old.sparkles

Just a thought, but have you considered trying out for a company like Mars? They do apprenticeships, and I know of more than one person who made the move to the US after moving up the ranks having started as a tech. As an ex martian I can tell you that they are a great company to work for and take on a number of apprentices each year at the Slough site, and I think it's the same across all factories. Not sure where in the UK you are, but as a long term goal, this may be one way to do it.

Pulaski

Again, you do not have a good health profile for someone to move to the US - you face high health insurance premiums and the permanent risk of massive healthcare expenses.

scrubbedexpat097

Ok, that will give you plenty of time to research.

Please look at the big picture. Even though you say you only have to take one pill a day remember that will not be free. And sometimes even if you have insurance coverage prescriptions are often not covered and can be hundreds of dollars each month. I know that happens, I am currently having to pay the price for a medicine my insurance company won't pay for...and yes you still have to pay the insurance company every month. And most have large deductibles ( meaning you have to pay upfront before insurance kicks in) and then they only usually pay 80% of the cost .

Not having an NHS is a big downside to living in the US .

Good luck with your research.

notaclue

You really need to reassess your situation. Healthcare is ridiculously expensive in the U.S. and I can say from personal experience that many colleges charge around $2000 a semester just for crappy health insurance. Factor in tuition and living expenses you are looking at a solid $10,000 per semester and you can't work! Multiply that by four years.

Unless your parents are about to fund this or you have wads of cash, I think you are on to a non-starter.

matthews94

I studied on an F1 visa at a private four-year college, graduated a couple of years ago, but I am also married to an American who pursued his own degree through a community college. Community colleges are still relatively expensive compared to a UK degree. We're talking $3-5k in tuition per semester if you're going to one that is providing any value for money i.e. high graduation rates, % graduates employed. Please consider that UK student finance enables you to pay back your loans over a period of time while US college tuition is expected up front and you won't be eligible for federal loans. Seriously research the financial aid packages at different institutions to see what scholarships and grants they offer, plus any conditions on them. You are highly unlikely to get permission to work on an F1 visa and you will need to meet basic academic standards to stay enrolled, upon which your right to remain in the United States depends. Don't forget the cost of applying in the first place. Many schools charge application fees and you will need materials to study for the SAT/ACT if those test scores are required. As someone has also mentioned, community colleges rarely have student housing so you will need to fund rent, utilities, transport etc. Public transport can be complicated in some cities, sometimes non-existent, so you need to consider if you can afford a car plus its maintenance costs, insurance, tax. Consider if you can you afford a flight home, especially in the event of an emergency, i.e. transport to/from airport, baggage fees, transfers.

This isn't even considering your health care costs either. I am a healthy individual, had a fantastic health insurance policy with my school (low deductible, 20% copay) and still ended up paying thousands for ER admissions and basic medications like antibiotics. I cannot emphasize enough how seriously you need to consider this, especially since you have some health issues already. It is very stressful having to consider these costs when you are sick and need treatment, all the while having grades and bills to maintain.

I don't mean to sound harsh or put you off. You simply need to have a realistic understanding of your chances right now and the quality of life you would have should you enroll in a school. Any visa process will consider your ability to pay these reasonable and expected expenses. Like others have said, I would think about building your qualifications and experience in the UK first before approaching immigrating to the US. Best of luck to you in your research! The good news is that you are young and have so much time to make your dreams happen!

CallumTW

I’m going to do some research and make a few emails. The Santa Monica community college only covers 50% of your medicines up to $250, which is nowhere good enough for what I need. I would rent a student room in Santa Monica, which would be close to the college so I wouldn’t have to spend any money travelling, and if I wanted to go further out I’d either get or a bus or an Uber. My parents are quite wealthy, they’d be willing to help me pay, or at least give me a good loan, where I could pay it back over a long period and not have to stress over it. I believe that you can only work 20 hours on campus with the visa, I’d do freelance work online doing graphic design and web development to bring somewhat of an income in. The biggest issue/difficulty for me is finding insurance, my treatment isn’t cheap and I have to have it every 6 weeks. I’ll continue to keep searching.

CallumTW

I’m no-longer sick, I’m perfectly healthy as long as I keep my having my treatment.

Pulaski

Er, that's not legal, "cannot work off campus", includes self employment, and working remotely for an employer based outside the US, ..... it literally means you can work in an on-campus job and no other form of work for pay is allowed. Nothing!

Guindalf

Er no. That's not how it works. You have a disease that is currently controlled by medication. You are NOT perfectly healthy!

notaclue

Public transport: It is NOTHING like back in the UK. You cannot rely on public transport unless you are in New York, Chicago or another major, major city. Santa Monica is not one of them. Here's an example; I live in a major US city. There is one 'train station' serving 1 million people. There are two trains a week, at three in the morning, to either New York or Chicago.

Looking at the website for the Santa Monica Community college you are at minimum $3,000 per semester. Let's add housing in to this; the cheapest student housing I could find is over $1,000 a month. Add utilities, tax, travel, food, books, supplies. The cost of living in Santa Monica is horrifically high.

Your costs are at MINIMUM $2800 a month and you cannot work. Those 20 hour a week on campus jobs? You and 500 other foreign students are fighting for fewer than 50 jobs, they also pay minimum wage.

I just changed out of a job earning $70,000 a year (Around $30 an hour) and that's what I would take home each month. So let's just be honest; based on those figures you'd need around $140,000 to complete a four year degree and survive on the bare minimum. That's not including health insurance which, sadly, for you will be harder and considerably more expensive. I pay $150 a month for just me and I still need to pay the first $3000 of any claim. My wife just got a $200 bill for a doctors visit, and it's not covered by insurance. Medication for swimmers ear just cost us $300. That's $500 on one incredibly simple visit.

Time to start saving or go back to the drawing board with this one. What you are trying to do is achievable, I did it. But you are putting the horse before the cart!

neill

Hi Callum,

With your medical condition, definitely take a longer, harder look at Canada. Canada has something approaching a universal healthcare system. Because of this, Canada does screen for chronic illnesses for immigration, but you might get through. They are also more trades-friendly to immigration than the U.S.

A Canadian immigration discussion on chronic illness and admissability. : https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-im...crohns.651460/

Canadian Immgration website: cic.gc.ca

Good Luck.

matthews94

Do your parents have funds to the tune of at least 75k in the bank/assets, ready to show an immigration officer? You can work on campus but it’s highly regulated, you don’t get to choose your job a lot of times, the pay is minimal and it’s a big time commitment on top of classes. Any other income is illegal. Period.

Buses do not run like our system here in the U.K.. Many areas do not even have pavements to walk. Not having a car can severely restrict your quality of life. I know because I did it for a year before I had to get a vehicle, and that’s in a city with some public transport options. You’ll have to rely on friends for rides to Walmart, the movies, etc. Seriously ask yourself if you can cope with life in the US at any cost, even your quality of life.

I get how you want to minimize all these issues but it’s not that simple. You’re talking to people who have done this and encountered the real life difficulties. It’s not just a matter of you’ll be unhappy there, it’s a matter of you’re not even going to get there if an immigration officer thinks you won’t be able to afford it.

On healthcare, you have to realize that accidents and unplanned medical emergencies happen and in the US, you will have to pay hundreds if not thousands in deductibles and copays for things you did not anticipate. I’m talking from experience. Your health condition simply increases this risk even higher. You’re putting yourself on the line for an enormous amount of debt if things go seriously wrong, it’s not something to take lightly.

Pulaski

Eleven years ago I got an irritation on my arm, which I scratched, and it got infected, leading to blood poisoning. A "quick visit to my GP" turned into "go directly to the hospital for in-patient treatment, and surgery under general anaesthetic the following day to remove two skin sores". The result was three nights in hospital on an antibiotic drip, and a hospital bill for over $20,000! At the time I had what was considered to be good quality, low-deductible, health insurance, which is less common these days, but still had to pay 10% of the bill - so a relatively minor skin irriation turned into a $2,000 out-of-pocket expense.

Jerseygirl

Don’t expect your doctor to take non US doctor’s diagnosis and issue meds. Expect to be sent for every test/scan know to man, enabling your new doctor to treat you.

Pulaski

Indeed, and whatever drug you are prescribed for the UK may not be available in the US, or your insurer might refuse to pay for that specific drug forcing you to choose between what your doctor is allowed to prescribe, or having to pay for the drug you prefer 100% out of your own pocket.