Transatlanticism (or follow your heart or how to jump through the hoops of the UK Visa system)

It's been nearly two years since I turned up in the UK with little more than the rucksack on my back and the overstuffed suitcase full of English grammar books and lesson plans from my year teaching English in Eastern Europe. The G and I had met two years prior to that, we knew that we wanted to be together and were completely and utterly frustrated by the long distance love affair we'd been suffering through. As an American, I wasn't able to work legally in the UK (or anywhere in Western Europe (the EU) for that matter) and we were faced with a mounting pile of paperwork and confusing immigration laws and a sinking feeling that there was no other way but marriage to solve the mess we were in. So in the end, he said 'what the hell, baby, let's get hitched.'

I don't mean to suggest for a minute that we wouldn't have gotten married if not pressured into it by our geography and border control, but it certainly happened a lot sooner than either of us would have ideally wanted it to be. I think it caught my friends and family a little off guard, truth be told, when I left Seattle bound for a teaching job in Poland in November and returned a year later with an engagement ring and wedding bells in my ears. Nevertheless, we managed to pull it off in the end and I'm happy to report that neither of us regret rushing into it to this day.
Thinking back on that six months or so that I was here in England, not able to work and trying desperately to find my feet while wading through the ocean of information about work permits and fiancee visas and marriage visas cloaked in codewords like K-1's and INF4's and mysterious terminology such as 'indefinite leave to remain' and 'present and settled' and asking myself am I a 'highly skilled migrant worker'? is enough to make my head spin even now.

I thought I'd lay out what we did to sort through it all, so that maybe it'll make it just that much easier for someone else to figure it out should you find yourself in love with an Englishman (or woman). I'm about to get really specific so you may be a little bored, dear reader, if this stuff doesn't apply to you.I don't know it yet, but he's about to propose! There's champagne in it that backpack and everything!

The easiest way to accomplish marrying your beloved Brit, is to have the wedding in the States while he/she is visiting on their passport - the visa waiver programme gives UK residents 90 days in the US without any special permits and doesn't require any special visa to have a wedding in the States - then to return to England on a UK marriage visa.

The UK requires a special visa to have a wedding in Britain. This can take up to 6 months to obtain. You can also enter the country on a fiancee visa for 6 months- however you can't work and you still need the wedding visa to get married here. This is obviously an option, but an expensive one - keep in mind that each visa has a minimum fee of around 100 pounds sterling. Also US citizens are allowed 6 months in the UK without a visa anyway.

Note: I can only speak with any authority about how to marry and settle in Britain. I think settling in the US is whole lot more complicated and I am heartily postponing that mess for a few more years.

From the UK government website (www.ukvisas.gov.uk) :

You can obtain a marriage visa to settle in the UK if

• you are legally married to each other or are in a civil partnership recognised in the UK
• your husband, wife or civil partner is present and settled in the UK (see the next section)
• you both intend to live together permanently as husband and wife or as civil partners
• you have met each other before
• you can support yourselves and any dependants without any help from public funds
• you have suitable accommodation, which is owned or lived in only by you and your household, and where you and your dependants can live without any help from public funds
• your husband, wife or civil partner is not under 18, and
• you are not under 18.

Remember the key bit of information, you don't need a wedding visa to get married on US soil, so the next time your fiancee comes to visit make a quick trip to Vegas and have a drive through wedding in a pink cadillac. Next step; you've got to prove your love to The Man!! There are only three UK embassies in the US that process visas and they are located in New York, Chicago and L.A. You will need to schedule an immigration interview, you can do it online at the embassy website. It's very important that you keep all records of your relationship for your immigration interview - that means keep all those letters, e-mails, photos, cards, and add a couple of letters of support from family and friends just to be on the safe side. You will also need provide both of your passports though only the immigrant can attend the interview, bank statements for both of you to prove that you can survive in Britain without needing public assistance, any job offers and copies of your CV and diplomas to show you're employable, contracts from your landlord or copy of your property deed. Don't let the interview scare you, but do take it seriously. While I was in LA for mine, two other women were denied entry into the UK by the immigration office - so it can happen. Just make sure you have your ducks in a row and you'll be fine.

There are a couple of expat/travellers web forums that I found useful when I was researching how to do this marriage visa thing; easyexpat.com and justlanded.com where you'll find other people who are going through the same hair pulling process as you. Another informational website is globalvisas.com though stick to the government websites like the homeoffice.gov for the final say and to double check fees and everything.

This can be a really expensive process - it's not only the cost of moving overseas with all of my belongings, but the visas themselves are very expensive, not to mention the cost of flying to LA and holing up in a hotel for a few days while my passport was processed, and having to prove you have enough money in your bank account to live in Britain without recourse to public funds!! After 2 years, a landmark I am now approaching, I must apply for indefinite leave to remain which is fancy-talk for permanent residency and costs 510 pounds! After three years I can take the test to be naturalised as a British citizen and have dual citizenship which sounds so smarmy.

I'm sure most of this is nonsense for the casual reader of my blog, but if someone desperately seeking answers comes across it, I hope this helps! I remember finding comfort in learning that other couples managed to get through the other side, it's a stressful process, but well worth it in the end.