JAJ wrote:Baadil wrote:Thank you Jaj.
The main reason my mom probably won't go for US citizenship is because you have to live in the US for 4+ year before she can get the citizenship.
It's 5 years if you're not married to a U.S. citizen. And only time with a green card counts towards the 5 years.
***
An applicant is eligible to file if, immediately preceding the filing of the application, he or she:
has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (see preceding section); has resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from the United States of more than one year;
This is not the case with her. She's been outside the country much longer and will need to stay here for at least 3 more years to get her citizenship.
We are of Pakistani origin. I have a sister living in UK (Citizen) and brother living in Hong Kong (Citizen as well)
Out of interest, what do you mean when you say your brother is a citizen in Hong Kong? Since the handover to China in 1997, Hong Kong
citizens are usually of an ethnic Chinese background. Did he obtain British nationality in the territory before 1 July 1997?
*** He's been in HK since 1994 and is married to a chinese girl and has a kid. I think he's got some type of british passport that is for HK nationals/ Pre 1997? I am not really sure how all that works.
and my mom would like to visit all her children instead of just live with one.
This is where she needs to be really careful. If she were to take a long vacation in the UK and then Hong Kong, she might have problems getting back to the United States and have nowhere to go other than Pakistan.
If this is a problem for her, then she really needs to plan to get her U.S. citizenship as a high priority (she might lose Pakistan citizenship but would that be a problem?)
On top of that, travel to both the United Kingdom and Hong Kong for vacations would be much easier with an American passport.
*** Pakistan has dual nationality with US. Once we move to UK, we do not plan on moving back. But if we have to we can always take a trip every 6 months or so for visit to keep GC's alive.
I understand that the term : the most exceptional compassionate circumstances may not seem to apply to her having US GC but at the same token she has not come here for over 3 years mainly due to illness of my father. Now that he has passed away, there is no one to take care of her over there.
With respect, it's not really your opinion that matters, but the opinion of an Entry Clearance Officer who may see much "harder" cases every day.
*** I agree. It is not my opinion that counts but I guess I could at least try to make a case.
I though you could apply for a relative along with your own visa application if they were going to join you in UK.
Subject to rules about dependency. Get a lawyer!
*** Agreed
I have been married to my wife for over 5 years
If you can show you have lived for 4+ years
outside the United Kingdom you should be able to get Indefinite Leave to Enter, and be a UK permanent resident immediately.
If you become naturalised British after 3 years you still keep your U.S. citizenship. But you must continue to file for U.S. tax when living in Britain, even if you don't need to pay much (or anything).
*** Do I need to do something special when applying? When I apply (in a few months) we will be living out of the UK for over 4 years. I agree with you on keep filing taxes. It doesn't cost much and you stay up to date with uncle sam.
and we have two kids as well.
How did your wife get her British citizenship? If she was born or naturalised in the United Kingdom, then your children are
already British citizens by descent. Just get British passports for them at the British Embassy in Washington DC.
And it's strongly recommended to get British-style birth certificates for them, even though there are reports that front-line Embassy staff are telling people "not to bother" with this. The British-style birth cert can save a lot of hassle later on.
*** My wife is a Brit by birth. My first child was born in UK so he has UK birth certificate. I also got him registered with US embassy so he now has birth registration with UK, US and Pakistan. He also carries all three passports. My daughter was born here in the US but she also has all three registrations as well as passports.
If worst comes to it, I will simply get my mom a 5 year multiple entry visit visa to come live with us as needed in UK.
But she can't
live in the United Kingdom as a tourist.
If worst comes to it, I will simply get my mom a 5 year multiple entry visit visa to come live with us as needed in UK.