How can an Irish citizen relocate to the USA?

What is the process for a British citizen to relocate and work permanently to the USA with my American wife?

• I am a UK citizen living in the UK with my American wife, and are looking to move to the United States in the near future. What do I need to do in order to be able to live and work there indefinitely?

• Answer:

  Your wife will file an I-130 petition for you with the USCIS. It costs $420 and takes about 5 months to adjudicate. The I-130 only establishes the relationship between petitioner and beneficiary. In plain English: they say, "yup, she's a U.S. citizen and that's her husband." Thereafter the petition goes to the National Visa Center (NVC) and they will ask your wife for an Affidavit of Support for you. If' it's just you and your wife in the "household," she needs to make at least $18,387 after taxes in order to pull this off, which is 125% of the poverty level. Basis for this will be her latest U.S. income tax return. As you probably know, the United States government taxes worldwide income, so the fact that it comes for a U.K. source is no problem. After that's been taken care of NVC will send the entire package to the U.S. consulate in London. There you will submit all of the required paperwork and have an interview. If you have been married for 2 years, you'll receive an IR-1 immigrant visa. If you have been married less, it will be an CR-1 visa. You then have up to 6 months to "activate" it by traveling to the U.S. At the airport, you will be processed and receive an I-551 stamp in your passport. That's the code for Green Card. The actual plastic card will arrive in the mail about 2 weeks later. Important is that you are immediately a permanent resident, so you can get a driver's license and work and do everything your heart desires. If you get a CR-1 visa, you will receive only a conditional, 2-year Green Card and have to file for Removal of Conditions within the 90 days before it expires. The condition is that you stay married to your wife. If you'd like to dive deeper into this, go to http://www.visajourney.com and read the CR-1/IR-1 Guides.