Seeking professional UK immigration advice while living in the US
January 19, 2013 2:27 PM   Subscribe

How can I find a lawyer or similar professional with experience in applying for EEA Family Permits in the UK, while I am still living in the US?

My (unmarried, opposite sex) partner recently got an offer to work in the UK and plans to accept. I plan to relocate with him.

He is a citizen of an EU country, so he has an automatic right to live and work in the UK. However, I am a US citizen and would need an EEA family permit to live with him.

We are planning to get in contact with the immigration specialist office at his new workplace as soon as he signs the contract. However, we may also choose to get our own legal advice. How would we go about finding an immigration lawyer with this experience while we are still living in the US? Is it realistic to expect to find someone competent in our current mid-sized Mid-Atlantic city? Would it be a better idea to contract a laywer within the UK remotely? Thanks for any advice or experience you can share with us!
posted by anonymous to Law & Government (3 answers total)
 
You might want to cruise the UK's immigration site to acquaint yourself with some of the rules.

Requirements for leave to enter the United Kingdom with a view to settlement as the unmarried or same-sex partner of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom or being admitted on the same occasion for settlement

295A. The requirements to be met by a person seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom with a view to settlement as the unmarried or same-sex partner of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom or being admitted on the same occasion for settlement, are that:

(i) (a)(i) the applicant is the unmarried or same-sex partner of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom or who is on the same occasion being admitted for settlement and the parties have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership which has subsisted for two years or more; and


There are a lot of ands that follow. When my wiife was granted leave to enter, I didn't use any immigration attorney and just filled out the forms myself at a UK embassy and there was no problem. Your situation isn't unusual and I'm not sure why you would need an attorney.

Contact the closest UK embassy to you before you go spending money on attorneys.
posted by three blind mice at 2:43 PM on January 19, 2013


I highly recommend Asma Bashir @ Newland Chase.
posted by nickrussell at 3:35 PM on January 19, 2013


A good place to ask and also find more info might be the UK-Yankee forum for visas for US citizens moving to the UK.
posted by atlantica at 7:30 PM on January 19, 2013


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