Relocation to Tennessee

Hello bwa.gb.

Welcome to Expat.com

I would suggest you to download the pdf guide for the USA, as it contains some essential informations about expatriation on the United States.

Thanks and all the best.

Karen

Thanks.

Few more questions. I am 22. 8 GCSE's A* - C and BTEC National Diploma in Forensic Science and Criminal Psychology (although I've not done anything with this qualification since I got this July 2011).

I have been an Insurance Auditor since March '12 and I'm currently my team leader.

How do my qualifications translate to US equivalent and do I stand any sort of chance to gain entry bearing in mind I will have been in insurance 2 years come March?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Ideally I want to have the process underway at new year.

Thanks all!

bwa.gb wrote:

Not sure if anyone can help but worth a try.

Possibly looking at a move from Cambridge, UK to Chattanooga or Nashville, TN to be with a woman I've fallen in love with. How easy is this to do and how would I go about it?

Hello bwa.gb,

Welcome to the expat-blog. I hope you find the information provided and discussed here useful.

I am going to make the following common assumptions before answering your question. If any of my assumptions are incorrect reply and let me know.

1) You are currently NOT married.
2) You are a British citizen.
3) Your girlfriend is a US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (green card)
4) You have a passport.
5) You have known your girlfriend for at least 1 year, and have evidence to support the claim. (this means photos of your girlfriend and yourself together.

If you answered YES to all those assumptions you and your future wife will need to apply and petition for a K-1 visa 'Nonimmigrant Visa for a Fiancé(e).'

First your Fiancee must petition for your entry as an 'Alien Fiance(e).' This is done via. Form I-129F. And can be downloaded HERE.

After your fiancee gets approval from USCIS, the petition is then forwarded to the National Visa Center and the US Embassy / Consulate closest to where you live - which in your case I believe is the US Embassy in London.

You must then:

1) Complete Form DS-160: You and your children (if applicable) must each complete Form DS-160 to apply for a K1/K2 visa (K2 is for children). Go to ceac.state.gov to complete the DS-160. You must: 1) complete the online visa application and 2) print the application form confirmation page to bring to your interview.

2) Divorce or death certificate(s) of any previous spouse(s) for both you and your fiancee.

3) Police certificates from your present country of residence and all countries where you have lived for 6 months or more since age 16 (Police certificates are also required for accompanying children age 16 or older)

4) Medical examination

5) Evidence of financial support (Form I-134, Affidavit of Support, may be requested)

6) Two (2) 2x2 photographs. See the required photo format explained in Photograph Requirements

7) Evidence of relationship with your U.S. citizen fiancé(e)

8) Payment of fees

FULL DETAILS FOUND HERE:  http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants … _2994.html

If you have not been with your fiancee for longer than 1 year and have not visited her in person, I would strongly advise you to wait and/or visit her before applying.

You should plan on the process taking 4-6 months. While it is highly unlikely you will not get a visa, just because you are the fiancee of a US Citizen does not guarantee you or entitle you to US residence or a visa.

If you ever violated immigration law in the United States (illegal entry, overstay, lying to a FO, etc.) or committed a felony in your country of residence and it shows on your police clearance letter you should anticipate problems and potentially start considering her moving to the UK. That is about the only thing that will prevent you from getting a visa other than answering YES on the DS-160 to the questions about being a communist, Nazi, rebel/terrorist group, etc.

Good luck in your process. If you need further assistance do not hesitate to contact me.

If you like big cities Nashville will be the best option for you. Chattanooga is not a large city by any means but it still of some size. The people in Tennessee are very friendly and the music is awesome!

Regards,

Matt-






Matt V. - Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil
Visit my Personal Blog - brazilbs.blogspot.com

bwa.gb wrote:

Thanks.

Few more questions. I am 22. 8 GCSE's A* - C and BTEC National Diploma in Forensic Science and Criminal Psychology (although I've not done anything with this qualification since I got this July 2011).

I have been an Insurance Auditor since March '12 and I'm currently my team leader.

How do my qualifications translate to US equivalent and do I stand any sort of chance to gain entry bearing in mind I will have been in insurance 2 years come March?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Ideally I want to have the process underway at new year.

Thanks all!

Hi again,

As far as the insurance translations I wouldn't know. Hopefully someone can help answer your questions.

As far as law enforcement I can tell you - yes. However you will need to be a permanent resident before you can become a sworn agent/officer for any law enforcement agency at the city/county/state/federal level.

The requirements would be the same for anything to do with Crime Scene Investigation.

Hope this helps.






Matt V. - Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil
Visit my Personal Blog - brazilbs.blogspot.com

bwa.gb wrote:

Not sure if anyone can help but worth a try.

Possibly looking at a move from Cambridge, UK to Chattanooga or Nashville, TN to be with a woman I've fallen in love with. How easy is this to do and how would I go about it?

Depends on the woman.

bwa.gb wrote:

Not sure if anyone can help but worth a try.

Possibly looking at a move from Cambridge, UK to Chattanooga or Nashville, TN to be with a woman I've fallen in love with. How easy is this to do and how would I go about it?

You might want to check with Erichubbard about the situation in Chattanooga.  I do believe you have been given the fiance' visa info required to get started.  Good Luck!!

Thank you all so much for your help. Starting to get exciting now. Will try and get the process underway after new year.

Does anybody know if there's another way aside from the marriage visa? Known each other a year but not 100% sure either of us are ready for marriage yet

The only other way is to find an employer willing to sponsor you. Or if you have an immediate family member living in the United States that would qualify you for alien relative.

You can still apply for the fiancee visa but it would not look good if you did not end up getting married.

bwa.gb wrote:

Does anybody know if there's another way aside from the marriage visa? Known each other a year but not 100% sure either of us are ready for marriage yet

I do believe you have 90 days from your arrival to get married or you need to leave the USA, visa no longer valid.

On what type of visa? Marrying on VWP or a tourist visa is frowned upon.

Visiting is one thing, marrying is another. While it is not written in the law I assure you it will backfire.

Looks like my only legitimate way in to the country is to study in the US. I don't have anything to offer in terms of a job and neither myself or my girlfriend want to get married just yet.

Can anyone advise the bet way to go about this?

How long do you think before you two can agree on marriage?

You can enter on a tourist visa for 6 months, enjoy your time together and maybe then she will change her mind.

A student visa (F-1) requires a SEVIS approved school (Find one here: http://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/school-search) a completed DS-160, visa interview, proof of financial capability, I-20 issued by the SEVIS approved school. There are are requirements but these are the major one.

I will be writing about student visas this week in a sticky as this seems to be a more frequent question lately.

I thought the tourist visa was only 3 months?

Fiancee visa is 90 days

bwa.gb wrote:

I thought the tourist visa was only 3 months?

A B2 tourist visa is for up to 6 months at a time (at the officer's discretion when you get there) and typically is valid for 10 years.
The Visa Waiver Program (essentially the exemption of visa for the purpose of tourism from the participating countries) is for a maximum of 90 days.

Just to prevent MASS confusion.

B2 Visas are paper visas and multiple entry visas with a validity of 5-10 years. The length of validity is decided by the issuing post/authority. (Embassy/Consulate)

Visa Waiver Program is an electronic visa which is tied to you passport and is ONLY for citizens and nationals of select countries. You must apply through ESTA (https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/) at least 72 hours before travel, but do not wait until the last possible hour to do it.

VWP is only available if you meet the following criteria:

*You are a citizen or eligible national of a Visa Waiver Program country.
*You are currently not in possession of a visitor's visa.
*Your travel is for 90 days or less.
*You plan to travel to the United States for business or pleasure. (This does not mean WORK)

Just because you clear ESTA does not mean you are guaranteed entry into the United States. Your visa or VWP approval is only a guarantee you can get to the US Port of Entry. You admittance is determined by the CBP officer upon arrival.

bwa,gb - if you want six months, apply for the B2 visa. It won't be very difficult for you to get, however it does require an interview and application fees. Otherwise you are limited to the VWP 90 days.

The university I've been looking at enrolling at says you have to fund your first year and no loans are available. Cost is around $33,333. It's a long shot but does anyone know if there is any other options around this or is it really that black and white?

You won't qualify for any sort of US Financial Aid. But I know the US has a program where they assist US Citizens with tuition at foreign universities. Maybe the UK does the same thing?

$33,000USD/yr is going to make you have to show about $50,000USD in a bank account. The school will require this documentation to issue an I-20 and so will the US Embassy/Consulate.

Your best bet is to find a university which will allow you to enroll for 1 or 2 semesters, find out the tuition for that, divide by two and add that amount into the tuition cost for two semesters. For example:

1 Semester = 8,250
÷ 2 = 4,125
Total Required for I-20 valid for the duration of 1 Semester = $12,375USD

This money needs to be in a bank account with a bank statement no older than 60 days.

You can renew your I-20 as long as you want which extends your stay in the US, but the expiration date of your original I-20 you use when applying for the US Visa is how long your F1 will be valid for. If you leave the US after your visa expires you will need to apply again in the UK.

Make sense?

Well for those interested I'll give you the latest update.

Not enough research was done about a student visa. It now appears that is basically impossible. Discussions are now in place about the possibility of a fiancé visa and marriage. Lots to think about for the both of us (especially myself) but it's looking more than likely that we'll take that route. I'm due to go out to her in Chattanooga at Easter to spend some time with her again and talk more about it. I'd like to keep the proposal special if at all possible!

Thank you everyone for your help and advice with this. Things are starting to move forward and is looking good!

Good luck!

There is a new reality show in the US called 90 Day Fiance, might try and watch it.


Matt-

usmc_mv wrote:

Good luck!

There is a new reality show in the US called 90 Day Fiance, might try and watch it.


Matt-

TRY is the operative word here, for it is as bad as any other reality show.

mugtech wrote:

usmc_mv wrote:

Good luck!

There is a new reality show in the US called 90 Day Fiance, might try and watch it.


Matt-

TRY is the operative word here, for it is as bad as any other reality show.

Yeah, but it still makes for a good laugh. He is from the UK so the culture shock will be minimal.

So I have a question.

We've been penpals since about this time last year and met for the first time in September which is when it all begun.

Thinking of popping the question when I visit at Easter. By the time our interview comes round etc how 'authentic' are we likely to look doing this all in the space of a year? How likely is it that I'll get granted the visa? Do I have to 'prove' anything?

bwa.gb wrote:

Do I have to 'prove' anything?

Your potential wife will have to prove that she can support the two of you for the visa.
What you have to prove to her is anyone's guess, as 3 weeks ago you said you are not yet ready to get married.  Good Luck

bwa.gb wrote:

So I have a question.

We've been penpals since about this time last year and met for the first time in September which is when it all begun.

Thinking of popping the question when I visit at Easter. By the time our interview comes round etc how 'authentic' are we likely to look doing this all in the space of a year? How likely is it that I'll get granted the visa? Do I have to 'prove' anything?

Regardless of what anyone tells you on here, marriage on a tourist visa is frowned upon. I am a CBP agent, and I personally would deport anyone that does such a thing - we can easily find violations if we look hard enough. Trust me, do it the right way. Propose, return to the UK and apply for the K-3 or CR1 visa. CR1 is actually faster than the K-3, ironically.

usmc_mv wrote:

Regardless of what anyone tells you on here, marriage on a tourist visa is frowned upon. I am a CBP agent, and I personally would deport anyone that does such a thing - we can easily find violations if we look hard enough. Trust me, do it the right way. Propose, return to the UK and apply for the K-3 or CR1 visa. CR1 is actually faster than the K-3, ironically.

as a CBP agent, perhaps you can answer a question I have on this marriage as a tourist thing then. I'm American, engaged to a German, and we both live in Norway. Is it against the law to have what is basically a destination marriage for both of us in the States if he's on a tourist visa? We have no plans to settle in the States, just get married there and then return to our lives in Norway.

ECS wrote:

usmc_mv wrote:

Regardless of what anyone tells you on here, marriage on a tourist visa is frowned upon. I am a CBP agent, and I personally would deport anyone that does such a thing - we can easily find violations if we look hard enough. Trust me, do it the right way. Propose, return to the UK and apply for the K-3 or CR1 visa. CR1 is actually faster than the K-3, ironically.

as a CBP agent, perhaps you can answer a question I have on this marriage as a tourist thing then. I'm American, engaged to a German, and we both live in Norway. Is it against the law to have what is basically a destination marriage for both of us in the States if he's on a tourist visa? We have no plans to settle in the States, just get married there and then return to our lives in Norway.

ECS - it is not illegal. And being that he/she is from the Schengen zone, it won't have any impact on you at all. If you intend to settle here in the next 1 or 2 it could raise questions. Generally speaking if you have a paper visa in your passport you will have had deliberately lied to the visa officer at the consulate about your intentions of visiting. You will be asked in PCP what the intended purpose of you visit is, and I would just say visiting.

Either way it is NOT illegal but frowned upon, because it taken as a manipulation of the system. K-1 visas take 7-8 months to receive (the correct way for those that want to live in the US). You don't intend on living here, so it is not relevant.

Marry on.

Been a while since I posted but thought I'd let you know that I129-F has been sent to the Dallas lockbox and accepted and now forwarded on. Exciting times ahead!

Just curious, how long did it take to get accepted?

It was received May 1st and I think it may have been the next day if not the day after that we got the message through.