# More Newbie Advice Please.



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Hi all,

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

My wife and I were both born in the UK and want to move to America.

My wifes father is American (he was in the US Air Force) and her mother is Brittish and they have been divorced for a long time. I have read family based visas can take 2 to 5 years. I also have a sister (UK born) who has got American citizenship who said she would help us in any way.

We are not sure which would be the best and quickest route for us to take, my wife applying for a family visa or as she has a university physiopherapy degree applying to one of the health sector agencies for advice on a work based visa.

My wife has a lot of step family in Boise Idaho and we have visited several times and would love to move there in the future.

Thank you very much for any advice.

Paul


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Paul762 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Any advice would be very much appreciated.
> 
> ...



When was your wife born? Just the year should be fine for now.

Were your wife's parents married when she was born?


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The physiotherapy qualification will have to be transferred to a US state licensing board, but you can research online what Idaho would require to certify your wife to work there. Or make contact with the state board next time you're back there to visit. There is often a shortage of medical personnel in rural areas, and that could open up some opportunities for her.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> Hi and welcome to the forum.
> 
> The physiotherapy qualification will have to be transferred to a US state licensing board, but you can research online what Idaho would require to certify your wife to work there. Or make contact with the state board next time you're back there to visit. There is often a shortage of medical personnel in rural areas, and that could open up some opportunities for her.
> Cheers,
> Bev


I haven't ruled out the possibility the wife is already a USC, yet!


----------



## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

If her father is American, he should have registered her birth with the US consulate or the Air Force, and soemone should have a copy of the registration documetn. She is a US citizen by birth, I believe, even if it wasn't registered, but it will be more problematic to prove it. All documentation will help, including her birth certificate, her father's military id, both parents birth certificate, and proof of marriage.

I found this and this at the US State Department website. It tells you how to request a copy of the registration of birth. If your wife doesn't have a copy, she should try requesting one. If the birth has been registered, she can use that to apply for a US passport, and pursue everything from the point of moving to a country where she is a citizen and bringing along a spouse.

If that doesn't work, try contacting the Air Force if her father was in the military when she was born and her parents were married at the time of her birth. 

Try contacting a US consulate in the UK for advice about what to do if her birth wasn't registered.


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

synthia said:


> If her father is American, he should have registered her birth with the US consulate or the Air Force, and soemone should have a copy of the registration documetn. She is a US citizen by birth, I believe, even if it wasn't registered, but it will be more problematic to prove it. All documentation will help, including her birth certificate, her father's military id, both parents birth certificate, and proof of marriage.
> 
> I found this and this at the US State Department website. It tells you how to request a copy of the registration of birth. If your wife doesn't have a copy, she should try requesting one. If the birth has been registered, she can use that to apply for a US passport, and pursue everything from the point of moving to a country where she is a citizen and bringing along a spouse.
> 
> ...



She may be. Depends on when she was born, possibly if it was in marital union, and maybe other questions depending on the OP's answers. You're jumping the gun!


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Fatbrit said:


> I haven't ruled out the possibility the wife is already a USC, yet!


Whoops, read past that. As you already mentioned, it depends when she was born, too. Past a certain age, the wife would have had to have resided in the US for a period after the age of 14 to claim US citizenship. (I have a friend whose two kids were born in France - each one under completely different sets of rules regarding US citizenship. One got it, the other didn't.)
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> Whoops, read past that. As you already mentioned, it depends when she was born, too. Past a certain age, the wife would have had to have resided in the US for a period after the age of 14 to claim US citizenship. (I have a friend whose two kids were born in France - each one under completely different sets of rules regarding US citizenship. One got it, the other didn't.)
> Cheers,
> Bev


US residence will *not* be required by the wife but may be for the USC parent. There's also a complicated path whereby it can be claimed through the grandparents were the USC parent not resident for the requisite years.

But it depends on lots of factors. The two questions I asked will get the ball rolling -- we may need further questions after that. But the OP has not yet returned and until then we're pissin' in the woods.


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies,

Answers to the questions are:-

Yes my wifes parents were married and she was born in 1963.

Also
Her mother lived in the US on the Air Force base but came back to the UK and gave birth but didnt return to the US.

My wife has only visited the US and never lived there as a resident.

Her Dad has a lot of paperwork birth certificates etc which he has sent us and should be here this week.

Thanks again for your advice.

Regards

Paul


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Paul762 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Thanks for the replies,
> 
> ...


Okay -- so provided (I assume "yes") her father had, prior to the birth of the child, been physically present in the United States for a period of ten years, at least five years of which were after s/he reached the age of fourteen, your wife is *already* a US citizen.

She cannot apply for a visa but needs to apply for her first US passport at your local US embassy, and following that a social security number. See the American citizen pages on the embassy website. You need to take documentary proof of all the requirements -- born in marital union with a USC father who had the requisite number of years in the US. If her father is still alive, also get him to write an affidavit attesting to the facts. If her packet from the US contains a Consular Record of Birth, this alone will probably suffice. The passport is a proof of her US citizenship.

After that's complete she files for you - and you will need a visa.

Have you been married for more than 3 years?
Have you got any kids?


----------



## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

That's great! It is so nice not to have to tame peoples' expectations.

fatbrit - I suggested applying for a copy of the birth registration as a quick way to check whether the birth was registered. I've heard not-so-good reports about making phone calls.

I need to do some reading, because I thought all those rules applied to children of US citizens who had themselves been born outside the US.


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

synthia said:


> That's great! It is so nice not to have to tame peoples' expectations.
> 
> fatbrit - I suggested applying for a copy of the birth registration as a quick way to check whether the birth was registered. I've heard not-so-good reports about making phone calls.
> 
> I need to do some reading, because I thought all those rules applied to children of US citizens who had themselves been born outside the US.


If the birth was registered at the consul, it would have had to be done before she turned 18. It's not possible after that time. But she is still a US citizen regardless -- just takes a bit more paperwork to prove.


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Hi,

Thank you for the quick response and help.

We have been married for 15 years and no we have no kids.

Her Dad is a 100% US citizen and served for 20 years in the Air Force.

Once we receive the package he is sending us we will know what paperwork has or has not been registered.

He posted it last Thursday so it should arrive this week.

Regards
Paul


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Paul,
One other resource - if you run into problems with your wife claiming US citizenship, she may want to contact an association called AARO (Association of Americans Resident Overseas) AARO - Association of Americans Resident Overseas

They have done lots of lobbying and other work on the issue of citizenship for the children of American citizens born overseas, and they may be able to help if you run into any problems. There are many "unusual" situations among their membership base, and when I was a member of the organization, there was a case where they got a ruling that someone with one American parent who didn't fall under any of the usual circumstances could be immediately naturalized as a US citizen on simply entry to the country on a visa waiver.

One caveat is that AARO is based in Paris and things here tend to shut down over the summer. If you don't hear from them, try again in September.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Paul762 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thank you for the quick response and help.
> 
> ...


So to continue an outline for your goal with the extra information you gave, your wife can file an I-130 directly with the consulate for your immigrant visa once she has proof of citizenship. This is the quickest method -- budget six months. You land in the US as a permanent resident and may apply to naturalize as a US citizen 90 days before the third anniversary of your arrival.

You have a lot of homework to do to study the method. In newsgroups (but not the consulate!) this route is often referred to as DCF -- direct consular filing. If you want to start the work, first job is to prepare your wife's back filing of taxes to the IRS for the last 3 years! There's an IRS unit at the London embassy -- they're quite forgiving and helpful.


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks you 3 guys for the info and advice.

Well the package/letter arrived today. We now have a copy of her fathers birth certificate, her parents marriage certificate and the original UK bith certificate. 

I was hoping there would be somethink from the US Air Force or consul about registering her birth but as yet we dont know if this happened.

We will be speaking to her dad later and we can find out then.

Thanks Paul


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Paul762 said:


> Well the package/letter arrived today. We now have a copy of her fathers birth certificate, her parents marriage certificate and the original UK bith certificate.


So if he didn't do it you're going to have to prepare documentation:

Along with the stuff you've now got, I'd look for:
* an affidavit from the father attesting to the facts and also his required period of residence in the US prior to the birth;
* possibly an affidavit from others (e.g. family members in the US) attesting to the facts;
* proof from the father about his period of residence in the US before the birth, e.g. schools records, service records, employment records, etc.;
* her parents divorce certificate -- dunno why they ask for this but I've heard from others they do in this case....so you might as well be ready.

Then I'd call Citizen Services at the Consulate and make an appointment to apply for a passport. If you mail anything, send copies only -- they are good at losing stuff. Take originals to interview.


----------



## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

If her father wasn't there when she was born, there is a good chance the birth wasn't registered, I imagine.

Fatbrit - I gather that they can only go back three years because after that the burden of proof falls on the IRS, not the filer? Because, after all, she should have been filing in any year in which she had income for her whole life.


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

synthia said:


> Fatbrit - I gather that they can only go back three years because after that the burden of proof falls on the IRS, not the filer? Because, after all, she should have been filing in any year in which she had income for her whole life.


Dunno why they settle on 3 years!


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Your comments and advice have been a great help thanks:

I called last night forgeting her Dad is on vacation, so I will drop him a line with everything you have all suggested.

At least we can see at this end if we can get the paperwork her mother has, although this will be a tough nut to crack as she will not be happy when she finds out our plans!!


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

synthia said:


> If her father wasn't there when she was born, there is a good chance the birth wasn't registered, I imagine.
> 
> Fatbrit - I gather that they can only go back three years because after that the burden of proof falls on the IRS, not the filer? Because, after all, she should have been filing in any year in which she had income for her whole life.


Actually, given that she was born in 1963 there is a good chance her birth wasn't registered with the US authorities. IIRC all the big changes to the law about those born overseas with one American parent happened in the 1970's and it has only been since then that there has been a big push on to register births overseas.

Paul, you may find more information on what you need here: http://aca.ch/childcit.pdf The ACA (American Citizens Abroad) is another citizens' rights group that has done work on the issue of children born overseas with one American parent. They could also be a good group to contact if you need help pursuing your claim.

Synthia - the three year back-filing of taxes is simply a convention the IRS has adopted. As long as the last three years of tax returns shows no (significant?) taxes due, the IRS has agreed to let bygones be bygones. Technically they could go after you if you had a large income that you should have been paying taxes on, though normally they'll only bother with that if you clearly have been willfully avoiding US taxes. (There is no statute of limitations for income not declared to the IRS.)

Given that she will be filing those three years as "married, filing separately" any earned income should fall under the earned income exclusion, and any miscellaneous income (interest or whatever) shouldn't be enough to push her into a significant tax situation unless she's a real estate baron or something. 
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks for the info and link Bev,

No she is not in the tax baron group, one day she may hit the lottery though, I wish.

However we are dropping her Dad a line asking about the other info FatBrit and Synthia suggested.


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

*Update on where we are.....*

Hi all,

Thanks for all the info that I recieved in the past. Everything that was suggested i.e. documentaion, etc was usefull it really came in handy. 

My wife went to the embassy and after send ing some more original documentation she got her passport. We just needed to confirm everything on her passport application form and have the paperwork to prove it was correct. 

They said she has always been entitled to American citizenship but didnt know it.

The next step is to get my green card.

Cheers

Paul


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Paul762 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Thanks for all the info that I recieved in the past. Everything that was suggested i.e. documentaion, etc was usefull it really came in handy.
> 
> ...



Great news! She should read richw.org/dualcit to understand the rules now she's an official dual citizen. The main one is that she should now always present herself to US authorities as a US citizen. There are no rules to speak of from the UK end.

How's her license for physiotherapy going?


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks Fatbrit,

We have sent copies of her degree and qualifications over to her Dad. He volunteers in a hospital over there and the physio manager at his hospital is going to give us some advice on what other qualifications she may need.
Worse case senario is she should get a physio assistant position and take further credits to validate her uk degree.

We now have to decide on what is the next step is for us as we have a house here which we would like to sell but as you know its not a good time to be selling.
Also I have got to decide when to apply for my green card. We have both been busy at work but we hope to map out a plan this weekend on what to do next.

Any info would be very welcome.

Thanks

Paul


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Paul762 said:


> Thanks Fatbrit,
> 
> We have sent copies of her degree and qualifications over to her Dad. He volunteers in a hospital over there and the physio manager at his hospital is going to give us some advice on what other qualifications she may need.
> Worse case senario is she should get a physio assistant position and take further credits to validate her uk degree.
> ...


The physio stuff I have no idea except that it's state regulated. The regulators will have many people pouring in the door asking how to exchange an California license for an Idaho one but few trying to do it with foreign qualifications. Be persistent and don't take no for an answer. Sometimes you need to get a little further up the tree than the drone on the front desk to find out the real answers.

As for you, you need an IR1 immigrant visa. Full timeline assuming no delays is six to nine months or so from initial filing. You (or rather your wife) files directly with the consulate, and then you go through a multi-stage procedure to the visa being issued. You have 6 months from issue of the visa to entering the US and becoming a permanent resident. However, every time the consulate asks you for something, you have one year to reply before they bin your application. So you can space it out a little using this technique. Your wife must enter the US before or at the same time as you.

Visa requirements:
Your wife has to show she's intending to reside in the USA -- a physio license would be a good start! She also has to show that you won't become a public charge. This can be in income or capital. As you're married, this is either income at 125% of the poverty guidelines (note they may go up for 2009) or capital at 3x that 125% figure. One complication is that they used to accept a valuation for the capital in your UK house to pass this test -- but recently they seem to have been baulking at this. Also, they may accept a job offer with future earnings if your wife has the license. Failing that you can have a co-sponsor. Hope she's got her IRS tax returns out of the way.

As for you, you hopefully a clean criminal record (including DUIs), a clean visa history record, and no communicable diseases. If not, say now and I'll tell you the consequences! Most (but not all of them) are not a cul-de-sac.


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Hi,

Thanks for that Fatbrit.

With her physio regulations like you say we need to know more information and we have received the e-mail of a lady who is on the state board who has said she will give us advice. 

With finances we will have enough capital to cover the regulations that you need.

Me, I do not have a criminal record and I have no diseases (I dont intend to get either before I apply as well).

Thats good advice about spacing out some of the paperwork if timelines become tight.

You say I hope she has sorted out IRS tax returns, in the UK she has paid all her taxes but we havent been in touch with the US about this matter.

Paul


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

For the US tax returns, start here: Embassy of the U.S. London: Internal Revenue Service 

Check out the FAQ - about half way down the page there is one about being an American overseas who thought they didn't have to file anymore. The response there is applicable to your case. (Hey, in her case she didn't realize she WAS an American!)

Your wife should file as "married filing separately" - she only has to declare her income, not yours. (And don't worry about getting an ITIN for you so she can claim you as a dependent. Generally it's not worth the trouble, and you'll get a real social security number when you move over to the US.)

If you need help with the forms, PM me. As long as you don't have significant amounts of "passive income" (interest, rents, etc. etc.) or some other complicated financial situation they're actually pretty quick and simple despite all the lines you'll wind up leaving blank.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## Paul762 (Jul 2, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> For the US tax returns, start here: Embassy of the U.S. London: Internal Revenue Service
> 
> Check out the FAQ - about half way down the page there is one about being an American overseas who thought they didn't have to file anymore. The response there is applicable to your case. (Hey, in her case she didn't realize she WAS an American!)
> 
> ...



Thanks Bev,

No we dont have massive ammounts saved so hopefully we will be okay on this.
We put our savings into the house which seemed a good idea at the time!

We will get on line in the morning and get the form you have said.

Regards

PAUL


----------



## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Paul762 said:


> We will get on line in the morning and get the form you have said.


I'd wait till the new year until sorting this out since the US tax year runs with the calandar. They usually require 3 years of back tax returns -- though I have heard of them only asking for one.


----------

