alcatraz

Hi, Im really sorry if this question has been asked before, I did a search but didnt come up with a situation similar to mine.

My situation is this...

My wife and I (both british) would love to emigrate to the US, Im a civil engineer specialising in highway maintenance (£22k a yr) and my wife is a clerical assistant (£12k a yr).

Normally it seems we wouldnt have much chance, HOWEVER...
my father is a US citizen living in Mississippi (where we wish to live), he married an american woman 15 yrs ago and as far as I know now has full US citizenship.

Would this improve our chances at all?

Thanks in anticipation.
Chris & Nicky

Pulaski

So far as I understand the rules, the answer is "yes, but ...." As an adult child of a US citizen your visa will be subject to "quota" becoming available.

This means that if you apply immediately you are likely to have to wait ten or more years for your names to reach the top of the list!

alcatraz

10years ! uggh

Thanks for your help. We'd better get the ball rolling straight away then. I figured 3 years at the most, but I suppose if you want something bad enough you'll be prepared to wait.

veryfunny

Just reading your post, from my understanding if you have a close relative who is American I think you have a very good chance, that relative can sponsor you etc go to the INS website.

Pulaski

See my earlier post - a visa for an adult child of a USC is subject to a quota system. Sure parents can apply for an adult child, but their name goes into a queue and they have to wait for their name to come up. It is currently, so I hear, taking upwards of ten years.

Jabba1

10 years!!:scared: Any idea why it would take that long?

jaytee

Actually, it is repeated on numerous immigration websites that the timeline is more like 12 years or longer for immediate family relatives. The reason is that there are quotas and waiting lists that stretch as far as the eye can see.

alcatraz

So would I actually have to wait say 10-12 years before we can live and work in the US, or is this just the length of time it will take to get all the correct papers.

If I managed to secure sponsership through an american job offer, would the green card be a lot easier to get and would it enable my wife to move out to the US with me?

TIA

Chris

Pulaski

As it only takes 6 months to process a visa application, whether it is 12 or 12½ years surely doesn't make much difference, does it?

If you got an American job offer you'd get an H1/H2, which goes no permanent resident's right, the green card would come later, if you lived hear long enough and had an employer willing to sponsor you for that (and from what I hear, not many H1/H2's manage to get a green card).

In the short term, an H1/H2 can bring their spouse, but their spouse can't work, and following 9/11 and the various knee-jerk laws that have been enacted since then, there are all sorts of silly inconsistencies in the laws that now make it difficult in some states for the spouse even to get a driver's licence and/ or bank account.

veryfunny

My brother in-law is from south America, he has some relatives in NY and they have sponsored him to move over there. I think he got a letter of invitation for them, went to the US embassy and got a 10 year visa.

veryfunny

I forgot to add it DID NOT take him 10 yrs.

meauxna

It was likely not a visa to "move over there" but a B1/B2, valid for 10 years but useable for entry of 6 months only.