Journey to together

When an American and a British person love each other very much...our greencard journey

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The cold doesn’t bother me...as much as it used to

There aren’t a lot of ways that I feel good about myself most days, but something I’m glad I figured out through trial and error is dealing with the UNHOLY British winter. Even living in the Willamette Valley for 10 years, I didn’t feel the cold like this. It’s a wet cold that just gets deep down into your bones. Reynaud’s has been BRUTAL to my toes, and my first few winters here, my back ached all the time from trying to hunch up against the cold. 

My solution to cold toes has been to put fleecy insoles in all my shoes and do only wear one pair of thick socks, as opposed to several pairs of thin socks, which apparently restricts your feet more and causes less blood circulation. I didn’t realize how much cold was seeping up from the ground. I also bought a pair of platform Converse to combat puddles. Even the fuzzy lined suede converse leak and they’re red, so they stain my socks pink. But the new shoes keep me (and my feet and my trousers) high and dry. The way i dealt with backache was to add a puffy vest underneath my winter coat. it keeps my core warm, so I’m not hunched up shivering. I had hoped that getting a new Columbia coat with a puffy layer inside last winter would help, but I still have to wear the vest with it. I also live and die by fingerless gloves. I have two pairs on the needles that I really need to finish,

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Slight adjustment to application

On the advice of some other people, I removed my letter from my current sponsor and payslips. The logic is that the application is based on my relationship and the exemption is for R's benefits, so it's only the benefits they want to see. It was also suggested that I include more evidence of our long term relationship. I thought being married and proving we live together would be good, but one can't be too cautious, and I'd rather prove it than be called up on it. So here's the final list:

*photos

*passports and BRPs

*‎confirmation receipts for appointment, payment, and health surcharge

*full application

*marriage certificate

*letter from home office following our giving notice appointment saying they decided not to investigate me

*4 pictures of us together with dates and places

*a page of train tickets from when I traveled from MK to London every week

*a page of boarding passes from our flight to America

*R's deed poll name change certificate

*R's benefits letters for PIP, ESA, and Housing benefit

*2 bank statements from our shared account

*1 bank statement from my old account (showing my address)

*tenancy agreement

*letter from estate agent

*2 water bills

*my letter from dentist

*R's hospital appointment letter

*R's letter from Job Centre about medical certificate

*‎copies of all documents

Everything else I put to the side just in case.

Here we go!

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What’s in it?

Here’s everything that is going INTO that FLR (M) application, to prove our relationship, that we live together, and that we have enough money. "Unique" things about our application: My spouse is disabled and unemployed. We are applying with an exemption from the financial requirement because my spouse receives Personal Independence Payment. They are trans non-binary and changed their name through deed poll, so I'm including their birth certificate and name change document, at the advice of someone else on this forum, regarding trans partners. My visa is a Tier 5 Temporary Worker Charity Migrant visa. I've come the the UK on 5 visas throughout my life, in 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. I put in the application that I first entered the UK, that I have lived in the UK for 4 years, 10 months, and then explained that I was gone for 3 years because I left when my first visa ended. I expect to be called up to explain this. It's not false, it's just the best way I could describe it within the form. FLR (M) Form *Appointment Booking Checklist *Payment confirmation receipt for 1643.00 GBP printed from Gov.uk website *Payment confirmation email for application *Completion confirmation email for Immigration health surcharge with reference number *Payment confirmation email for Immigration health surcharge *The rest of the application form

*2 passport photos of me *1 passport photo of my spouse *My current passport *My previous passport (with previous entry visas) *My current BRP card *Our marriage certificate *R's birth certificate *R's deed poll name change certificate *R's Personal Independence Payment letter with weekly rate *R's Employment and Support Allowance Letter with 2-weekly rate *R's Housing Benefit letter from council with weekly rate *Letter from my sponsor/employer confirming my length of employment, explanation of what I receive (room, board, and living allowance) confirming my annual allowance, my monthly allowance, and how long I have been paid at this rate. The letter also provides explanation for why I appear to live both at the housing provided for me and with my spouse. The letter also confirms the authenticity of my payslips *7 payslips going back to November (I know only 6 are needed, but the last one had a screwup when they tried to put my new address on it, so the address is wrong, and I was worried it wouldn't count) *2 bank statements from our joint account, going back to January when I joined the account, confirming both my salary going into the count and our shared address *3 bank statements from my individual account, going back to November when the payslips are dated, to confirm the salary going into my account and acting as confirmation of my address *Tenancy Agreement *letter from estate agent confirming my tenancy and the date I signed the lease (they kind of yanked us around, LOST our tenancy agreement when they sent it overseas for the landlord to sign, until we marched into the office to demand a copy, so I wanted to make double sure that I have proof here) *2 water bills with both our names on it as evidence of our shared address *Dentist appointment letter addressed to me *GP Record with my name and address *Letter from hospital with spouse's name and address *Letter from Job Centre Plus with spouse's name and address Copies *Full copies of both my passports (annoying that my current passport has 51 pages! I renewed it from the UK and didn't ask for the extra pages!) *Copy of photo page of spouse's passport *Copy of BRP card *Copies of all additional documents (for the Tenancy Agreement, I just copied the (first page with our names listed and the pages that we both signed)

I'm taking the following things with me just in case but not including them in the application: *previous BRP card and copy *Proof of address from when I ordered a National Rail Card on it. It's the only other *piece of post I've got! *Copy of my birth certificate (because I had it) *Black and white copy of my passport *Letter from when we gave notice and I didn't have to be investigated by the Home Office *4 photos of my spouse and I together with locations and dates, our first date 2015, picture from Ash Wednesday 2016, picture from our vacation 2017, and picture of our civil ceremony December 2017

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This is the SIZE of our FLR (M) application, about and inch and a half thick, plus the passports on top!

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Things have changed

In February 2018, we sent off our I-130, the first step to getting my spouse a greencard so that we could live together in America.

In March 2018, 400 GBP was deposited into our account from “PIP” with no explanation. Back up a minute. In 2012, a spritely young Home Secretary with a name that rhymes with Feresa Fay implemented a new rule for couples settling in the UK. A British spouse who wanted their non-EU spouse to live with them had to prove that they made at least 18,600 GBP per year, to prove that their spouse would not be a burden on society. Fair enough, except that 50% of settled British people don’t make that amount, much less my spouse, who is disabled and has been on benefits their entire adult life. But there was a loophole. If the Brit in question received CERTAIN benefits, including Personal Independence Payment, then that person was exempt from the financial requirement, provided they could show other proof that they had just enough money that their spouse wouldn’t waste away because they would not be able to access public funds. There was a slight chance that R was eligible, so before we sent away our I-130, R applied for PIP. We went to the interview, and we thought that it had gone really badly. We knew that it was a longshot, so we just decided to start the application, thinking all hopes of staying in the UK were lost.

But clearly, that wasn’t the case. It was actually really hard to come to this decision. We had 2 weeks of intentional conversation, fights, tears, and eventually came to the conclusion that the best thing for both of us together would be to stay in the UK for a few more years. I have a chance for advancement at my job. We want to have a baby, and although we’ll have to pay for IUI, the overall maternity cost will be significantly less here. R has just started therapy after a long, long wait to get in with a decent therapist. They are also on a long, long waiting list for the Gender Identity Clinic, another thing that would cost a whole lot in America. So here we go. Our premium appointment is June 26. The whole thing is super expensive. I had to pay a 500 GBP Immigration Health Surcharge for the privilege of using the NHS (still probably cheaper than insurance! Hope I get a baby out of it!) plus 1043 GBP for the application PLUS 600 GBP to get this premium appointment. The benefit is that you take your application in in person, can answer any questions they might have, and you get your decision that day. We didn’t want to wait several months while my visa ran out, so we went for it. Hopefully, when I get my visa, I can change to a paid, live-out position at work and earn back that 600 pounds and more!

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Petition received March 5, 2018

I got an email from the USCIS that our I-130 petition had been received. It only took 10 days for them to get around to letting me know. It says in the email that processing time is 90 days. I'm not sure if that means total, or business days. I've asked my brother to save a copy of his W-2 in preparation for the affidavit of support, but he's not very communicative. I think I'll probably have to send him a copy of the form with most of the details for R and me filled in.

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Send Away Day! (I-130) 22 February, 2018

I can’t believe there’s so much stress just for the petition to start the application! We really should have sent it sooner, and I’m afraid that because we stalled, it won’t be completed by the time my visa ends. Because the lines for the additional info (of which there was a lot! I’ve moved 6 times in 5 years!) didn’t line up with what I could type on the computer, I had to write everything out by hand…about 5 times. I’m still paranoid that I didn’t put things in the right order.

Anyway, here is what we had to send: *$535 international bank draft *Form I-130, petition for alien relative (spouse) *Additional information including a letter from my sponsor explaining why I’ve got two addresses *Form I-130a, supplemental information for spouse beneficiary *Proof of my UK residency, entry visa and biometric card (because only people legally residing in the UK can apply through London Field Office) *Photo of my passport *Photo of R’s passport *R’s name change by deed poll certificate *Our marriage certificate *Form G-1145, E-notification of Application/petition acceptance

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The beginning

I’m H, an American, married to R, a Brit. We met on Facebook when I was still living in America. I moved to England on a Tier 5 visa, which allows foreigners to work for charities under certain conditions. I have been living and working in communities for adults with disabilities for 3 ½ years. During my second year, I finally met this cool friend from my Facebook group, and it was pretty much love at first sight. We dated for 2 years and got married in December, 2017.

We would have liked to continue our married life in England, but there are many complicating factors, namely, someone whose name rhymes with Feresa Fay. In 2012 the then Home Secretary introduced a new requirement that British citizens must make a minimum income of £18,600 to be able to sponsor their own spouse to live in the country. R, who has never had a full time job because of a mental health condition, cannot make that amount. And the £30,000 I would need to make to get a work visa is 3 times as much as I’ve ever earned in my life.

So, despite our concerns about safety, health care, and the stability of my country, it is to America we will go, in order to have a life where we can live together, have children, and plan for the future.

I plan for this blog to be informative for other people who are applying for CR-1 or IR-1 visas (greencard) for their spouse.