jandk_visa

Good evening,

I am British citizen in my mid-twenties looking to relocate to the USA to be with my university sweetheart. We met and fell in love while she studied abroad in the UK, and after (far too long) long distance, I am desperate to move to the USA so we can be together long term.

I am currently a business analyst for an IT consultancy, and hold a bachelors degree in a physical science, and masters degree in engineering from two leading universities. I have been attempting to find a job in the consultancy sector in the USA for the past year or so, predominantly through direct applications to large international corporations with operations both sides of the Atlantic, with zero progress – I haven't made it past the initial screening although I am more than qualified.

I found the 'Pulaski's Ways: How to Live and Work in the USA' thread to be very informative (thanks), but I still feel a little daunted by the immigration process and would appreciate some impartial advice on what the best way to approach the situation from people who have been through it before.

Is the K1 marriage visa the best way to go?

Many thanks,

jandk

N.B. I am not sure if this makes a difference, but I spent a summer working in a US research lab a few years ago.

Jerseygirl

Welcome to BE. I think others on this forum would probably agree that marriage is your best/easiest option if you wish to move to the US.

Bob

Welcome to BE and good luck!

But yeah, get married and spend time apart to go CR1 route and greencard after, or go K1 and spend time apart before marriage and spend more time and money after marriage to get greencard.

Choice is yours.

If you're not ready for marriage, L1 is the best route with a company transfer. H1 will have to wait a while and as you're finding out, not easy, you really do need very niche skills, good network base of contacts and a huge amount of experience to realistically get a chance considering how many other folks in a similar situation to you don't need the thousands spent on a visa

Steve_

K-1 (and K-3) is not the best option, because it's a non-immigrant visa and you have to then file an I-485 and I-765 after you enter the US. The simpler method is to get married, and then she files an I-130 for you and you get an immigrant visa and conditional permanent residence straight off the bat.

It is lawful to enter the US to get married as a visitor. I wouldn't recommend trying to adjust status as a visitor on the VWP though. It can be done from the visa waiver program (contrary to popular belief) but CBP will ask why you are visiting and it can get dicey when they start asking if you plan to stay.

Marry (either in the US and then leave, or the UK), she files the petition, then you apply for the visa and enter the US is the simplest method bureaucratically.

There's really no point going on about work-based methods, read the DHS yearbook to find out why, 691,000 people were granted permanent residence in the US using family-based methods in 2010, 150,000 using employment-based methods - because they're harder.

Given that your primary purpose for immigrating is to be with someone, I'd say it's pointless using any other method. For one thing, CBP never like it when you say you have an American girlfriend, because it implies you don't have non-immigrant intent.

jandk_visa

Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my post, I appreciate the advice.

Are there implications with the I-130 route? For instance, if I am granted an immigrant visa and conditional permanent residence, can I begin/apply for work in the US immediately?

And what sort of time-frame would I be looking at from initial application to starting a life in the states? I appreciate that this is probably very subjective and a difficult question to answer with any certainty, but I would like to just get a feel for what we should expect.

Something I forgot to mention in my initial post: my current company has operations in the US which I have also pushing to move with (the L1 route I assume), but given the nature of consultancy work, no one I have made contact with can give me a firm answer on what project resourcing requirements there will be 6 weeks from now, nevermind 6 months. People have given me positive noises and I am at the top of the list, but they are just noises so far, rather than a firm commitment.

What is the transfer process like if we were to get married after I am based in the states with an L1 visa? Going this route would be best for me as I wouldn't have to go through a large period of unemployment before/after I get there (I wouldn't have a large amount of savings to help support myself during that time).

Thanks again.

ian-mstm

Yes. The day you enter the US with your immigrant visa, you immediately become a US permanent resident (= green card).


About 8-10 months from submitting the I-130 until you enter the US.


The transfer process would be the same. However, once you were in the US on your L-1 visa, you can marry your USC fiancee and then adjust status based on your marriage. You'll likely have a green card within 6 or so months. Meantime, you continue to work for your L-1 sponsor! Easy peasy.

Ian

ian-mstm

I don't think anyone has ever said that adjusting status from the VWP can't be done! However, it is illegal to enter the US as a visitor with the intent to stay to adjust status. That's not to say that people don't get away with it! But, like you, I wouldn't recommend trying!

Ian

Bob

You can apply for work, do interviews and even accept a job whenever you like, even on the VWP, but you can't sign a contract of work until you are authorised, which if you go with the CR route would be when you land in the US, but wouldn't be till you got your EAD if you went the K1 route, which would be another 90 days potentially after you've applied for it.

Linda44

A few points if you want to go via the work visa route,either H-1B #non-immigrant# or EB-2 #immigrant-GC#
- #B#make sure your resume is up to scratch #/B##there are loads of resources/books available to help and also resume writing services##Usually it's only academic positions that require a full CV#
It needs to capture the readers interest and be targeted to the job you're looking for#
-visit O'NET #USDOL job site#
http://www.onetonline.org/ has lists of job titles with levels and usual duties,qualifications,skills etc. If you get a job offer and the job description/your resume looks close to one of these then you stand a better chance of getting through Labor certification #first step for Green card application#
-post it on linkedin
-use search engines like simply hired to search for jobs
-see if your girlfriend has any contacts in desired work area- more than 50% of jobs are never advertised.

There are no backlogs for either H1-b or EB2 for Europeans.
BTW-I believe the US is short of engineers. ONET tells you if a job has a "bright outlook".

Good Luck

scrubbedexpat099

Marriage