sacking off AOS and moving back to England

[TQM_Angie 0]

I arrived on K-1 two weeks ago and we got married on saturday.

My wife and i want to live in England ultimately, however we wanted to be married in US and then live here for a while before eventually moving back to UK (to convince her parents i'm OK first!).

The AOS process looks so painful (we'd barely glanced at this until this week) however, we are now considering not bothering getting greencard but spending the money on getting a settlement visa for my wife in the UK instead. According to UK visa website http://www.britainusa.com/visas/ this takes 5 days and costs $1050 instead of an almost identical fee and several months wait for me to adjust status in the US.

Has anyone here got experience of getting this visa for spouse to settle in the UK? Were there any difficulties?

Also, is my coming to US in future to visit under visa waiver jepodized by not going through AOS process, and leaving on K-1? I won't exceed the 90 days of the I-94 until november so providing i leave before then will i be ok?

I posted similar in AOS forum but thought i'd seek some UK opinions...

Tom

[pinay 0]

I arrived on K-1 two weeks ago and we got married on saturday.

My wife and i want to live in England ultimately, however we wanted to be married in US and then live here for a while before eventually moving back to UK (to convince her parents i'm OK first!).

The AOS process looks so painful (we'd barely glanced at this until this week) however, we are now considering not bothering getting greencard but spending the money on getting a settlement visa for my wife in the UK instead. According to UK visa website http://www.britainusa.com/visas/ this takes 5 days and costs $1050 instead of an almost identical fee and several months wait for me to adjust status in the US.

Has anyone here got experience of getting this visa for spouse to settle in the UK? Were there any difficulties?

Also, is my coming to US in future to visit under visa waiver jepodized by not going through AOS process, and leaving on K-1? I won't exceed the 90 days of the I-94 until november so providing i leave before then will i be ok?

I posted similar in AOS forum but thought i'd seek some UK opinions...

Tom

hi my husband and i are thinking of moving to my country too coz of this aos problem. we did filed our aos july 28th but never recieve anything from uscis not even a notice. then i called up today and the representative said that it will take up to 90 days now to get the noa. she said i will b expecting my noa on october. my god, thats how long i should wait just to get an noa...if theres more problem with thi aos. we will be leaving this country...

[TracyTN 237]

A NOA1 is insignificant. All it gives you is your case number, which you can get off the back of your checks whenever they cash them. There are MANY of us who filed around the same time as you who have also heard nothing. There's a backlog right now. Its likely you'll get a letter for your biometrics appt before you ever see that NOA1.

But if lack of the useless NOA1 is going to force you back to your country, then happy trails!

[gwenneh 7]

We did exactly that - my husband came over on a K-1, then before we filed AOS we got a settlement visa for me and moved to the UK.

We had no issues at all getting the UK settlement visa -were in and out with visa in hand in one day.

There have been some issues raised at the POE when my husband enters on the VWP now. I have researched this extensively and have received written confirmation from the US embassy in the UK that NOTHING further needs to be done, that he is still eligible to travel (no overstays, no crimes, no AOS pending) on the VWP; however, the drones at the airport don't always know this. We have been through a few times since the K-1; he has only been stopped and questioned once but that was a nail-biting experience.

So, that's our experience of doing just that. Hopefully it won't stand in our way when we DCF later!

[TQM_Angie 0]

Thanks Gwen 666- that's very useful to read. Do you know how long after getting the settlement visa for the UK you're eligible to work there (getting a national insurance number etc)?

Hopefully the DCF process would be fine too.

[rebeccajo 14]

What are your wife's intentions insofar as residing in the UK? A permanent move?

There are many things to consider before relocating to another country besides the AOS fee. For instance, even if your wife moves to the UK, she'll still need to file a US tax return each year. Not to mention the cost of housing in the UK vs. the US; her job opportunities over there; etc.

I love the UK and wouldn't mind living there myself. But I do think one must take into account MORE than the immigration process to either nation when deciding where to live. After all, the immigration process and money spent on it eventually stops. But the life you create in one land or the other continues on.

Edited August 30, 2007 by rebeccajo

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Thanks Gwen 666- that's very useful to read. Do you know how long after getting the settlement visa for the UK you're eligible to work there (getting a national insurance number etc)?

Hopefully the DCF process would be fine too.

I used to work for the Department of Work and Pensions.... Part of my job was to interview people who are applying for a National Insurance Number (NINO)... if you are a EU Citizen it will take about 3 weeks for a NINO to be issued after all the security checks have been completed, this can take about 6 weeks depending on what EU country you are from.... for people whoi are not EU citizens it will take a minimum of 12 weeks for a NINO to be issued... and you can not begin employment until you have a NINO....

Kez

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

When I applied for my NI number they gave me a temporary one that I was able to use until the real one arrived - can you no longer do this? that was in the mid-nineties

[no name 1]

When I went as a student in 2003 I applied for one - forget how long it took to receive.

I was allowed to work tho & paid emergency tax until I was able to supply my NI number.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I paid emergency tax for 2 years until I realized what this thing called emergency tax was and that I was paying to much. Nice to get that big, fat refund of the Inland Revenue..........and there I was thinking "well, I guess taxes are higher here"

[no name 1]

I paid emergency tax for 2 years until I realized what this thing called emergency tax was and that I was paying to much. Nice to get that big, fat refund of the Inland Revenue..........and there I was thinking "well, I guess taxes are higher here"

a LOT higher!!

[gwenneh 7]

You can work immediately on a UK spousal visa. You will pay emergency tax until you have a National Insurance number, but you can begin work without one.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

You will find it very difficult to get an employer to employ you as a non-EU citizen without a NINO... your visa may allow you to work but without the NINO to prove you are registered to work most wont... or they will contact the local DWP office to verify you are allowed to work...

and as for Temp NNO's they no longer issue then to anybody... you have to wait for your passport and visa to be cleared by your local DWP office....

Kez

[NealandCari 0]

You will find it very difficult to get an employer to employ you as a non-EU citizen without a NINO... your visa may allow you to work but without the NINO to prove you are registered to work most wont... or they will contact the local DWP office to verify you are allowed to work...

and as for Temp NNO's they no longer issue then to anybody... you have to wait for your passport and visa to be cleared by your local DWP office....

Kez

When I appled for an NI number last year, it took about 5 weeks or something to get an appointment for an interview. It didn't seem to bother any of my employers - I just showed them my work visa and told them I would give them my NI number as soon as I received it. No one seemed bothered by doing it that way. Maybe it depends on the type of work (I was working at film/commercial production companies).

[gwenneh 7]

You will find it very difficult to get an employer to employ you as a non-EU citizen without a NINO... your visa may allow you to work but without the NINO to prove you are registered to work most wont... or they will contact the local DWP office to verify you are allowed to work...

and as for Temp NNO's they no longer issue then to anybody... you have to wait for your passport and visa to be cleared by your local DWP office....

Kez

When I appled for an NI number last year, it took about 5 weeks or something to get an appointment for an interview. It didn't seem to bother any of my employers - I just showed them my work visa and told them I would give them my NI number as soon as I received it. No one seemed bothered by doing it that way. Maybe it depends on the type of work (I was working at film/commercial production companies).

Same here...no one was bothered, as long as I could show that I had applied for one.