emma_lou85

Hi,

My boyfriend and I are planning on moving to Boston June 2010. I'm American, so I don't need to worry as I'll just be heading back home, but my boyfriend is Scottish, and we're wondering what the best way of going about getting him a visa is.

Marriage at this point isn't an option because we'd rather have a real wedding when we can afford one as opposed to going with the Fiance visa and having to get married within 90 days. And he obviously can't go through the green card lottery as UK citizens aren't eligible. So, getting a sponsored visa through work seems like the only option...is it?

And also, does anyone know how likely it is for a company to sponsor someone for a visa? He is a skilled professional with an undergrad degree and 4-5 years experience in his job as a software engineer. So, pretty employable, I would hope.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated!!

Noorah101

Are you both living in the UK right now? Or are you in the USA and he's in the UK?

If you are in the UK, what's your status there?

Rene

meauxna

That is actually not so.

Here's an article discussing the ways 'in'. Pulaski's Ways: How to Live and Work in the USA

My wedding was as 'real' as any uber-planned meringue affair.

emma_lou85

I'm in the UK on a Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland visa. I came over for my undergrad degree and have been here 5 years now.

How can he go through the green card lottery? All the info we've seen says it's not possible...had a look at the Pulaski's Ways site, do you mean that bit about being from NI (which he's not) or having parents born abroad (his weren't)...is there some other way?

Didn't mean to imply some weddings are more real than others...just meant that I'd rather not have a shot-gun-esque, courthouse wedding within 90 days of him coming into the country as most people would probably assume I'm pregnant. And there will be no meringues in my wedding, thank you very much.

meauxna

Yes, that was just to point out that the DV Lottery is not based on citizenship; we have UKC members who have made it in on the DVL.

Don't worry about it on the wedding & me (no meringues at mine either), but do open your mind to practicalities. After observing hundreds (more?) of couples post about their struggles with the K-1 and other types of temporary visas, I'm more convinced than ever that entry with an immigrant visa made a huge difference to my Brit's success and happiness in his move.
We were also living together overseas and didn't want to be separated, didn't want him to have a bar against international travel for any period of time and were pleased with the speed of getting things like banking, DLs and other 'official' business done as an immigrant (permanent resident) vs some non-immigrant status that needs more and more explaining these days (to USCs).

If you have been living in the UK for 5 years, you may have a 'shortcut' to this method available to you. In about 6 months, your BF could be your husband, and the bearer of an immigrant visa to the US.
You can have a fancy 'do any time after that.

I do think that people should marry because that is what's important to them. This may be just one more reason it is important.

Read a few posts here in the USA forum and here's something to check out:
Filing your I-130 abroad - Direct Consular Filing (DCF)

emma_lou85

We have discussed the idea of getting married sooner than perhaps we would have were visas not an issue, and of course, staying together is more important than having a fancy wedding. But, not going to lie, the traditional wedding with the big party is very appealing!

So, we were hoping to go down the employment-based visa route, which seems tricky and full of hassle. I decided to post on this forum so see if anyone knew of a different option that we had not come across in our research. Or to see if anyone had had any luck going through recruitment agencies, perhaps? We should be over in the states for a couple weeks around Christmas and were thinking of making appointments with a few agencies, just to get his name and CV/resume out there.

Noorah101

Why can't you have your big traditional wedding with the big party, in the UK?

Rene

emma_lou85

We need to save up money for the move over (cost of getting all of our stuff there, finding a new place to live, buying new furniture etc), so we couldn't really afford a wedding at the moment, or any foreseeable time in the next couple years, unfortunately.

Plus, wouldn't it be easier for him in the long run for him to become an American citizen if the actual ceremony takes place in the States? A friend's cousin married an Italian man, with the ceremony taking place in Italy, and they have been trying to get a visa for him to move to the States for over 2 years...

meauxna

That's because she's doing it wrong.

Ours took 33 days.

Citizenship eligibility counts forward from the first day of Permanent Resident status. 3 years after entry on an Immigrant Visa, potentially.

Noorah101

But you're not planning to move to the USA until 2010. That gives you two years to save up extra for the nice wedding. Get married about 6 months before you plan to make the actual move to the USA in 2010.

Nope, doesn't matter at all where the wedding takes place. The path to citizenship starts when the immigrant becomes a US Permanent Resident.

Rene

Tracym

They could even visit the US and get married there, 6 months before they want to move permanently.

Third option - have a courthouse wedding, just don't really count it in your brain other than for immigraion. Come over, and then have the wedding of your dreams. Many people do the legal ceremony and the one that is meaningful to them separately.