Q: My boyfriend has just got a job working for the New York Post and he is transferring over there in about six weeks time. We have been dating for two years and are living together and fully intend to get married one day. We really do not want the distance to break us up and so my boyfriend has suggested that I just move over there with him and continue my freelance stylist work but I am not sure if this is legal or not as from what I understand the Americans have very strict visa rules.

I would be grateful if you could provide some clarity on the visa rules.

A: “I’m an alien, I’m an illegal alien, I am an Englishman in New York” - Sting.

Our Yankee cousins love to term non Americans without the correct visa for their stay as ‘illegal aliens’. The consequences of being found to be an ‘illegal alien’ are rather harsh. You will be put on the next plane back home (wherever that is) and will have a big black mark against your name at the US immigration office meaning in the future they are entitled to refuse you entry into the country as a result of your previous visa issues.

Under the visa waiver program you can enter the USA for 90 days or less for tourism or business. So you can use this visa waiver to legitimately be in the USA for business reasons as well as personal. You should be eligible to travel under the visa waiver unless you have been convicted of a criminal offence/found to have links with terrorism or been previously refused entry to the USA. You can also apply for a H1B work visa permit, the problem with this is it requires you to be sponsored by a US company and only your US employer will be able to apply for this visa for you. As you are self employed this isn’t appropriate for you.

You don’t mention what type of visa your boyfriend has but I am presuming it is a H1B visa which has been arranged by his employer. If that is the case then under that visa if you were his spouse you would be entitled to live with him in the US and be covered by his visa.

However getting married just to stay in New York with him does seem a bit extreme but if he is planning on being there long term (under the H1B visa you can normally live and work in the USA for six years) then you may need to consider your other options as your visa waiver will only allow you to be in the country for 90 days, you will then have to leave the country and re-enter under a further visa waiver. It is possible that if you try and use this system to your advantage by leaving every 90 days and coming back to the UK to see your family or going to Mexico or somewhere and then returning to the US that the immigration authorities will work out what you are up to and refuse you re-entry which could potentially mean you are never allowed back into the US again.

I would consider your options carefully with a specialist Visa advisor and also discuss the future with your boyfriend, you need to be aware of the fact that you can’t keep using the visa waiver program indefinitely and at some point you will have to work out whether your future lies together across the pond. If it does then it may just be easier to take that next step in your relationship that bit sooner and formalise your relationship in the near future. Good luck with the move to NYC - my second favourite city in the world!

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