linsco

I am a USC married to a UKC and have lived in the UK for over 6 years. We have a son that has dual nationality and one on the way. Our recent visit to my family in the USA has made us decide we really want to move over there for the kids sake (we have a large family there and none to really speak of here. Not to mention the many cousins around my children's ages over there)

So, we had a look at a few houses and the house market (in Michigan) seems really desirable!! BUT... HOW do we get a mortgage once we move over there if we (well, not "we", I stay at home with the kids while hubby works) haven't been employed in the USA for long enough to get a mortgage. I know there has to be some way round the term of employment as most ask for at least a year. I see people on here talking about how they have a realtor in the USA while they are still in the UK so it must be do-able, I just can't seem to find info on how. I musn't be searching the internet efficiently enough!

Also, while I am n the topic, I was reading this:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Guide_...Outside_the_US
and I am confused about a few things. I was only 19 when I moved here so I didn't have many ties in the USA to cut. Therefore they are pretty severed. I never cancelled my credit union account but it hasn't been active since living here. Otherwise, I never knew I was to file taxes if I wasn't earning anything (I seeked employment but never got a job then once we had our son I stopped seeking and became happy with being a stay at home mom). Points 4 and 5 are confusing too.
How do we provide proof of house hunting and job hunting if we aren't living there yet? Because I didnt assume we would start the hunt til after we were there (my hubby can work with my brother as he owns his own business but the hours are variable so he would seek a more stable job once there. Income from my brother would be enough initially as we will be living with my mom while we search for a house... well that was the plan at least) My son isnt old enough for school and we certainly dont own a car there!
As I stated, I never closed my credit union account but I havent used it either. It will still be in my maiden name. My licence expired and I don't drive here in the UK either. And I only ever voted once when I was 18 and lived in the USA.



Also, those of you selling their house in the UK... did you sell and complete the sale before moving or did you move while it was still on the market? If it were to sell first, would we have the money from the sale in time to move (regarding buying tickets and getting our stuff shipped)? We had thought it would be easier to move while it was still on the market and just save hard for the other costs but I really have no idea how house sales work because this is our first ownership.

Any and all advice relating to this is MUCH appreciated. Thanks in advance

lj2

Can't help on much of it, but when you move.. RENT! For at least a year. It'll be hard to get a mortgage, you will have enough going on with selling your house back home, and you may not even like the area and wish to move back to the UK pronto... definitely rent for a year before considering buying.

Jerseygirl

If you are no longer in the UK when your house is sold instruct your solicitor to transfer the money electronically to your UK or US bank account.

rpjs

Hopefully a moderator will move this thread into the marriage-based visas forum where it'll get seen by more people who've been through the process.

In our case my wife had lived in the UK for ten years but showing the intent to re-establish domicile was not a big hurdle for us. She showed evidence of a (dormant, like yours) US bank account, student loan repayments to the US and evidence of job hunting in the US - copies of job ads she'd seen online and the email "covering letters" she'd sent applying for them.

Normally as part of the documents your husband would take to his visa interview you have to supply tax returns for the last three years, but if you've not had income above the IRS's filing limit (about $3000) then you just supply a letter saying your income was below the limit. If you find you did have to file in any of those previous years, you can do so with the IRS in London - there's an excellent guide on how to do so on this site's wiki. You need to have been making around $90000 before there's any real chance you'd have any back tax to pay.

We sold our house after we moved to the US. We gave our solicitor power of attorney and it all went smoothly. If you're anywhere near Medway, I highly recommend the solicitor we used.

Do check out the marriage-based visa forum here as you'll find plenty of folks going through the same process.

Good luck and welcome to BE!

nun

As a US citizen born in the US your domicile is still probably the US. If your husband is a UK citizen, born in the UK to UK parents he is UK domiciled. If your husband moves with you and your family to the US and settles permanently in the US his domicile might become the US.

Look at p 17 and subsequent charts to determine your domicile

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/hmrc6.pdf

FYI P85 should be filed when you leave the UK.

robin1234

It looks like I should read that book. I keep reading about the remittance vs. the arising basis in various threads on UK Yankees, but I never had any idea what they were..

nun

If you are not domiciled or ordinarily resident in the UK you get to choose whether you are taxed on your worldwide income where ever it arises (Arising Basis) ir only on the amounts you bring into the UK (Remittance Basis). After 7 years being UK resident you have to use the Arising Basis or pay 30k GBP a year to keep the remittance basis......that is usually for rich UK non-Doms.