thinking of moving to USA

[mrsdarcey78]

Hi my mum is moving to the USA to live with my american step dad, and I was hoping to go and join her with my kids once my eldest has done his A levels. I have 3 children ages 18 15 and 9. They would be 19 16 and 10 or thereabouts when I wanted to move. my ex hasnt been part of their lives for two years, would be three years when I apply for visas. There is no court or anything in our case. He has no interest in seeing the children. Is their a age where they can go abroad without his permission, is it from 16 as they can get adult passports then?. Will I have to wait until my youngest is 16?. Thanks for any help in this x

More important than passports is what visa would you be planning on getting to allow you entry to the US? Usually the visa routes are work, marriage or sponsorship by a US citizen family member, is your Mum a US citizen?

Yes, what about visas? It's very hard to get permission to live in the USA...what will you do for work etc?

US immigration, even on family-based visas, is very complicated and often involves lengthly timescales. Definitely don't assume you can move anytime soon. You may be looking at years.

Ask on the US forum of British Expats dot com for decent advice. I don't have personal experience of the family-based immigration route, so the following info may not be accurate; just throwing it out there so you can follow up the potential issues.

• Were you under 18 when your mother married your stepfather? If so, he may be able to sponsor your visa. I assume he's a US citizen.

• If not, your mother will have to sponsor you. This will take a while.

• When she moves to the US, your mother won't be a US citizen straight away. She'll be a permanent resident. She can become a citizen after a number of years (I think 5 or 6?).

• As the unmarried adult child of a permanent resident, your visa application would be category Family Second Preference, B (F2B). I think the wait time for that visa is 7 years. If you get married within that time, you're no longer eligible.

• I'm not even sure how that would work with your own children -- several of them may 'age out' (ie. pass the age of 21) while you're waiting for your own visa, which means you might have to go through the same process all over again for them (you'd be the US permanent resident, they'd be the F2B applicants).

I really recommend British Expats, or even a one-off appointment with a qualified immigration attorney. And I don't know what age you stop needing the other parent's express permission to immigrate, but sod's law is that it might be the same age where your children are no longer minors according to US immigration law and require their own 'adult children of...' applications.

Beware dodgy websites, 'immigration agents' and anyone assuring you it's quick and easy!