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Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Old Aug 23rd 2010, 2:03 pm
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Default Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

My boyfriend has moved to the USA, I am pregnant, how can I go with him?
My boyfriend is 28 I am 32, we are both British Nationals. My boyfriend was sponsored by his mother to come to live in the USA, she is a American Citizen through marriage. All his other brothers and sisters live in the USA, but he turned 21 before his mother had her green card and so had to leave the USA and live in the UK, until she could sponsor him. He had lived in the USA before that for 15 years and so it was very hard for him to move back to the UK. We have being together for 7 years. We never married as it would have increased the waiting time for his visa by three years. His family begged us not to marry, as they said it is much harder to sponsor a married child than a unmarried child.

The problem is I am 7 months pregnant, I had an offer to work in the USA so I could go with him, however the offer was withdrawn as I am now pregnant. My boyfriend has being in the USA for the last three months. Our lawyer said that even if we got married, that my boyfriend would not be able to sponsor me for many years. Is this true?

How else can I go to the USA. I already have a PDH and I am self employed in the UK as a researcher. I have already held a J1 visa for the USA for 18 months so I can not apply for one of these.

It was very hard to find anyone willing to sponsor me for employment, understandingly Americans prefer for offer skilled jobs to their own people first.

I'm dreading having to spend years in the UK alone without him waiting for a visa.

Is there any way I can go to the USA to be with my boyfriend?

Last edited by LeftAloneInUK; Aug 23rd 2010 at 2:09 pm.
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 2:14 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Read this article to see if you fit any of the categories for getting a visa to the USA:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

If you marry your boyfriend, at least he can submit an I-130 for you to immigrate, even though it could take a few years for your priority date to become current. At least you'd be in the system, waiting, instead of doing nothing.

Rene
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 2:25 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Thank you.

Im afraid I don't have family who can sponsor me, I cant get an employer to sponsor me. I could go to Uni in the USA and do another PHD, but it seems silly as I already have a PHD. Plus I am quite certain immigration would realize that I don't need to study in the USA and would turn me away.

I guess the only thing for me to do is wait for my boyfriend to sponsor me.

Our lawyer said he wasn't allowed to sponsor anyone for the first three years, and then it would take around a year for the paper work. That means raising a child alone in the UK for at least four years.

Does it really take that long?
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 3:47 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by LeftAloneInUK
Our lawyer said he wasn't allowed to sponsor anyone for the first three years, and then it would take around a year for the paper work. That means raising a child alone in the UK for at least four years.

Does it really take that long?
Your lawyer is mistaken. When your boyfriend entered the USA using his Immigrant Visa, he became a US Permanent Resident immediately. A US PR is allowed to file an I-130 for a foreign spouse. So he can file the I-130 right now.

This is the link to the visa bulletin you need to watch for your priority date becoming current (priority date is the date USCIS receives the I-130). http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bul...etin_5092.html

You're lucky because the visa bulletin dates have been speeding up a lot lately. Right now, for your category (F2A, spouse of an LPR), USCIS is working on those with priority dates of March 2009. If this trend continues, and he files an I-130 now, you could be in the USA in about 2 to 2.5 years. (18 months for your priority date to become current, and another 6 to 10 months for your visa processing.)

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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 3:53 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by Noorah101
A US PR is allowed to file an I-130 for a foreign spouse. So he can file the I-130 right now.

Rene
If, as presumably the OP is getting to the point where travel isn't a good idea, he returns so the couple can get married!
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 3:56 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by Nutmegger
If, as presumably the OP is getting to the point where travel isn't a good idea, he returns so the couple can get married!
Ah yes, thanks. They will indeed need to be married to begin the whole process.

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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 4:05 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by LeftAloneInUK
Our lawyer said he wasn't allowed to sponsor anyone for the first three years, and then it would take around a year for the paper work.
Your lawyer needs to go. No point in receiving crappy advice off a professional.
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 4:18 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

We are looking forward to getting married, so that's not a problem.

I'm still shocked that I will have to spend 2+ years, alone with a newborn baby waiting to be united with my boyfriend/husband.

It seems the only way we can be together in the mean time is if flys back to the UK on short trips to be with us.


Thank you guys.


Yep my lawyer sucks, I think I will have to look for another.

Last edited by LeftAloneInUK; Aug 23rd 2010 at 4:24 pm.
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 4:20 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by LeftAloneInUK
Thank you.

Im afraid I don't have family who can sponsor me, I cant get an employer to sponsor me. I could go to Uni in the USA and do another PHD, but it seems silly as I already have a PHD. Plus I am quite certain immigration would realize that I don't need to study in the USA and would turn me away.
Why not apply for a postdoc instead of another PhD?
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 4:30 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Good idea.

I will look into that. I cant bear the thought of spending 2+ years as a single mother.
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 4:47 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by LeftAloneInUK
I'm still shocked that I will have to spend 2+ years, alone with a newborn baby waiting to be united with my boyfriend/husband.
The advantages to LPRs are different from the advantages to a USC. The spouse of a USC has a visa number immediately available to them. The spouse of an LPR does not. It's not that shocking, really. Different status, different advantages/opportunities.

If you guys had done some research ahead of time, you would have known how the system works, and could have worked around it, instead of now feeling trapped by it.

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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 5:26 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by LeftAloneInUK
Good idea.

I will look into that. I cant bear the thought of spending 2+ years as a single mother.

Sorry, no sympathy here. I was a single mother for 25 yrs. Not such a hardship if you are educated.

Look baby's father can very well move back to the UK and live and work there. He does not have to be in the US.

How the heck did he live in the US for 15 of his formative years without legal status? His mom took the family there on vacation and never left?

If not, then your boyfriend's story does add up.

Last edited by Rete; Aug 23rd 2010 at 6:27 pm.
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 6:04 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by LeftAloneInUK
Good idea.

I will look into that. I cant bear the thought of spending 2+ years as a single mother.
Another possibility would be a teaching position (instructor) at a local community college. It would would probably pay less, but you may have higher chances of getting it.

By the way, what is your PhD in?

Last edited by Marocco; Aug 23rd 2010 at 6:11 pm.
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 6:09 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

LeftAlone, one thing to keep in mind if you get your own visa to the USA, is that it will be very expensive to have the baby in the USA. You'll have to have your own health insurance, pay high premiums, and it may not even cover your existing pregnancy.

You'd be better off having the baby back in the UK, which then poses some problems if you still want to come to the USA later, with the baby, on your own merits. You and your boyfriend might not even get to live in the same state, if he's working in one state and you get a job in another state. Then you'll have child care expenses on top of everything else.

Edit: I just re-read your original post, and realized you're due soon anyway. So ignore my first paragraph, and just focus on how expensive health insurance will be for you AND your newborn in the USA, unless you find a job with good insurance benefits to get over on an H1B.

Rene

Last edited by Noorah101; Aug 23rd 2010 at 6:19 pm.
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Old Aug 23rd 2010, 6:16 pm
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Default Re: Im pregant, my boyfriend has moved to the USA, how can I go with him?

Originally Posted by fatbrit
Your lawyer needs to go. No point in receiving crappy advice off a professional.
Originally Posted by LeftAloneInUK
We are looking forward to getting married, so that's not a problem.

I'm still shocked that I will have to spend 2+ years, alone with a newborn baby waiting to be united with my boyfriend/husband.

It seems the only way we can be together in the mean time is if flys back to the UK on short trips to be with us.


Thank you guys.


Yep my lawyer sucks, I think I will have to look for another.

How does the lawyer 'suck' exactly? I read more of a translation error from lawyer to client..
IF you marry and (then) husband petitions for you, it will be X time until a visa number is available, and once one is available, it does take about a year for the paperwork to complete for you to immigrate. Keep in mind that you'll need to take care of paperwork for the new baby as well.

Currently, the visa category for spouses of LPRs is not all that backlogged.
(September projection = January 2010).
Since this is a dramatic, and recent change, and we don't know when you got that advice, don't be too quick to throw the lawyer under the bus.
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