americanwife500

Okay need some serious help.

I am married to a UK guy. We recently moved to England and I have just been given a Spouse Visa approval (leave to remain - residence permit)

However our situation has changed and I have to be in America for the next year...... There is no way of avoiding it.

So does that mean that I will mess up my obtaining of an ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain)?

Because I will return in one year to England but then when my Spouse Visa is up - in two years, I will have been one year in England and one year in USA.

What do I do in this situation? Say the two years of my spouse visa is up and I apply for ILR and they disapprove it as I was out of England for too long - then do I have to leave England? Is my spouse visa I worked so hard to get now cancelled?

Do I have to go out of England and return again on a Spouse Visa? Will I get problems getting another UK visa because my ILR was disapproved?

Please help!

Any data or advice you have would be really helpful.

What would you do?

avanutria

Your best bet probably isn't this forum, actually, as we specialise in visa issues related to moving to the US. Since you're talking about visas for the UK I'd recommend asking at http://www.uk-yankee.com/ .

My best *guess* (and that's all it is!) is that you'd have to reapply for the spousal visa when you are ready to move back to the UK, but that it wouldn't cause any problems. You would not apply for ILR on your current visa because you'll be leaving before the two years of the visa are up.

pennylessinindia

or try www.immigrationboards.com
will depend on your timings if you go back to UK with visa still valid and a satisfactory explanation when you re enter should be OK to enter again.
the way things are at the moment there could be changes to settlement so keep a close eye out. You may have to ask further leave to remain before you get ILR rules may change when you come back though so a bit of an unknow quantity. post on the above site for more immigration help

ian-mstm

There is always a choice... always.

Ian

Bomjeito

Unfortunately, rules are rules. Once you have ILR, then you can exit the UK for good reasons, but during that "probationary" status, you must reside inside the UK and prove you are bona fide.

Whenever your sojourn ends that takes you out of the UK, you will simply have to start the process over again. I'm in the same situation, except I was merely a couple months away from the ILR application (not 27 months, like it sounds you are.)

So when we go back, I have to start over.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/pa...lies/partners/

As this forum is for Brits coming over to the USA, try expatforum.com - and for the British forum (folks going to the UK.) Folks there are very helpful.

ETA: As Ian wrote, there are choices. We had to make the choice to exit the UK prior to my applying for ILR. If the path to full UK immigration is a goal, then that year in the USA must be sacrificed. Visa doors don't close just for people's lives. Simply re-apply and start over - it sounds like you just arrived in the UK, so its merely a paper and monetary fix.

BritishGuy36

AFAIK when you enter the UK on the 'spouse visa' as you call it, the 'probationary' period is ONE year only, not two years (unless they have changed that recently).

So if you were out of the UK past the one year mark, I suspect you'd need to start again anyway.

Infowarrior

Well luckily I feel the UK side of getting a visa is a walk in the park compared to the other way around. My American wife basically got rubber stamped for ILR in the UK, no interview or anything.

My green card "journey", due to many calamities on the part of our US immigration attorney took almost 1.5 years start to finish!