Spouse Visa with USA Criminal Record

[yankeebrit]

Hi All,

I wanted to ask for your advice on a situation that is concerning me greatly at the moment. I am going to have to cut a very long story short however here are the main points:

* I have been living with my girlfriend in the United States for the past 7.5 years.

* I am a British Citizen - she is a United States Citizen.

* I am currently on an H1B visa however it will expire in two years time and I have no renewals left - I want to return to the UK at this point anyway.

* We were planning on getting married next year and then making our way back to the UK to live and work before my current US visa expires...

HOWEVER - my girlfriend had a serious lack of judgement in 2008 and was convicted of two Class 1 misdemeanors for "Corruption of Minors" and "Endangering the Welfare of a Child". I must point out that there was NO "physical" contact whatsoever with a 17 year old however she did receive the above mentioned for her actions at that time.

My girlfriend did not serve any prison time however she did get a fine and three years of probation. Because the UK immigration people take the MAXIMUM sentence of the equivalent crime in the UK when considering the application it appears that it will never be "spent" in England even though she was never served a prison sentence of any kind.

I have secured the services of a UK based immigration lawyer and he has informed us that there is between a 70% and 90% chance of her settlement visa application being successful despite the convictions.

To make matters worse my girlfriend is not eligible to sponsor me for a USA based spouse visa due to the same convictions already mentioned (Adam Walsh Act).

My main concern is that we will get married and then be forever separated....

I'm really worried about all this and don't know what to do now...Can anyone offer any advice or thoughts on this matter?

Many thanks!