UK to USA immigration experiences ...?

[*Snowdrop* 604]

I married in the UK and waited for the spousal visa to process just like you. We were stuck in a USCIS backlog back in 2007 so waited over a year to get the visa approved. However I visited him over there about 5 times during that year and always said I was visiting my husband and was always let in without a problem.

I did take a packet of info with me each time, showing my intent to return - letter from employer, letter from landlady about my continuing lease, copy of our immigration paperwork showing we were in the process of doing it the legal way, etc etc.

I was never asked for any of it. They always took one look at my return ticket, occasionally asked me where I worked, where my husband works and then waved me through. We both had quite high-profile sounding jobs so maybe that helped them believe I was not intending to abandon my job and just stay in the US, but then again they never asked me for any proof of that.

It's hard starting your married life off in separate countries, but I am still pleased we did it that way. I got to have the wedding I really wanted, and the CR1 route was less hassle after arrival than having to go through the AOS process after a K1.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Isn't it fairly pointless to continue to tell the OP that she didn't need a lawyer? She's already hired him/her and the visa is in process.

More importantly, she has indicated that both she and her fiance have busy lives and didn't want the visa process intruding into those lives.

Do-it-yourself is not for everyone. And it is not a criminal offense to use a professional. It's just a choice.

[katieflossom 54]

Hi there

I am a British citizen living in the UK and I have recently married my boyfriend of 4 years who is an American Citizen living and working in La, California.

We have hired an immigration lawyer in LA to process our visa application for me to move to LA with him and become a permanent resident.

Neither of us have been married before, we have no children, no convictions or criminal records and he has a well paid job earning way over the required amount to support me. We have solid evidence of our relationship and over 16 plane tickets from previous visits over four years of being together.

We married in my home town in Wales 2 weeks ago with all our friends and family and he has since returned to work in the US and I am here in the UK working and waiting for our application to process.

Our lawyer previously advised us that this process could take up to a year however our situation is quite straight forward and hopefully the US embassy in London isn't too backed up so it could be sooner.

It's so hard still living opposite ends of the world now that we are married especially hearing this process is so time consuming. I wondered if there is anyone else in a similar position or who has experienced this exact process (UK to USA) and could advice me or give me more information on their experience and how long it took until they could be together in the same country? I know we can still visit each other however my lawyer has advised he visits me in the UK as I could be refused entry at the US boarder while this visa process is taking place.

I would be so interested and grateful to hear of any previous experiences with a similar situation??

Many thanks and I look forward to hearing from anyone

Jo x

Good luck with your journey Jo!

Me and my OH are in the same boat - I am UKC he is USC, and we got our NOA1 in April and are currently on the first waiting stage. Our predicted NOA2 date keeps moving day after day (when I first did my timeline it predicted mid-July for NOA2, now it's saying early August) so we are all in a period of waiting, and I guess that's the toughest part of all.

It would be really useful to fill in your timeline, not only does it give others a bit of insight when you post, but it also gives you predicted timings (based on other people's timelines) so definitely fill that in!

Good luck with your journey - hope we all get through with some shred of sanity left!