Recommendation for UK Immigration Expert in US and questions

I have a ton of questions to ask about my application for a spouse visa that I will be sending in in the April time frame for a (hopeful) July 1st relocation date. BTW, I have been married to a British girl for 11+ years, and our son is also a british citizen, so there is no question of eligibility.

Has anyone who has gone through this found / hired an immigration advisor here in the US who can answer questions like: (I would pay them for good advice).

1. Support: If I have $25,000 in the bank when we arrive and have a Masters in Mechanical Engineering, is this typically enough to show Support? I intend to have a job lined up before I arrive, but given that I have to apply 3 months before we arrive, and I might NOT have a job lined up by then, AND we have to make sure that we are there so my son can start school, yadda, yadda. One UK government site I found states that an advanced degree and proof of continual employment "Should be enough to demonstrate prospects of finding employment and should satisfy the support requirement."

2. Accommodation: Do I need to have a rental agreement for a flat BEFORE I apply, in which case, should I either rent a place on the internet to have a rental agreement starting shortly after I arrive, or travel 4 months before I intend to arrive and rent a flat so that I have a rental contract to include in my application?

3, OR, can I just list my In-Laws as temporary accommodation until we find a flat? I could definitely get a letter from them stating that they'd accommodate us until we find an apartment. Does this kind of thing "fly" with UK immigration?

Anyone? I have plenty of time to sort this out. I have found a lot of web sites to help with these kinds of questions, but they are all nebulous about the support requirement, and the accommodation stuff isn't all that clear. in general, I'd like to find someone I could talk to about this kind of stuff.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Wes

I poured over the UKBA websites, found everything i could, and then asked for additionaly advice on this forum and we've just recieved back the approval for our fiance visa, so I'd say hiring an advisor isn't neccessary.

1. what does your wife have? she is the sponsor, so it'll be largely resting on her ability to support you as the applicant. Having said that, $25K plus good employment prospects should stand you in good stead, particularly if your wife has any similar prospect of getting employment.

2/3. you can list your inlaws as temporary accommadation with a letter from them inviting you to stay, however I'd suggest they get a housing inspection for entry clearance done by the local council for them to verify to the UKBA that the accommadation is suitable for the number of people living there when you arrive.

if the inspection comes back as not enough for that many people, yes, you would need to book somewhere to live before you arrive and include a rental agreement. again, getting the local council to do a housing inspection is a good idea, but difficult given that you won't be there to let them in.

Your only other option would be for you and your wife to come to the UK as visitors, get a flat, her get a job and then for you to return to the US to make the application - you should get back your result in 2 - 4 weeks.