Nutmegger

As others have said in the past -- you're not doing it "just to emigrate," you're doing it to be together! If she is willing to give up her life and job in the UK to follow you and your job to the US, why not get married so that you can stay together and she will have the right to work, to say nothing of that all-important medical insurance! Good luck.

retzie

Another person voting for getting married. If she's on an L-2, she can get employment authorisation, which would open up jobs she'd essentially have no other way of getting (not willing to spend $$$ for a visa, not eligible for any visa category, etc.). In fact, having an L-2 would be an enviable position, from a flexible-career-advancement point of view!

As has been mentioned, health insurance is also an issue. IMO, this alone would make marriage worth it. (A spouse can be added to your company-sponsored plan; a non-spouse usually cannot.)

Yes, I am a giant unromantic who believes marriage is for tax, visa and health insurance purposes.

Sally Redux

You youngsters make too big a deal about marriage. You don't need to save up for it, and you don't need to agonize over a million reasons until you find the 'right' one.

jeffreyhy

What would be the duration of your stint in NY?

Regards, JEff

afrocleland

We'd be planning on going for a couple of years but if it ended up great we might settle. If I got her over on a cohabiting type visa after living together for a few months could she look for a company to sponsor her for her own visa?
I hinted at getting married and she shot me down. She's got the same idea as me, that we're just too young to do it!

ian-mstm

You'll be required to show proof that you've been living together for a significant period of time. I think "a few months" just isn't going to cut the mustard. I don't recommend trying this route unless you've been living together for a year or more... but that's just me!


Yes.


I suggest you either break up with her now, or forego the job offer.

Ian

Noorah101

Yes.

Rene

Noorah101

I'm honestly just curious. What is the difference between living together now for a few months, and then if she gets the B-2 visa, living together for 2 or more years in the USA....as opposed to getting married and living together now?

What's the difference between living together and being married? Why are you too young to get married, but not too young to live together, which carries all the same responsibilities?

So she's OK not working in the USA, and she's OK having no health insurance in the USA? Does she have enough money to cover any hospitalization or health issues that may come up for her?

Rene

retzie

I suggest you have her look into the reality of a journalist at her level being sponsored for a visa, then discuss marriage again. If I recall correctly, people on BE have posted about jumping through all the hoops to get a cohabiting partner visa*, then eventually realising marriage was SO MUCH EASIER and doing it anyway.

(*I also do not think you will qualify as cohabiting with "a few months".)

Seriously, marriage is just a piece of paper. Upping sticks and moving around the world for someone is a much bigger deal!

afrocleland

No, she would be ok going with the intention of getting work, but its looking unrealistic now. Maybe a year in London would be good for her to get experience or even into a big firm that she could move with. And after a year I could get her in on a cohabiting type visa? From there she could look for a company to sponsor her? I might see if I can get her on the grad program at my firm

Noorah101

Will your own position at work be available a year from now for a transfer?

What would happen if your company transfer takes you to NYC, but her company transfer takes her to Los Angeles? You'd still be faced with living apart.

With a year of cohabitating under your belt, the B-2 visa would probably be easier to get, yes. Keep in mind the "cohabitating visa" is just a B-2 visitor visa, but with an annotation that it's a cohabitating partner. She will probably get 6 months allowed stay in the USA and would have to either leave and re-enter or apply for an extension in the USA.

Yes. She is allowed to look for work while visiting the USA.

What is the Grad Program? Would that be a student visa?

Rene

retzie

FWIW, she could come over now on the VWP and look for a company to sponsor her. That part has nothing to do with being on a cohabiting partner visa. In either case, she just can't sign a contract until she leaves the country.

Be aware that sourcing work in-country is a dicey business. The H-1B quota is back to being over-enrolled, so even if she found someone to sponsor her, she would likely be stuck in the lottery to get an actual visa. Not to mention the fact that a job would need to be found and a petition filed on April 1, looking ahead to starting work October 1.

If she can work for a multinational for one year in the UK, her own L-1 transfer would be a much safer bet. Though, this has its own restrictions on the type of positions that are eligible.



P.S. Marriage does become a slightly different beast when you're in a foreign country. A spouse would have automatic rights in, say, a hospital or legal setting - something to consider when you're living far from your home support network.

Michael

You said that hopefully you'll be getting a company transfer. Have you been working for the company for at least one year? Have you been offered a job in the US? Has HR agreed to pay the cost of the visa $$$$ and possibly relocation costs?

Generally a company transfer is a fairly expensive and time consuming proposition for a company to undertake and usually they only do it when they can't find someone on the local market that can perform that work.

Although getting a L1 visa is one of the easier visas to get, with your youth and possibly limited experience, your qualifications may be scrutinized by the US embassy much more closely than someone older and with more experience.

DavidLemon

If you postpone your transfer and live with her for a year, then she could apply for the B-2, but im so struggling to understand your logic. If you do not postpone your transfer, you will not be able to demonstrate cohabiting as you would be in the US and thus one year down the line you might find yourselves back in this position where you started.
The B-2 visa has no guarantees by the way. There are some other criteria that have to be satisfied in order to get approved for this visa, and it is here that it could fail. Just because you can prove you live together, and you have a valid non-immigrant visa does not automatically qualify her for the B-2.

I strongly suggest that you think about the path in which you are thinking of taking, and discuss it together. The boyfriend and girlfriend paradigm whilst is all cute and lovey dovey, it can screw you when it comes to US Immigration.
Why would you be prepared to live together long enough to get her over on a non-immigrant visa that entitles her to no benefits, but not prepared to put your lives in order so that she might be able to come over on the derivative visa pertinent to you, thus that she will be entitled to benefits.

Google medical costs in the US. I have been here almost three years and the amount of money spent on this subject alone has been astronomical. everything you take for granted in the UK has been thrown out of the window when you get here.

Lbjen

You need money for the wedding, not the marriage. Lots of people do the legal business quietly then do the big deal later on.

I can understand if you aren't really sure you'll end up staying together, it seems like such a big decision to make at your age. But honestly transfer opportunities like this don't come along every day and if a shot in America is what you really want, it may be time to have some honest discussions. Sure, nobody wants to get married thinking they can just get divorced if it doesn't work out but sometimes in life you have to make decisions you never thought you would.

Good luck and I hope you get what you want!