catfrances

Hi all,

Does anyone know if my partner could live in the UK with me for a couple of years. I am a permanent resident of the USA and I am British. I will be applying for my USC so I can leave the USA for more than a year but wanted to know if my partner would be able to come with me if we are not married. He is American and we have a 2 month old baby together.

Many thanks!

Get US Citizenship for yourself, problem solved.

Thank you!

I wanted to come back to this

I did not say you would never under any circumstance have to pay US taxes. I said "not necessarily" which I think is a true statement. With a $10k+ standard deduction and exemption, even if you had interest and dividends paying you $9,000 each year, the taxable income would still be zero. I would dare say the average Joe probably doesn't earn that much from investments each year. I agree that salary earned while living abroad is excludable (up to a point) while money earned from investments is not. But I also think you would have to be a fairly wealthy investor before taxes would put a dent in your pocketbook. Most aren't that wealthy so they will not necessarily pay taxes.

The point is--every time this discussion comes up, people say you have to PAY taxes to the US, even if you leave. That is misleading. People assume you will pay tax on the same income to two countries. Double taxation. You have to FILE a US tax return. Just because you file doesn't mean you pay. Once you become a millionaire, then your exclusions are more limited, but there aren't that many of us reading VJ.

Very good point! I know when you earn over a certain amount that is when taxes can be high, but you are correct for the average Joe it CAN be zero. Thank you.

Charmander it's a good point but for this topic, which is specifically about British citizenship, it will not be lost by taking US citizenship

Thank you

Thank you all, I really appreciate your time and knowledge! It seems that i will probably apply for my USC.

Thanks again!

Thank you for the extra information.

You do not necessarily PAY US taxes on money earned abroad. You pay where you are living, but you do file a US return. It can easily say zero taxes due.

With two passports (my husband has UK and US) you can enter the UK on the British one to go through the short line and have no limit (by the Brits) to length of stay. You can also enter as an American visitor and only get admitted for 6 months.

Once you are an American citizen, you can move out of the US for any length of time you choose. There is no further immigration forms to do whenever you choose to return. You just get on a plane and travel to America. The UK also never takes you off their citizen roles no matter how long you are away. You would have to fill out forms and pay a fee to not be British.

What you can't do is ask for British diplomatic assistance while you are in the US and have American citizenship. Call the US government, not the Brits to assist you. But if you got kidnapped in France, the Brits could help there...if that makes sense.

Thank you, I appreciate the input!

Depends, as a UK citizen your passport allows you to travel to 174 countries without applying for a visa, if you come from a developing country you mostly want to get a US passport. You will be able to vote with a US passport and it also helps to get a job in Canada through NAFTA .

you can compare both UK and US passports here

https://www.passportindex.org

I meant 157 countries

Thank you!

Everything EM_Vandaveer said!

I would also add that being a USC will also allow you to vote but that seems to be more of a con than a pro right now.

Love your response

Hi,

I am a permanent resident of the USA, I live in the USA with my partner and we have a baby. He is American and I am English. I have lived in the States for 8 years.

IF I go back home for a few years to the UK and then return back to the USA, I am guessing my baby will be fine to return anytime without questions as she has an American passport but i would not be able to return to live/work if my card has either expired or I have been away from the States for over a year, will I?

Having an American baby who is entitled to stay in the States does not give me any right to stay with her unless my permanent card is valid, is that right? She is 2 months old.

I don't really want to have to apply for an extension to leave the USA as I don't know how long I would be away. Does anyone have any knowledge on this situation or advice?

Many thanks!!

Hi All,

I am British with a 10 year green card, I am curious to know of other people's experience in becoming a USA citizen when British.

Are there pro's AND con's?

I know about being able to vote and that you get a USA passport, but do you get to keep your UK passport?

Do you use your UK passport for travel to the UK and USA one when returning back to the USA?

Can you go back to the UK for a few years to work and then if you wanted to quit work, return back to the USA and work back here?

Is applying the only thing that would make you dual citizen?

Can you leave both countries freely for any period of time? As of now on a 10 year green card you can not do that.

Any advice would be much appreciated,

Thank you!!!!!!

Hi All,

I am looking to flying back to the UK (home) for 3 weeks. I have a newborn and I am applying for a USA passport for her. I also want to get her a UK passport but might do that when I am back home. The question is, I have a UK passport (I am British with a 10 year green card), my daughter will have a USA passport, there shouldn't be any issue for me arriving in the UK seeing that she will have a USA passport will there?

I was under the impression if you have dual citizenship then you should enter the country with the relevant passport, so enter the UK with the British passport and the USA with the USA passport. Anyone have any clue?

Thanks!

Thank you Yuna628 and Nich-Nick, you have both been very helpful. Yuna, great link, that at least explained it better than the government link did

Emma

Thank you, I just can't find a definite answer and would hate to not do it in the time allowed and then find out I should have.

Hi,

I cannot find the answer after searching for 2 days, can you all help me out?

I am British, living in America as a permanent resident, I had a baby 3 weeks ago to my American boyfriend and I am applying for her American passport, I also want to apply for her UK passport, as I understand she will be a dual citizen and can have 2 passports, just so long as she enters the USA with her USA passport and UK with her UK passport. The question I have is that I saw you can register the birth with the UK because I am British, however what is the purpose of doing so??

Here is the link about registering and I can not find any benefit to registering...

https://www.gov.uk/register-a-birth/y/usa/mother/no/same_country

You can apply for a UK passport without registering so it makes no sense. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there is anything else I am supposed to be doing to get dual citizenship for my baby.

Thank you for any help.

Thank you

Hi All,

Is it correct that I can travel out the States with my old married name on my green card and maiden name on my UK passport? I got divorced and will be changing my name on my UK passport to go back to my maiden name, however my green card does not expire for another 5 years and I can't afford to pay for the change on it yet. I understand if I book any travel, I would book under my passport name and carry my divorce papers to prove the difference, but is this enough when returning to the USA?

Thank you so much!

Does anyone know if you have to change your passport name at the same time as your green card?

My green card expires in 4 years and my UK passport this year. if I change my passport name this year, will it be a problem if I don't change my green card until it expires?

I can't afford to update both and I am still unsure if I should renew or apply for citizenship.

Thank you for any advise.

Dave&Roza, thank you!

NLR, what are you reasons for not becoming a citizen?

Thanks for your responses.

What's the difference between getting citezenship to renewing the 10 year?

Apart from the fact you don't have to renew every 10 years. With the citizenship, don't you give up your British passport? and can you leave the USA for more than a year?

Thank you!

Hi,

My perm resident card is due to expire in 5 years. I have changed my name and want to know if my card will be renewed for another 10 years when I update my name on the card OR will it be updated with the 5 years remaining?

I am curious as its expensive to change your name.

Thank-you!!!

Thank you for your quick response, I appreciate it.

Hi,

If anyone has any advice, I would really appreciate it. I can't find all the answers to a few questions I have and I am feeling overwhelmed

I got divorced in WA last year, (after being married just under 3 yrs), I have a permanent resident card that is due to expire 2020. I am from the UK and my husband was American. When we got divorced the paperwork said I would change my name (although we didn't request this).

So I was really hoping to fly home for 2 weeks this September but I have not changed my name on any records, ie: perm card, passport, bills etc. I don't care about changing my name and the reason I have not is because I can not afford to do it.

• Does anyone know (if I don't do it), will I be denied entry back to the USA or even into the UK, as immigration must know I got divorced even if I have not changed my details?
• The other issue is...i was hoping to find out about becoming a citizen in the USA, but if I do this can I still keep my UK citizenship (which I do not want to give up), meaning would applying to become an American citizen make me dual? Does this have any benefit other than you can vote and not have to renew your 10yr card?

I just can't find the answers to tie all this together and I am on my own trying to figure it out.

Thank you SO much for ANY help.

Emma

I don't think there is any deadline or specific requirement to change your name. The only way to do it is the form I-90 which is expensive. Here's a page from Customs and Border Protection explaining how to travel internationally if your Name does not match your documents https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1209/~/us-citizens%2Flawful-permanent-residents-name-does-not-match-documents

You can pay to renew your card every 10 years or you can become a citiizen after you have been a permanent resident for 5 years. Looking at your timeline, that's in March 2013, which means you could apply around Christmas of this year. That would cover the name change and no more name changing with immigration if you marry again and use another new name because you can throw out the greencard when you become a citizen (actually they collect it from you.) You will still be a citizen of the UK and can continue to renew your British passport as well as get a US passport. Just make sure you use the US passport leaving or entering the US. Many people use their British passport when they enter/leave the UK and pull out the US passport when they get off the plane back in the States.

Thank you for your help. I was under the impression that becoming a citizen or lifting the conditions, (as I see it is called) was giving up your British citizenship and becoming an American. I noticed that is what you had done, but you have the USA and UK passport still? So are you a dual citizen?

Emma

Hi,

I have tried searching for the answers and I am sorry, I am a little confused.

I just got divorced in WA, after being married just under 3 years, I have a permanent resident card that is due to expire 2020. I am from the UK and my husband was American.

Do I need to change my last name and if so how long do I have to change my perm resident card?, as it seems to be $450 just to change it the name and I can't afford it right now.

I am also guessing that nothing else changes with my status here, other than I will be divorced.

Any help much appreciated. Sad times

Thank you

You are correct. You're divorce will not change your immigration status in any way.

You just won't be able to apply for citizenship based on 3 years of residency + marriage, but will be able to do so after 5 years of residency if you desire.

Thanks so much!!

Do you happen to know if I need to supply immigration/"the green card people" my divorce papers when i get them?

and lastly if people like us can ever get re-married to an American if it happened in the future sometime?

Thank you

Hi,

I have been married over 3 years and filing for divorce this week, we have been separated over a year and I have a 10 year green card that has about 8 years left on it.

Once the divorce is complete am I correct that I can remain in the USA. I currently work here and would like to stay here once complete.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Thank you.

What is the 10 year card called?

When you get that, is that it for nearly 10 years?

Can you leave the states and live back in the UK for say a year when you have it?

Hi All,

Sorry to ask a simple question, but I am confused what come next on the "to do list for never ending visa processes".

I have the Permanent Resident Card that is due to expire in March next year and I have been looking through the forums but getting confused with the lingo on here

Can someone advise what the next step is, roughly how long it takes and cost's?

Is the next step aiming to get the 10 year card?

Also I want to go home to the UK in December, am I allowed to do this if I start paper work again for the next step?

Any Help appreciated, thanks all!