noggie

Hi

I looking for some help to my situation. I was born and live in the UK and have just graduated from university in Computer Systems. A year ago I met my current girlfriend in America. She was born and lives in America. She has a degree in Sociology. We are currently separated by the Atlantic Ocean but want to move to the same country together.

My questions are:

- How can I move there (UK to USA)? Visas? Where are sponsored jobs advertised?

- How can she move here (USA to UK)? Visas? Where are jobs advertised?

OR

- Is it easier to move to a different English speaking country and try there? If so what countries and jobs etc?

thanks

scottyvisa

Hi Noggie,

Welcome to BE.

I'll start you off with the obvious question, are you planning on getting married? If so your way forward is well documented and fairly straight forward.

noggie

Hi
We aren't planning on getting married, at least not yet

Colorado calling

If you're not getting married but you want to move to the USA, the only way for you to do that would he either through employment or investment (and having an American girlfriend would have no bearing on the success rate of either - your relationship with her would be merely coincidental).

Investment requires a 6-figure sum to be ploughed into the country. If you have that amount spare, go ahead and apply for an investment visa. If not, you need to look at employment visas. What job do you do? What qualifications to you have?

Marriage is certainly the "easier" route. I use inverted commas because although it is a relatively straight forward procedure, it's not something that should be entered into purely for visa purposes, obviously.

As for your girlfriend coming to the UK, you would probably need to ask elsewhere for that. This is for UK citizens emigrating to the USA and we don't know much about the other way round. My husband came here to the UK from the USA but that was after we married and there were other things involved that were quite unique to our case and likely wouldn't apply to you.

noggie

Thanks

I have just graduated in computer systems and I work as an IT technician. Where is the best place to look for jobs?

Colorado calling

it is unlikely that a recent grad would be offered a job there. They have plenty of their own grads looking for jobs. So unless you are extremely talented and bring something to the table that all the other grads don't, your chances are slim to none. You would have a bit more luck working for a company here that has a prescence in the United States whereby you could transfer internally. You would need to be working for your employer for a year, I believe, before that would be possible.

Another option for you could be post-grad study in the U.S. Again it's costly as you would need to find your tuition fees plus your bed and board but it's not out of reach. It has been done.

How much time have you spent with your girlfriend there? Do you know if you would even like to live and work there?

Colorado calling

I wanted to add, there's no point wasting your time looking for jobs you aren't going to get. Even if you have all the qualifications, an American employer can only bring a foreignor in to take a job if he can prove there is no one locally who can do the job. That's going to be as good as impossible to prove for an IT technician's post. Also it would cost the employer a fortune to do so. Why would they do that?

ian-mstm

I hear wedding bells in your future!

Generally, there are 3 routes to the US: family-based, employment-based, and investment-based. Family based is, by far, the easiest of the three... but, if there are no wedding plans, then that's out. Since you've just graduated, I'm guessing that you don't have a lot of money, so an investment-based visa is also out. That leaves employment-based.


There are no web sites or lists which give info on companies that sponsor visas... if there was, you likely would have already found them.

That said, you are unlikely to find a company to sponsor you for a visa. Why? Because there are already hundreds of thousands of folks already in the US who have the same or superior qualifications, they have more experience than you, they can start work tomorrow if asked, and they don't need a company to spend $5,000-$10,000 for visa sponsorship. Those people are your competition.

Look - I'll make this easy for you. Get married. We've seen hundreds of people try umpteen variations on the theme in order to get to the US on their own. Y'know what? Very few succeed - and that's because they have way more experience at a job than you do!

I'm not trying to be harsh, but that's the reality of your situation.

Ian

Noorah101

In your particular situation, I suggest continuing to date long distance until you both feel ready for marriage.

In the meantime, continue to network within your field, build up your credentials, become superior in your field, and maybe you will come to the attention of a headhunter in the USA. Would also help if you have higher education, so perhaps go back to school, even part time if you still need to work.

Rene

Colorado calling

Agree with Noorah. Emigrating is a huuuuuge step and if you're not ready for marriage it might be wise not to make such a life-changing move at this stage.

Pulaski

Lots of people emigrate before they get married, and moving and living overseas is a great way for a young person to gain experience and maturity. ...... Which doesn't help the OP much because realistically he isn't going to get a job in the US with his current qualifications and experience.

One thing I don't think anyone else has mentioned, is that hypothetically, if the OP was offered a job, the visa he would need (unless with an educational institution or other "non-profit") is capped (in numbers available annually) and therefore in practice only available in early April for a start date in the following October. Very few employers are willing to wait 6-18 months for their new recruit to start work. Even with a valid job offer the lottery for a visa means there is only typically a 33%-50% chance of you even getting a visa.

Colorado calling

Those that emigrate before they get married are at least ready for marriage. What I mean is, if he is wanting to move there *just* to be closer to her but they are not ready for marriage, it could lead to disappointment. Sure, if he wants to move to get experience of another way of life, meet new people, further his skills then it's a brilliant idea to go.

Pulaski

OK, that's a fair point, but it's not what you said.

tht

Assuming you are under 30 you should both be able to do AUS or NZ, and maybe Canada on a 1-2 year WHV (working holiday visa), that would give you a chance to live together and experience something new at the same time.

scrubbedexpat099

With your current employer, get them to move you over.