USA foreign gay partner immigration?
August 13, 2010 6:26 PM Subscribe
How can a gay couple, one British, one American, both live in the USA?
I'm British and live in England. My partner is American and lives in California. We're both male.
Right now he spends a lot of time in the UK on business, and I use all my vacation time in the USA. Although we end up spending a significant fraction of the year together, we'd like to live together. He has a job that makes moving to the UK a possibility, and so we're looking into that option.
But it seems horribly unfair. He has many ties to the USA and it will be very hard for him to leave. I have far fewer ties to the UK and would be entirely happy to move permanently to the USA.
But the US government doesn't recognise civil partnerships, or any other kind of same-sex coupling, and so I don't quality for a K visa. My only alternative seems to be to try to obtain an H-1B visa by being sponsored by an American company willing to give me a job.
This seems entirely unsatisfactory, however, since if I lost my job I would have to leave the country, and actually getting an H-1B is pretty damn difficult in the first place.
Is there anything else I can do? Something else I've overlooked? Any "grey areas" I can exploit? I love my boyfriend and I don't want to see him forced to leave his home.
Throwaway email account at gayuktousa@fmail.co.uk
I'm British and live in England. My partner is American and lives in California. We're both male.
Right now he spends a lot of time in the UK on business, and I use all my vacation time in the USA. Although we end up spending a significant fraction of the year together, we'd like to live together. He has a job that makes moving to the UK a possibility, and so we're looking into that option.
But it seems horribly unfair. He has many ties to the USA and it will be very hard for him to leave. I have far fewer ties to the UK and would be entirely happy to move permanently to the USA.
But the US government doesn't recognise civil partnerships, or any other kind of same-sex coupling, and so I don't quality for a K visa. My only alternative seems to be to try to obtain an H-1B visa by being sponsored by an American company willing to give me a job.
This seems entirely unsatisfactory, however, since if I lost my job I would have to leave the country, and actually getting an H-1B is pretty damn difficult in the first place.
Is there anything else I can do? Something else I've overlooked? Any "grey areas" I can exploit? I love my boyfriend and I don't want to see him forced to leave his home.
Throwaway email account at gayuktousa@fmail.co.uk
Enroll at a university and get a student visa?
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 7:13 PM on August 13, 2010
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 7:13 PM on August 13, 2010
I don't exactly remember where I heard it, but another gay guy I heard of solved the problem by arranging a marriage of convenience to a sympathetic lesbian in the US.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 7:15 PM on August 13, 2010
posted by StrikeTheViol at 7:15 PM on August 13, 2010
Honestly it seems like as a couple you're losing more than you would gain by establishing yourselves in the US. And I say this with sadness because we can't seem to agree on what consists of basic human rights in this country.
A dear friend of mine who is gay and has a british partner moved to the UK a few years ago, and it is so much better for them as a couple (no -- a family, since they have two children) than it probably would have been if they stayed in America. This is not to put down gay couples who have no other option than to stay in the USA, but they did really try and establish themselves here first, and there were hassles galore.
Winds of change are blowing here so, who knows, maybe you'll have equal rights here eventually, maybe even in a few years. It just depends whether or not you're willing to wait for it. But in the UK you'd get all these things pretty much automatically without any "what if's", so it seems like kind of a no brainer to me.
posted by contessa at 7:16 PM on August 13, 2010 [5 favorites]
A dear friend of mine who is gay and has a british partner moved to the UK a few years ago, and it is so much better for them as a couple (no -- a family, since they have two children) than it probably would have been if they stayed in America. This is not to put down gay couples who have no other option than to stay in the USA, but they did really try and establish themselves here first, and there were hassles galore.
Winds of change are blowing here so, who knows, maybe you'll have equal rights here eventually, maybe even in a few years. It just depends whether or not you're willing to wait for it. But in the UK you'd get all these things pretty much automatically without any "what if's", so it seems like kind of a no brainer to me.
posted by contessa at 7:16 PM on August 13, 2010 [5 favorites]
BusyBusyBusy's advice will only get you into trouble. U.S. immigration laws are quite harsh, and you cannot obtain one type of visa with the express intent of getting another.
That is, if you apply to school in the States merely as a springboard to a Green Card, you are breaking the law. At this point any attempt to do so would be too obvious.
This question cannot be answered until you describe your work skills so the possibility of you getting an H-1B can be determined. Are you skilled enough in one area or another that you could land a job in the States?
The other possibility is moving to Canada, on the West Coast, as a possible compromise solution. If your partner can get Permanent Residency in Canada he can sponsor you, and the process is much easier than it is in the U.S.
posted by hiteleven at 7:16 PM on August 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
That is, if you apply to school in the States merely as a springboard to a Green Card, you are breaking the law. At this point any attempt to do so would be too obvious.
This question cannot be answered until you describe your work skills so the possibility of you getting an H-1B can be determined. Are you skilled enough in one area or another that you could land a job in the States?
The other possibility is moving to Canada, on the West Coast, as a possible compromise solution. If your partner can get Permanent Residency in Canada he can sponsor you, and the process is much easier than it is in the U.S.
posted by hiteleven at 7:16 PM on August 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm an American guy whose British partner did this via H-1B. I'll email you.
posted by roger ackroyd at 7:20 PM on August 13, 2010
posted by roger ackroyd at 7:20 PM on August 13, 2010
You could get married to a female US citizen friend of your partner who's happy to facilitate it and jump through the various immigration hoops. That's obviously taking a risk, but it'd be foolish to pretend that it isn't used to unite gay couples in the US.
It's horribly unfair. But you also have to be mindful that only one of your two countries respects your relationship enough to give it legal status right now, and if you want to be together securely, without dealing with a bureaucratic and legal minefield, that trumps any ties binding your partner to the US.
posted by holgate at 7:30 PM on August 13, 2010
It's horribly unfair. But you also have to be mindful that only one of your two countries respects your relationship enough to give it legal status right now, and if you want to be together securely, without dealing with a bureaucratic and legal minefield, that trumps any ties binding your partner to the US.
posted by holgate at 7:30 PM on August 13, 2010
If you're serious about this, you need to contact a specialist in immigration law. There's a support network out there for you in the US, but I don't know what it is myself because I haven't had to do it myself. It's doable, but I don't think your partnership will make it much easier. If you have specialist skills that would qualify you for an H-1B and subsequent green card, that may be the most direct path in the US.
posted by Nelson at 7:51 PM on August 13, 2010
posted by Nelson at 7:51 PM on August 13, 2010
Mod note: few comments removed - this is a procedural question about visas
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:28 PM on August 13, 2010
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:28 PM on August 13, 2010
America is a great place to live even if you're gay and it's getting better all the time.
You just shouldn't try to cheat the immigration laws, you might get away with it, but frankly its just not worth it. I'm sure any scheme you can dream up has been tried many times before and the ICE are wise to it. The best way is through the legal channels, checkout the diversity visa program (aka greencard lottery). There's 50,000 greencards issued by lottery each year. They used to sometimes limit some countries from entering in a given year (if a lot of people have come from that country in the preceding years), not sure if they still do. I know UK couldn't apply back in '94, guess how I know :-(.
Other ways are H1B employment that you then get sponsored into a greencard by your employer. If you have an in demand skill this may not be so hard given you have a base to job search in the USA.
If you have a bachelors degree you could look at completing a post graduate degree at a US university, but you still have to turn that into a job/H1 when you graduate.
I'm sure if you just wait long enough DOMA will finally get killed, then you can get married in a state that allows it and the feds should treat you right.
posted by Long Way To Go at 8:36 PM on August 13, 2010
You just shouldn't try to cheat the immigration laws, you might get away with it, but frankly its just not worth it. I'm sure any scheme you can dream up has been tried many times before and the ICE are wise to it. The best way is through the legal channels, checkout the diversity visa program (aka greencard lottery). There's 50,000 greencards issued by lottery each year. They used to sometimes limit some countries from entering in a given year (if a lot of people have come from that country in the preceding years), not sure if they still do. I know UK couldn't apply back in '94, guess how I know :-(.
Other ways are H1B employment that you then get sponsored into a greencard by your employer. If you have an in demand skill this may not be so hard given you have a base to job search in the USA.
If you have a bachelors degree you could look at completing a post graduate degree at a US university, but you still have to turn that into a job/H1 when you graduate.
I'm sure if you just wait long enough DOMA will finally get killed, then you can get married in a state that allows it and the feds should treat you right.
posted by Long Way To Go at 8:36 PM on August 13, 2010
It's my understanding that if you're discovered to be in a sham marriage you're deported and refused re-entry for X number of years. A (straight) friend entered into a (totally legit, love-based) marriage and the process to get a green card was really intense and invasive. They really did love each other and still struggled to make it through the process; I don't know how you would convincingly fake a marriage to a lesbian, though I am sure it's done. It depends how much risk you want to take, and how sympathetic your "wife" is prepared to be, because she is going to have to sponsor you, which is a risk on her part.
posted by desjardins at 8:48 PM on August 13, 2010
posted by desjardins at 8:48 PM on August 13, 2010
Here's a simplistic graphic on the various paths to immigration as of 2008 (no mention of gays)
posted by desjardins at 8:51 PM on August 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by desjardins at 8:51 PM on August 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
I hate to sound like Captain Canada here, but if you took a look at desjardins link (which is dead-on based on my own knowledge) than you know your situation is pretty grim unless you have a job lined up.
On the other hand, Canada offers something called the Skilled Worker Visa, in which individuals who are eminently employable (as rated on a points system) may obtain Permanent Residency. I'm not sure how your skills rate, but if your partner can transfer himself to the UK as easily as you suggest, he sounds like he is a professional of some sort.
Vancouver is a fantastic - if expensive - city on the west coast that's a relative short hop to California (especially northern California if that's where your partner is from). I also know a couple (heterosexual) who immigrated to Canada from the U.S. because the immigration system was so convoluted there -- and one of them was a U.S. citizen (the other a student), by the way.
posted by hiteleven at 9:50 PM on August 13, 2010
On the other hand, Canada offers something called the Skilled Worker Visa, in which individuals who are eminently employable (as rated on a points system) may obtain Permanent Residency. I'm not sure how your skills rate, but if your partner can transfer himself to the UK as easily as you suggest, he sounds like he is a professional of some sort.
Vancouver is a fantastic - if expensive - city on the west coast that's a relative short hop to California (especially northern California if that's where your partner is from). I also know a couple (heterosexual) who immigrated to Canada from the U.S. because the immigration system was so convoluted there -- and one of them was a U.S. citizen (the other a student), by the way.
posted by hiteleven at 9:50 PM on August 13, 2010
Get in touch with the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Despite the name, they work on a broad range of LGBT issues, including immigration. They've worked with many couples in your situation before.
posted by gingerbeer at 10:07 PM on August 13, 2010
posted by gingerbeer at 10:07 PM on August 13, 2010
If you guys are rich, you can get a visa to start a business in the U.S. But you'll have to leave if the business fails or isn't 'successful enough'
posted by delmoi at 10:35 PM on August 13, 2010
posted by delmoi at 10:35 PM on August 13, 2010
hiteleven: "On the other hand, Canada offers something called the Skilled Worker Visa, in which individuals who are eminently employable (as rated on a points system) may obtain Permanent Residency. I'm not sure how your skills rate, but if your partner can transfer himself to the UK as easily as you suggest, he sounds like he is a professional of some sort."
This is one of those situations where the job qualifications of both people would need to be looked at. Canada has restricted the Federal Skilled Worker program to either arranged employment or a list of 29 eligible occupations. Also, effective 26 June, only 20,000 applications per year will be processed for those classifications (under the FSW program; arranged employment and other programs are still uncapped).
posted by fireoyster at 10:40 PM on August 13, 2010
This is one of those situations where the job qualifications of both people would need to be looked at. Canada has restricted the Federal Skilled Worker program to either arranged employment or a list of 29 eligible occupations. Also, effective 26 June, only 20,000 applications per year will be processed for those classifications (under the FSW program; arranged employment and other programs are still uncapped).
posted by fireoyster at 10:40 PM on August 13, 2010
If you can find a small business to buy near where your partner lives, if you have the money. It is safer to buy an established business than starting a new one.
posted by Flood at 8:03 AM on August 14, 2010
posted by Flood at 8:03 AM on August 14, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Well, he could legally adopt you. I don't know how that works, exactly, but some same-sex couples have used adoption in lieu of legally recognized marriage. Basically, though, you're out of luck— the US immigration system is in need of a tremendous overhaul that isn't forthcoming.
posted by Electrius at 6:36 PM on August 13, 2010