Abandoned by husband...

elisabethnara · Post by **elisabethnara** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:49 am

Hello all, this is my first post. I am actually not considered a British citizen- however, I moved to the UK when I was five years old and lived there for twenty years (up until December of 2005) as my father who is an American citizen moved my family there for his work. Essentially, as I grew up in Yorkshire and moved at such a young age I identify as English and not as American.

I need some assistance with my specific issue, and wished to ask here in case anyone has any first-hand experience with this issue. Anything anyone can offer me would be greatly appreciated, as this is a really difficult time for me.

Here goes:

I grew up in Yorkshire, attending British primary and secondary schools. I attended university in London. After leaving London I returned to North Yorkshire, where I met the man who is now my husband (a British citizen) who I dated for some time. I had decided that I wished to continue my university education for a year or two in the United States (as Iâ€™d not lived there since my childhood and wanted to live abroad for a time). I went first, then he followed- applying for a fiancÃ© visa with the United States government. His visa was approved after a few months and he joined me in Chicago, while we were living in Chicago we married in January of 2005. We spent nearly a year in the United States, but we were both very homesick and decided to return together to the U.K. We arrived October 1st 2005, I was granted entry clearance with a spouse visa which I had been issued at the British Consulate in Chicago.

Three months after arriving back in the U.K. my father (who had recently returned to live in the United States) was diagnosed with cancer. In order to help my father during his illness I returned to the United States (on December 7th, 2005) while he went through radiation treatment and chemotherapy (due to his immunocompromised condition he was unable to even take out his own rubbish or clean the catsâ€™ litterbox, et cetera; as well as needing constant care) . After over a year in the United States the relationship with my husband deteriorated (due to the long distance between us) and he told me he no longer wished to be with me. Despite attempts to reconcile we are no longer in a relationship, however we remain legally married. My spouse visa expired on October 1st, 2007.

My father is now cancer free and is well enough to take care of himself and return to work, and I have been increasingly unhappy about residing within the United States- as I had intended on returning to the U.K. Because I spent the vast majority of my twenty-four years of life (beginning at the young age of five) in the United Kingdom, I feel British. All of my friends, all of the people I grew up with, are in England. Besides my father, I do not possess anything else that ties me to this country and I feel like I am a foreigner here. In addition to this, I work for a company which has offices in the United Kingdom, so if I were to return to the U.K. I would be transferred with my company - therefore having a job immediately and being able to completely support myself without any support from the state.

I wish to return to the United Kingdom and am not certain if the nearly twenty years I spent growing up in the U.K. give me any recourse for establishing myself as a British citizen since my husband has decided he doesn't want to be with me.

I live very close to the British consulate in Chicago, and I am planning on phoning the Home Office, but I'm totally lost.

Thanks to all of you for listening.

-e.

(Cross posted on the British Expats Discussion Forum)

purplepple · Post by **purplepple** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:09 am

To the senior members, isn't she eligible for citizenship, having spent more than 14 years living in the UK?

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:12 am

I think she reset her 10/14 yr clock when she moved back to US and A.

Anyway if the OP's work is gonna transfer her to UK what's the problem?

purplepple · Post by **purplepple** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:17 am

Hi elisabeth, what was your visa status in the UK before you got married?

RobinLondon · Post by **RobinLondon** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:23 am

Or even more simply, she should just apply as a returning resident and have her previous ILR status (which I'm assuming she had when she left!) reactivated. It should not be so difficult considering that she spent so much time living and being educated in the UK. I know that she has been outside the UK for slightly more than two years, but given her history and her extenuating circumstances, I wouldn't be surprised if the UK consulate exercised discretion in her favour. Of course while she would have ILR again at re-entry, her clock for naturalisation would essentially start from scratch, but who knows what the residency requirement for citizenship will be even in one year's time.

So chin up! It's not all that bad. Start here.

Of course, if you didn't have ILR when you left, you will be starting everything from the beginning and most likely will be dependent upon some other employment-related category to find your way over here again.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:02 am

Doesn't sound like the OP has ILR, the way I read it is she was only in UK on spouse visa for three months, it expired while in US and A.

jei2 · Post by **jei2** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:34 pm

Elisabeth

In summary your situation seems to read as follows:

Overstayer meeting the 14 year rule/concession.
Left the UK voluntarily and returned successfully on a spouse visa
Left the UK for compelling reasons which unfortunately contributed to your marriage breaking down
Potential work permit/ employee of an overseas company
Article 8 (right to family life) based on your connections with the UK

Nor should it hurt that you are an American citizen.

Given that you arrived in the UK when you were only 5 years old, you seem to have (albeit inadvertently) followed the UK's immigration policy better than many who came here when they were adults.

My spidey sense is tingling in light of the impending rules and you being out of the country but I can't think why as you haven't overstayed (recently). Possibly my paranoia in the face of legislative chaos.

Otherwise you seem to have a lot of factors in your favour. Use them.

But get representation just in case. All the best.

Mr Rusty · Post by **Mr Rusty** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:30 pm

Elizabeth,
What was your immigration status all those years before you left and got married? It must have been dependent on your father, so you need to find out his Home Office Reference number, because it will be an old record and the only record of you as an individual will be the spouse visa. If he came on a workpermit, and remained for many years, one would assume that he acquired ILR, and you should have been granted in line as his dependant.
In that case, Robin is right, you should be able to apply as a returning resident, backed up by all your evidence of your life here. An argument can be put forward that your EC as a spouse ran in parallel to your accrued right of residence, which has only lapsed because of the extreme compassionate circumstances you have outlined.
You may need to take legal advice to explore this further.

jei2 · Post by **jei2** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:31 pm

But if this is the case wouldn't Elisabeth have been able to re-enter the UK in her own right in October 2005 ?

Given that she hadn't even been outside the UK a year... ?

Mr Rusty · Post by **Mr Rusty** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:43 pm

Yes, but it's possible she never had ILR endorsed in her own passport, and effectively made the wrong application to come back here.

The only other explanation is that she was here without any official status for all those years, which I find hard to believe.

I'm sure Elizabeth can enlighten us

Post by **vinny** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:54 pm

Agree that if elisabethnara had been in the USA for less than two years and had ILR when leaving the UK, then she should have returned to the UK as a Returning Resident.

elisabethnara · Post by **elisabethnara** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:06 am

Thank you all so much for the responses.

I have leave to remain stamps in my passport, but they all have expiry dates on them- no 'indefinite leave to remain'. I can ask my father whether or not he has the same, but I believe that his are the same as mine (I've never looked). He worked for the US Government in the UK for the Department of Defense, so I'm not certain if he was unable to receive ILR because of that?

Before I was married my Leave to Remain stamp was still valid. I -never- overstayed. I was always legitimately living and working in the UK.

Mr. Rusty: How does one find out one's Home Office Reference Number? I've no idea how to go about this.

We applied for the visa because my father moved back to America shortly before we departed to return and my leave to remain stamp had an expiry of July 16th 2005 on it. I was not aware I had any rights and assumed I would have to attain citizenship as a spouse. I was mostly worried I would return to the UK and not be able to work, or worse, be deported. In America, if you'd lived there the same number of years and your visa expires, you have NO rights, so I assumed the UK was the same way.

elisabethnara · Post by **elisabethnara** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:07 am

The stamps look like the fourth from the top in this image:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kimage/Chap ... npart2.GIF

I only have two of them in the current passport I have, the earlier ones are in an expired passport which is no longer in my possession.

Post by **vinny** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:26 am

Your father probably had immigration exemption due to his work. However, this did not extend to family members.

The Home Office may have written your reference number on the back cover or back page of your passport.

It was unfortunate that you did not apply for ILR on the basis of Long Residence before leaving the UK in 2005.

elisabethnara · Post by **elisabethnara** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:45 am

There's no writing anywhere on my passport, unfortunately. Where would I find my father's number?

Who should I be writing to in regards to this? I'm puzzled as to the correct place to ask.

Post by **JAJ** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:58 am

elisabethnara wrote:There's no writing anywhere on my passport, unfortunately. Where would I find my father's number?

Who should I be writing to in regards to this? I'm puzzled as to the correct place to ask.

Unfortunately all the facts are pointing to that you lived in the U.K. a long time but never became a permanent resident. That does close down options for you, unfortunately.

I am not sure if your existing spouse visa status will help in any way.

I don't think there's any further step to take other than talk to an immigration solicitor but even then, I'm not clear if there is anything that can be done other than you looking for a way back in on your own merits.

Mr Rusty · Post by **Mr Rusty** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:46 pm

I'm sorry, I overlooked the possibility of your father having exempt status here, either as a member of NATO forces or as a diplomat. The stamp that you indicate would be given (inter alia) to dependants of such a person. Is there no reference number on the stamp? If it's a letter folllowed by 6 or more digits, that's almost certainly your dad's HO Ref. number.
The only way you might get it is to supply his details to BIA, or the US Defense department might have it on their records.

BUT - unfortunately it's now clear that although you were brought up in this country, you never acquired settled status here, and your only right to achieve this expired with your spouse visa. Chasing after HO records may well make no difference to anything.

In the circumstances, JAJ's last post is the best advice you're likely to get on a forum like this. Go talk to a lawyer.

elisabethnara · Post by **elisabethnara** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:36 pm

There's an AGF XXXXX number on my stamp... Is that the Home Office Reference number?

I've e-mailed a solicitor, but I've not heard anything back yet.

Again, thank you all for the suggestions. Even if I have to re-enter the UK with a work visa and wait years to be eligible for ILR, that's fine. If I don't have to I'd rather do that, but my real goal is just to go home, so I'll do whatever it takes.

I wish I'd have known that I was eligible for ILR, I never even knew I was. In fact, my parents very much frowned upon me remaining in the United Kingdom and kept a lot of information from me that would have been beneficial to me in the long run

paulp · Post by **paulp** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:31 pm

Is there any way to patch up with your husband or is it irreconcilable?

johnboy096 · Post by **johnboy096** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:57 pm

jei2 wrote:
Nor should it hurt that you are an American citizen.

Why would this have a bearing on gaining a Visa?
Is there some underlying bias that I'm missing?

jes2jes · Post by **jes2jes** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:09 am

JAJ wrote:
elisabethnara wrote:There's no writing anywhere on my passport, unfortunately. Where would I find my father's number?

Who should I be writing to in regards to this? I'm puzzled as to the correct place to ask.
Unfortunately all the facts are pointing to that you lived in the U.K. a long time but never became a permanent resident. That does close down options for you, unfortunately.

I am not sure if your existing spouse visa status will help in any way.

I don't think there's any further step to take other than talk to an immigration solicitor but even then, I'm not clear if there is anything that can be done other than you looking for a way back in on your own merits.

Well, Elizabeth, I have been reading your post and this morning on my drive to work, just remembered there is a little provision in the rule that 'might' help your course for ILR so long as all your stay in the UK as a person exempt from Immigration Control where legal and there is no break in residency during that period.

There is consideration under the LRC for discretion to grant ILE whilst abroad. Here we go and this is under section 3.4:

3.4 Granting Indefinite leave to enter

It should be noted that there is no provision in these Rules to grant indefinite leave to enter on the basis of long residence. This means that a person who has not technically entered the UK (e.g. because s/he has been on Temporary Admission) cannot qualify under the Rules.

However, where such a person meets all the other requirements of Rule 276B, discretion should normally be exercised to grant him or her Indefinite Leave to Enter outside the Immigration Rules. (emphasis mine)As such a grant will be made outside the Rules, it does not have to be made by an Immigration Officer, but can be made by someone acting on behalf of the Secretary of
State.

Paragraph 276B.

The requirements to be met by an applicant for indefinite leave to remain on the ground of long residence in the United Kingdom are that:
(i) (a) he has had at least 10 years continuous lawful residence in the United Kingdom; or

(b) he has had at least 14 years continuous residence in the United Kingdom, excluding any period spent in the United Kingdom following service of notice of liability to removal or notice of a decision to remove by way of directions under paragraphs 8 to 10A, or 12 to 14, of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971 or section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 Act, or of a notice of intention to deport him from the United Kingdom; and

(ii) having regard to the public interest there are no reasons why it would be undesirable for him to be given indefinite leave to remain on the ground of long residence, taking into account his:

(a) age; and
(b) strength of connections in the United Kingdom; and
(c) personal history, including character, conduct, associations and employment record; and
(d) domestic circumstances; and
(e) previous criminal record and the nature of any offence of which the person has been convicted; and
(f) compassionate circumstances; and
(g) any representations received on the person's behalf; and
(iii) the applicant has sufficient knowledge of the English language and sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom, unless he is under the age of 18 or aged 65 or over at the time he makes his application

It seems to me that, you would be able to argue the bolded text to your advantage. The only sticky point is that, you might like to come to the UK on a tourist visa (visa free with your US passport) and arrange to take LITUK Test and go back and apply. There is nothing to loose in trying anyway.

All the best. This is just my two cents and others may contribute (Mr. Rusty, JAJ, Paul, Jeff etc)
http://bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandl ... les/part7/
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... iew=Binary

Mr Rusty · Post by **Mr Rusty** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:22 pm

Yes, an application under 3.4 + 276B appears to be an option.
But I do urge the OP to take specialist legal advice, particularly before making any trips to the UK as a visitor, which might be construed to concede that she has abandoned any claim to a right of entry for any other purpose - if you see what I mean.

Post by **vinny** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:17 pm

Does your father have any influential friends in the UK Government? Their help may make a difference.

elisabethnara · Post by **elisabethnara** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:22 pm

I believe he has some friends that are former MPs.

The one solicitor I spoke to told me that I would have to go in on a work visa, they could do nothing else for me.

jes2jes · Post by **jes2jes** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:27 pm

elisabethnara wrote:I believe he has some friends that are former MPs.

The one solicitor I spoke to told me that I would have to go in on a work visa, they could do nothing else for me.

Did you not see my post above?

Immigrationboards.com: Immigration, work visa and work permit discussion board

Abandoned by husband...

Abandoned by husband...