franc11s

But that's 90% of the immigration marraige visas, no? i.e. an american marrying a foreigner? I think the PR rules are the clearest and simplest of all the other crap stuff from BCIS. You might not like them, but they are pretty clear.

dunroving

No doubt they are clear.

scrubbedexpat099

I am not so sure that they are clear, there is a degree of subjectivity as to what constutes maintaing residency.

Some will only know when they arrive at the POE. A friend had a fright, he is now a USC mainly because of this.

I have seen mention of lawyers who specialise in this area, no need if it was all clear cut.

The rules I guess are from another time, and I get the impression that they were never enforced, but I have seen several postings from those who have made the trip once a year to 'maintain' status and have been turned back.

franc11s

Poor argument. We have supreme courts to interpret "clear" law. PR is as clear as it is ever going to get.

Travelling just to maintain status DOES NOT equal Permanent Resident intent - being turned back backs up what I'm saying. The INTENT of PR is stop people claiming residency if they don't REALLY live in the USA... the fact it is now enforced is irrelevant since it is CLEAR and it is up to people to take risks, not blame BCIS - in THIS case...

scrubbedexpat099

I used an extreme, but an extreme that has worked in the past. On the marriage and immigration boards there have been various posts from people somewhere in the middle of this and going hoime to see family for a week.

Somewhere there is a dividing line, so somebody will be just on one side and somebody else on the other. And the lines position is decided by the POE officer initially.

As i said technically you can lose LPR status in a day, pack up, sell up and move out. However if you change your mind and come back the following day, I doubt that you will have any issues.

frrussre

If you have been a GC holder for more then 5 years or married with GC for 3 years, I suggest you apply for Citizenship ASAP. When you get to UK, after 3 years your wife can apply for British Citizenship. That way you can both come and go. My USC wife lived in UK for 5 years, she never became a UKC. Big mistake, if something happened to me (UKC), she does not have the choice to go back & live in UK. Our son is Dual & so am I.
Reg. Frank R.

scrubbedexpat099

The more I learn the more dodgy I see LPR status, Citizenship for mostly the wrong reasons is the way to go.

frrussre

Your right, most 1st World GC people are not getting USC for patriotic reasons.
Reg. Frank R.

scrubbedexpat099

And nothing wrong with that. You play by the rules and we do not make the rules.

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

Elvira

Maybe, but that doesn't help us. It took us nearly 5 years to get LPR, and it would take another 5 years before my sons could even apply for citizenship. Not sure how long it takes from that point.

For young people this is an eternity. I'm pretty sure that at least two of my sons will end up going back, so our family will end up split. Yes, I know, most expats have this kind of situation to some extent, but it's somewhat different if it's forced on you.

Just Jenney

US marriage-based immigration is already easier and faster than basically any other method of immigration. And once the foreign spouse becomes a LPR, they are eligible for naturalization after only three years instead of the normal five years. So, there already IS more latitude for these couples.

The fact that they each chose to marry someone who does not share the same nationality is not the US government's problem. But to help them out, the US government has shaven two full years off the LPR time needed to be eligible for US naturalization -- something I'd bet many (most?) non-marriage-based LPRs wish THEY could get. If the foreign spouse chooses not to naturalize, that's their choice -- but again, not the US government's problem.

Don't get me wrong -- I wish things were easier, because Mark and I are in that same boat. Even though Mark's going to apply for naturalization in March 2007, that doesn't change the fact that if we choose to move to Britain after he becomes a USC, we'll have to start the process over in order for ME to live THERE. Even once we've crossed all the US hurdles, the UK hurdles will still exist. We find some comfort knowing that, at the very least, our future children will be dual citizens who won't have to worry about it.

But as annoying as it might be, we realize that as a dual-nationality couple, it just comes with the terrority. While we happen to be a US/UK couple, we could be from any two countries on the planet and it would be the same thing.

~ Jenney

dbark

My 19-year old daughter has faced this situation. She wants to live in the UK, not the US, and although she can visit us here, she feels if she chose to come and live here after all, the wait would be too long to even consider, she wants to be able to do both, and I know that's not possible. It's just sad.

scrubbedexpat099

The UK move is the easy bit, hardly a hurdle at all.

And you would have the DCF route to come back, children, well they have to make a choice, but then how often have we had some start struck teenager wanting to move to US who has no choice.

With the benefit of hindsight these situations would be inevitable.

fatbrit

Not really -- the US one is slow and the bureaucracy particularly unwieldy and Kafkaesque. Not to say you won't get problems for other combinations, but I doubt whether you would find anything much worse than USCIS in giving you a headache and keeping you from living where you choose and how you choose for the longest possible time. And all for nothing, really!

User Name

It sure can be a rough and wild ride. Lived through it myself and still living through it (vicariously this time).