OP I would look at UK programmes. I had a BA from South Africa and would have had to endure having that translated into A US GPA, whereas in the UK it was directly understood. There was no application fee with my University which was a bonus, it's getting rather expensive in the States. In the UK the MSc and PhD are separate registrations. I looked into returning to US after finishing my MSc here but the programs I looked at had no information on starting after a completed masters. I didn't fancy retaking a lot of courses, or 7 years FT versus 3 FT here. My PGR programme is purely research based, having completed all the 'courses' in my PGT.
There are some excellent universities over here and studentships are worth looking into.
Definitely look into who specifically you would be working with as your advisor. A good relationship with your advisor can really make or break your PhD life. They might not be perfect, but something like a good sounding board for devising research questions and a similar area of interest research wise is key. They will also be key in your application process.