Thinking of going home

[tommys_girl 0]

Hi all,

well we have done the visa journey so i could come to the USA, i moved here with my daughter back in 2009, got married adjusted our status, got our 2 yr greencard, but now im homesick and want to go home taking my american husband with me, only problem is that i have no idea where to start! does anyone have an idea, i am from Australia

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Hi all,

well we have done the visa journey so i could come to the USA, i moved here with my daughter back in 2009, got married adjusted our status, got our 2 yr greencard, but now im homesick and want to go home taking my american husband with me, only problem is that i have no idea where to start! does anyone have an idea, i am from Australia

Well you have a few options you should consider first. I TOTALLY get the homesickness btw.

First you said you got here in 2009. Are you SURE you don't want to just wait till you get USC? You're eligible 3 years from becoming a permanent resident. The reason I would suggest that option first is because you're SO close and it will mean coming back is simple... esp if you and your hubby plan on having kids then your kids being dual can travel back and forth (THEY can travel back and forth but you won't be able to easily without USC). HOWEVER, if you don't wanna do it that way, you could always try DCF (direct consular filing) once he's a resident in Aus to get back to the US if that's what you decide later.

So the next thing is leaving. You can just start the Australian visa process (http://www.immi.gov.au/) and then when you land in Aus give up your GC at the consulate. That will be the end of your US GC unless you do DCF later. Oh and it's NOT cheap. It's just under USD$2K and it looks cheaper to file from the US. You'll wanna read up on it though. Here it is: http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/partner/309-100/

I REALLY recommend at least waiting till you get USC. I know it seems like ages but it's something I've thought about a lot and it just makes sense to have the freedom to live in either persons home-country without hassle... especially seeing you've already spent so much time and money starting the process in the US. Completely your choice though of course I'm sorry it's not working out for you here.

[tommys_girl 0]

thanks i really appreciate your feedback, but we already have grown teenage children and me being 41 are not wanting to starting to start over with babies, secondly i have no ambition to return to the USA, only for a holiday maybe as he has family here still, but i have no desire to move back here, mostly because we are in Louisiana and i feel i can have a much better life back home, it was always our desire to live in Australia, the reason i came here first instead of him coming to Australia was because of his children, they have been through some tough times and really needed him to stay, his eldest daughter (soon to 18 next month) wants to come with us, but his 14 yr old wants to stay here with her grandparents and friends, we gave both of them the choice to come with us or not, we arent going to force them.

As for waiting for the 10 yr greencard, i can do that next february but as i live in louisiana (maybe not the best state to move too) we have struggled from day one finacially and i can not and will not spend another dime on my greencard to stay here. maybe if my now husband was from another state i might have had a better experience here in the USA, but at this stage other than marrying the best man for me i feel my entire experience here was a total was of my time. im sure other people have had a more positive experience in the USA, its simply not a good fit for me.

Well you have a few options you should consider first. I TOTALLY get the homesickness btw.

First you said you got here in 2009. Are you SURE you don't want to just wait till you get USC? You're eligible 3 years from becoming a permanent resident. The reason I would suggest that option first is because you're SO close and it will mean coming back is simple... esp if you and your hubby plan on having kids then your kids being dual can travel back and forth (THEY can travel back and forth but you won't be able to easily without USC). HOWEVER, if you don't wanna do it that way, you could always try DCF (direct consular filing) once he's a resident in Aus to get back to the US if that's what you decide later.

So the next thing is leaving. You can just start the Australian visa process (http://www.immi.gov.au/) and then when you land in Aus give up your GC at the consulate. That will be the end of your US GC unless you do DCF later. Oh and it's NOT cheap. It's just under USD$2K and it looks cheaper to file from the US. You'll wanna read up on it though. Here it is: http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/partner/309-100/

I REALLY recommend at least waiting till you get USC. I know it seems like ages but it's something I've thought about a lot and it just makes sense to have the freedom to live in either persons home-country without hassle... especially seeing you've already spent so much time and money starting the process in the US. Completely your choice though of course I'm sorry it's not working out for you here.

[SMR 368]

thanks i really appreciate your feedback, but we already have grown teenage children and me being 41 are not wanting to starting to start over with babies, secondly i have no ambition to return to the USA, only for a holiday maybe as he has family here still, but i have no desire to move back here, mostly because we are in Louisiana and i feel i can have a much better life back home, it was always our desire to live in Australia, the reason i came here first instead of him coming to Australia was because of his children, they have been through some tough times and really needed him to stay, his eldest daughter (soon to 18 next month) wants to come with us, but his 14 yr old wants to stay here with her grandparents and friends, we gave both of them the choice to come with us or not, we arent going to force them.

As for waiting for the 10 yr greencard, i can do that next february but as i live in louisiana (maybe not the best state to move too) we have struggled from day one finacially and i can not and will not spend another dime on my greencard to stay here. maybe if my now husband was from another state i might have had a better experience here in the USA, but at this stage other than marrying the best man for me i feel my entire experience here was a total was of my time. im sure other people have had a more positive experience in the USA, its simply not a good fit for me.

I don't know how things are for Australians with the visa waiver program and all but as the spouse of a USC but not a USC yourself, you may have trouble returning to the US even for a holiday/vacation. Basically, you will always be a significant risk of staying in the US, etc. That may be different for Australians due to the relative standard of living between US and AUS, the fact that you don't need a visa, and such factors. However, for a Russian, this is a very real concern. If a Russian spouse abandons the green card without getting USC, it's likely he or she will not be able to get a tourist visa in the future.