joshuauaua

Hi everyone

I am intending on marrying my partner whom lives in the USA. I am a student in the city of Oxford, and am intending to move over to the States as soon as my degree finishes. I just have a few issues:

1) As i'm gay will it make a difference gaining citizenship?
2) Being under 21 (obivously young for marriage), will this lead to more unforeseen problems?
3) I found this information on this website: Marriage or engagement in anticipation of marriage to a US citizen. Immigrant or dual-intent visa. Search for: K1, K3, direct consular filing (DCF), I-130 petition, adjustment of status (AOS). I presume this is all that is needed to gain citizenship?

As you may have gathered, I have been a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, and would be awfully grateful if someone could just give me a step by step on what i need to do and consider!

Thanks anyway, Joshua

britchicknyc

Being gay will make no difference to any application you make. That is not a question on any of the forms.

You will not be able to gain a greencard or citizenship here through a same sex marriage.

Being under 21 will only cause you the same problems it will back home.

CarlM

On what basis do you intend to move to the United States?

Big D

In addition same sex marriages are not legal/recognised in all states.

Ray

And most certainly not at this time by the USCIS...
You will not be able to use any marriage visa ...

scrubbedexpat099

Obvious solution is to go the other way..

UK does recognise gay relationships.

joshuauaua

Thanks for letting me know guys, as i should have expected really, don't know how i missed it.

I presume i could apply for a work visa for a length of time allowing me at least to stay in the country for a while?

Rockgurl

Sorry Joshua....it's not as simple as you think. I waited nearly 4 years to be able to live with my partner, even though we did the London Partnerships Register 2 years ago. Even if we got married in London now it wouldn't have made a difference, nor would it have if we had got married in Massachussets. The USA does not recognize gay relationships in any form, with regards to immigration. My partner and I lived apart for 4 years because of this, but we made it through because I was able to get a green card related to my work. It's incredibly difficult to get a work visa so I would investigate that as a separate entity. Don't give up hope though....today is our 5th anniversary and if we can do it so can you. It just takes time, commitment, hardship and money, but it's not impossible. We are proof of that. Good luck.

joshuauaua

Hey, thanks for that.

I shouldn't have been so niave to think it would be that simple. I'm a fighter, so i'll keep on trying, and hopefully the my degree will help, its scientific which i believe is on their notorious list of occupations to getting a green card! Here we go... we are pretty rock steady, so the thought of spending a few more years living apart is livable with i guess!

Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary by the way!

Rockgurl

Thanks Joshua A college degree is definitely the way to go, but why not have him come to England in the meantime and get married there so at least you have time together and can plan for the future. Back when my partner and I first met we didn't have that option as we had to prove we had lived together for 2 years, but we couldn't do that because neither country would let us live together! Maybe by the time you have your degree the USA may have changed its policies. Well, I can dream can't I?

scrubbedexpat099

Political suicide.

And i think the term is Civil partnership

Rockgurl

The technical term may be civil partnership but the sentiment is the same. It's marriage to me.

BigDavyG

I its already been established that the OP does indeed "go the other way"

Sorry, I really couldn't help myself with that one - anyway Boiler's suggestion would seem to be a good one, unless you are actually studying at Oxford Uni (not brookes or someweher like that) in which case you should be able to get into most American uni's to carry out some post grad study.

Good luck

NJ_Dave

If you are talking about a H1B work visa, which is implied by your scientific degree, you can't just apply for one. You have to find a US company to sponsor your visa before you apply. There is an annual cap of 65,000 H1B visas, a lot of which go to people in IT. Finding a sponsoring company is usually pretty difficult, bearing in mind you will be a new graduate up against people with higher degrees or experience in the industry. Best bet: your partner moves to the UK, which does recognise same-sex partnerships.

anotherlimey

America isn't quite as liberal as Europe; I know at least a dozen people who think homosexuals will be the downfall of the US and should all go to hell.

I'm sure there are a fair number of Europeans that think that too though.