Mummybalder

So my partner, myself, our two children and our two dogs have made the final decision that we will be moving from UK to Alaska.

We want to move to Fairbanks or North Pole preferably due to the school ratings for the children & the houses!

Can anyone tell me their experience doing this move?
Where my partner is best applying for jobs to gain his working visa?
Does anybody know how we go from being over in a work/spouse visa to being aloud to take citizenship?

Any help is much appreciated ☺️
Thank you
💕👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Pulaski

ETA scrub that - I see your "partner" doesn't already have a work visa or job to go to.

, as appears to be the case, you are moving on a work visa plus accompanying family visas, the ONLY way to get to citizenship is via permanent citizenship, aka green cards. You cannot apply for permanent residence for yourself, your employer must apply for you, and your employer is under NO obligation to apply for permanent residence for you.

Hypothetically, if you get permanent residence you can apply for citizenship for yourself, five years after getting permanent residence.

A "work visa" for the USA is very hard to get, and effectively impossible for most people. Please take a look at the two Pulaski wikis in the USA section of the Wikis tab above to see which if any route applies to you.

If your "partner" has qualifications and experience for a job that is visa-eligible it will even then be challenging for him
to find a job with an employer anywhere in the US who is prepared to sponsor a visa. Setting your sights on a job in one small town (the population of Fairbanks is only 32,000), is doomed to failure.

Key questions:

What is your "partner's" occupation? .... Does he have a degree?

Are you married? .... If you're not married, it will likely prevent you from working even if you would otherwise be eligible to do so.

Owen778

I'm confused, though I'm afraid this is probably because you know very little about US immigration.

Do you or your partner already have a job offer and associated visa? Because, if not, working visas are very difficult or impossible for many people to obtain for the US. Especially given that you seem to have decided on a specific small town whose main employer seems to be the US military. What jobs do you and your partner do?

Also, if you do have a visa, you will likely want to get married before you move, in order to be able to use an actual derivative visa, rather than a B visa for a co-habiting partner.

Noorah101

You say "partner". Are you married? Is one of you a US Citizen?

Where you move will be dependent on many things, so I wouldn't really pinpoint a place like that just yet.

By "this move", you need to be more specific. Do you mean a move to the USA in general? A move to Alaska specifically? A move on which type of visa? That will make a big difference.

That totally depends on what kind of job he is looking for and qualified for. You haven't mentioned anything about his education, work experience, or field of expertise. And again, by "partner", do you mean "spouse"?

You mention "work/spouse" visa. Which one will it be? Those are two very different types of visas (and multiple visa types per category as well).

In order to help, we need a lot more information.

Are you married?
Is one of you a US Citizen?
What do you and your partner do for a living currently?
What is your education level?
Are you open to living elsewhere in the USA, or just Alaska/N. Pole?

Rene

Guindalf

All of the above, plus...

Why Alaska? It can be extremely harsh up there, especially between October and April. The days in winter are short and temperatures can be extremely low with many long periods of snow on the ground. Not to mention the fact that it's generally more expensive to live and deliveries of just about anything are a lot slower than they would be in the lower 48.

This is all assuming the move is possible. A 'work visa' is only possible for certain occupations and if the employer is prepared to spend thousands of dollars to apply on your partner's behalf. You CAN NOT apply for yourself!

Read this...

Pulaski's Ways

...and then feel free to come back with any specific questions.

Mummybalder

We will be married by the time we move yes.
No neither of us are US citizens. We are not to bothered where as long as it's in Alaska.
My partner is a qualified chef and a semi skilled labourer.
I mean the move from the UK to ALASKA?

Noorah101

Good news.

Thanks. So you will need a work or investment visa.

That's still a very small window of opportunity, but that's your choice.

Neither of which is likely to lead to a work visa. What do YOU do?

Thanks.

Read the link posted above regarding all the ways into the USA, then come back if you think any of them apply to you.

Does your partner have a job offer yet? It's not likely to lead to anything as a chef, but even if it did, he would need a job offer first, and then the employer would start a petition for some kind of work visa. There is nothing for your partner to do in the way of work visas just yet, until he has an interested employer...and then it will be up to the employer to decide which visa suits the situation (and keep in mind, there might not be one).

Rene

Mummybalder

I've read the link and I am slightly unsure and will give it another read soon more carefully. Not currently no, if he was to get a job offer in any area of work and they applied for a visa for him is hat how it would work as he has a lot of qualifications that can lead to different jobs. I only have experience as a health care assistant & receptionist.

Noorah101

Back to this question. I don't think anyone on here is a chef in Alaska, so we wouldn't know where the best place to apply for jobs would be. He would have to do his research on restaurants, hotels, resorts, etc in Alaska that might employ chefs and then apply.

Rene

ian-mstm

I'm afraid your "final decision" is basically worthless unless you or your partner already have a job offer from a US company willing to sponsor you for a visa.


Without an appropriate visa, what you want is irrelevant. You can not move to, live in, or work in the US without first having a visa that let's you do that.

Ian

Noorah101

How it works:
1. He applies for a job
2. He gets a job offer
3. He asks the employer "which visa will you be petitioning me for?"
4. The employer figures out which visa might be applicable, and if there is one, the employer then files a petition.
5. If the job is indeed one that leads to a visa, then he applies for the visa when the petition gets approved.

"Qualifications" don't really count for much. For most work visas, he will need a degree and some years of experience in the field.

Neither of which will lead to a work visa, unfortunately.

In all honesty, not to burst your bubble, but I don't see a move to Alaska in your future.

Rene

scot47

You both need visas. How do you propose to get them ? I mean what type of visas are you hoping to get ? Immigration into the US is tightly controlled by the Federal Governamnet and has been for decades. there is no free-for-all.

SultanOfSwing

I don't want to be 'that guy', but the chances of either of you being eligible for a work visa in such a narrowly focused location are very, very small.

Peruse Pulaski's Ways again but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, etc.

Noorah101

None that I can think of off the top of my head, but hey, it's up to the employer, not me! LOL

Rene

sir_eccles

Are there ski resorts in alaska? Maybe season work for the cruises? that would be an H2B visa, doesn't really get you anywhere.

Maybe an E2 visa to set up a restaurant business, high failure rate and also doesn't get you anywhere.

E5B investment $500k?