# UK to USA - Am I void?



## james101 (Apr 22, 2008)

Hi,

I have a fiance in USA. I am currently in UK. I would like to live in USA, while she studies for the next 4 years.

1. I poses a criminal record from 6 years ago. (theft, picked up a lost bag)

2. I am currently unqualified

3. I could finance the move, but have no way to support myself. Although she has an appartment.

I hope you are not so quick to judge me, ive had health concerns, which i have now recovered.

Is there any chance at all that I would be able to stay with her, while she completes her degree?

I love her to pieces, and will not let her sacrifice her education to live in UK.

Any ideas for being with her for 4 years?

Or is it over?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Well, let's say it certainly won't be easy. The one obvious option would be a fiancé visa - but only if she's a US citizen and you'd have to get married within 90 days of your arrival in the US. (She would also have to agree to support you, but it sounds kind of like that was what you had in mind anyhow.)

This webpage from the US Consulate in London gives some information about just how your criminal record may affect your visa status: Additional Administrative Processing : Criminal Convictions

If you aren't interested in getting married right away, you'll have to qualify on your own for a visa, and that means finding a job in the US that would make you eligible for a visa - and even that's not a sure thing these days.
Cheers,
Bev


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## emohit (Apr 15, 2008)

Start small, go with the travel visa (your best bet). You may be able to stay there for 6 mnths at a time. 

All the best,


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## james101 (Apr 22, 2008)

She is a US citizen.

She will be a student nurse, with funds from financial-aid, and her father.

My fear is, they will look at my circumstances, and say "what are you bringing to the country?" I dont think an employer would take me on. I have a music background.

We want to get married asap. However, even if, after like 8 months (?), the fiance visa may not be approved.

I dont want to put her through a long, costly, process, if my chances are very very slim.

What are my chances?


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## emohit (Apr 15, 2008)

If you have a music background, look at the H2 visa. Those are for performers. Maybe you can get someone (with your girls help once she is in the USA) to show that they are inviting you to perform something. You can get that visa for a year and 2 yearly extensions.

All the best.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Take a look at the website about the criminal convictions exemption (or whatever it is called) and see if you can talk to someone at the London consulate. They can give you a better idea of what your chances are. (The Consulate people are generally much easier to deal with than the Immigration folks.)

The problem is that, if she is a student nurse, then she's going to be getting qualified for working in the US. It won't be easy for her to transfer that qualification to another country - certainly not within the EU. So if you want to be together, you're going to have to see if you can manage some sort of a visa to get over to the US.

Or, you make do with the occasional visit to the US while she finishes school and you decide where to go to marry and make a life together when she's done.
Cheers,
Bev


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

You would find it difficult even without the felony conviction, unless, as stated above, you apply for a fiance visa and get married within three months of arrival.

After that, I don't know what would happen as far as the criminal record goes. Depending on the crime, you may not be allowed into the US at all.

See section 2) here, on the US State Department web site.

If you are, I don't know what effect it will have on your employability. I am amazed at how many employers do background checks these days. But then, I am equally amazed at how many don't, and how bad and sloppy they can be.

I hope your girlfriend has investigated the employment possibilities with a US nursing degree. As I understand it, US trained nursing credentials are not accepted in many countries, unless there are hospitals working under the US standards, such as the Adventist hospitals. Conversely, nurses and nursing sisters trained in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries that use the British system are not considered qualified to work in the US without additional education. So once she gets her US degree, she's pretty much stuck with that system. If her intent is to return to the UK or to emigrate to someplace like Australia, her nursing degree won't transfer.


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## Rachel_Heath (Mar 16, 2008)

As far as the criminal conviction goes, you'll need to get a Waiver of permanent ineligibility. You can obtain more information here.


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