MrMuffin

I just joined this site and it looks like a wonderful resource. I'll take some time and read through all these postings.

I miss the UK everyday. I moved to California on a whim back in 1989. I got sucked into a relationship which was bad news for me, but I think I really fell in love with Northern California more than anything.

It took several years for it to dawn on me all the things I missed about home in the UK. So I made lots of holiday trips back and tried to enjoy every moment over there. But I was entangled in life over in the USA and I had started a business with my ex-wife. The business grew and grew and all of a sudden 12 years had passed. We were miserable and divorced, and I moved to the East coast.

And now here I am after almost 20 years in the States. I am 43 and left the UK when I was 23.

For all the same reasons as many of you, I want to move back and don't know where to start. My main motivation is that my parents are getting older every day, my Grandmother is too, and I have missed out on so much of their lives. I miss being British and there is so much about the States I can't stand. Life is so empty here.

I am lucky that I remarried and have a lovely wife with a baby on the way. She's american and we've been married three years. She's open to moving over to the UK and starting over.

I will read through all your posts, and I will research everything well. I'm just scared to lift up the lid on all the issues including that I've been gone so long... is it possible for me to move back (yes I still have my UK passport up to date and have always been here with a green card only)?

Questions I have for now:

Being a UK passport holder, can I just simply move back and look for work, or do I have to apply for approval to move back first?
Is there a reason I should I get my US citizenship first given that my kids will be born in the USA and UK? I have a baby coming next month. Will the baby be able to be dual-nationality?
Will my US-born wife be able to move over and work at some point?
What's the best way to establish ourselves for credit in the UK?
Given I have been gone for 20 years, we've been married for three, is it best to wait until we've been married for four years, or is it better to just get going with the process?

Sorry if these are the same questions a ton of people have asked and I apologize if I am duplicating.

Thanks everyone and good luck to all. Martin.

Tootsie Frickensprinkles

Hello Martin, welcome to the board

Given your situation I would recommend waiting a year (ish). I think getting your US citizenship before you leave would make things a lot easier should you chose to return and getting your wife over to the UK after you've been married 4 years is also less trouble and expense. Although in all honestly when you consider the nightmare USCIS is, the hassle and time almost pales in comparison.

Baby due in a month will prolly also means you all could do with a little less turmoil in your lives than all this will incur. The xrate will be going in your favour the longer you wait, as will house prices and hopefully the job markets will be in recovery by then.

All round, I think holding on a while, whilst you go through your USC process would not be a bad idea.

MrMuffin

Hi Tootsie (love the name),

Thanks for the reply and advice. Just curious... what are the advantages to having my citizenship for the USA if I am intending on living the rest of my days in the UK... is it purely for a 'just in case' scenario?

And the other question is why is it better for the 4 years marriage? It's fine because that's probably the timeline we'll be looking at. Hopefully, like you said, the house prices over here will be a bit better and we can come out of the situation with something, rather than losing.

Lastly, what's other people's experience of going through the citizenship process here in the States? Is it pretty basic? I guess I never intended actually becoming an <sharp intake of breath> American (gasp).

Thanks so much!!

bromleygirl

I would definitley obtain your US citizenship before you leave. I left the States 4 years ago after being there for 8 years. I am now in the process of moving back to the US for many reasons and I actually thought that I would be staying in the UK for good. Anyway that aside even if you just have dual nationality for the sake of ease of travelling especially when travelling in and out of the US with your child. I have dual national children and when I bring them back to the US to see their Father I always enter on my US passport.

What part of the UK are you hoping to move back to? You will need to register your child with the embassy and they will be British by decent. You can also obtain a birth certificate and passport for your child from the embassy. You will also need to apply for your wife's entry visa to the UK which should allow her to work - be prepared though as childcare in the UK is really expensive

The USC process should take up to a year so I would start the process now if you want to relocate back to the UK in a year.

USAGypsies

I'm with Tootsie.
We are in this position ourselves and after much debate and postulation, we decided to get the US cit.ship first. Waiting is not easy when you are as impatient as we are. Last year we were desperate to get back to the UK - we've calmed down a bit since and a newborn has been a great distraction for us, as you will discover for yourself soon enough.

If theres anything I've learnt it's 'never shut a door unless it's absolutely unavoidable'..... things change, people change, economies change, priorities change..... etc Especially now that you have an American baby on the way, I would recommend you get your US cit.ship. paperwork filed.

MrMuffin

Bromleygirl, USAGypsies,

Thanks for the info and advice. Good call on the USC stuff. I am from Epsom, Surrey but my Mum and sister now live in Cornwall so the plan is to head down that direction. Looking for a much different change of pace. But it's good to keep the door open just in case... especially if my wife hates the UK for some reason.

Good luck with your move(s) and thanks again!

TaraC

Hi there. I'm in a similar situation to you. Been in the US 20+ years and moved back to the UK last year at 43. I also came back for very similar reasons and am glad I did BUT glad that I also got my citizenship before moving over. It really is a good idea to wait and do this, especially if you have a USC spouse. While I THINK my husband will want to stay, and I don't foresee us moving back, there is always the possibility that we may want to at some stage, and being a USC will make it so much easier. So, while you may think you want to stay permanently now, you may want to make sure your bases are covered.

There is also the issue of social security. if you've been in the US so long, you've probably got a lot of your pension tied up in the US, and there are always nasty rumbles about taking SS away from non-citizens whenever the govt tries to fix the solvency issue. I personally don't think they would ever take it away from GC holders, but you never know. Again, being a USC would protect you from this if it ever happened.

Re. the 4 years marriage, I think it makes it easier to get your wife permanent residency if you've been married that long before you re-enter the UK. Elvira has a good link to this, which i can't find now, but I know she's pasted in other threads so you might want to look.

Re. getting a job, I've had no problem. As long as you have your national insurance number and proper identification you'll be fine.

Hope this helps.

TaraC

LOL. I laughed at this, as I felt such the same way! My husband loves to see me bristle by calling me an AMERICAN! You'll still be a Brit inside, even though you have the US passport. This weekend with the Olympics I had tears in my eyes when Team GB was standing up on the podium with the flags and God Save the Queen. Never happens to me with Team USA!!!!!

The USC process itself isn't difficult; it's just time-consuming. It sounds as if you've traveled out of the country quite a bit since arriving, so this will be the hardest part to figure out. The USCIS will want a breakdown of every trip you've ever taken out of the US since you arrived, including little trips to Canada and Mexico. They will ask for dates out and in, how many days you were out, etc. It's a right pain in the bum.

I had replaced my passport so couldn't use my passport stamps (plus I didn't have stamps for some countries) so had to contact all the airlines I'd ever used to try and find out as much as I could. Ultimately I had eight pages of trips. When I got to my interview, my travel was the big sticking point. The interview was a piece of cake, but when we finished he wouldn't tell me I'd been accepted (other people were told right away) because he was going to pull my passport information and make sure my dates corresponded with what they had - and they wanted to make sure I hadn't been out of the country for too many days (can't remember what the cut-off was, but it really is a lot so it isn't normally a problem). I don't think they really care if your dates don't completely match theirs (or I'd have been SOL), but they do want to make sure you haven't been gone for too long.

Other than that, it's really just paperwork, tax returns, spouse passports, etc. It probably took me an afternoon to put everything together (other than the travel) and then it was just a matter of waiting for them to set up the interview and fingerprinting. Whole thing took about 9 months from end to end. They are trying to speed the process up, as they had a very severe backup. My interview was actually on a Saturday, which is a new thing they are doing to try and clear the backlog.

Anyway, hope this helps. Tara

Tootsie Frickensprinkles

Aye, like everyone else advised too, at this point it's never going to be easier for you to get your citizenship and although I do understand how you feel, at the end of the day its just a piece of paper. Most people stand there with their hands in their pockets and their fingers crossed anyway

After 4 years of marriage the application process for your wifes UK visa becomes faster, simpler and cheaper. If you could manage a trip over prior to her entry for her Life in UK test, you would be able to apply directly for an ILR.

Comparable costs in the UK, especially seeing as the pound is falling and the dollar may recover quicker will depend greatly on where you live in the US and if you're in one of those professions or industries where the States really does pay off. CA and MA for example, in many respects, are probably not going to seem that much different to SW England.

Enjoy the baby and take the planning in your strides

MrMuffin

I have to say thanks a bunch for the excellent advice, words of wisdom, and suggestions. I'm going to get the ball rolling on the USC front as soon as possible. How do I get that started?

That's interesting regarding the information about leaving the States for trips etc. I'll have to start doing some digging as it's been so long. Also I spent one trip in the UK for about nine months as I got sick with Hepatitis and had to stay until I was well again. I still have my old passport so hopefully I can retrace my steps and give pretty solid dates.

I still have my National Insurance number and also my drivers license. I know that the drivers licenses have changed (I still have the big fold out one with no picture). Is there any hassle with that? Do I need to get a new one when I finally get back?

My master plan is to get the USC stuff started soon, and also my pet passport stuff sorted for my dog, with the goal of moving back to the UK in late 2009 or early 2010.

Re: TaraC's bristling when being called 'American.' I know exactly what you mean. My stepDad always takes great pleasure in trying to get my back up about the US policies and the president etc. But I always agree with him and then remind him that I'm a GC holder not a USC so that always takes the wind out of his sails a bit. Trust me... I'm not anti-American at all. No reason to be. It's just that the way of life is a bit like a cheese grater. It wears you down bit by bit and you pine for British normalities. It sounds silly probably, especially to those who are soured on the UK for whatever reason, but after being away you realise all the things you left behind and it's hard to shake them off. Most of all I just want to be able to be closer to my family again. Everyone always says it's easy to make trips to see family and get 'recharged.' But it's not easy, and you always have to say goodbye and who knows when you say hello again. Or if.

Cheers all. Martin

Tootsie Frickensprinkles

Applying for a new license is no problem. You can pick up a change of address form in the PO and just send away to DVLA.

I read in the paper yesterday btw that some city analysts are now suspecting a drop as low as 1.5:1 in the next 12-18 months. You are likely to be getting richer and richer and you wait for that ceremony!

MrMuffin

Tootsie. Do you mean home prices in the UK are going to come down? In our case, 'less broke' might be more factual than 'richer.'

Tootsie Frickensprinkles

House prices are dropping here yes, and will continue to do so in varying degrees for quite some time. And it all helps

Tableland

MM

You mention moving to Cornwall. Devon and Cornwall have some of the most inflated house prices in the UK, which is good news, because now we're at the start of the crash, these highly inflated areas (Wales being another) are predicted to fall the most. I would speculate you might get a real bargain if you time things right.

HighSpeedGrandma

Hey, what if you DON"T have your NI number? Do you know how to go about finding it? I too have been in the US for 20 years, and am planning on going back to the UK, once I have obtained US citizenship. I have no clue what my NI number is though and now I am worried about what will happen when I get back?
Also, I read somewhere that if you become a US citizen and return to the UK and get a job you have to file taxes with the US, is that correct?

Thanks for any one who helps or answers this!?