All we want for Christmas is to stay together in Scotland!

Val and James met in 2020 and started dating long distance in 2022. Amidst rising transphobia in the U.S. and impending immigration income restrictions in the UK, they decided on a plan to stay safe and be together – before the legal window to live in the same country closed completely. Three years ago, with the help of many of you, generous family members, and some credit cards, we dropped £10k+ on the visas required to get Val to Scotland. Now, we’re due for our next visa, and it’s going to cost roughly £4000.

The past few years have been absolutely amazing; Scotland is a dream come true for Val, and she’s made a lovely home for herself with James, his mum Linda, adopted kitten Kiki, and a garden full of pigeons. She also got to spend nearly every day of the last three years with wee family dog Lola, who completely stole her heart . Both James and Val currently work full time, with Val hyped as heck to be receiving a benefits package for the first time in her life! NHS healthcare has also allowed Val to get long-overdue diagnoses and receive consistent, much-needed treatment for the first time ever. While she hasn’t been able to afford many trips back to the States, she’s hopeful that’ll change after she’s permanently settled here. James, meanwhile, has been plugging away at a steady but unfulfilling job that he’s required to keep as Val’s visa sponsor; after this visa is paid for, he’s hoping to finally be able to seek out work that he enjoys more. Plus, we’ve still got a wedding to plan for.

These years have been great in ways that we can’t even put into words, but they’ve also proven to be the biggest financial challenge of either of our lives. We’ve dealt with unemployment, underemployment, career upheaval, debt negotiation, long and short COVID, major hormonal and mental health changes, chronic illness, thousands of pounds of hidden immigration costs, repeated car breakdowns, home repairs, denial of income support (NRPF, baby!), pet loss, family grief, and more. Thanks to decisions we made years ago (living in LA and working freelance for Val, for example), our credit scores are currently below average and our savings accounts have run dry. We’ve worked very hard to keep the life we’re building, but it’s become clear over the past year that we won’t be able to make Val’s home here permanent without some help.

Our visa renewal is due in January, so we’re hoping for a little bit of a Christmas miracle. Please consider forgoing any birthday or Christmas gifts you may have planned for us and donating to this fund instead. If you don’t have the funds yourself, or if you’re someone who has already been generous to us along the way, absolutely do not feel obligated to donate!! Every bit helps.

We know we already owe you one, and we hope we’ll be able to spend the rest of our lives – cozy and together – figuring out how to repay you!

Cost breakdown (exchange rate as of 26/10/26):

In pounds:

Next visa – £1,321

NHS surcharge – £2,587.50

Laptop repair so we can actually apply – £99-300

Expat legal services – £120-£300

Total: £4127.50 to £4508.50

In dollars:

Next visa – $1763.20

NHS surcharge – $3453.67

Laptop repair so we can actually apply – $132.14-$400.42

Expat legal services – $160.17-$400.42

Total: $5509.18 to $6017.72