Family Visa for USC moving abroad

[Mntjc 14]

Hi there,

We're currently in the process of moving to the US (spouse visa) which is a relatively long and expensive process.

For those of you who went through both experiences: bringing your spouse to your own country and now moving together in the US, would you mind letting us know how it went?

I'm wondering if the US process is especially hard or if it works the same way everywhere (the cost, all the paperwork, having to be separated for a long time, etc.)

Thank you!

[PantomimeGoose 59]

In the UK it can be harder to impossible. When we first got engaged, my husband was still at University and couldn't petition for me as the law then stated that both parties had to be over 21 to petition (he was 20). They changed that part of the regulations about three years too late, but now the income requirements are prohibitive, with no possibility for a co-sponsor as I understand it.

[scotinmass 588]

In the UK it can be harder to impossible. When we first got engaged, my husband was still at University and couldn't petition for me as the law then stated that both parties had to be over 21 to petition (he was 20). They changed that part of the regulations about three years too late, but now the income requirements are prohibitive, with no possibility for a co-sponsor as I understand it.

The UK has to allow anybody from the EU in so there's no room for anyone else so they make it as hard as possible.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Ireland was easy, at the time my then-fiance did it:

- He came over on the visa waiver program, asked why he was here at the border, said "To marry my Irish fiance!" the immigration officer said "Ah, you have good taste! Hope you find a job quick!" and let him in.

- We got married legally in the registry office on July 4th (a few weeks after he arrived, as we had to "give official notice"), got the marriage cert right away.

- Went to the Aliens Office in Dublin the next day, queued half an hour, showed the marriage cert and a joint bill, and he got his ten year Irish greencard.

- Got religiously married the Sunday after (10th).

[Mithmeoi 29]

Hi there,

We're currently in the process of moving to the US (spouse visa) which is a relatively long and expensive process.

For those of you who went through both experiences: bringing your spouse to your own country and now moving together in the US, would you mind letting us know how it went?

I'm wondering if the US process is especially hard or if it works the same way everywhere (the cost, all the paperwork, having to be separated for a long time, etc.)

Thank you!

I moved to Belgium with my hubby and it was a lot easier and less expensive to do that than getting the visa for the US. We lived with his mother so she supplemented for income he didn't have, I'm not sure what all the requirements are since he and his mom handled most of the papers. The cost was nothing compared to the US and I did not have to file anything prior to entering the country. I came in on the VWP. We just had to prove we were legally married, get an apostille on the wedding certif, and living together at the same place which a police officer verified. I don't recall any other things we had to do. They granted my residency three months after I got there and after about 6 months I had a permanent card. The paperwork was a pain in the butt because half the time the people didn't know what they were doing and it actually took the police officer, who was angry for having to visit our residence multiple times due to their mess ups, getting on their case and they finally got all the papers correct.

Edited January 20, 2013 by Mithmeoi

[PantomimeGoose 59]

The UK has to allow anybody from the EU in so there's no room for anyone else so they make it as hard as possible.

Too right. We're hoping the law changes someday so I don't have to finagle my way into Polish citizenship to get in, in case we ever needed to go back for some reason

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

We were actually talking about this over in the Scandinavian Thread starting about here http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/185-scandinavians/page__view__findpost__p__5929195

America = easy cakes for a USC petitioning a non-USC spouse

Scandinavia = hard for a Scandinavian petitioning a USC (not so hard for us because I am also a UKC and can live here without a spouse visa)

Edited January 20, 2013 by Nola123

[Mntjc 14]

Thank you for all this information! I wouldn't have expected such hard requirements from European countries...

Actually, I do remember a rather unwelcoming Belgian official telling us that educated people should remain in their own country, including my now husband (USC). I wasn't really concerned though about the US being OK without one citizen for a couple of years!

Immigration is an unforgiving process

[Dr. Obvious 49]

I wouldn't have expected such hard requirements from European countries...

Germany was extremely easy to go to. No fiance visas, no hassle getting married or adjusting status, it is fairly cheap. The bar is set pretty low, a bare minimum income provided by the petitioner (they do accept sponsors) and the beneficiary has to know at least very basic German. I highly recommend it to USCs with German fiances or spouses because then you can come back to the US by doing DCF through Frankfurt, which is also fast.

Edited January 29, 2013 by Wacken

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I went over to the UK on a spousal visa back in the stone age, when an interview involved a nice chat with the vice-consul for about 5 minutes, paying about $500 and getting the visa 90 minutes later after a slap-up lunch near the consulate in NYC. No income requirements, no nothing. My then-husband and I were in the process of adjusting from the VWP but abandoned it because he had better job prospects over there. I'd rate the whole business an A+, but this was back in the pre-9/11 landscape. I was a nice middle-class girl and he was a nice middle-class boy with nearly identical educational levels.

Fast-forward 12 years, and we did DCF to move back to the US. It took 5 months from start to finish. The only hiccup was that I got caught in a change in consulate policy (at the time) that proof of relationship needed to be filed with the I-130. This was on the I-130, but not on the London Embassy site, and the site said to ignore everything said on the USCIS site and abide by its rules. Nice! But we were treated very fairly all along. I'd give the whole thing a B+ overall.