sshaefi

I was hoping for some advice regarding the whole process of immigration and transferring money.

Background:
I am a UK citizen and my wife (married last summer) is a US citizen. Currently we are both UK residents based in London. The grand plan is a green card through marriage followed by a move to Boston in the summer of 2005.

We will be applying for Direct Consular Filling here in London. My questions were:

1. how long does the whole process take?
I have spoken to the Embassy directly and they 6 months. Anecdotally I’ve heard less.

2. Apparently one has to travel to the States to take up permanent residency within 6 months of embassy approval. Is this the consensus?

Finances:

We will be selling our London flat and transferring the money. My plan currently is to personally open a non-resident alien account and submit a W-8BEN in a Boston bank. This way I avoid tax issues on what is non-US source income.
Am I complicating the issue?
What other possibilities are there to transfer funds and not get hit with US tax, i.e. what’s the best way of transferring this pre-final move in 18 months or so?

Also, from a currency point of view, I was planning to use a company that specialises in emigration, for example www.hifx.com , www.moneycorp.co.uk .
Again, is there an easier / better way to get the best rates?

Please forgive the ignorance of these questions, but I would appreciate experienced opinions on the best course to take.

Thanks

NC Penguin

I would strongly advise you to read relevant posts in the US Marriage Based Visas forum/newsgroup in British Expats. I expect all your questions about DCF would be answered there.

re: Q1) there is no knowing how long your DCF application would take. Mine took a little over 4 months but this depends on a number of factors: how many other DCF applications the London Embassy is dealing with, if you complete and send in the appropriate documentation at the correct time, yours and your spouse's personal circumstances/personal history (i.e. have either of you been married before? Do you have children? Does the UKC have a criminal record? etc.)

re: Q2) Far from being a consenus about the validity period of the visa, the visa or accompanying documentation will clearly state you have six months from the date of approval to activate the visa. If you don't, it automatically expires. So, you need to time your application just right or be prepared to make a quick trip to the US to validate it (and there are issues about how long you can remain out of the US whilst a Green Card holder. You can read about this on the the US visa related newsgroups too).

Franklin

I second N.C. Penguin's comments. I guess I must have done a DCF; the whole process is pretty painless and quite fast. I married an American while still in the UK. In our case we were granted the interview within about 2 to 3 weeks of sending in the paper work to the appropriate US Embassy section. (We figured we must have been very lucky, but this might be typical.)

Again, in our case (so things might be different now) I had to enter the USA within a time limit (I think it was 6 months) from receipt of the "envelope" that they give you at the US Embassy. Also, I got the impression it is not a good idea to just enter the USA and then leave. This could do you great harm, so plan ahead and try and stay in country for at least a year. If you must leave the US for a period of time make sure you contact the relevant section of Home Security (formerly the INS) to find out what you must do to get authorization for such trips. Mess that up and you could mess up a later application for US citizenship because THEY WILL ASK YOU ABOUT TRIPS THAT YOU MADE out of the USA. So plan ahead. Stay in compliance AT ALL TIMES. I don't mean to shout or anything like that, but it is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT that you stay in compliance to ensure an easy transition to US citizenship.

Btw, there are lots of little businesses/outlets near the US Embassy in London where you can get a decent set of head photos - local photo-shops just don't know how to get the right kind of head shot (as in picture). The outlets near the Embassy offer reasonable prices. I found the whole thing pretty painless. The pain (if that is the right term) starts when you enter the USA and have to deal with visits to local US offices. But I can't say it was any worse than having to travel all the way to Croydon and spend long sweaty hours (no a/c) at the huge Home Office building that deals with immigrants to the UK (we planned to settle in the UK, so my wife needed the paperwork to get permanent residence in the UK, authorization to work, plus paperwork to apply for a NI # at a local DSS office. "But all's well that ends well."

I think, but don't really know, that marrying an American in the UK and getting a GC (or the envelope) is easier for UK spouses, it all went very smoothly.

Muswell Hill

Hi there,
You seem to be pretty clued in to this immigration business. Do you know exactly what the INS are called nowadays? How does todays beast compare with the INS, in terms of efficiency, role etc?

Also, I have an AOS lodged with a local office and was told it will take AT LEAST 3 years to just look at my file. When i looked on line they are processing 15 calendar days worth of work per month, so extrapolating this i have a further wait of 5.6 years. Is this a usual wait? Do immigrants have any legal leg to stand on interms of maximum waits?

Sorry for the legal questions.....but you do say you are a solicitor, sorry attorney

Muswell Hill

BTW last question:
Why are attorneys called attorneys AT law?? Why "at"?

excpomea

I think things have changed since 9/11. But I went through the whole process in just over 3 months.
We were caught off guard by having to attend the interview so soon after applying.
Things might be slower now but If you are a straight forward case, ie a Brit married to a US national then you will be here before you know it.

As for the money transfere, just your regular bank will work.
We used a high street branch when we transfered our assets over. But, they initially tried to palm us off with the tourist rate. We insisted that they give us the daily buisness exchange rate.
They agreed and we saved thousands. I think they were just trying it on. I mean, it was about 5 pence per $ cheaper than the usual tourist rate.

One more tip. Sell your house before you move. I know it seems simple but our frinds moved over here before the sale of their house was completed. Well it all fell through and they are now in a real mess.
Hopefully it will all go throough in the next few months then they will be fine..

Patrick

You'll find they do that a lot in america - the weather today at New York is

They talk funny over, you'll get used to it and all the horrid expressions like winningest!

Thank Jesus I haven't succumb y'all

Patrick

Muswell Hill

I thought the newspapers and signmakers were all taking the piss when i saw the preposition mistakes...not to mention: loosingist, winningist, and never saying: On monday at 3pm, but simply monday 3pm....is the US prepositionist?

Oggie Oi!

The INS was dismantled and the Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) was created under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It is still a mess and the DHS has since been restructured, causing a lot of confusion. They still have massive backlogs and they don't seem any closer to speeding the process, even though they have less cases because of stricter immigration requirements due to 9/11.

The cold truth is that the only way for a foreign national can expect to get legal status in the US any time soon is to marry an American, or have an American family member sponsor them. There are a few other options, such as special skill visas, or be a refugee or political asylee, but these are unlikely.

And not scare anyone, but there is talk of capping the number of Brits who can enter the country through an American sponsor, much like they have already capped Mexico, Phillipines, and India. Some officials have started to take issue with the influx of Brits when the Brit public seems to be spewing anti-American sentiment. Americans like to say "if you don't like it here, don't come", now they may actually take steps to prevent Brits from living in the US.

I am fortunate enough to have an American father, so my transition to the US was no problem. I still love the UK and Cornwall, but when I go back to visit, I realize that I could never live there again. Life in the US is too easy and I think everyone should have the chance to take advantage of its many opportunities, hence my job promoting immigrant rights in DC.

Franklin

I second that (re: selling your house before moving permanently to the USA). It can be a real nightmare, particularly if the house is left empty (our three bedroom semi-detached was empty for about a year and this just added to our woes). The monthly mortgage was crippling and we had to make regular transfers back to our UK bank to cover the mortgage. I wish we had dropped the price and sold the dam thing before we left for the USA. But we were also caught off guard by how quickly I got the brown envelope from the US Embassy people. Also, I had a job to go to and so we packed up some things and took off.

The pain of getting rid of the UK house caused us a lot of worry; I was attending a US law school in the evenings and on weekends, plus holding down a very demanding full time job and flying to help out at depositions of expert witnesses (I wrote down questions and handled the discovery, exhibits); so I was already missing the odd night class which is not smart particularly in the first year of law school when everything is new and sounds weird, plus the drop out rate was running at about 20% or more as spouses, partners (especially parents) were under very heavy pressure at home, many did not survive the first year. The worry and stress of making monthly mortgage payments/transfers and getting rid of the dam UK house did not help.

Muswell Hill

So, is what you are saying, that at some point in the future a British and American couple who get married could be actually denied the right to live together in the US? Wow, what a scary thought....
:scared:

What in your opinion does the DHS need to do to speed things up...is it just hire more people, or does policy have to change?

Thanks for your earlier reply

Franklin

I tend not to use that expression, just that I am a Patent Attorney or a licensed patent attorney or a Registered Patent Attorney or licensed to practice before the US Patent Office or a licensed patent attorney. (I don't do state law work.)

Franklin

I only do federal patent law and only practice in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. I have no expertise in immigration matters and I do not offer any professional legal help in this area, I can only recommend that you seek appropriate counsel that specializes in this area of US law and review the many excellent sources that cover things like FAQs and stuff. Also this site has a lot of very helpful people who will give answers based on their own experience.

Oggie Oi!

Actually, married couples (and any step children) should not have any problem in gaining legal status within a few month. However, sponsoring the Brit expat's family members (such as mother, brother, etc...) to join them in America will take decades. Because of the current cap, it takes over 20 years for someone from the Phillipines married to an American to get a sibling into the US.

The problem with the system is that CIS receives no appropriations from the Federal government to process applications. Bascially all its funding for the processing of applications comes from the application fees, meaning that the system lacks the money to obtain modernized equipement (new computers, et...) and manpower. It desperately needs complete Federal funding.

Again, not to scare anyone, but if you are legally living in America, it is vital to take the next step and get your US citizenship. The US is actively deporting any noncitizen who falls afoul of the law. A small tussle in a bar can get you deported and barred from reentry. Worse, you are kept in mandatory detention until all removal arrangements can be completed, which can take months.

Dant3

Sshaefi,
Despite what the authorities say, the processing time for spouses is usually quicker than for fiances. You'll find dozens of people here who had their K3 processed in just 2 or 3 months, and I met someone at the London Embassy who'd only waited 6 weeks from application to interview/approval. But heed everyone's warnings about timing. Every step of the immigration process has a time limit/expiry date, and you may have to hold back and really plan the process if you really want to move no sooner than 2005.

James