US Immigration from United Kingdom

Hi

Apologies if there is a current thread with this information somewhere, but research around UK National insurance contributions when leaving the country got me looking into things.

Information online indicates that when you leave the UK, provided you are heading to a country with a reciprocal agreement, national insurance contributions that have been can then be 'substituted' for social security payments? Not even sure if I am understanding the information correctly!

In the process of making plans to be with my husband currently stateside, have only been making active NI contributions for around 8-10 years so not masses, but if there is a way that it does not get lost in the system somewhere, it may be hugely helpful to know. I work for the NHS at the moment, already made the decision to opt out of my pension as soon as I knew there were plans for moving, but NI and anything I can do to top that up might be good.

There was information in an old thread but I'm unsure how current/relevant that information is today if anyone has any ideas.

Probably just doing my usual and worrying over nothing, but any information or advice would be helpful to make sure I have the full picture in terms of options and put my mind at ease a little that I'm not missing out on something.

Happy to answer any questions if that helps build the picture.

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I m in the process of adjusting my status and in the long line at Seattle field office. I ve just had a change in my combo card renewal application to say that a new card is being produced. So I do get a new card? I wasn t sure if that was how it worked because I haven t seen anyone talk about that online. The reason I ask is that I d like to go home ASAP to help my mum with a renovation and I m not sure if I m meant to hang tight for the new card or if I use my old card with the notification letter (which should be arriving today/tomorrow if my USPS Informed Delivery is correct). Just asking because even though USCIS says a card is coming, it seems that sometimes it may not i.e. when I asked for a SS card to be produced as part of my AOS application.

Many thanks for your insights.

Hello all,

I have a quick question. So Friday we received our I-797C. It confirms that our I-129F has been received and is processing, however it only makes mention of my fianc s name on the I-797C and does not include her son's details. We included his details on the I-129F. Is this normal?

Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

I joined this website today, and it's been incredibly helpful - so thanks to all that have been contributing!

After doing (A LOT!) of research, my partner and I have come to the conclusion that we need to decide between filing for a K1 visa, or getting married and then CR1. My main concern is that the evidence we have for CR1 is weak - more details below. I'd appreciate any thoughts / advice!

Our personal situation:

1/We are a gay couple in our early 30s. I live in London, UK and I'm a British citizen. My partner lives in NYC, and is a US citizen. We met in November 2019 while I was in NYC visiting friends. We have no evidence of meeting, but we can prove we were both in NYC that week. We both have our own careers in London and NYC, and there are no red flags in terms of background / age / financial situations.

2/ We have been in a long distance relationship since then. Mostly video-calling (we can produce logs/screenshots) and chatting on snapchat (which unfortunately doesn't leave any records - we are now switching to whatsapp!). We are planning to take a trip together in December, which we'll make sure to document.

3/ We recently came to the conclusion that the only way for us to be together is based on a family-based visa. I have several work connections in NYC and have had discussions about moving there, but getting a work visa ended up being an insurmountable issue.

4/ Whichever path we choose, neither my partner nor I are out to our families. I am aware this could be a red flag, however we can get letters from all of our close friends supporting our bona fide relationship.

K1 visa: I believe this would be doable, however leaving my job/career and moving with no work authorization makes me very nervous. In my field, staying out of work for 6 months+ would be seen very negatively.
I could reach out to my work contacts in NYC again: how likely is it we could expedite the EAD process if I were to get a formal job offer upon my arrival?

CR1 visa: would this even be an option in our case? Realistically, our only evidence would be a trip or two together + pictures from our wedding + videocalls + letters from our closest friends.

Also, the CR1 timeline appears to be very long (up to 24 months?). Which is why we are wondering if K1 + request to expedite wouldn't be the quickest / most realistic option?

Thanks everyone for reading this long message!

Hi everyone,

I'm planning on submitting the I-129F within the next 2 weeks, but I'm a bit confused about which fee to include. I know USCIS implemented fee changes that became effective yesterday Oct. 2. However, USCIS's page about Form I-129F still lists the old fee. Which one is correct to submit? I obviously don't want to get it wrong and have our submission rejected. Thanks!

Previous fee: $535

New fee: $510