File for settlement within UK?

[vmulberry]

I've been reading the other posts and have a question.

If someone is in the UK as an overstayer they have to then go home to apply for settlement status?

Is it not possible to apply from within the UK? Is that just a more lengthy process or is it not possible at all for some reason?

[olisun]

I've been reading the other posts and have a question.

If someone is in the UK as an overstayer they have to then go home to apply for settlement status?

Is it not possible to apply from within the UK? Is that just a more lengthy process or is it not possible at all for some reason?

are you asking this question for yourself?

[vmulberry]

Yes I am asking for myself. Can you offer any information?
Thank you

[Kayalami]

vmulberry,

1. How long have you overstayed?

2. Are you in relatively good health?

3. Is your spouse/ are your children in relatively good health?

4. When (month and year) did you marry?

[vmulberry]

Thank you for your reply. Here are the answers to your questions.

-My visitor visa expired in June of 2002 so I have been here 4 years and a bit.

-We were married on 8 October of 2002 and therefore will have been married 4 years in October of this year.

-In total we have known each other for nearly 7 years and dated close to 6 of those.

-Fortunately myself, my husband, and our two children aged 3 and just turned 1, are all in good health. I somehow know you're going to tell me that doesn't actually help us out, but I wouldn't have it any other way of course.

The reason I ask if it is possible to file from within the UK is that my situation outside of the UK is not a cut and dry one. I was born in Mexico, but raised in the US and have never had any ties with Mexico otherwise. My parents and siblings are US Citizens and I was not made one because we were hoping I could get done when my parents did. They didn't get made citizens until after I was 18 and at the time I was at college so we postponed my paperwork until I was done with school and back home.

I met my husband while at university and we were living in the UK and married right after I left school. Because of this I now have lost Permanent Residency in the states as I have been away for too long.

If we must travel with our children to process this paperwork in Mexico City I am prepared to do so and understand it is the law and the error was ours in not knowing the laws beforehand. However, I would like to know if it is at all possible to avoid making this massive journey since we do have very young children. We have nobody in Mexico we can visit so our entire trip will be in a place that is entirely foreign even to myself the Mexican national.

The only person who is of ill health in our family is my father-in-law who we care for. I am not his official carer, but my husband is and we live as a family in the same home with his father. I am not down on paper as anything relating to his care, but everyone in our small town knows me and I am the person who does his repeat prescriptions twice monthly, the grocery shopping, schedules his appointments and accompanies him to all of them, etc. So, you could say that I play a very big part in his care. He would argue at times that I do more than my husband but that stems from the fact that I am the only female in our home and my approach is gentler.

Again, thank you for taking the time to offer me advice. I am not looking for a way out of our situation, but if there is a clause that we are not aware of then it's worth asking.

We phoned the UK Embassy in Mexico and the man we spoke with seemed to think our case was pretty open-shut but I don't know if that helps either. Everything about our lives with the exception of our immigration oversight is basically straightforward and average.

[John]

vmulberry, you really have two options. You could make an application in the UK but if you do it is not guaranteed to succeed, and in any case it will take months or even years before you hear the result of such an "outside the rules" application.

Alternatively you can go to Mexico and apply for your spouse visa there. You have already spoken to the British Embassy there, and I think the comment that you have got is extremely valid.

Before flying to Mexico City you need to prepare an "evidence folder" proving that the various tests are passed. It will be useful to you to download the VAF2 application form and also the INF4 Guidance Notes. Have a good read of those. Note what INF4 says about the evidence to be supplied. Having read those documents, if you have more questions then don't hesitate to ask.

Whilst you might want to take them with you to Mexico, from the visa application point of view, it is not necessary for you to take the children with you, and the same applies to your husband. It is only you that needs the visa. Even if your husband is there it is unlikely he would be interviewed. But if he is there, well for moral support, that is a difference matter!

Hope it all works out. Well before the end of September you could be back in the UK with a shiny new UK visa in your passport! And that is certainly taking into account the preparation time you need as you gather the evidence for your "evidence folder".

Actually I am assuming your husband is British, but I cannot see that you actually say that. Is he British? If not, what is his UK immigration status?

[Kayalami]

vmulberry,

Based on the details you provide I see no reason why an application submitted 'in country' should succeed and add to that the lengthy processing time it will take - IMHO not less than 3 years. There are no compelling circumstances to note. As far as the Home Office is concerned you have broken the immigration laws and it would be a failure on their part of upholding such laws to grant you a spouse visa 'in country' when you clearly have no right to be here.

Its best for you to obtain the relevant visa in Mexico. The sooner you proceed with this the sooner you can return to the UK. Your spouse and children do not need to accompany you so this as a hold up issue is actually a non starter.

Sorry that may not be the news you wanted to hear.

Good luck

[JAJ]

Thank you for your reply. Here are the answers to your questions.

-My visitor visa expired in June of 2002 so I have been here 4 years and a bit.

-We were married on 8 October of 2002 and therefore will have been married 4 years in October of this year.

-In total we have known each other for nearly 7 years and dated close to 6 of those.

-Fortunately myself, my husband, and our two children aged 3 and just turned 1, are all in good health. I somehow know you're going to tell me that doesn't actually help us out, but I wouldn't have it any other way of course.

The reason I ask if it is possible to file from within the UK is that my situation outside of the UK is not a cut and dry one. I was born in Mexico, but raised in the US and have never had any ties with Mexico otherwise. My parents and siblings are US Citizens and I was not made one because we were hoping I could get done when my parents did. They didn't get made citizens until after I was 18 and at the time I was at college so we postponed my paperwork until I was done with school and back home.

I met my husband while at university and we were living in the UK and married right after I left school. Because of this I now have lost Permanent Residency in the states as I have been away for too long.

I'm not in a position to comment on your immigration case, however you should be aware that even if your application is successful you will probably not get a permanent visa immediately, but rather a 2 year spouse visa that can be upgraded to permanent residence after that time. This is because although you were living with your husband for 4 years (the requirement for immediate permanent residence), it was not outside the United Kingdom.

Your time illegally in the UK will not count for British citizenship, so the 3 year clock for naturalisation will start when you return legally to the United Kingdom.

Had you come to the United Kingdom with a spouse visa at the outset (rather than overstaying as a tourist) you would likely be a British citizen by now. In retrospect, it was probably not a good idea to leave the United States before obtaining your U.S. citizenship (your children would be U.S. citizens had you done so). Being sponsored by your family for a green card is probably not going to work under current U.S. immigration law because of the enormous excess of demand from Mexico-born people for third preference family immigration:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulle ... _2978.html

Probably the best thing you can do once your situation is regularised is to remain in the United Kingdom until you can become a British citizen.

[vmulberry]

Thank you for your help. I didn't think it was very feasible within the UK but wanted to make sure before we go off and plan a big trip, etc.

We will be going as a family regardless. We're not into leaving our kids for any reason and my husband fully understands the strain it would cause on both myself and the children to leave them for even a few days. Not to mention our daughter is breastfeeding at the moment.

My husband is a UK Citizen as he was born here and lived pretty much his entire life here with the exception of some travel, but nothing long term. His entire family is and has always been English. I believe someone asked me what his status was. So yes, he's English through and through. Don't think his family has ever had any non-English blood in it ever. Before me that is of course.

I do understand the spousal visa is a conditional thing and that's fine. I'm not looking for anything out of this except to know that I am living here within the rules of the law. Our only infraction was our clear negligence, but it was not done so with any ill or deceptive intent. A conditional visa for 2, 3 or however many years is understandable, certainly.

Thanks again for your help. It's great work that you do here and I can imagine how many people sleep a bit easier with your help and advice.

[vmulberry]

Thank you for your reply. Here are the answers to your questions.

-My visitor visa expired in June of 2002 so I have been here 4 years and a bit.

-We were married on 8 October of 2002 and therefore will have been married 4 years in October of this year.

-In total we have known each other for nearly 7 years and dated close to 6 of those.

-Fortunately myself, my husband, and our two children aged 3 and just turned 1, are all in good health. I somehow know you're going to tell me that doesn't actually help us out, but I wouldn't have it any other way of course.

The reason I ask if it is possible to file from within the UK is that my situation outside of the UK is not a cut and dry one. I was born in Mexico, but raised in the US and have never had any ties with Mexico otherwise. My parents and siblings are US Citizens and I was not made one because we were hoping I could get done when my parents did. They didn't get made citizens until after I was 18 and at the time I was at college so we postponed my paperwork until I was done with school and back home.

I met my husband while at university and we were living in the UK and married right after I left school. Because of this I now have lost Permanent Residency in the states as I have been away for too long.

I'm not in a position to comment on your immigration case, however you should be aware that even if your application is successful you will probably not get a permanent visa immediately, but rather a 2 year spouse visa that can be upgraded to permanent residence after that time. This is because although you were living with your husband for 4 years (the requirement for immediate permanent residence), it was not outside the United Kingdom.

Your time illegally in the UK will not count for British citizenship, so the 3 year clock for naturalisation will start when you return legally to the United Kingdom.

Had you come to the United Kingdom with a spouse visa at the outset (rather than overstaying as a tourist) you would likely be a British citizen by now. In retrospect, it was probably not a good idea to leave the United States before obtaining your U.S. citizenship (your children would be U.S. citizens had you done so). Being sponsored by your family for a green card is probably not going to work under current U.S. immigration law because of the enormous excess of demand from Mexico-born people for third preference family immigration:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulle ... _2978.html

Probably the best thing you can do once your situation is regularised is to remain in the United Kingdom until you can become a British citizen.

Do you think it will be possible to get a visitor's visa into the USA during my 3 years of waiting to become a British Citizen? I am fine with the terms I was just wondering if in that time I would be able to visit at all or if my family would have to visit us in the UK for those three years.

With young children I know my family and myself would like to spend Christmas together if at all possible so I was wondering if there was that possibility that we could go to them or at least know if they need to start planning to be here with us for it.

Thank you!

[JAJ]

Do you think it will be possible to get a visitor's visa into the USA during my 3 years of waiting to become a British Citizen? I am fine with the terms I was just wondering if in that time I would be able to visit at all or if my family would have to visit us in the UK for those three years.

You can try once you are clearly settled in the United Kingdom with an appropriate visa. Ties to the UK, such as your spouse/children, a job, study and other factors will help. It will also help once you upgrade from spouse visa to ILR.

The fact you were previously a green card holder, plus your family in the U.S., will be more a hindrance than help.

But in the end, it will boil down to discretion of a U.S. consular officer.

[Kayalami]

vmulberry,

I'm sure JAJ will weigh in with his opinion on this but there may be a case for you to try and obtain an S1B visa - returning lawful permanent resident from the US consulate in London. Based on the info you provide its likely to be a lost cause but perhaps the help of a good attorney well versed in US law will be of great benefit (it won't be cheap..IMHO you are looking towards the 10K mark). The success of such depends on the ties you retained with the US especially on the matter of filing taxes and whether an arguement say could be made that you had chidren in the UK which made it somewhat difficult to immediatley travel back to the US. It may be that you decide the funds are better off used for your UK settlement visa application.

[JAJ]

vmulberry,

I'm sure JAJ will weigh in with his opinion on this but there may be a case for you to try and obtain an S1B visa - returning lawful permanent resident from the US consulate in London. Based on the info you provide its likely to be a lost cause but perhaps the help of a good attorney well versed in US law will be of great benefit (it won't be cheap..IMHO you are looking towards the 10K mark). The success of such depends on the ties you retained with the US especially on the matter of filing taxes and whether an arguement say could be made that you had chidren in the UK which made it somewhat difficult to immediatley travel back to the US. It may be that you decide the funds are better off used for your UK settlement visa application.

This page from the U.S. State Department may help:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants ... _1333.html

However the problem would be that even if successful, it is not a straightforward process for Green Card holders to sponsor spouses into the U.S.

A consultation with a U.S. immigration attorney would be essential if desired to explore this further.

[vmulberry]

Thank you for your help. I am happy to get a spouse visa in the UK since my husband and children are British and our life is here at the moment. However, my entire life before marriage was in the USA and will always have ties there.

I wish I had become a citizen before leaving the US or at least not been ignorant to the laws and lost my Permanent Resident status. Now despite an entire 22 years of life, family, school, jobs, etc. in America (my entire life from the age of a few months) I am just like any other person trying to get into the states. It's hard because I feel like an American and that is my home and though it's cheesy it's true that it's where the heart is.

I worry if my folks ever get ill or siblings, etc. that I can't just go home without a lot of red tape.

We'll find a middle ground hopefully. So that I can live my daily life with my British husband and British kids, but still be able to visit my family in the US. Perhaps once I'm a UK Citizen I can visit US on a normal visa? Will they always be suspicious because of my ties with the US? Even though we clearly have a life here in England?