Moving to the US
 

Hi All,

I am new to the forum and looking for some advice. I have read as many posts/guides as i can on moving to the USA and to be honest i have to say that this forum is excellent and has answered many of my questions so far.

In the near future my wife and i are going to move permanently to the USA. We both live in the UK and we have been together for 8 years and married for 6 months. My wife has dual citizenship(UK and US passports). I understand that we need to go through the I-130/CR1 process via the London embassy is that correct?

My concern is this. My wife was born in the USA but has lived in the UK since she was almost 2 years old. How hard will it be for her to prove her intent to be domiciled in the US? She has no social security number, US bank account family, bills etc or any other ties to the US. I understand the normal timescale from start to finish is 4-6months but will the lack of connection with the US interfere or prolong the process?

Re: Moving to the US
 

Yes, Direct Consular Filing (DCF) would be the best way for you to go.

Do a search on this forum for others who have gone through the DCF process, the "intent to domicile" issue is covered quite often here. There are many ways of showing intent to domicile, such as house or apartment hunting in the USA (correspondence with a USA realtor, for example); intent to sell or rent current UK residence; getting the kids registered in USA school (or at least showing correspondence with school, etc); proof of job-hunting in USA or better yet, offer letter from company in USA; letter of resignation to UK employer (don't turn it in until you get the visa in hand, but have the letter prepared); quotes from shipping companies for moving to the USA; all those can be helpful. I do believe there is a way to open a US bank account from overseas. She can apply for her SSN from overseas as well. I assume she hasn't been filing US tax returns...she will need to contact the IRS Dept at the US Embassy in London to get the most recent 3 years filed, that will help.

Worst case scenario, she comes to the USA ahead of you, and then the domicile issue is completely resolved.

Also check out the Wiki Guide on here for details on the DCF process, intent to domicile, and I-864 affidavit of support.

Rene

Re: Moving to the US
 

Hi Jets

Your situation is pretty much the same as mine, my wife is USC and lived in the Uk since she was 4 so had no ties either

I have just had the first approval for the I130 petition so am still a few months away from the end goal

Be aware of things like the SSN though, she can get one in London she has to go down there an show evidence of a life in the uk, its pretty simple but do this early as it can take 3-4 months to get the SSN. There is a recent post on the process. She needs this so she can file her taxes

I would start looking into this sooner rather than later so you don't get caught out or delayed

Other things I did

1. Get an Amex card, in the Uk after 1 year you can transfer it to the USA and it may help with credit history
2. Get your docs in order, ie long birth certificate, police certificate etc
3. I moved my bank to HSBC so I can do the global account thing like Rene says
4. Save up money so you can get a good start to life in the USA !

Good luck and you will find this forum really useful

Thanks

Tilz

Re: Moving to the US
 

A poster by the name of Blimmer has written up how his USC wife got her US Social Security Number while living in the UK. You can search for it here on this forum and it is also posted in the wiki.

It was posted only about 10 days or so ago.