katektt

Hi Guys
Ok where do i start , I want to move to the states but its proving very difficult . I have no idea where to start , Which visa to apply for . DO i pay and have visa experts deal with it or try and do it myself .
My boyfriend is American and will have accomdation when i get there .
The other problem i have is My sons dad , no parental rights but is on the birth certificate , i was told i didnt need his permission to leave the country but today i found out i need his written permission . There is no way on earth he will give this just to be spitefull . I have also herd that in certain circumstances a judge will sign the permission on his behalf if he feels the move will benefit us .
Any advice , Links anything to get me started will be very much apreciated

christmasoompa

You start here - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulaski's_Ways%3A_How_to_Live_and_Work_in_the_USA

Figure out which visa route would be the most suitable for you (if you qualify for any of them), then you can come back and ask more questions about that particular visa. It may be that marriage is your only option for a visa, but it will depend. What do you do and what is your educational background?

HTH.

ian-mstm

Unless you are pursuing an investment-based visa, you must have a US sponsor start the process on your behalf. The sponsor can be an individual (family-based visa) or a company (employment-based visa). Either way, you can't do anything yourself until such time as you have a US sponsor. Never... never ever... deal with a "visa expert"... and whatever else you do, don't pay any money to anyone but the US government or a bona fide immigration attorney.


I hear wedding bells!


If your son's father will not give permission, you must get a court order. This is going to take time. The US must have proof that you have permission to remove your son from UK jurisdiction. Be aware that your son's father can assert his parental rights at any time - including contesting the action in court.

Ian

Egon

At the risk of going off topic and getting too preachy, if he refuses to give permission for his child to be taken over 3,000 miles away it's not necessarily him being spiteful.

Michael

If he is a deadbeat dad and/or doesn't now see the child, then he is likely spiteful.

Egon

'If' being a very powerful word there.

Michael

I used the word "if" since she stated he has "no parental rights" which might possibly indicate that he is a deadbeat dad.

katektt

Michael he falls into the deadbeat , waste of space , can't be bothered non paying dad category and woman abuser .

Michael

Then you should either threaten to take him to court to get child support awarded if he doesn't authorize you to remove the child from the UK and if that doesn't work, then file a petition with the court to remove the child which would probably be authorized if he is not currently paying child support and/or not seeing the child.

Bob

Marriage is the easiest way to get a visa to move to the US, the marriage based visa forum is a good place to read up on that, as well as the wiki.

Unless you get written permission or a court order though, you won't be taking your child with you.

penguinsix

Hi

With an international move and a cross-border custody dispute, you are entering the world of "paper, paper, and more paper". Unwritten rules, understandings, bad feelings, past history--all of that is bunk. What matters now, and all that matters now, is what you have on paper backed up by legal authority.

The first piece of paper to consider is a visa. We need to know more about your personal education and work experience, but basically if you are not working for a large multinational with offices in the USA or you are not an engineer / programmer / doctor / lawyer with a university degree, you're probably going to have to get married to get into the USA. Take a look at the wiki link others have provided and run through the tests to see if you qualify for any of the visas listed in there.

The second paper is a court order or the child's father's agreement to take the kid out of the country. If he's not going to give it, then you need to accumulate some paper showing his failure to pay support, emails of a threatening nature, police reports, etc and get a court order that will give you custody to take your child overseas.

This is going to be a long process on both fronts, requiring that you jump through quite a few hoops and fill out a few forms. It might even be impossible, full stop, just from the start given the visa situation. But if you can find a path through the visa feel free to ask us specific questions and we'll try to give you the best advice we can.

Good luck.

scrubbedexpat099

Did you want get married in the US or the UK?

JAJ

No parental rights, but you need his written permission? - One of those statements has to be false.

Much may depend on exactly when child was born and in what part of the United Kingdom (England/Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland).

katektt

Yes it's true no parental rights but under the hauge convention I need written permission from his father else it's classed as kidnap .if I take me son without permission and he calls the authority's I can be deported back to the uk . So I have a solicitor apt to talk through options as

christmasoompa

Katektt, it would be helpful if you could answer the questions that have been asked of you above. JAJ is a pro, so if he's asking about place and date of birth, it's obviously relevant.

Similarly, it would be helpful to know if you've read the link above and if so, which visa route you intend to go down - that way your advice will be better.