Step-daughter visiting the UK to see her boyfriend

[Mark UK 3]

Dear all,

I'm not sure where I should create this topic - I'm sure the fine moderators will put it in the right place for me, though...

My step-daughter is planning to go over to the UK to see her boyfriend (who happens to be a very good friend of my family and who visited us whilst they were on vacation).

However, at the moment, they're talking about her spending six months over there. Not necessarily a problem, but she does not have a job and is struggling to meet the plane fare never mind support herself for six months.

The boyfriend is willing to support her during this time and they will stay at his mother's house (where he lives).

Might this be a problem for a UK immigration officer? I was always told that you had to be able to prove that you could support yourself in another country if you were there for longer than a 'normal' vacation. Obviously, he cannot be with her at the immigration PoE in the UK to back up her claim.

Finally, as she does not have a job, if they do decide to go the same route that my wife and I did (I emigrated to the US and married her), they will no doubt need a sponsor as she does not have a job and hasn't had one since she left high school (two years ago). Might it look bad to the CIS if I were to be the sponsor as a) he is a very close family friend who I've known for a long time and B) I'm not a USC (yet). It's a long way from happening, but it's something that we might need to know down the line

TIA,

Mark

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Mark if she is going back to the UK for six months the fact that she has a british passport means that she does not have to show that she has enough funds to support herself while there...

For her to be able to file for a K1 for her boyfriend she would have to be a US citizen and meet all the requirements...

Kez

Edited October 15, 2007 by Niagaenola

[gwenneh 7]

Hi Mark,

UK immigration is much like US immigration in that if your stepdaughter is going for an extended visit, she may be questioned on this. As the UK is just as eager to avoid illegal immigration as the US is, your stepdaughter had best take some sort of proof of her ties to the US - letter from work, college, current bills, lease, bank statements, etc. - and she does need to be prepared for the very real possibility that she may be turned back. There are many things about a young, single female with no ties traveling to the UK for an extended period of time that *will* raise red flags with the officer at immigration. So you're probably best considering what things she can bring as proof of her return to the US if she is stopped and questioned.

To address your second query, no, it's not going to matter that he is a close family friend or that you are not a USC as long as you are a permanent resident and can prove it.

[Krikit 1,166]

It will definitely be a problem if she doesn't have a British passport. My cousin was almost denied at Heathrow and she was only coming over for my uncle's 80th birthday. The mistake she made was telling them that she was going to visit her then-boyfriend. She was, but the main purpose of the trip was for a big family party. The other mistake she made was bringing over much more clothing than she required for a 2 week stay. She was planning on moving to the UK six months later, so she was bringing things with her so there'd be less to ship. (It was legal.... she has UK citizenship but she was travelling on a Canadian passport.... dual citizenship.) Anyway, after much grief.... even with a return ticket.... they let her through. They'd detained her long enough to miss her connecting flight, so we were waiting and waiting for her at Manchester, wondering where she was.

So, at a minimum, your stepdaughter should have a short trip return ticket. But the odds are against her without a job and ties to the US. Sorry.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Sorry it seams I read your post totaly wrong..... I thought you were the US citizen and your stepdaughter was british....

Kez

[Renae 0]

I just thought I'd share my few thoughts and experience on this.

I just recently came back from the UK where I spent the 6 months allowed. When at the PoE, I was asked to show proof of my funds to survive in the UK for that long. She also will be asked to show her return ticket and such. I also will comment on that before landing, you're given a landing card that asks you or in this case your step daughter to state her occupation.

As others have said, she will have to show her ties to the States or she probably will be turned back. One other thing I will comment on is that when she lands and enters, she will have to stay her purpose for visiting and why so long. She can tell them 'to visit a friend' but then they will want to know if it's male or female, if you've met before and so forth.

She can try a shorter time span there but there are no promises that she'd still get through.

[Mark UK 3]

Thanks for your help again, guys. It's very much appreciated.

Alas, she has no job, no college course, stays with us and doesn't have a bank account. There's no way to prove she has ties to the US whatsoever.

It sounds like the six month plan is out, anyway. What about a shorter timeframe? If she went over there for two weeks, would that be more likely to be successful? What about one month? Do the immigration officials accept 'normal' vacation periods of stay such as two weeks and start to ask more questions when it goes beyond that?

Obviously, being a Brit myself, I have never had any problems with UK immigration

Finally, has anyone been turned back (either going into the UK or the US)? Will the airlines allow her to use her return ticket to fly back even if it's for a different date and might have restrictions (ie. not being able to change the date)?

[gwenneh 7]

You are correct in that a shorter stay will raise fewer red flags. The amount of time before serious questioning sets in is very arbitrary and is honestly luck of the draw on the day. She is less likely to be questioned over a short stay than a long one.

As to your questions about being turned back, you might try over on the forums at talk.uk-yankee.com - I know there are several stories about being turned back on there if you search for them.

[Mark UK 3]

Thanks for the help, guys. It's much appreciated!