rajforlife

Hi all.

I am new to this forum so go easy on me . I wanted to ask peoples advice about moving San Diego from london. i will give a brief run down of my circumstances.

I was born in California but moved when i was two to london so i have lived in london for 25 years of my life. I currently hold a US passport and have a social security number. i am. have been married to my English wife for 6 months and we have a baby due end of this month.

I am a police officer in london and have been for 6 years. I want to try and join a Police Department and have researched a lot. It appears i need to get a ged or california high school exam certificate. First question.

Is there any way that a police department in california will accept my uk education upto A Levels or can it be translated so i will meet the requirements.

So I have family in san diego and orange county so stay for a couple weeks shouldnt be a problem. i own a flat so i was going to rent this out probably partly furnished. Second question.

In regards to sofa, kitchen and living room furniture bedroom furniture is it best to sell

these before we go or put it all in storage and then get it shipped over when we find a rental place. we have also got nursery furniture as well. what is the best idea?

Ok now it would be great if i could get an idea of things i must have on arrival in america. i knw about visa for my wife and baby. temp medical insurance. but how much money should i have prior to moving and getting a job. my uncle.is a general manager at Trader Joes and said that I will pretty much be guarnteed a job.

Any advice, contact would be great.

Regard

Raj

penguinsix

There are services that translate your academic credentials. I'm not sure which is best or which one would be recognized for your needs but others who have done so might be able to offer more advice.

It takes many weeks to ship stuff so you can probably send it over and deal with it when it arrives. You shouldn't have that much of a problem finding a rental--probably before it even gets off the ship.

Are you uptodate on your USA tax filings, FBAR filings and did you register for military service (the draft)? These are all things that folks often forget as USC living overseas, but some of those may be asked in the background process of becoming a cop.

I should note that if you are looking for a job as a police officer California is probably the last place I would look. The state is in the midst of a severe financial crisis such that many officers with year of experience, some even with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, are now unemployed and looking for work. That's not to say impossible, but very very difficult I suspect.

Sarah

wes.org translates your education/qualifications.

rajforlife

Thanks sarah thats great. do you know if wes is recognised by police departments.

Thank you penguin. I have a few contacts in a few departments who may be able to help out

ian-mstm

That would likely depend on the police department. It seems to me that the easiest thing to do would be to contact the PD and find out first hand. Here's a hint though... don't bother getting your credentials translated until you know which agency, if any, they accept to do the translation.

Ian

Bob

Kids probably already going to be a US citizen.

If you haven't, you need to file tax returns to the IRS, to get your visa for the missus. Being 27, you don't need to sign up for SS I guess now, though you ought to have.

As for transferring your qualifications, ask the agencies involved, because they would all have their own one they use so using WES might be a waste of money if they want you to use another service.

BritishGuy36

You want to forget about any possibility of moving until you answer the following questions.

1) Is your wife likely to be approved for a visa to enter the US to live and work? (If she has no criminal history, likely you will be ok)

2) Do you have the liquid funds to support her visa application? You need to show that you have enough money to support your family for 3 years after the move to satisfy the requirements of the I-864 form. The current poverty threshold for a family of 3 is is $55,590. So do you have £40k somewhere?

You can't just get a visa for her based on some possible future employment, that's not relevant as far as the US government is concerned.

See if this move is even feasible first, before you start thinking about moving furniture.

Mummy in the foothills

I doubt the kids are USC you have to have lived here after the age of 16 or some such age for a set amount of time.
But my Dh got his USC from his USC mother who had only lived in US a year as a baby, when they moved to US, the kids all came arrived and were given green cards and were under 18 she was able to just have them become USC by doing some paperwork before they turned 18.

Dan725

Good advice.

FWIW though, WES.org is probably the best known such provider of services and accepted by many govt agencies. But - you should still check before spending the money.

Noorah101

Hi Raj,

If you've done the correct research, you know it will take about 6 to 8 months for your wife to get her Immigrant Visa, after you file the I-130 to London.

So no real hurry on arranging furniture and renting flats or anything until closer to the move date.

In the meantime, I agree with others who have said to contact the PD directly, have your contacts/friends write letters of reference for you, and go from there.

Rene

rajforlife

Thanks all for the great advice so far. What is the tax return issue. i havent lived in the US since i was two so havent had income in US. why do i need to fill out a return?

What is this process?. I dont want to be paying the US goverment money when i have been paying my taxes in uk.

In regards to my wifes visa is it perative i prove money. i dont have savings my money is tied in my house. i was also relying on family to put us up till i am earning.

Also finally. To confirm do i need to apply for the same visa for my child as my wife. so basically nearly $900 for the two visas?

NatashaB

All US citizens need to file tax returns every year, even when living abroad. You may not need to pay any tax as you have already paid UK tax on your UK income - but they need to be filed.

rajforlife

Ooops. i have never filed a tax return since living here. i actually never realised that. So do i now start to fil my tax returns then. wil i get in trouble for not.doing these returns or if i start now will i be ok?

NatashaB

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/...=97324,00.html

see the bottom of this page - there is an address where you can email them for help.

Bob

And at least 3 years worth of returns are needed to get the spouse visa.

There is a good wiki entry on BE on back filing taxes to the IRS office at the US consulate in London.