Jump to content

*Snowdrop*

Members
  • Posts

    1,182
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Female
  • City
    London to DC

Immigration Info

  • Immigration Status
    Removing Conditions (approved)
  • Place benefits filed at
    Vermont Service Center
  • Country
    United Kingdom
  • Our Story
    British journalist - moved from London to Washington, DC.

    Living in a log cabin in Virginia - growing organic vegetables and taking care of my new family.


    My immigration path:

    I-130 sent to VSC: 6th Oct 2007
    NOA1 received: 10th Jan 2008 (96 days)
    Sent to CSC by USCIS!: 6th August 2008
    Approved NOA2: 21st August 2008

    NVC received: 3rd Sept 2008
    Case complete: 28th Oct 2008

    Medical: 21st November 2008

    IV: 5th December 2008 - approved

    POE: 15th December 2008

    Conditions removed from Greencard: Feb 2011

*Snowdrop*'s Achievements

Recent Profile Visitors

9,329 profile views
  1. So I wrote this post a few years ago about what people can do to prep for their move and how to manage the first few months - a lot of it is more relevant to K1 arrivals who can't work usually for at least 3-5 months when they arrive - once you've been here on VIsaJourney for a while you will see how many people didn't realise how difficult the waiting before the visa and the waiting for the right documents after arriving can be. So some of this won't apply but it might give you some ideas for things to focus on and think about while you wait for the visa to process.
  2. You are going through one of the easier consulates, and you clearly have already spent a lot of time together. We didn't have any joint finances, although I think we had named each other as pension beneficiaries but I don't think we even mentioned it on the forms. It's not great that you have to spend your married life living in two separate countries - I got married in July 2007 and didn't move to the USA until December 2008 so I know how it feels. However there are loads of things you can do in the mean time to both take your mind of the wait, and to really set yourselves up for the best situation when you do finally get over there. It's great that you got your job back because the best thing you can do is work and save as much money as you possibly can -it will give you a good buffer for all the expenses of the visa, the move, setting up a new home together, having some fun travelling and exploring your new country, and covering any employment gaps if it takes you a while to get a new job. Your US spouse now has plenty of time to really declutter and sort out your future home together. And to prep info for all the things which will help you settle in when you first move over.
  3. The previous people I've seen on here who have married prisoners and then filed the Spouse visa application have done so because their partner was going to be in prison for a long time - years -and they wanted to be there in the US to be able to visit on a regular basis. In your case, as he's getting out in a year, I'd give you the same advice I'd give anyone who has begun a relationship with someone online and from another country - give yourselves a lot of time to get to know each other in different circumstances. First face to face - and then in your case face to face outside of the prison environment - meet his family, meet his friends, see if your goals and futures are compatible, see if your living habits and needs are compatible. THEN... make the big life-changing decisions about marriage. Work out what his prison record means for his travel options, will he ever be able to go to Switzerland with you? If you have children with him in the USA then you will have to commit to living there until they are adults if he can't leave the country. This is what I'd advise to anyone in a relationship where there has been little in person experience of each other.
  4. You probably need to tag the OP - I was just quoting her - I'm not the one getting married!
  5. So I do have experience of multiple visits to the US to see a partner. I did this over three years - including one where we were married and the visa was processing. I used to fly five to six times a year for 1-2 week trips. The big difference was each time I was returning to a job - at quite a well known and prestigious company and after the first couple of trips I was also asked when I was returning and where I worked - that seemed to satisfy them. You will seem more of a risk as you have no official reason to return. Also the only time I did a 2.5 month stay was the very last trip before my visa was processed and I moved permanently. This is what I would do with your current schedule: - I am visiting him for 2 weeks May/July. - I am going to the UK to visit family and for a trip to Italy for 4 weeks. - I would visit him again for 4 weeks, end of July to end of August. You stay in the UK or Europe. - He comes to the UK for a 2 week visit. - I would come back with him early September. - We would vacation out of the US for 10 days/2 weeks before heading back together. Meet him somewhere outside of the US for your vacation in Oct. - Visit him for 2-3 weeks in November, you go back to the UK - He flies to the UK for Christmas, for 2 weeks. - I would fly back again with him in Jan, we would get engaged in the following couple of months. - We plan a 2/3 week vacation to the UK/France in March. - I fly back to the US with him and we would marry in May. You are still seeing each other regularly but you are both spending more time in your own countries than each others which will keep the immigration people happy
  6. I've wondered about his visa status. The way they 'fled' Canada just before the borders closed because of Covid makes me think he entered on a tourist /ESTA option and then adjusted while there, or maybe he still had a diplomatic status because that was before they did their final exit from The Firm. So his options would be: Spousal Green Card O1 Work Visa - with one of the startups he's been associated with Investment Visa - in either one of the startups like BetterUp or the Archewell foundation itself? Can you be a 'silent' partner in a business for the sake of an investment visa Can you adjust from inside the US for the last three? Or if the USA allowed him to enter and stay with a diplomatic status during Covid he could have applied for the other when back in the UK for their 'exit tour' The only thing that makes me doubt the green card via spouse is to keep your green card you have to be officially domiciled in the US. But Harry is still listed as a Councillor of State in the UK and you have to be domiciled in the UK to be one.
  7. You can do a lot to prepare and get ready for the AOS waiting time:
  8. Well technically, it's only good for one entry to get married but you aren't getting married on the trip for giving notice, you are simply showing the registrar that you have obtained it in - so that they know you have all the legal ducks in a row - along with proof of residence for the UK citizen, any divorce certs etc. You 'use' the visa to get married on the trip you make for the actual wedding. If I remember you have something like six months from issuance of the visa to get married. So there is a little planning needed to make sure that the wedding is within the six months and you get all the other bits done with the correct timing. It would be much easier to get married in the USA as a destination wedding. It was just I really really wanted to get married at home in the UK so I made us jump through all the ridiculous hoops. We did have a gorgeous wedding though. If I had to do it again I would probably have done a quick USA justice of the peace / Vegas wedding to get the legal bit done and then had the wedding I wanted in the UK with a blessing - would have been less hassle than the marriage visa. But then saying that I have a feeling my Mum would have been upset not to be at the 'proper' marriage bit.
  9. Hi - just in case you actually want to get married in the UK - it's not that he has to be there for 29 days - it's that in England and Wales you have to give at least 29 days of notice to get married - and then you have to get married within 12 months of giving notice. However you do have to reside in the place you give notice for 7 days. So he could come over for a week and then you can give notice together - he goes home and comes back for the wedding which will be a minimum of 29 days later or a maximum of within 12 months later. I did this with my husband. -applied for the marriage visa and it was granted in February - he came over for an 8-day vacation in April - we gave notice on the 8th day and he flew home - he flew back in July for the wedding If you don't mind getting married in Scotland it's even easier because it's all done by forms which get sent to the Scottish registrar - https://www.mygov.scot/getting-married so he doesn't need to make an extra trip to give notice.
  10. I went home to the UK for five months once to take care of my Mum who was dying from cancer, they didn't even ask for details once I just said I'd been visiting family. I was bracing myself because I didn't want to burst into tears if I had to say out loud that my Mum had died. So I probably looked all kinds of stressed/nervous/upset etc. I've had more questions after a week out of the country than that time. You have a Greencard - they don't care about your relationship anymore until you need to renew your conditional card, and even then you can divorce and still apply to renew as long as the original marriage was genuine.
  11. It depends on which country you are interviewing in, the UK is fairly flexible when it comes to an asset like that. I know people who have shown their mortgage/equity documents and been able to use it for their income requirement. But some consulates are not as flexible and only want to see 'cash in hand'. I recommend searching the site for people from your consulate who have been in the same position.
  12. Remote work for foreign employers is one area where immigration rules have not caught up with the reality of life yet. The no working without authorization rule is designed to prevent non-residents taking job opportunities away from residents (and also it's easier to make sure you have taxed residents than non-residents so the government won't lose any money) Digital nomads are on the increase - lots of people check in on work while on vacation as well as those who permanently travel. My personal opinion is that it's silly to consider a non-resident without work authorization taking a local restaurant job the same as someone getting paid from overseas for doing something online for a company not based in the USA. As far as I know the definition of 'working in the USA' has never been tested in court to definitely include remote overseas work yet - it would make it a lot easier if it had been. So the decision is yours, and as a PP has said unauthorized work would be forgiven in your situation.
  13. Are you talking about what to say to Canadian authorities about why you have been away for 5 weeks? Or what to say to US authorities on your next visit in the future? If it's the former just say you were visiting your boyfriend - why would Canada care that you've been out of the country for 5 weeks?
  14. No - you can't use it for any other purpose than work. I used to have an I visa before moving here to live and I used to come on ESTA to visit my fiancé - the CO was always very clear at the border that if I was entering on ESTA I could not work even with the I visa in my passport because I wasn't using it to enter. The reverse also applies. Maybe you can persuade your employer to send you on a research trip for a story/piece which takes you to Seattle, Portland and San Francisco - sucks to have to work while on vacation but would enable you to make the trip.
×
×
  • Create New...