Jmaster911

Hi all,

This is a bit of a involved and open post, so please bear with me as I
explain the background to my and my girlfriends situation.

Just over six weeks ago I was in the US (I'm a UK citizen) on business and
during my stay met a young women (US Citizen). We got on great and had a fantastic time while I was there. After returning from the US we have spent around 2 hours on the phone everyday and have even set-up a webcam link so that we can see each other while talking adn hopefully bring the phone bill down. This weekend my girlfriend visited the UK (after being interrogated by the UK immigration officer, I thought US were bad but this guy wanted to know everything) and things are really starting to fall into place. As much as I didn't believe it happens it is one of those "love at 1st sight things". I am now set to go back to the US for a week on the 29th Nov and mid Jan and she is planning to come back to the UK in Feb.

Due to the fast paced nature of our meeting and relationship we have started talking about the possible future that may await us (marriage, kids and Immigration). This is where we need the advise, we have discussed a number of things, of which all of them are totally uninformed and un-educated, but hopefully people on this site will be able to shed some light. Options we have talked about are as follows. (PLEASE NOTE: whatever option we choose initally we both feel the US is the best end game for us)

Option 1
======

My girlfriend is currently working for the US Gov. and could take a leave of
absence and come the UK of a student visa (she's 24), she is seriously
thinking about taking a Masters Degree. She would stay here for a period
studying and then we both move back to the US, marry and live happily ever
after .

Option 2
======

I move to the US and find work, I currently have a fairly well paid job in
the UK (50k+) and have contacts in the US that may be able to help me find
work in a reasonably short period of time. Once settled, marry and live
happily ever after (there's a trend happening here).

Option 3
======

My girlfriend moves to the UK and finds work, we marry here and at some
point in the future move back to the US. oh and of course we live happily
ever after

Those are the options we have talked about, however I'm sure there are more so any other advise would be appreciated. Other questions we have no answers for are.

1) Is it possible for us BOTH to hold duel citizenship at some-point in the
future (realise this is a long way off).
2) Are there any GOOD lawyers in the UK that are familiar with both US and
UK immigration law and could help us make our mind up on the best course of action.
3) As we are both fairly flexible in the short term, is it easier for her to
come to me or I go to her from a immigration point of view.
4) Timescales of any of the above or alternative options.
5) I have a criminal record (single offence of burglary when I was 18, now
32, sentence was community service, stupid thing to do I know but its a long and involved story and one I'm sure I'll have to tell a few times) although it is spent I will be honest and declare it, does this change things.
6) What do we need to be doing NOW for any future application, i.e. keeping
reciepts, emails, etc

Any information, including personal stories would help in our decision making process.

Many Thanks for any help

Steve

syedraza70

As you mentioned you have meet each other number of times in UK and in States. Then you guyz should have lots of photos and stuff....

I think your best bet would be:

keep you current job for now, (this does not mean that you should never leave for US, because you need money right now and specially when getting married, USCIS fees and stuff.

You should think about leaving everything right away if your papers cannot be filed without you in US. What you both can do is plan for marriage and future plans. Ofcourse when you are so much involved you would have lots of things to prove your relation. So..

Get married
Your wife will get back to US and file petition for you (I-130)
Once petition is approved you will go to the US embassy in UK, and at that time you can think of leaving your job and comming to US.
If your wife files petition for you in US it will be similar process to that of bringing your spouse to live in US. ( http://www.immiseek.com/empty2.php?content=spouse )

MightBe

After 6 weeks your bleedin stark staring mad... But so be it. Easiest way would be for her to go to the uk, get married at your leisure, then do a direct consular filing when you want to return to the USA.

And I thought I rushed into marriage after a 7 year engagement.

Jmaster911

I thought a DCF was not possible if you had a past crim record - mine is old but netheraless it is there and I intend to declare it - or have I been mis-informed.

BTW - we don't plan on getting married next week - we are just making possible plans for the future

Thanks for the help BTW

Jmaster911

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, can you confirm something for me though, on me entering the US can I work or apply for work or do I have to wait for the AOS approval to come through, if this is so how long would it take.

Thanks again for your help.

MightBe

You may be able to use the age excemption clause..
But read the FAQ at http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1faq.htm

syedraza70

As MightBe suggested "direct consular filling" it is also a good idea. but answer to your question about employment is

If you got married in UK then :
a) your wife will file form I-130 for you "Petition for an Alien Relative."
b) After approval of the petition, you have to get a visa from a US Embassy or consulate abroad, via interview. Provide proof of the relationship, including photos, plane tickets, love letters, printed e-mails, and so on.
c) After you entered the United States, You should Apply for permanent resident status (a green card),

and with this filing you can also file an application for work authorization, (after filing for your workpermit you should wait atleast for 90 days and if your workpermit does not arrive then you can apply for interim workpermit, this interim workpermit you get on the same day and usually good for 8 months) so i would say that work permit will take atleast 3 months, but in some cases ppl do get it before 3 months.