Hi,

I'm new to this but have been reading through a lot of material to try and get a basic understanding at least.

Current Scenario:
We are GB born parents to a GB born daughter now married to a US Citizen and going through the green card process for herself on the back of the marriage. All good - they're intending to relocate to the states middle of next year.
We'd like to follow but I understand we can't get a green card until our daughter becomes a US Citizen and sponsors us - probably 3+ years off really.
In the interim to make the transition as simple as possible (we're a close family) - we could go via a Tourism Visa to the USA and do 3 months there, three months at home etc - would that work in the interim? National Park tours, visiting our daughter/son in law and new extended US family who we have already holidayed with and get on with very well.
Or - work visa? Our US son in laws parents are willing to help if at all possible and my background (healthcare) matches with their line of work. But I wouldn't really want to charge them a fee!! Lol.
My wife and I are both retired, get good pensions, own our own home in the UK so no drain on US resources/systems etc....

Has anyone attempted the move in a similar situation??

Any help or initial thoughts much appreciated!

TC

You’re probably 6-7 years away from being able to emigrate via your daughter.

The 3 months in 3 months out may work short term, but it’s risky. The general advice is to spend at least twice the amount of time outside the US as inside, so if you spent 2.5 months in the US (best not to do the full 90 days, in case of an unintended overstay i.e. illness or flight delays), then spend at least 5 months outside the US before attempting to re-enter.

A job visa may work, but it would cost the company quite a bit. Which one do you think you’d be eligible for? Not all are dual intent, so some wouldn’t work if your intention is to stay permanently. If you’re retired it just also be tricky convincing the visa officer the job offer is legit.

I’d also look at the cost of healthcare, and make sure your good pensions will cover that. A lot of older people decide to do a B visa for that reason rather than move permanently - so they can still use the NHS.

Thanks for the response. Does the Tourism Visa route add much benefit to the ESTA then (other than status change in country potentially). For the work Visa I was toying with looking into the skilled worker - I have 20+ years in IT/Healthcare/Project Management - which fits my son-in-laws parents business in that they're looking to review/potentially look at an IT strategy and tech refresh in the near future. I've only been retired for 12 months. It sounds like I may need to speak to an immigration lawyer to determine the safest route - I certainly don't want to do anything I shouldn't be doing and risk impacting longer term plans or options.

Not sure what you mean by this? You can't enter the US as a visitor (on either a B visa or ESTA) if your intention is to adjust status and stay, that's immigration fraud. So neither work for that, but the B visa would get you more time there in one go, again the advice would be to spend more time outside the US than in though i.e. if you spent 5 months there on a B visa, spend a lot longer back in the UK before trying to return.

Which skilled worker visa? Some would require the business to prove they can't find an American to do the job which could be tricky with unemployment rates as they are. The H1B is a lottery system, so could take years. And others (as mentioned) aren't dual intent so won't help you. The company would need to hire an immigration lawyer anyway, so I'd let them do that and work out if there is any feasible way over there for you. Perhaps you could look at employment based green cards instead of your daughter sponsoring you for one years down the line if the company would agree to do that, as then you wouldn't have to worry about having immigrant intent on a non-immigrant work visa.

Another advantage of you going on a work based visa would be healthcare, would save you paying a fortune for it yourself (only a small fortune instead!).

Good luck.

What is a Tourism Visa??????? The US does not have one of those. You can use the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) which allows you to enter the US for up to 90 days (must be out of the US by the 91st day or it is an overstay and you can never use the VWP again. Or you can allow for a B visa. Your thoughts of planning to live in the US because you want to be close to your daughter is a long way in the future and you both will be in your 70's before that happens.

PS UK healthcare and US healthcare are not just miles apart they are worlds apart. Your experience with healthcare in the UK does nothing to help you in the US healthcare area.

Sorry - bad wording on my part! I obviously need to have a think about the options and get some legal advice on any options (if there are any suitable ones!).
Thanks for your help!

Are there options for you living full time in the US so that you can be close to your daughter? Yes, but at your age they are very very limited. Your work experience in UK healthcare won't really be an asset to working in US healthcare.

If you have the necessary funds, you can start your own business and get the appropriate visa to set it up in the US and live here to work the business. Look at the E visas.

A formal B visa might allow you to live in the US for up to six months then you must leave the US and rule of thumb is that you stay out of the US for the next six months before coming back to another six month visit.

Is there a medical or mental reason why your daughter cannot start her new life in the US with her husband without her parents living here by her side?

As touched on before, it is going to cost you a fortune to get US healthcare for your visits here. Then there is the cost of maintaining a home in the UK and one in the US unless you intend to live in your daughter's new home. If she and her husband are going to be living with his family in their home that eliminates that option. Are there grandchildren involved? I'm not being rude by asking but why do you need to be in the same country full time with your daughter? Have you always lived on top of one another? Just curious.

You should tell the state department to update their website then:

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...itor.html/visa

On the visa front christmasoompa gives a good summary. You can visit for stretches but leave yourself margin of error for the unexpected because overstaying even accidentally could be catastrophic. I don't think there's any benefit to getting B-2 vs using VWP/ESTA. You can visit and vacation under VWP.

Your daughter will hopefully get her GC in 12-18 months, and she could theoretically sponsor you after she becomes a citizen which would be around 3.5 years from getting her GC and living in the US as a PR. Then your application would take another 1-2 years to come though.

As hinted at - you also need to think through the non-visa parts of this proposal. When you are visiting for 2months at a time, where will you live? Your newlyweds probably don't want to put you up for more than a couple of weeks. You don't want to get a regular/long-term lease or purchase property because that could signal intention to overstay. Healthcare is the other existential issue. Even getting travel insurance for this duration in the US will likely be expensive. But if you actually want to move here, average premium for a 60-year old is $1300 (x2) per month and will get worse as you age. You are not entitled to Medicare and will also not entitled to free NHS treatment if you stop being UK residents.
You say you are retired so perhaps you are multi-millionaires in your 40s, or perhaps the "good pension" you mention means a £30k annuity, or perhaps your daughter or son-in-law founded a unicorn, but the viability of your plan will hinge a lot on your means.
I hope this isn't negative and the good news is that you have years to consider these points before it becomes pressing.


Maybe helpful - https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt
I-130 for immediate relative is likely of interest, and N-400 when your daughter is 3 years' as a GC holder and read for USC.