Getting USC visa for UK

[a.t.j24 42]

Hi All,

I moved over to the states on K1 and now have my GC. My wife and I are very happy here, but we were wondering what we could do to possibly get her eligibility to live in the UK, and possibly one day becoming a UKC.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Alex

[yuna628 9,540]

The rules for your wife to enter and live in the UK with you require an immigration procedure which is neither an easy or short process. It is also a process that may rapidly change, depending on the eventual ruling of the UK Supreme Court challenging these laws and maybe even concerns involving Brexit, or if the political makeup of the UK changes. It first requires that you, the UK citizen return to the UK without her for a lengthy period of time, and maintain a job or have significant savings that fulfills the strict legal financial requirements that over half of it's citizens cannot meet. Cosponsors are not allowed, neither is offers from friends or family - only what the UKC has. It is for this reason, many families have been separated for long periods of time, have waged multiple legal battles, left their countries to be with their spouse, or found creative legal loopholes. A US citizen is not an EU citizen (being considered a non-EEA), and therefore do not have any rights or protections or freedom of movement as would be given to someone within the EU, and your civil rights or protections granted to you under the EU as a UK citizen do not matter. I would encourage you to look at the links in my signature discussing current UK immigration rules for non-EEA spouses/partners if you would like additional information.

Like many US/UK couples, my husband had to leave his country behind to be with me, and we are thankful that the US allows couples like this the ability to live together freely in our immigration process. It's for this reason, UK citizens that move to the US and do not have a significant amount of lifetime savings should keep this choice in mind. Save over the long term or decide to make a go of it stateside for the long term, unless the economy in the UK changes for the better, or there is a job prospect that can meet the UK requirement.

Edited May 15, 2016 by yuna628

[Boiler 43,669]

When are you looking to move?

Do you intend to get US Citizenship first?

[a.t.j24 42]

When are you looking to move?

Do you intend to get US Citizenship first?

We really are not looking to ever move! It was just something we thought maybe we would look into as a benefit for her, if in the future we happened to want to move, or anything like that!

The rules for your wife to enter and live in the UK with you require an immigration procedure which is neither an easy or short process. It is also a process that may rapidly change, depending on the eventual ruling of the UK Supreme Court challenging these laws and maybe even concerns involving Brexit, or if the political makeup of the UK changes. It first requires that you, the UK citizen return to the UK without her for a lengthy period of time, and maintain a job or have significant savings that fulfills the strict legal financial requirements that over half of it's citizens cannot meet. Cosponsors are not allowed, neither is offers from friends or family - only what the UKC has. It is for this reason, many families have been separated for long periods of time, have waged multiple legal battles, left their countries to be with their spouse, or found creative legal loopholes. A US citizen is not an EU citizen (being considered a non-EEA), and therefore do not have any rights or protections or freedom of movement as would be given to someone within the EU, and your civil rights or protections granted to you under the EU as a UK citizen do not matter. I would encourage you to look at the links in my signature discussing current UK immigration rules for non-EEA spouses/partners if you would like additional information.

Like many US/UK couples, my husband had to leave his country behind to be with me, and we are thankful that the US allows couples like this the ability to live together freely in our immigration process. It's for this reason, UK citizens that move to the US and do not have a significant amount of lifetime savings should keep this choice in mind. Save over the long term or decide to make a go of it stateside for the long term, unless the economy in the UK changes for the better, or there is a job prospect that can meet the UK requirement.

WOW that seems rather extreme! I thank you kindly for your helpful reply. Seems like it isn't anything we will be looking into doing. Again, it was just something we thought we could do, now that we are married, but seems that we were wrong! Thanks again, lets see what Britexit does for us, the good and the bad!

[Boiler 43,669]

If you have no immediate plans then probably not worth worrying about, things change.

[a.t.j24 42]

If you have no immediate plans then probably not worth worrying about, things change.

Indeed! I think we shall be waiting. No plans at all....except for our holiday there next summer, thats about it! Got to show her more of Wales!

[caliliving 606]

i am pretty sure with all countries you need to be a PR before citizenship.. and you need to live in that country for a while to get the chance to apply for citizenship... also, if you moved right now as a GC holder you would lose your gc if you didnt live in america a certain amount of time...

its not as easy as 'hey, i am UK and you are USC we are married lets file a paper and get you UK citizenship" i believe with kids you can, but not adults

so you woudl need to become a USC first, and then you could move abroad to UK and start the paperwork to bring her over (probably similar to bringing someone over to america) and pay all that moeny ect.. and then have her come over, and then after a certain amount of time as a PR apply for a UK citizenship.. this is a very lengthly and costly process and unless you want to live there, not worth it IMO

[caliliving 606]

but, if you are thinking about someday living in the UK then its worth it to get your US citizenship, and then move to the UK so you can live in the UK for years and not get your greencard taken away.. but also remember that you must always always pay taxes in america no matter where you live.. so it is a very costly process and i know alot of people from Uk and canada give up their citizenship due to this one small fact!

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

.... but also remember that you must always always pay taxes in america no matter where you live.. so it is a very costly process and i know alot of people from Uk and canada give up their citizenship due to this one small fact!

NO. American citizens must always FILE a tax return if they earn money anywhere in the world. That does not mean the same as PAY US tax.

[caliliving 606]

NO. American citizens must always FILE a tax return if they earn money anywhere in the world. That does not mean the same as PAY US tax.

ahh yes i understand!!

[yuna628 9,540]

We really are not looking to ever move! It was just something we thought maybe we would look into as a benefit for her, if in the future we happened to want to move, or anything like that!

WOW that seems rather extreme! I thank you kindly for your helpful reply. Seems like it isn't anything we will be looking into doing. Again, it was just something we thought we could do, now that we are married, but seems that we were wrong! Thanks again, lets see what Britexit does for us, the good and the bad!

Well you can do it of course, if you have a good deal of money in the future, or obtaining it is not an issue. But I certainly wouldn't recommend even trying it until you have obtained your own US citizenship (this does not remove UKC from you, and you will always be a UKC), just to protect your own status within the US. Any kids you have of course will be dual US/UK citizens.