume there's at least 4 of you all together.

If he can't meet the income requirements, he can always use a joint sponsor. The joint sponsor must be a USC or US PR, age 18+, living in the USA. It does not have to be a family member.

The quickest way to bring you to the USA would be for him to file the I-130 directly there to London, then come back to the USA to work. That process is called Direct Consular Filing (DCF) on this forum, and the process takes about 4 - 6 months until you get your Immigrant Visa.

If the kids are his, they are already USC's and don't need a visa, but they will need US passports. If the kids are yours only, and are UK citizens, an I-130 will need to be filed for each person immigrating.

Look up the Wiki Guide on here for some details on DCF.

Oh, and the embassy in London has a very good IRS Department that can help him file his back tax returns. As a USC, he needs to do that and report worldwide income. He will need the tax returns for your visa interview.

Rene

Noorah101

Regarding your criminal record, that may or may not be a problem. If you don't want to discuss the details on the forum here, you'll want to have a consultation with an immigration attorney who can let you know how big of a problem it might be.

Rene

ian-mstm

No, it's not - at least, not under your current circumstances. To clarify... he is a USC, he can enter the US any time he wants and cannot be refused entry. Your children (on the assumption that he is the father) are also US citizens and can enter the US as long as they have US passports. You, as the wife of a US citizen, need an immigrant visa - which is quite easy to get. So... nothing really difficult at all. Time consuming, yes... but not difficult.

Your "criminal record from my younger, wilder days" may or may not be an issue depending on how old you were at the time. But if experience has any validity, your chances are really quite good.

Ian

Savanna

Aww.. thanks guys, made me feel a bit better we have 3 kids, 2 are his.. so I'd need to file for my oldest. He will be going over to the US to find work (which isnt a problem, he works with his father) and accomodation, so yeah, it'll be a lenghty process.

Regarding things like prescription drugs, do you need immigrant insurance for all that? having had the NHS all my life, its going to be so different.. you take it for granted here.

My criminal record is mostly shop lifting, there are also things like trying to pervert the course of justice with giving a false name.. um.. there is a dangerous weapon ( pair of scissors) but they wont take that into account.. they'll just see dangerous weapon. It actually looks worse than it is..will I be able to explain all this and give my side of story?

Ohh and the medical you go for, I noticed a lot of people have to go to London.. I live in Scotland so that would be quite out the way for me. I tried looking it up online but the info just doesn't seem to be there (on quite a lot of matters regarding visas) thank goodness for forums like this and the helpful people that help run them

ian-mstm

How old is he? If he'll be under 18 by the time you move, he might automatically become a USC the day he enters the US.


The medical will be in London... as will the visa interviews. Sorry... no way around that.

Ian

Duncan Roberts

There's no such thing as immigrant insurance. If you have a prescription you will be able to fill it without any insurance, but you will have to pay the full retail price which could be hundreds of dollars. If you have health insurance with prescription coverage the prescription may or may not be covered but you will still be responsible for a portion of the cost. Sometimes it's a fixed amount, sometimes a %. Sometimes you need to spend a certain amount before insurance will cover anything. Usually brand name will cost you more than generic. A lot of medications have no generic version in the US. Insurance companies have approved lists and a sub type of preferred. Preferred will be covered at the highest rate, non-preferred are covered but at a lesser rate and things not on the list are not covered at all.

Make sure you fully understand the medical situation here before you make the move because it could be an extremely costly mistake if you don't.

meauxna

No, that isn't really how it works, it's a bit more involved... it sounds like you have multiple convictions to deal with. Normal recommendation would be for you to have a consultation with an immigration attorney at minimum.

paul_79

My US wife was on prescription drugs when we lived together in London (we lived there for 4 years before relocating to the US). She had a great relationship with her GP and when we moved over her GP gave her a 3/4 month supply as we wouldn't have health insurance when we moved over.

I'm not sure what the norm is, but when my wife explained we were moving her GP was more than happy to give her a longer prescription (usually she got a prescription for 1 month at a time).

Jerseygirl

When you have the meds from your UK doctor...the next hurdle is can they be brought into the US and if so...what quantity is allowed? This was discussed in a thread in the US forum a week or so ago...check the FDA website.