can anyone help me - visas?

hi
i realise that some of u here have the problems facing most mixed race relationships
but i have, like many others i'm sure, the added problems of international dating.
living in the UK, my fella is from Africa
He came over here for studying, where i met him and fell completely and madly in love with him.
i am so scared now he won't be able to stay and i'll end up losing him

anyone experienced this and got any personal experience they can share with me
or any advice in what i can do to help him

 

Every country is different. You should be able to look up laws and forms and such on the net for your government. I found everything I needed.

I have no idea what it is like for the UK, but for the US, there are even rules about how long, once they land on our soil, they are allowed to be in this country before paperwork must be filed.

 

hi
thanks, but i have looked up the legal side
i suppose i was wondering if anyone had any support to offer
or legal loopholes!

 

Hey girlie!!

I am going through the same thing right now! My man was in a different province studying. We met and fell madly in love. And I kept reminding him of his visa....but he didn't renew it....so he got sent back to Senegal in December and can't return to Canada until this December. I am going to Senegal in May to bring him back. He will get a visitors visa and then i will sponsor him as a spouse after we get married.....yeah I am getting married...isn't that cool? Well anyways if you ever need support I am here because I am going through the same thing except he is farther away :cry: so if you ever need to talk about this just let me know.....keep your head up darlin! It can only get better from here :wink:

 

thanks alessandra
i thin he is panicking right now and doesn't need to
he has 2 months yet til his visa runs out
and he can't apply for a new one until then
his problem is is he either gets an employer to apply for him - which they won't, through university, or to get married.
while we do want to get married we don't want to yet
so that is the last resort
thanks again
nice to know am not the only one going through it

 

word of advice for you both, read the paperwork carefully if you do the fiance sponsorship. In the US, it reads that even if you divorce, you are agreeing for the rest of the time that this person is on their soil, you are financially responsible for them. In other words if things go bad and you have sponsored him, even if you divorce and he falls on hard times, he will never qualify under the green card for any financial assistance. They will come to You for that, even if you no longer have anything to do with him.

Also, such as in the US, where the INS does not let them work under this avenue of getting a green card for 6 months, before they let them work. So, you must provide for them while they are here. If you divorce, you have now set a precedent for providing for them, and you could get stuck having to pay Alimony.

I know these are dark clouds, but they are also reality you need to think about ..

Love is grand.. really it is..

but the larger majority of these relationships fail than succeed... so you need to know what you are getting into.

 

Thanks for the advice Sassy. i have already looked into Canadian law and it very easy to immigrate here. First you get a visitors visa. Then you can extend pretty much as long as you want. Then you get married. Then you apply for permanent residence. Most are approved if done correctly. That takes 7-8 months......then you only sign a spousal undertaking for 3 years and if they leave or not after 2 years of residency they can apply for citizenship.We need the population so it is beneficial....

 

I've heard its easy to get into Canada.

Good luck, both of you.

 

maybe i'll emigrate with him - so we're both equal status
i think he finds it difficult cos he's used to being so free and independent, and all of a sudden he's bound by visas

and thanks for the good wishes Sassy

 

well.. an interesting thing might be to offer.. ( I wouldn't really want to live there)

but it gives you an idea how important getting to live in another country is to him.

and I am sincere about hoping only the best for you guys. I just fear for your hearts and your bank accounts out of instinct.

 

This is going to sound terrible....but he's the one with the money! I am a poor college student with nothing to my name. So I got nothing too lose. I understand though if you have some money then that can become an issue. Emigrating with him is a good idea. When my man gets permanent residence we are going to LA. So we will have equal status in the states.

 

your man is from the US?

I wouldn't worry then any way.

I was referring more to a country such as Africa, where there are more trying to get out of the country than in.

 

No my man is from Senegal but we are going to the US..... :wink:

 

if neither of you are US citizens, who do you think you'll get citizenship here?

 

my fella is rich too
well his daddy is!
it's not the money that's an issue really, its more for him to come to the UK
(And he's from Africa)

 

why does the fact you are using the word rich raise a red flag? I'm going to keep my mouth shut and just hope for the best.

 

My Iranian friend is in the UK via a students visa. So far she was turned down but is appealing to the Home Office for asylum. I hope it comes through she is moving from Brighton to a town in the northern part of the UK. I hope to see her during my visit in a month.

 

Just something from a different perspective. I am in the US on a Visa (sponsored by my employer)

Girlie, I don't understand what having a visa has to do with limited freedom? Maybe you can explain what you mean by that. My personal experience is that if you have your act together you are not limited the opposite is the case you are empowered by the prospects.

My friend in Germany married so that her boyfriend could stay. They wanted to get married anyway and circumstances forced them to do it faster... BIG MISTAKE. She did not take the time to get to know him and is now in a big mess. I am not saying that this has to be the case always but so far I have not heard of ONE story that started as this and ended on a positive note.
Take your time to get to know the guy, if he has to leave and can't achieve a Visa by his own doings then see if you will survive a long distance relationship where each partner puts in equal efforts. Then you know you can trust to move ahead.

 

hi chigirl

what i meant by his limited freedom is restrictions placed on him compared to me, or what the would have back home
for example, he has way more money than me, but when he wanted to get a mobile phone he was told he had to pay £100 to get the phone, whereas I could get one straight away - even though he has more capital than me
i can get a job easier - cos he'll need an employer to apply for a visa
etc etc

as for getting to know him - i've been dating him for 2 years

 

Understand completely... the same thing happened to me when I moved to the US, I could not do anything without posting a security deposit. It is annoying yeah I agree.

Well I wish you guys luck, and sorry for being such a skeptic I think because I have seen it go wrong to many times at the same time I believe that you have to try otherwise you will never know :-D