How do I come home!

[Roxas]

Hi,

I would appreciate some help if anybody can offer me any. I'm a UK citizen but have lived in the USA as a permanent resident for four years. I got my green card because of my wife who is American. We were married in the UK and lived there for a year but then we moved to the USA. I've now been in the USA for 4 years, we have been married for 5.

Well I want to come back and live in the UK.

Is there a system in place for such a thing?

I remember I had to show wage slips to originally get my then fiance to the UK but now that I'm employed in the USA i'm not sure how the hell I could meet the requirements. Basically we would both be here on public funds until we could find jobs...although I could sell mt car and USA stuff and have about £8,000 to bring over. I wonder if that would suffice until we got jobs in their eyes? Also do I have to give up the green card...

Can anybody point me in the right direction?

[JAJ]

Hi,

I would appreciate some help if anybody can offer me any. I'm a UK citizen but have lived in the USA as a permanent resident for four years. I got my green card because of my wife who is American. We were married in the UK and lived there for a year but then we moved to the USA. I've now been in the USA for 4 years, we have been married for 5.

Well I want to come back and live in the UK.

Is there a system in place for such a thing?

You yourself can come home anytime with a valid British passport.

As for your wife - sponsor her for a UK visa. http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk
She can become British after 3 years in the UK (US allows dual citizenship).

Also do I have to give up the green card...

As soon as you no longer live in the US your green card is at risk. And once you've been away for over a year it's usually lost (I don't know if having an American wife helps).

Have you thought of taking out US citizenship before you leave the US? You'd keep your British citizenship. The only possible downside is having to file US tax returns back in the UK, however because of exemptions and foreign tax credits, most US expats in the UK don't need to pay much (or anything) to the US.

Becoming a US citizen is the *only* safe way to keep your right to live in the US. Otherwise you might have to be sponsored back into the US in future, with attendant delays and hassle. And if your wife was dead or you had separated, the door could be completely shut.

[Roxas]

Thanks for the reply. I'm still over a year away from having, I think, the ability to be a US citizen (five years in the US). I didn't realise you could have dual citizenship. It opens up another avenue..maybe I will stay and go through with that first. I'm not sure.

It was murder getting that card and it would be a shame to lose it.

As for the basic sponsorship of my wife will they allow my income to be nil...the last thing I want to be doing is messing about over here on my own trying to get a job before submitting the forms.

Thanks,

[JAJ]

Thanks for the reply. I'm still over a year away from having, I think, the ability to be a US citizen (five years in the US). I didn't realise you could have dual citizenship. It opens up another avenue..maybe I will stay and go through with that first. I'm not sure.

I think if you look at http://www.cis.gov you'll see the naturalisation waiting period is three years if you are married to a US citizen for three years or over. If you've any kind of arrest/criminal record. or any breach of US immigration law on your record, hire an immigration attorney before applying for naturalisation.

As part of the US naturalisation oath you need to renounce foreign allegiances, however this has no effect under British law. However the US does not expect you to hand over your British passport (and if it did, they'd just have to send it back to the British Embassy as it's UK government property). Lots of UK people become US citizens with no problem. This is a good resource: http://www.richw.org/dualcit

As for the basic sponsorship of my wife will they allow my income to be nil...the last thing I want to be doing is messing about over here on my own trying to get a job before submitting the forms.

Others who have sponsored spouses will know more - but as far as I'm aware you can sponsor your spouse while still being in the US - you don't need to move to the UK first.

Also - you need to know that your spouse must get entry clearance before leaving the US - she *cannot* arrive in the UK as a tourist if she wants to stay as a spouse.

Did she have indefinite leave to remain (ILR)when she was in the UK, or just a spouse visa? If she had ILR then maybe she could apply as a returning resident rather than as a spouse. but it's a grey area as to whether a British citizen spouse would be enough to waive the 2 year absence rule. There's also information on returning residents entry clearance at http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

One final point. As you've been married over 4 years she ought to get Indefinite Leave to Enter immediately if she applies as a spouse. This means she will be a UK permanent resident immediately upon entering the UK. After 3 years she will be able to apply for British citizenship.

[Roxas]

Thanks,

I can't remember now what she applied for but I have the paperwork locked up somewhere. I know that they stamped her passport with a stamp that stated she had leave to remain in the Uk as long as we stayed married. It's since expired but we were not concerned because back then life in the US was all that mattered.

I'm certain she will have no residency or ties to the UK. I actually prefer it that way it seems more simple. I found the form from that website she has to submit, looks very straight forward.

We both have fulltime jobs and will be willing to give this up to come back to the UK. I will call my local British Mission and ask about the money situation... I'm sure they will be baffled as to why you would want to give up a good job in California to return to horrible ol' England but hey i'm homesick.

I'll just make sure have have big bucks in the bank to show i can support us whilst we look for work in the UK. We'll probably just move back in with my parents.