British Parents Urge Children to Marry U.S. Citizens for Benefits

Sophie wrote an article on "What to Avoid Saying to Someone Who is About to Marry an Immigrant" http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/536499/what_to_avoid_saying_to_someone_who.html.

Living in Florida with the amazing climate, we have Disney, Busch Gardens, the beaches and so much more. You can see why so many British people want to live here. I have several friends who are here on an E2 business visa. This means that they can live here, work at their business, for the allotted time of the visa. After that they have to apply for a further visa. These visas can vary from 1 to 5 years in length. They may not necessary get the same about of time on the next visa. Also they are scrutinizing them more thoroughly and many people are being sent back home.

Getting back to Sophie's article: I shouldn't smile, but it took me back to the conversations I have had with my English friends that so want to stay in America. One is delighted that her son is going out with an American girl. She told me that if only he would get serious enough to marry her then all our worries would be over. You see their visa will come up for renewal and it is so time consuming to collect all the paperwork the American Embassy requires. You also have to prove that you are making a profit, have sufficient funds in the business and personal funds, that you have hired American employees, and the list goes on. This gets very stressful and you never are quite sure of the outcome.

Now if the son or daughter marries an American and becomes a citizen then they can claim their parents. This means that they can sell their business and either work for an employer or retire.

So although Sophie's article is informative, I have to say that many British people are relying on their children to allow them to stay in America. I am sure this is surprising to many of you, but isn't it better than working for a living? After all, Florida is the best place to retire. Len and I should know because we have lived here for the past 20 years. I hope to retire in the next few weeks or at least semi-retire.