UK to US to Uk again.... a wee story about going home

[micmac 6]

So after all the USA visa stuff we are moving back to Scotland.

This is partially my own fault. What happened was that after the wedding we applied for the green card and the work permit. The forms were rejected twice (I sent a cheque for $10 extra the first time, then something was missing the second time) so I was worried that they would somehow make a fuss about the fees and the work permit. So having seen that the work permit was a 3 month wait I decided to take the work permit out.

I waited and waited without a job, expecting the green card by April at the latest. We had been sent forms that would keep our application in line so not to lose time. These seemed to have no effect, other than our package was forwarded to California to "speed up the process".

At this point I was still expecting April. By the time it got to May we were so fed up of waiting and we decided to apply for a UK visa. The home secretary was changing the rules and I had a return ticket to be used by October, so we decided to go ASAP.

We applied for the visa which was $1400. Because my husband can continue his current job from a home office we managed to get the visa despite my unemployment and lack of savings. Under the new rules we would never have got it. The visa took 3 weeks maximum, with no interview, only biometrics taken at a USCIS office.

I would say to anyone who is considering moving home to do it ASAP, because the rules are being tightened up. Of course you would need $1400 lying around... My husband will be given Indefinite Leave to Remain in two years rather than five years as will be after July 9th. After all this hanging around unemployed I have done I am excited to leave. It is a shame that our green card took so long. We had already paid for the visa when it came one the 6th of June. 6 months after we applied. I had no interview and it came in the mail. It was a mixed feeling when it did come, but by that point we were set on going home anyway so it didn't change anything.

Just sharing my story. I am sure everyone else will have better luck than we did. Just remember to pay the exact fee cause they don't just send you a cheque with the difference, they reject your whole application...

[Ruffie 22]

So basically you just wasted a truck load of money and time on a K-1 and AOS fees, just to end up going home and losing the greencard again? Way to go

[Holly2234 66]

Good luck for your life together I hope you have a better time across the pond.

[micmac 6]

So basically you just wasted a truck load of money and time on a K-1 and AOS fees, just to end up going home and losing the greencard again? Way to go

Well really we couldn't have got a UK fiance visa because I was a student and couldn't have sponsored him, and fiance visas don't include working rights if I remember correctly. And if I didn't have the green card then I would technically have overstayed this visa and I would be banned from entering under visa waiver again. So it wasn't a waste of money really.

[amykathleen2005 441]

But you could have submitted for Advanced Parole and the work permit and gotten both within 90 days and the green card in a few months.

[benuk 18]

:wacko: !

[TracyTN 237]

But you could have submitted for Advanced Parole and the work permit and gotten both within 90 days and the green card in a few months.

Agreed. Sounds like the overall decision wasn't well thought through. You could have married here in the US on a tourist visa and then applied for his UK visa immediately after, and spared yourself the cost of the visa and the AOS process, not to mention moving expenses and having quit your job only to need one back now.

But anyway - good luck to you in Scotland.

[Elora & Rob 15]

but you have to live in Scotland....surley worst case scenario.

[Glyn and Kathy 288]

Glad you got in before the rules change micmac! I know there are tons of people freaking out right now trying to apply before the 9th.

[Justine+David 218]

Glyn and Kathy, I'm curious: Why didn't you guys wait for citizenship? Better job opportunities?

[Glyn and Kathy 288]

Glyn and Kathy, I'm curious: Why didn't you guys wait for citizenship? Better job opportunities?

Hubby's dad was ill. We decided it was just not worth it and we're glad we didn't wait. His dad passed shortly after he got back to the UK. As it stands now....it will be a lot easier for us to go back to the US later AFTER I get my citizenship here in the UK. As for why I didn't get my UK citizenship when I was here before....well chalk it up to being ignorant and not realizing how much of a pain it would be to do this whole immigration thing AGAIN, as it was so easy for me to come to the UK the first time.

[micmac 6]

But you could have submitted for Advanced Parole and the work permit and gotten both within 90 days and the green card in a few months.

I said in my first post that I took the work permit application out because they had rejected us twice and told us we would be fast tracked. I figured it would be pointless to apply because it took 90 days, and if the green card is meant to take 4 months and was being "fast tracked" it would be the practically the same. I didn't know the green card was going to take 5 months total with the supposed fast tracking.

[micmac 6]

but you have to live in Scotland....surley worst case scenario.

I hope you are joking!

I live in UTAH. The citizens here regularly tell me that Utah is one of the worst states in the union. Healthcare sucks, everyone is uber religious and people get shot and stabbed here all the time.

[micmac 6]

Agreed. Sounds like the overall decision wasn't well thought through. You could have married here in the US on a tourist visa and then applied for his UK visa immediately after, and spared yourself the cost of the visa and the AOS process, not to mention moving expenses and having quit your job only to need one back now.

But anyway - good luck to you in Scotland.

It was thought through. I am not naive. I wanted to move here. My family were driving me insane. When we applied for the K1 I was a student (so no job to speak of losing) and I was on track to be a dietitian. I had to stay in the UK to finish my degree and get Health Professions Council registration so I could register in the US. Job opportunities for dietitians here are far better than the UK.

After we applied I got kicked out of university for having social anxiety. My hospital placement was an absolute nightmare as my superiors did not care that I was having problems, they just told me to leave. Having done a similar placement before with no problems I could never have foreseen this. I have a crappy degree despite all the work I put in. Any healthcare assisting jobs need an associates degree here to even apply. My job chances have highly diminished.

It isn't as black and white as my first post may have implied. I wanted to move here.

[micmac 6]

Plus half of Utah is on fire right now, I forgot that part.

Edited July 5, 2012 by micmac