Ok, I'll try and keep it brief so as not to bore you all senseless.

I am an english, UK resident and my girlfriend is a US citizen living in Miami FL. We have been 'seeing each other' (never a more ironic term for the long distance relationship) since July last year, which has basically meant a month or two apart followed by a week or two together ad nauseum. As any warm-blooded human must understand, this can't go on forever, and is taking its toll on us both.

She graduates from UM in May and is applying for graduate study here in England from September. This would be ideal as it will mean we can live together for 18 months without any legal constraints or time pressures. But I am very apprehensive of what happens if she doesn't get in to school here.

As far as my research has taken me, that would leave us with a hurried-through marriage as the only hope of us being together more permanently. I love her with all my heart but I don't know how realistic that is for us yet. I don't want us to give up on being together, but the extended periods apart are getting too much already.

Are there any other options? Ideally something that would give us a few months together where we could both support ourselves (i.e. work and earn) to figure everything out.

OK, speech over. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Nick

 

replying to myself (additional question)

If you do get married (say, for argument, in the US), is the 'naturalisation' or immigration process a both-way thing? I.E. could we choose to settle either in the US or the UK, or are they two seperate processes.

And if they are seperate, are they mutually exclusive. Do you have to choose one or the other, or can you both have residency visas for each other's country of residence?