clericbeast

Ahhh, thank you so much! I really hope all goes well for you and your husband. Has he filled out his DS-260 already? Did that ask anything about government benefits in his home country?

That’s partially what I’m asking. Hopefully people from the UK who got their visa approved while in receipt of Universal Credit can offer some answer.

Hello, it’s been a while since I posted here and thankfully, for anyone who remembers me, I am doing so much better in general. My soon-to-be USC husband (getting married next month, with a trip a week after to “consummate” the marriage as USCIS puts it lol) and I have sped up our timeline considerably and will be filing the initial form in November, so I want to be as prepared as possible and quell this last lingering worry that I have, as I have struggled to find information online that I can make sense of. So, I am in the UK, and for years I have been receiving Universal Credit, which is financial assistance from the government whilst searching for jobs or if you are unable to work. I fit the latter category, but recently my health has improved a lot and I now have a part-time job. I still receive UC, which is only £300 a month, which helps to top up my wages as I don’t work many hours. What I wanted to ask is if being in receipt of Universal Credit will impact the decision regarding the spouse visa to move to the US. My (future) husband meets the financial requirements for the visa, and, should he lose his job or take a pay-cut, we have multiple options for potential co-sponsors. Are we likely to face issues for me receiving UK government benefits whilst I still live here? I only ever see information about US benefits, so I wasn’t sure if international benefits counted. Hope to see some familiar names in the replies! You all helped me a lot when I was really anxious about this process, and I am pleased to announce I am so much better and excited (and nervous, of course) to start the process!

Okay, so long story short, I have a chest deformity called pectus excavatum, which means my chest is sunken. I had a CT scan years ago which determined it to be on the severe end of the scale, but that my organs are healthy. It was noted that my heart is slightly displaced to the left due to this deformity, however. This condition has had an impact on my life with work, and I was unable to work for a long time while navigating this. However, I now have a part-time job and am working on trying to increase my physical tolerance through working and exercise. My concern is that I’ll be inadmissible due to this. I mean, my heart displacement will obviously be on my chest x-ray, and while things are very much improving for me, there’s also the fact that I may only be limited to part-time work (unless I can get lucky with an office or work from home job) if (in a worst case scenario) things don’t improve further, which brings its own public charge concerns. My partner can put me on his health insurance and he meets the financial requirements for the visa, if this information helps anyone advise me on what to expect from this.

which embassy? did the officer say what they needed to investigate?

Omg hi! We have so many similarities! And yes, it is a Bloodborne reference hehe! This makes me happy 🥰 I would absolutely love to talk more with you if you’re down, and of course please do keep us updated on your journey and how everything goes. The thread you linked was very reassuring and I will be sure to go overboard with proof that I am healthy! Better safe than sorry with this!

Haha, I realise that now, but in this case they really did point out an oversight on my part. Utah wedding it is lmao! 🤠

Oh my god, thank you! I had no idea about giving notice, but I looked into it after reading your response a few hours ago and gahhh, everything is always so complicated! But thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I talked to my fiancé about it briefly as he’s currently working and we think we’re going to do the Utah wedding as it will work out cheaper for us than marrying in a third country. We’ll just have to do a proper wedding celebration with our families at a later time.

I had one incident of self harm (one shallow cut out of curiosity bc my friends were doing it which I realise was stupid as soon as I did it) when I was a teenager, about 14 years old. My plan for that is to be honest about it being a one-time mistake as a teen, get a letter from my GP verifying my current mental state and that I’m not a risk to myself or anyone else. I was also thinking of paying for a psych eval in advance to have more proof. I know I will still have to undergo their psych eval, but I figure two opinions is better than one.

Not yet! He has to accumulate holiday time at his job sadly, so we’re waiting for him to have at least one week to come visit me in the UK to marry me. We’re looking at December or January, and when he returns to the US that’s when we’ll file for the visa

Thank you for responding. I will admit that the posts I saw had much harsher embassies than the UK, one of which being a beneficiary in Pakistan with a substantial age gap, so I realise our circumstances are different.

So I have been looking into guides here for the spouse visa and various people’s experiences, and I saw a couple of posts mention education differences being a red flag. Is this true? For context regarding my concern: My boyfriend (31 USC) went to university and has a bachelor’s in IT and a career, whereas I (25 UK) never went to university and I have very little job experience. I went to high school and sixth form and got high grades, but university wasn’t an option for me due to health reasons. This year I got my first job and things are looking much better for me health-wise, and we have talked about me maybe going to university when I move to the US, but now I’m concerned about what I read about educational differences being red flags.

Hi, thank you for responding! I am not offended at all. Anxiety is an infuriating beast to deal with, and what you mentioned about this only being the first step of many in the immigration process is exactly why I have referred myself back to therapy. I finished less intensive counselling a while back, but I now realise there are some deep-rooted habits and patterns I need to address and learn to cope with, so I re-referred myself for more focused therapy. I thank you for your honesty and have taken no offence! I am actually doing that too, it’s kind of how this worry popped up. I’m in the process of acquiring my police certificate and talking with my doctor about how to acquire my medical file. I will continue to look at the various guides and experiences here for sure. I honestly just wanted some short-term relief in knowing what future prospects were for me regarding my secondary inspection, but I know the issue of my anxiety is still in need of addressing. Thank you so much again for responding and being direct with me

Oh… that actually makes perfect sense. For a while I was worried that my I-94 might be wrong or hadn’t updated, and that he might have only admitted me until my return flight date in the notes, but he never told me that and the I-94 to this day remains as 28th February 2023 when I check it. I think my brain is finding anything and everything to stress about and assume the worst. Thank you so much for laying it all out so thoroughly and responding so quickly. I truly appreciate it more than you know. I can have a hard time rationalising my worries sometimes, and I hope to hear from a therapist soon to help tackle this way of thinking. You have helped tremendously in the meantime though, so thank you

Just to clarify also, the thing I have been worried will be seen as misrepresentation is that I told the border officer I couldn’t be in the US for longer than a month due to Universal Credit, and he likely wrote that in the notes, but we extended the trip to over 2 months. I worry that when my immigrant visa is being processed, they will see those notes and assume I lied to gain entry.

Yeah, we plan to send the i130 by February/March at the latest, as we are marrying in January

Oh, I am definitely doing that. I was just concerned about the misrep as that carries a lifetime ban. I did not stay and adjust because we wanted to undergo pre-marital counselling to iron out some concerns my boyfriend had about his past and how it impacts our relationship, and to make sure that this was the right step for us. I also read that adjusting status on an ESTA is frowned upon and can require a lot more proof that the marriage was spontaneous. It worked out better for us to have me go home and for us to marry over here, as he has yet to meet my family in person too (I have met his on numerous occasions!) so yeah, just circumstances really.

Hi, thank you so much for responding. Our plan is he comes here in January to marry me on a UK marriage visitor visa, he then returns to the US and petitions me for an immigrant visa. I am aware of the fraud aspect of intending to adjust status on an ESTA, and that is not the case for me. I simply visited, we did not marry, and I returned to the UK before my status expired. I have no intention of returning on an ESTA, much less to marry and adjust on it, but thank you for the information. Yes, we have had and continue to have discussions about finance and insurance. Luckily once we are married I can be added to his health insurance, and even more fortunately I have recently started working a part-time job here in the UK to test what I can and can’t do with my health condition, so things are looking up for me and I will be able to work, as my current job is going better than I expected. We also went through pre-marital counselling to talk about this stuff and our expectations of marriage etc, which really helped. Thank you again for bringing all this to my attention though and for such a speedy response.

Hi, thank you so much for responding. This information is all very helpful and reassuring. I am aware of the UK marriage visitor visa and we plan to file for that a couple of months before he visits (as per their guidelines) me in January. He has to accumulate holiday time at his job, so we are waiting for him to accumulate enough for the trip to come marry me here. I will be sure to look into how being married will affect my benefits, as that is something I had not considered until you brought it up, so thank you!

Okay, first of all: I have severe anxiety and my mind is spiralling over this. I am also currently on waiting lists for therapy, but I just feel I need to ask someone for any insight they have to offer, as much as I am scared the news will be bad. So for context, I entered the US on an ESTA in December to visit my long distance US citizen boyfriend and was taken into secondary inspection for what I assume were the following reasons: I was unemployed, so weak ties to the UK and potential suspicion of looking for work in the US. I live with my parents back home, so no lease, which again, shows weak ties to the UK. Visiting a long distance boyfriend, so suspicion of potential immigrant intent and overstaying. I was prepared for this, again due to having anxiety and wanting to prepare for every outcome. The proof I had to show ties to my country proved enough for the border agent in secondary, and were as follows: Medical assessment from Universal Credit (the benefit system in the UK) that deems me currently unfit for work due to health reasons. The terms of my agreement with Universal Credit (which was my only source of income at the time) which states that I must live in the UK to receive the benefit. A return flight for December 14th (I entered on December 1st) I then also told the officer verbally that Universal Credit states that I cannot be out of the country for longer than a month without losing my only source of income, which is a fact. I was admitted into the US after he asked me to confirm my return flight and to write down the name of my health condition, and then he typed in what I presume are the notes for about 10 minutes (maybe less, all I know is I was very anxious in that room so time really felt like it dragged.) On December 11th, my boyfriend proposed to me with the plan to come marry me in the UK, and said that if I wanted to, we could extend the trip so we can spend the holidays together. I checked my I-94 online before changing anything, and my I-94 states I was admitted until 28th February 2023. My boyfriend offered to financially help me with the losses I would have for Universal Credit, and we decided to extend the trip to February 12th, as we knew it would be my last US trip before we file for the US spouse visa. His birthday is early February, so it meant we got to spend Christmas and both our birthdays together, and I left before my I-94 date. What I want to ask is if my spouse visa could be in trouble due to this? I did not lie to the border agent upon entry. Everything I told him was fact, especially the Universal Credit terms which can be proven in their terms and conditions. I also contacted Universal Credit when I returned to the UK to offer to pay back the months I am not entitled to, and I have repaid that. I have read horror stories of misrepresentation and consular officers not looking at evidence provided at the interview, and although I can swear that what I told the border agent was the truth and that I did not overstay the date on my I-94, my brain is convincing me right now that changing my travel plans is going to make it look like a lie and they will deny my visa with a lifetime ban. I realise I will very likely have difficulties for future tourist admission attempts, especially on ESTA, due to a deviation from stated travel plans, but I have no intent of visiting the US while we wait for the spouse visa. My fiancé will be visiting me in the UK whenever he can while we wait for that. Does anybody have any insight about this? I am so worried. I feel like I have ruined my chances of being with the man I love. I have emailed immigration lawyers for consultations, but they are simply too expensive for me right now. Can somebody offer their perspective?