My wife is going to be deported, soon. We have 4 & 2-year old daughters. Should she go to England or Belize?

Belize: 1. You can visit. VERY IMPORTANT in maintaining relationships. 2. It's beautiful and affordable. 3. If your wife's family isn't a plus for them living in England, it's not even a choice. Belize!

Where are you? If you're in the US, are you an American citizen? If you are, shouldn't you be on your way of getting a green card by now, especially if you have a 4 year old daughter already (I guess you could've had the children before you got married).

Why is she getting deported? What visa is she on? And what visa are you on if you're an immigrant?

Consult a UK immigration lawyer.

Here's a good board to find some info (and post your details there).

http://immigrationboards.com/

Having a criminal record isn't a stop for you to come to the UK, especially on compassionate grounds (i.e. splitting up a family).

Also all criminal convictions are considered spent after a certain amount of time in the UK. Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. But normally only applies to jail sentences of under 2.5 years.

But compassionate grounds is always an option. Worse that happens is they say no.

BTW, if she has a UK passport, she can stay anywhere in Europe. You might want to check if another country in the EU would look upon your conviction more favourably. Netherland's a good bet :)

I can't offer any help I'm just curious.

I thought getting married to an American grants citizenship?

What have you done that you can't go to the UK?

Do you love your wife? Do you love your kids? Then go with them! What is the problem here. Perhaps a little more background is in order.

England seems like it would be the logical choice, but I wonder: is a mediocre (low income) life in England better than a good (high income) life in Belize?

I believe Belize takes the cake. I'm not at all familiar with Belize, but if it's something like other Latin American countries, if you have money you're in great shape. Private schools, private health insurance, etc, but if you can pay it, you're in the top 10 percentile of the country. Your Texas salary would be much more valued in Belize than in England, that's for sure.

Then you have the other perks like being able to travel about in Central America and the Caribbean (which is cheaper than Europe, of course), great weather, great scenery, great people, great cultures.

In Belize your kids would probably grow up speaking English, Spanish, probably Kriol with some proficiency and you could pay a private tutor for another language. The private schools generally are very good, sometimes better than public schools in "1st World" countries. I'm not sure about the "only Catholic schools" thing, it seems far-fetched. There are probably some secular private schools there.

As I said I don't know how Belize compares to other countries in Latin America, if it's more like El Salvador or more like Argentina. But people need to forget this idea that the 3rd World is unlivable. Most of Latin America is a fucking great place to live.

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Errr come to England dude! The more the merrier!

NHS treament for free. Benefits if you don't have a job!

Generally a nice place to bring up your children!

Probably gonna get myself "vanished" by the BNP haha!

Just tell her not to show up at the airport. The press is full of stories of potential deportees who simply ignore the orders. It carries on for years. Even Obama's aunt simply looked the other way and she's still in the US years and years after she was supposed to be...deported.

Why is she being deported if she is married to you?

First of all, my sincerest condolences for the ugly situation you are in. It's a tragedy, maybe not the worst thing that could happen, but still very bad.

That said, do you mind sharing why can't you go to England and get a new job there?

How about Canada? Can't you all go to Canada? Is there any country where you would all be welcome and you could find a job? (since this is reddit I'm going to go ahead and assume you work in IT).

Is is possible for your wife to get a good job in her field in Belize? If so and she'd be working at something she enjoyed, that's a real benefit.

What about schools in Belize, are primary & grammar schools really inferior to what you'd find in the UK? I'd bet they are roughly equivalent to what's available in Texas. I know that the primary schools my daughter went to in the various places were as good or better as the ones she left in Atlanta GA. I know the ones I went to in back in the '60s and '70s were too.

As long as your kids also speak some other language why would anyone possibly care that they spoke creole? I have no chance to converse in the Khmer Patois that my GF & daughter, her grandparents and her friends speak amongst themselves... I don't have an issue with that... I wish her English was better but she only uses it a few times a year.

Also what's wrong with moving down to Belize or a more friendly 3rd country together... as a family? What's with the "I will have to stay in the US" that does not sound very flexible at all. Actually it sounds like you've done yourself a bit of disservice by ignoring or dismissing way too many options.

get a lawyer competent in common law.

file your Notice of Understanding and Intent.

understand that DHS and INS have jurisdictions. ensure you're not considered under their jurisdiction, and live happily.

also, if she's deported, have her go to Mexico. pretty damn easy to pay a coyote to get her back across the border again.

Stick with Belize. If the cost/standard of living is lower, they will be comparatively better off.

But most importantly, they will still be able to see you. My dad took a job out of country 10 years ago and flies back 4x a year. Even with that, I have 0 relationship with my dad and think/function daily as though I do not presently have a father, even though I know in my head that he has been working hard and sending us money. It's important for your kids to see you and know you. It is my honest opinion that it would have been better if my dad stayed here, even though I was already a teenager when he went. Given that it's impossible for you to be with your kids full time, some is better than none.

However, have you given a thought to changing your job/profession if going to England?

I don't have much constructive to add, but I have a foreign wife, and I just have to say that this would be a nightmare for me. I hope things work out for you.

England. Belize is a 3rd world country. Don't make your kids grow up there if you have access to good healthcare and the opportunity for great education in the UK.

EDIT: I'm biased (i grew up in the UK)

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Choose England. There's a safety net there, especially for people with kids, I presume.

You should elaborate on the legal issues and your felonies.

WHY is she being deported?

As a lawyer you should know more details from the client = better understanding and analysis of the issue at hand.