jamesharvey3

Thanks Rob,
I used to work for a company in chippenham, spent a lot of time in wilts, a lot better than the midlands(walsall to be exact)
I've been doing some research and im pretty shocked at the responses, weve been looking at coming for sometime, and visiting the the us since 2003, its not a pipe dream following a holiday, all im expecting is to live a normal life with better weather, thats it.
i do chuckle at those channels, chalk and cheese lol
thanks for your input

Jim

jamesharvey3

Can i just add, I dont have to live in Irvine thats just where the job is based(wont be their all the time) id be happy to commute an hour to cut costs if needed

jim

Psyman

EB3 visa has been suggested. I came on an EB3 back in 2002. It took over 2 and half years for the application to grind through the process. No idea what the wait is like now, but your prospective employer should be informed of the potential wait time. My prospective employer didn't expect to wait that long, they kept thinking it was going to go through anytime. That's probably why they stuck with it, but to find an employer willing to sponsor you and wait a long time is difficult. Labor certification is required too, which means the employer has to prove that no US citizen is available to do the job.

jamesharvey3

He's fully aware of the wait time hed done his research prior to contacting me, when i said a year he said wishful thinking lol
We already know about the labour cert where he has to advertise the role in 3 places and get a salary adjudication, the previous job in tampa i got, the guy had the role on his website for 12 months and couldnt fill it, this guy has been looking in california for a long time also

jim

Nutmegger

jamesharvey3

Noorah101

The thing is, he will age out at 21, so will need to decide sooner than later.

Rene

S Folinsky

Note that Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) may allow for adjustment of the "age out" upwards. That said, description of CSPA age adjustments always gave me a headache.

Noorah101

LOL...duly noted!

Rene

Psyman

That's good that he knows what he is getting into. It was a bit of an unsettling wait for me, as the application for the EB3 went through the process for so long. You don't know what some immigration official may decide that could derail the process etc., so I never assumed I was going to make it over. By the time the visa came through I actually had a better job in the UK than the one I could finally take up in the US! I still came over, just to see what might be, and for the adventure etc. I had no kids, no ties or anything at the time. Hope it goes a lot quicker for you. Having said all that, I'd much rather be back in the UK these days, but have too many roots established here now.

scrubbedexpat099

I can remember when EB3 was a 6 year wait, seems much quicker now.

neill

EB3 is currently retrogressed everywhere but that should straighten itself out by the end of this calendar year (for Non-India/China born folk at least).

S Folinsky

Visa allocation is on Fiscal Year, not calendar year. Fiscal Year 2019 starts on October 1, 2018. HistirHist experience is for retrogression to be common in September.

Havnfun

I would question the 3 bedroom 2 bath townhouse for $1800, it certainly won't be located in Irvine for that price.

I live in the neighboring city of Lake Forest and work in real estate. The cheapest 3 bedroom townhouse to rent in Irvine currently is $2500/month and it only has 1.5 baths which means only one bath/shower. You may find rentals in cities surrounding Irvine that are cheaper but not by much more than a couple hundred dollars a month. You may find rentals advertised directly by owner but you have to be really careful as so many of the ads are scams.

sherbert

130k sounds like a lot but the truth is that cost of living is insanely expensive in CA. My OH and I (no kids) live on a bit more than that (almost 200k) a year in admittedly more expensive Silicon Valley and, while we do not struggle, we have little left over every month to save after taxes, rent and expenses. Well over half of OH's monthly salary goes on rent. For a family of four, your contributions to the company healthcare plan will also be high (my OH would pay $5 - yes $5 - a month if it was just them on the health insurance: that shoots up to $540 with me on it).

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, costs significantly more than in the UK, with the exception of petrol. When you arrive, make sure you have a large pot of cash ready at your disposal (I'm talking thousands). As someone with no credit history you'll be required to pay up front/large deposits for services, such as Internet, phone, gas etc. In CA it's common to pay first/last month's rent and a large deposit. The upside is that rental properties in CA usually come with all appliances and curtains/blinds etc.

I also believe you will struggle on 130k in Irvine with a family to take care of. With two teenage kids in LA, you'll need at least two, if not three cars. When you read these average salaries, you can bet that the people earning them are struggling, living in bad areas, are indebted up to the eyeballs etc. Be careful also with housing. That affordable townhouse you saw may be in a really bad area, and neighbourhoods change from one street to the next in the US. The rule is if it's too good to be true, it is.