Please Help

[Pamolly 0]

Hello

I met my husband (UK Citizen) in Nov 1999 in Dallas, Texas. We moved to the UK April 2000, we was married August 2000 and have been happily married and living in the UK for the past 9+ years (no children).

We have put our house up for sale 2 weeks ago and we both want to move back to the US.

Where do we start? I have spoke to a solicitor and he wanted £2500 for the process!

Do we need to us a solicitor to do this properly and if not...what forms are the best to file and expected time span for all this?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Here's a starting point to figure out if you can get enough information and confidence to do it yourself. Many people here on Visa Journey do it themselves and you will get lots of help with questions you have.

Visa Journey guide for DCF

And here's the VJ Wiki article discussing DCF in the UK written by the knowledgeable Poiteen

DCF London

[Justine+David 218]

If neither of you have any red flags (illegal immigration, past history of crimes, etc) don't waste the money on a lawyer...read the guides and like Nich said, the DCF is probably the best suited for your position.

Best of luck and welcome to VJ!

[Pamolly 0]

Many thanks for the helpful replies

we have no immigration problems nor criminal history, so I think we may try to do this with everyones help here.

My husband was in the army for 20 years and receives an army pension every month, will he still need a sponsor?

And.... what is the best bank to have it sent to in the US and not be charged to death for converting to dollars every month?

[Christi and Ian 24]

Many thanks for the helpful replies

we have no immigration problems nor criminal history, so I think we may try to do this with everyones help here.

My husband was in the army for 20 years and receives an army pension every month, will he still need a sponsor?

And.... what is the best bank to have it sent to in the US and not be charged to death for converting to dollars every month?

Ugh - that's a difficult one - I know that B of A has a deal with Lloyds, but it's still not that great. When my husband wants to send money over, he does it via Paypal because they don't charge any fees for converting Pounds to Dollars.

He actually gets paid in Dollars, and it has to be converted to Pounds - he started a Swiss account because their fees are much lower for the conversion.

Edited February 28, 2010 by Christi and Ian

[Pamolly 0]

Many thanks for the helpful replies

we have no immigration problems nor criminal history, so I think we may try to do this with everyones help here.

My husband was in the army for 20 years and receives an army pension every month, will he still need a sponsor?

And.... what is the best bank to have it sent to in the US and not be charged to death for converting to dollars every month?

And will we still need a sponsor even though he will have a monthly income?

As far as paypal.... I dont think the army would deposit to a paypal account?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

My husband was in the army for 20 years and receives an army pension every month, will he still need a sponsor?

And.... what is the best bank to have it sent to in the US and not be charged to death for converting to dollars every month?

Here's London's web page discussion sponsorship and use of the immigrant's own funds.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/iv/faffidavit.html

Since his funds will continue in the US, it doesn't sound like support will be a problem.

Edited February 28, 2010 by Nich-Nick

[SunDrop 59]

And will we still need a sponsor even though he will have a monthly income?

As far as paypal.... I dont think the army would deposit to a paypal account?

I use paypal to deposit funds from my UK account into our US account. There's a transfer fee of approx 3% but it's a lot cheaper than HSBC were offering. I simply email the amount I'm sending from my UK affiliated bank account to our email address for our US paypal account and then withdraw the funds to the affiliated bank account.

Having said that HSBC do offer USD accounts, so maybe worth talking to as well and see how their conversion rates compare to US banks. If I remember correctly, you could transfer GBP into USD from one account to another and then there was a small charge, maybe £1, for every cheque drawn against the USD account. So you could have his pension paid in GBP, transferred and converted into USD in the UK and then deposit a check in the US from that account into your US checking/ current account.

[Old Dominion 26]

The army has ways to direct-deposit to overseas bank accounts, as many of its retirees live in other countries. So do many active duty personnel assigned to posts outside the UK.

[Pamolly 0]

I use paypal to deposit funds from my UK account into our US account. There's a transfer fee of approx 3% but it's a lot cheaper than HSBC were offering. I simply email the amount I'm sending from my UK affiliated bank account to our email address for our US paypal account and then withdraw the funds to the affiliated bank account.

Having said that HSBC do offer USD accounts, so maybe worth talking to as well and see how their conversion rates compare to US banks. If I remember correctly, you could transfer GBP into USD from one account to another and then there was a small charge, maybe £1, for every cheque drawn against the USD account. So you could have his pension paid in GBP, transferred and converted into USD in the UK and then deposit a check in the US from that account into your US checking/ current account.

Yes, I know the army can deposit to almost any bank anywhere in the world, my question was... what bank in the US was best to look at using, ie having his check deposited into that wasnt going to charge us a arm and leg in conversion fees (thinking maybe someone else would have had this experience prior)

[SunDrop 59]

what bank in the US was best to look at using, ie having his check deposited into that wasnt going to charge us a arm and leg in conversion fees (thinking maybe someone else would have had this experience prior)

If you specifically want to have his pension direct deposited into a US checking account and simply want to know which one is the most cost-effective (rather than also considering other options) I would suggest maybe trying www.britishexpats.com for your answer. You are more likely to encounter people who are living in the US but paid through a UK company/ agency than here. It's less usual, where someone is immigrating as an immediate relative, to have a continued source of income from the UK.

You never know though, I'm sure there've been some in your position before you

[Pamolly 0]

If you specifically want to have his pension direct deposited into a US checking account and simply want to know which one is the most cost-effective (rather than also considering other options) I would suggest maybe trying www.britishexpats.com for your answer. You are more likely to encounter people who are living in the US but paid through a UK company/ agency than here. It's less usual, where someone is immigrating as an immediate relative, to have a continued source of income from the UK.

You never know though, I'm sure there've been some in your position before you

Thats great! Thanks for your help everyone

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I am not entirely sure what the best way to handle a regular payment like an Army pension would be, but for transferring money between accounts I have found XE Trade to be the most cost-effective way to transfer money between US and UK bank accounts:

http://www.xe.com/fx/

One thing to consider is that the value of his pension in dollars is going to fluctuate monthly the exchange rate. It may not be feasible as I am guessing you rely on his pension income to pay the bills, but I might consider keeping the pension deposited in a UK bank account and then transferring it over when the exchange rate is favorable to a strong pound. For example, if you received £1,000 in the month of November it would be worth $1670 whereas that same payment would only be worth $1520 today.

[*julez* 124]

My husband has a monthy pension into his account the UK. He lets it accumulate and typically every 6 months he exchanges funds through Forex. If you transfer enough, there is no fee for the conversion or the transfer and they offer higher than tourist rates.

[jhphi 0]

Hello

I met my husband (UK Citizen) in Nov 1999 in Dallas, Texas. We moved to the UK April 2000, we was married August 2000 and have been happily married and living in the UK for the past 9+ years (no children).

We have put our house up for sale 2 weeks ago and we both want to move back to the US.

Where do we start? I have spoke to a solicitor and he wanted £2500 for the process!

Do we need to us a solicitor to do this properly and if not...what forms are the best to file and expected time span for all this?

Hi Pamolly,

You don't need a solicitor to help you with the process. If you'd like to come visit the DCF Forums, you will find tons of useful information over there. There is a thread specifically for UK filers, and there are several of us who are currently in the middle of the process and would be able to help you with any questions. Come visit us: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=240695

The process is quite simple to follow, and there is lots of good advice on here about all the forms you'll need to fill out (I-130, checklist, DS-230, DS-2001, I-864), and about what materials you'll need to gather (long form birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce papers, tax returns, police certificates, etc.)

Edited March 1, 2010 by jhphi