The hot topic amongst Brits in LA Members this week is regarding a rumored proposal to deny citizenship to legal immigrants who have received ObamaCare, children’s health insurance, food stamps and various other benefits.
The information was leaked earlier this month to NBC News and has obviously caused quite the panic . The awful thing is, that even the speculation will stop many who need benefits the most from applying for them. Living in fear that it could affect their citizenship application down the line.
The Trump administration have also floated the idea of limiting “chain migration”. The US currently allow a number of ways for US citizens and legal permanent residents to sponsor family members to come to the US permanently, including categories for parents, adult siblings and adult children, married and unmarried. They are looking to slash this dramatically, limiting sponsorship to spouses and minor children, which is ironic considering that only last week Melania Trump used this process to sponsor her parents’ green cards. I guess she thought she better do it quick before her husband changes the law.
It may be a coincidence, but I have also noticed a flurry of questions regarding moving back to the UK, although the political environment is not much better there. If you are considering moving back and bringing your non-British family members, you will first need to apply for a settlement visa for them. It can be found on www.gov.uk then just search ‘settlement visa’ . The procedure is fairly similar to moving to the USA; you will need to prove you can support your family and will have to pay lots of money in filing fees. There are also lots of tax issues to sort out, especially if you are making a clean break with no intention of returning. All of these questions have been discussed and have multiple opinions and answers over on our Brits in LA community page which can be found on Facebook @BritsLoveLA
We would love to hear from you if you have made the move back to the UK. Perhaps you would like to participate in our weekly Meet a Member feature and tell us all about it? Drop us a line at BritsinLA@gmail.com for details.
It’s not all about immigration at Brits in LA. We have lots of social events, including our weekly Breakfast Club & Pub Quiz. You can find all the details at www.britsin.la
Cheers!
Eileen
