afrocleland

Hey!
I'm hopefully getting a transfer to NY with my employer(a big American firm) and obviously they'll be able to sort my visa and stuff, but what are the rules for me bringing my long term(7 year) girlfriend? Ideally I'd rather wait tip we've saved some more to get married, but is that the only way I could bring her? She should definitely come under a skilled category, she has a 1st class honours degree in English Literature and a postgrad masters in Multimedia Journalism. She's been working for about a year as a journalist.
I'd hate this to halt our plans!
Any info would be brilliant!
Cheers!
K

jeffreyhy

Are you and your girlfriend living together?

You've asked a FAQ - you might want to use the BE search function to find numerous other threads where this issue has been discussed.

Regards, JEff

afrocleland

Ahh... Really sorry! Believe it or not I'm supposedly a technologist! We don't! We're 23 and have been together since high school. We've been saving since university to move away. Does that mean we're snookered?

civilservant

I hear wedding bells!

You don't have any other real options, unless she can afford to go to college and do a PHD or similar in the US. A working visa would require sponsership by a company and she couldnt start until October 2014 anyway.

afrocleland

That's the thing, I would... But don't want to just to emigrate. We're thing leaving that til were close to 30! I tried asking my work if they'd help but they more or less said I'd need to get the job all agreed before they'd give me an answer! Damn HR!!

Noorah101

As your girlfriend, you can't "bring" her with you. She either has to qualify for a visa based on her own merits, or come as a visitor.

If you current cohabitate, and can prove it, she might be able to get a B-2 visitor's visa (with a co-habitating partner annotation), so she could stay longer than the 90 days allowed on the VWP. But she wouldn't be able to work in the USA.

If you want to bring her as a dependent on your own visa, yes.

So are you thinking she will be able to find a work visa of her own? She needs a US company to sponsor her for a work visa, if that's the case.

What visa are YOU getting? Even if you get married, some visas allow the spouse to work, some don't. If you're getting an H1B, she'll get an H4 and she won't be allowed to work. If you're transferring with your current UK company to a US branch, you'll get an L1, she'll get an L2 and can apply for work authorization. If you're getting a J-1, she'll get a J-2 and I believe that also allows work authorization.

Rene

civilservant

He's already said he's transferring with his employer - so most likely an L1A.

sir_eccles

Realistically a journalist such as you have described would struggle to find someone willing to sponsor her for a work visa in her own right.

Assuming you are going to get an L1 visa, if you are married she would get an L2 and be able to look for work otherwise perhaps a B2 cohabiting visa on which she cannot work.

Mazel tov on your future nuptials.

Noorah101

If you don't currently live together, then the cohabitating B-2 is out.

If you're not married, your employer can't do anything regarding HER visa, unless the company is going to hire her as an individual and sponsor her own separate visa.

Here are your current options:

1. You don't get married. She can look into getting a work or student visa to the USA, based on her own merits.

2. You don't get married. She comes to visit you in the USA for 90 days at a time, on the VWP. No back-to-back trips. She must spend more time outside the USA than inside.

3. You don't get married. You don't take the job offer in the USA. You stay in the UK.

4. You get married. She gets a dependent visa. She may or may not be able to work in the USA, depending on what visa yours is.

Rene

Noorah101

Oops, sorry...missed that part.

afrocleland

These are some awesome answers. Thanks so much. I honestly don't know what type I'd get. It would be via my employer though. Would cohabiting here for 90 days help? Can she get a visa that would allow her to look for work that would get her sponsored?

jeffreyhy

No need to be sorry, especially as a first time poster. Bummer. But even if you were, and she came with you using a B2 visa, she wouldn' be allowed to work in the USA. But hey, maybe you and she can do a lot of long weekend visiting during your time in the USA? Regards, JEff

Noorah101

As others have said, if you're transferring with the same employer, it's most likely an L-1 visa.

Maybe. The longer you've cohabitated, the better. She'll need to show concrete evidence on paper that you've been cohabitating. Is she OK with not working in the USA?

She is allowed to LOOK for work while in the USA as a tourist.

Rene

afrocleland

Looks like we might need to look at plan B... Go to london for a year together, hope she gets into a PR firm (apparently that's a good industry for her) and try in a year or so... Although she'd love to do a PHD, I doubt I could afford it!thanks so much for the input evn if it wasn't what I wanted to hear!

Lbjen

Seems kind of crazy to put all your plans on hold just because you don't want to get married, even though you are planning to build a life together!