Rete

Having an uncle in the US means absolutely nothing to you in terms of immigration. He is too far removed from family to petition for you and/or having a relation in the US does not help or hinder your own ability to get a marriage-based visa or a work visa.

Unless her father's business is large enough to warrant his spending thousands of dollars on the off chance that you are lucky enough to get chosen in the H1-B work lottery and you have the educational and/or experience to qualify for it, that is an iffy way to go.

shiversaint

Not that it's relevant to the OP but that's somewhat conjecture - people with controlled substance offences get waivers all the time.

To the OP: If you absolutely hurry up with it, you might just get a waiver in time for Christmas. Someone posted the other day with a 10 week turn around time which is seriously quick. That's no guarantee of course.

Given you have a girlfriend in the states, I would advise taking plenty of evidence of your ties to the UK to your interview; you'll be deemed an overstay risk because of it so you need to show them you are irrevocably invested in your life in the UK and that upping sticks is not something on your radar.

Fireant

Thankyou very much for your reply too.

I can prove my ties to the UK easily enough, well at least I hope so.
I have a small business which I've recently invested a lot of time and effort into getting it going again. I have sisters and a lot of nieces and nephews.
Not only that all my friends are in the England.
I can get character references if they need them.
But not sure how else I'd prove anything.

At the end of the day, I don't plan on going over there and not coming back.
But in the future in several years perhaps I'll consider relocating over there if we were to get married.

Jerseygirl

Links to friends and family are no help. Do you have a child living in the UK? Is your biz a bricks and mortar biz? An Internet biz is no help as you could operate that anywhere in the world, but you can’t while you are visiting the US. Do you have a mortgage, own property?

nelson2

Fireant, you need to be aware that if and when you do get your non immigrant visa/waiver, and on the assumption that you get married, you will need to wait at least 15 years from the date of your last conviction i.e. theft charge as it is CIMT, before you will qualify for a Wavier for an Immigrant Visa. This will then enable you to move to the US. I am making this comment as I am currently going through this process. This is on the assumption that you do not qualify for the petty offence exemption.

Fireant

Thanks for your reply.

No, I don't have any children.
The business though is a landscaping contracting and construction business. I also have a seperate one which carries out property management. Electrical, plumbing, refurbishment and repair. That type of thing. It's only small at the moment though. But it is growing pretty well.

I did have a property years ago, but myself and my ex girlfriend sold it. I am currently renting privately now.

Fireant

Hello Nelson.
Thankyou very much for your reply too.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you have to go to the embassy etc?

civilservant

I'd love for you to show us where that rubbish you just stated is in the INA.

scrubbedexpat099

MeToo

The Rushman

Fireant

I forgot to mention, that we're not that close. They live in another part of the country I must of seen them twice in the last five years.

scrubbedexpat099

Which is why they are not a tie.

The Rushman

No you didn't "forget to mention" them, you distinctly said they don't exist.
"I don't have family over here" that's not forgetting that's denying. That's a red flag for starters.

A U.S Immigration Officer can basically deny your application if he doesn't like your hairstyle so contradictory information is going to get your application flushed down the shitter faster than last nights curry.
Get every bit of your story straight, easiest way is by being 100% honest no matter how bad (they will find out) and don't bother explaining or making excuses about your convictions. That just draws them into more scrutiny than they need. You got convicted and that's all they care about.

I got a K1 Visa with some "Previous" so I have a little bit of experience. Your best chance is play it dead straight.

Fireant

OK, thanks for the reply.
Just a quick one though, do they ask a lot of questions about family etc? When I said about my family, well, I see my friends more than I do my blood relations. If that makes any sense.
Family of my own, meant no kids. Which I don't have yet.
No parents anymore either. Aunts or Uncles, most I had have passed away, the ones that haven't, I don't even know them. Only related by blood. One lives in the states and the other in Australia. Immediate family that's left are Just a sister and a half sister. Where all three of us are quite distant. And have only seen each other a couple of times at the most in the past five years or so.
My sister hasn't seen my half sister since around 2005 for example.
How long did it take you to get your K1 visa, if you don't mind me asking?
The convictions, although they're all spent apparently. But, as somebody pointed out, nothing is spent in the US. Which is fair enough, but what I wanted to ask, that during an interview, when they ask about the offence, over here it's worse if you've been to prison, and have that on your record, mine were fines and community service and I never had prison at all.
So they look at that or is it just the offence that matters, not the sentence given?

(Not sure if all that makes any sense)

Fireant

Understandable. So they want to know about all family, even if you don't really know them that well and any other blood relations that I'm aware of? I'm going to struggle with that, as I have distant family but don't know them. We lived far away from them growing up and lived nearer my mother's family, who have all passed away now.

My point is, we very rarely see or even hear off each other and my friends family (I hate to say it) are more of a family than the remaining relations of my family.