British Expatriate Network

Hi all
My wife and I are both British citizens and my brother-in-law became a US citizen about 4 years ago, after moving to work in the US several years before that.

We just returned from Miami, where he lives, where he just finished building a new house (big enough for 2 families) and we wish to go and live there for a year or so.

The reason being that this year is our 10th anniversary and we have always planned to take a year off from work to abroad and Miami (and Florida in general) seem like a good place to spend a year away from home.

I have been to US twice and 3 times for my wife since Dec '03 (to oversee the completion of the house construction), and each time we have stayed no longer than 2 weeks.

We have contacted a local estate agent to lease our house for a year and their estimated monthly income will more than cover the mortgage payment for the house.

What I want to know is how best to approach the US immigration to say, we just want to live in US for 1 year (with no intention of working for the whole year)??? We are both IT consultants and have saved enough money to be able to live quite happily without relying on anyone. Also, since we'll be living at my bro-in-law's place, our living costs will be minimal.

Any info and advise is greatly appreaciated.

Len

Ameriscot will be along shortly,shes great at this stuff grin

Hardly!

Anyway, if you want to stay and not work, you should be able just to come in on a B2 visa. This is only valid for 6 months at a time, so you'd have to pop over to the Bahamas for a couple of days at the mid-way point. You could also come in visa free under the visa waiver program, but this is only valid up to 3 months at a time, and they might get a little testy about you using it over and over again.

When I say you can't work, that means you can't even work in kind. You can't do handyman jobs on your BIL's property in exchange for room and board. Nor could you work for your UK employer. You really would need to have enough money to keep you for a year.

Check out the non-immigrant visa section of http://www.usembassy.org.uk

Yes, the sole purpose of us going there is purely to relax and the last thing I want to be doing is working!! grin

I'm aware that the visa waiver program only allows us to stay there for 90 days and that's what we've been using to go to the US up to now.

So from what you said, we could apply for a B2 visa, stay for 6 months and then leave US for a few days and return with new B2 visa for another 6 months?

That could work, I guess we could always come back to UK for a week for so; stay in a hotel and go and visit my relatives here before going back to US for another 6 months.

I thought the B2 visa was only valid for 6 months in a year? Wouldn't they ask questions if you applied for another one just after you left?

I'm not an expert, but this is basically what the London Embassy tells you to do if you want to retire in Florida. I don't see why the same rules wouldn't apply to a younger person.

When I last had a B2 visa, it was for multiple uses. Unless they've changed the rules, you shouldn't have to get a new one for your second visit.

What you really need to have is cast iron proof that you will return to the UK to resume your life at the end of your planned stay in the US. You'll need to prove this both at the visa stage and when you enter the US. The burden of proof is on you, not the BCIS.

When we first came over I only had a B2 Visa and it was fine for multiple visits/stays.

I sometimes went home before the 6 months and the next 6 months started again from date of re-entry to the US.

I really didn't have any problem except that they would be suspicious that I was working in NY as a nanny, but I never got taken to the dreaded "interogation" room.

All this is going back a few years now but as far as I know the rules haven't changed.

Good luck and enjoy your stay in sunny Miami!

Here is some info from the Embassy website. For a B-2 visa, the visitor is usually admitted for 6 months, but this can be extended to a year at the discretion of BCIS.

Holiday Homes

Thank you guys for all your replies. I feel much better now to know that it won't be too difficult to go and live in US for the time we want to spend over there, with just a B2 visa.