Stallworthy19

Hi all,
I'm wondering if anybody could answer a couple of questions for me.
I'm new to the site so please excuse me if this is the wrong place etc.

I am 22 years old and have a long term girlfriend with a one year old baby and another one on the way. I have dreamt of moving to the US from England and have done for many years, as much as I love England in the way that it is where I was brought up, I've never really liked living here.

The two main questions I have are:
1. Would it be impossible to move to the US with the current work experience - 5 years business administration/customer service with level 2/3 business administration qualification or would this be useful to find work.
2. How much money would I need to have saved to move to the US, rent a 2/3 bed place and find work.

I haven't pinpointed an exact place in the USA where I would like to move to, although Grand Rapids is a place that interests me a lot with the culture and good employment availability.

I'm aware that my dreams at the moment could be classed as 'unrealistic' but I am interested in hearing any information.
Any help/comments are much appreciated.

Guindalf

Your dream is just that - a dream.

With the information you have given, the likelihood of it becoming real are close to the likelihood of winning the lottery. Your qualifications, as they are now, are unlikely to lead to lead to anything that would be attractive to an American employer and, frankly, without a degree, are unlikely to cause a stir in the employment world.

Have a read of Pulaski's Ways at the top of the forum and see if there is a possibility of a transfer from an American-owned UK-based company, as that is likely to be the only way you have even the remotest chance of succeeding in making your dream a reality.

So, question 2 is irrelevant. You CAN'T come over and just 'look for work'. You must have a visa, which is applied for by your prospective employer and costs several thousand dollars, so the employer has to be pretty certain that there is not an available US citizen who can do the job.

Many come to this (and all the other immigration forums) with the 'dream' of moving to the USA, but few succeed. In fact, many don't even bother to come back and thank us for our honesty!

christmasoompa

Sorry to say but I agree with Guindalf, it's not likely to happen from what you've said. But don't give up, it is possible if you are prepared to work for it. Get yourself a degree (ideally a masters too), some specialist skills, maybe aim for an intra-company transfer. Think of it as a 10 year plan and you may well succeed. The link given above gives you all of the available visas, so you can see what the criteria is for each and what to aim for.

Best of luck to you.

Stallworthy19

Wow! You have just taken a giant shit on my dreams 😂 but I do appreciate your honesty.

I have seen several forums with people stating they moved to the US for as long as a year before actually finding work, so I guess my next question is - how did they get the visa?

uk_grenada

Also ask yourself objectively to quantify why america? I worked there several times and could have been sponsored by my employer [disney] but i dont like the communities/places i lived in that much, dont get me wrong, lovely to visit / holiday / shop, but i never liked what i saw during real/working life.

If you can objectively say what you want or need, you may well discover there are other places that do ‘that’ in spades and are accessible. If its the love of america as seen in movies or on holidays to florida, thats not real, its a fantasy.

christmasoompa

The visa to spend a year in the US job hunting you mean? Or the work visa?

If the former, then they may not be UK citizens, so may have had B2 visas which would allow them to spend up to 6 months in the US at a time. The bad news is that as a young UK citizen you have the VWP available to you which gives you up to 90 days at a time, and you are highly unlikely to get a B2. You can job hunt on the VWP though, but at the moment there doesn't seem to be a visa you're eligible for anyway, so even if you get a job offer the employer wouldn't be able to hire you.

If the latter, then they will have a degree/masters probably, and specialist skills that mean an employer is prepared to wait for them and pay thousands on visa fees to hire them.

scrubbedexpat099

Best to ask them but off hand J1 and F1 come to mind.

A lot of things become possible if you have money and flexibility.

You did not say who you work for, do they have US operations, can you get a job with somebody who does and might move you.

excpomea

Ditch the girlfriend, hook up with an American girl. (The're very friendly)
Marry her and get a green card.

Worked for me

Seriously, good luck with it. As mentioned, think of this as a 10 year plan. Degree, international company then away you go.

Stallworthy19

I understand what you're saying.
It's a beautiful country. the weather, the people, I don't know ive always liked America.

Living in the UK is miserable, the weather is dreadful 90% of the time for a start. And, sure I could have better weather in a country like Spain or Greece but I wouldn't have to master another language.

Stallworthy19

Haha! I'm sure that works for a lot of people.
Thanks!

uk_grenada

I have an indonesian friend, managed many years being educated in the uk and working in ict, my girlfriend thought he might be gay, never seen with a girl.

Offered job in austin tx, married within 2 years, they arent friendly, a proportion are velociraptors on the hunt for marriage material. He was a great prospect objectively, and thinks he had 3 fighting for his carcass at one point.

uk_grenada

The clue is in my published name, beautiful people, weather and other stuff 12 months of the year, low cost of living, english, drive on the left, etc etc. If i fancy a week in the states its a 3 hour cheap flight, but there are other even nicer options.

Rete

And what the hell are you suggesting he do with the 1 and 1/2 children he has with the gf? Disavow them?

Sorry but I don't find your post funny ... just plain offensive and sad.

BritInParis

Were both you and your girlfriend born in England?

scrubbedexpat099

Just covering all aspects, who knows what the future will bring and we have determined this is long term planning.