Returning to live in the USA

Hi All

I am british and my wife is american, at the moment we are residing in the UK. But we are looking at emigrating to the USA in the next year or so!

We have realised that we will need to get either the K1 or K3 visas.

Does anyone have any ideas how long these things take? Also if anyone has any idea of a rough cost for the entire emigration process (a big ask I know) or is willing to have a chat about the whole process as we are going round in circles it would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Mark (and a very homesick) Lindsay

misty_minou wrote:Hi All

I am british and my wife is american, at the moment we are residing in the UK. But we are looking at emigrating to the USA in the next year or so!

We have realised that we will need to get either the K1 or K3 visas.

Does anyone have any ideas how long these things take? Also if anyone has any idea of a rough cost for the entire emigration process (a big ask I know) or is willing to have a chat about the whole process as we are going round in circles it would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Mark (and a very homesick) Lindsay

Through direct consular filling, you can get the CR-1 visa in about 5 months time (that is if your wife has permission to reside in the uk and has been living here for about a year).

k1 does not apply to you as that is for a fiancee. K3 is a non immigrant visa so I would suggest you apply for the CR-1 or IR-1(if you've been married for more than 2 years).

Timeline for Cr-1 or IR-1 filed through direct consular filing:
4-5 months

Timeline for same visas or K3 filed from within the united states:
8-10 months

Friends have spent about $2,000 on the process.

thanks elena...you really shared a very helpful post here...and it will really help the people who really want to know the whole process...

Another thing to note, make sure that if your wife has been working that she has filed her US income tax returns with the exemptions form. Even though American's are exempt from paying taxing up to $85,000 in earning per year, tax returns still need to be filed with an exemption form showing you do no owe this. My sister didn't realised this when she was living in England with her Husband and it delayed their application process by a few months. They went through a lawyer though.

They said other than that, the application process went pretty smoothly. They got married in the US and moved to England 2 weeks after that. They were married and living in England together for 4.5 years when they started the application process. It took them less than a year to make the move.

Just remember to do the research on jobs. Depending on what you do and where you are moving, it may be very difficult to secure a position. It took my brother-in-law about 10 months to find a job, but my sister was able to secure a job through my other sisters within 3 months.

Best of luck to you.

Is your wife planning to get her British citizenship before she leaves?

JAJ wrote:Is your wife planning to get her British citizenship before she leaves?

Hi JAJ, I have sent you a PM on an unrelated matter, not sure if you have seen it yet.

Thanks

Smit wrote: Hi JAJ, I have sent you a PM on an unrelated matter, not sure if you have seen it yet.

I usually don't correspond by PM unless there is a specific reason it needs to be off-forum. Is there a reason why it cannot be discussed publicly?

ElenaW wrote:

misty_minou wrote:Hi All

I am british and my wife is american, at the moment we are residing in the UK. But we are looking at emigrating to the USA in the next year or so!

We have realised that we will need to get either the K1 or K3 visas.

Does anyone have any ideas how long these things take? Also if anyone has any idea of a rough cost for the entire emigration process (a big ask I know) or is willing to have a chat about the whole process as we are going round in circles it would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Mark (and a very homesick) Lindsay

Through direct consular filling, you can get the CR-1 visa in about 5 months time (that is if your wife has permission to reside in the uk and has been living here for about a year).

k1 does not apply to you as that is for a fiancee. K3 is a non immigrant visa so I would suggest you apply for the CR-1 or IR-1(if you've been married for more than 2 years).

Timeline for Cr-1 or IR-1 filed through direct consular filing:
4-5 months

Timeline for same visas or K3 filed from within the united states:
8-10 months

Friends have spent about $2,000 on the process.

I just had a close friend go through the CR-1 and amazingly the whole thing was just shy of 4 months! Very fast from what I've seen others post!

Must be all the upgrades they were talking about are actually working?

Good Luck Mark and Lindsay!
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