UK applicant with a USC girlfriend

[jimbob09 3]

Hey guys,

 

I have my place from grad school offered and accepted for Fall 2017, this year. Just awaiting my I-20 form in March from the school so I can do my embassy stuff and book my interview.

 

I have a USC girlfriend who I've been with since 2015. She goes to another school in the city I've got my school place at, doing her PhD. I'm doing a masters in Elementary Education with a concentration in STEM education, as that's something that's not actually available in the UK and I have a huge interest in STEM education as I feel it's the future! So getting to study something that interests me in the field of education is something that interests me - I only applied for this school as it was the only one I could find nearby that offered a STEM concentration for elementary ages. 

 

I will be living with my USC girlfriend as we will split the rent and bills and that makes it cheaper for us both. My grandparents are my sponsors and willing to help out with the costs when I need it. I'll be there studying for 2 years then return home to begin my teaching career. Getting to study in the USA and live with my girlfriend for a few years is an opportunity I am so excited for. My girlfriend is doing her PhD, she has another 3/4 years yet, but after that she wants to do a post doc in the UK, and she'll live with me there when she does this.

 

I'm sure you can now see my worries here - how would my situation look to the London Embassy? Will it cause issues? I have every intention to return home and get my career going in the UK - finding the exact course that I want to do that is nearby to my girlfriend is a bonus (I did look at nearby states too but nothing like this was really available). My girlfriend wants to go to the UK to do a post doc and live with me for that. We have mentioned marriage if we go on long enough - but we have not planned anything as we don't want that right now - we are taking it a day at a time and just going with the flow of the relationship.

 

I recently left a Postgrad course in the UK in primary education - I felt I wasn't quite ready for it yet as I didn't fully understand and get a lot of the education stuff (it didn't focus on what I thought it would and wasn't setting me up for the career as I'd hoped!). Doing the masters in the USA instead is great for me because it covers a breadth of classes that will properly prepare me for a career in education (things I didn't get taught in the course in the UK, such as assessment, planning, social justice and a field study to understand my field of education more) - which I will pursue back in the UK. If they do ask about me leaving that course, is that response 'good enough'? Because it's just the truth and my honest reason!

 

I have been advised only to disclose what they ask briefly and to the point, and to take the questions at face value? Is this true? Also, what should I say if for some reason they ask about my relationship? Would I tell them we are not planning to marry at all, and that she is going to do a post doc in the UK upon completion of her PhD and live with me for a bit in the UK? My main concern is me being in a relationship with a USC already and her living in the same city and me living with her. I have honest intentions, study and then leave. I don't want to leave my family behind for sure because I am very close to them. They are my main proof of ties to the UK, I come from a big and close knit family.

 

My interview will be in the next couple of months, so I hope you can understand my worries. I don't want this opportunity to be missed because of this! 

 

Anyone from the UK with similar experiences? Or anyone with advice or tips or words of wisdom? Anything will be appreciated! I want to put my mind at rest.

 

Thanks for any words of wisdom, advice and help given!

 

 

[bunkx 25]

That, sir, is a very well explained reason for the visa you're seeking. However, it worries me how much detail how you have gone into here and just hope you don't do the same at the embassy. Answering only the questions you are asked and taking the questions at face value is very good advice. The best one you're going to get, perhaps. I'm not sure why they would be interested in your relationship, or how they would know of its existence, unless you tell them explicitly. If you're asked about it, answer truthfully and tell them you have every intention of returning to the UK, explaining the reasons briefly. 

 

As far as evidence goes, USCIS is usually more interested in tangible evidence such as loans, job offers from back home - anything that shows you have ties to the UK, really. I'm not sure how convinced they would be if you just said "I like my family too much to ever move across the pond." It's similar to what I'm doing at the moment, I'm appyling for permanent residency through my marriage to my USC husband. If I went to the interview and just said "Look, we're in love, can't you see? It's absolutely real" that alone isn't enough, they ask for joint bank accounts, joint tenancy, comingling of finances and more. (Which are all things that could be fabricated even if the marriage weren't bona fide, by the way. It's ridiculous)

You could mention something about how having a degree in this exact field will improve your career once you are back home, considering this field isn't even offered in the UK (from what I gather) Emphasis on the effect of this programme on your life when you return.

 

However, keep in mind you are from a low risk country, just like most other EU countries. The scrutiny will not be as harsh as some.

 

Best of luck!

[jimbob09 3]

6 hours ago, bunkx said:

That, sir, is a very well explained reason for the visa you're seeking. However, it worries me how much detail how you have gone into here and just hope you don't do the same at the embassy. Answering only the questions you are asked and taking the questions at face value is very good advice. The best one you're going to get, perhaps. I'm not sure why they would be interested in your relationship, or how they would know of its existence, unless you tell them explicitly. If you're asked about it, answer truthfully and tell them you have every intention of returning to the UK, explaining the reasons briefly. 

 

As far as evidence goes, USCIS is usually more interested in tangible evidence such as loans, job offers from back home - anything that shows you have ties to the UK, really. I'm not sure how convinced they would be if you just said "I like my family too much to ever move across the pond." It's similar to what I'm doing at the moment, I'm appyling for permanent residency through my marriage to my USC husband. If I went to the interview and just said "Look, we're in love, can't you see? It's absolutely real" that alone isn't enough, they ask for joint bank accounts, joint tenancy, comingling of finances and more. (Which are all things that could be fabricated even if the marriage weren't bona fide, by the way. It's ridiculous)

You could mention something about how having a degree in this exact field will improve your career once you are back home, considering this field isn't even offered in the UK (from what I gather) Emphasis on the effect of this programme on your life when you return.

 

However, keep in mind you are from a low risk country, just like most other EU countries. The scrutiny will not be as harsh as some.

 

Best of luck!

Thanks for your reply!

 

No, don't worry, I won't be going into this much detail whatsoever at all, I just wanted to give my full situation so I could get honest and true feedback based on my situation. I will only answer what I am asked (In the advice I was given about face value, if I'm asked 'Do you know the time?' then say 'yes' and that's it. That's how face value I should take them according to advice given?) But as I said, I will only answer what I am asked, and I will answer honestly and briefly.

 

As far as proof of ties go, I have a car which I own and intend to keep and let family use it whilst I am away, and I have some student loans that I am paying off on a monthly basis. Are these even classed as proof of ties to return? I know they're not very strong ones at all, but still?

 

Not many universities here offer a Primary Education masters, most are very specific or general masters in education degrees, or postgraduate certificates, and being a career changer the classes in the USA will prepare me a lot better than the degrees in the UK would for a career back home. Also I want to do a PhD in Primary/Elementary Education one day, hence why I have also chose to pursue an Elementary Education masters.

 

does being from the UK really mean I will be under less scrutiny?

 

Thanks for responding, I appreciate it!