clarkefamily

carpenter and family looking to make the move to Colorado. Have no idea where to start looking for some help I'm 29 from the uk and my partner 27 and our daughter who's 2

tom169

Pulaski's Ways: How to Live and Work in the USA : British Expat Wiki

S Folinsky

The construction trades are next to impossible as a basis for immigration. There is little beastie called a "Davis-Bacon wage determination" which gets in the way. Please don't ask me to explain it; I don't think I could even if I wanted to.

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE.

As you may have gathered from the link given above, a carpenter isn't likely to qualify for an employment based visa. What does your partner (note she'll need to become your wife if you want to get a derivative visa!) do, does she have skills more in demand maybe?

Good luck.

clarkefamily

My partners qualifications are

Beauty therapy CIBTAC / ITEC / CIDESCO qualifications

christmasoompa

Ah, ok. So unfortunately another job that won't lead to a visa.

Any other route that you see in the link above that may work? Why Colorado, do you have family there? If so, which family members?

materialcontroller

None of that counts for a thing in the USA.

Have you got a substantial amount of money to invest in buying a US business and using that as a potential way in?

BenK91

My father in law was in the construction industry here in Colorado. I helped him out a little here and there on weekends.

Unless you can speak Spanish (absolute necessity), want to work in freezing cold weather (with windchill it can get down to minus 10C plus in some places!) and work for the absolute bare minimum wage with zero paid time off and no sick days then I wouldn't recommend it.

Obviously you'd need a visa too which by the looks of it, unfortunately you don't qualify for unless you have a substantial sum of money.

Just to add, have you been here before? It's definitely a fantastic place to live, I enjoy it very much but it is a very expensive place to live. House prices and rent are extremely high. I certainly wouldn't want to be trying to live here on a carpenters wage (that's of no disrespect to you, it's just not an area which will pay a comfortable living wage for you and your family). At minimum you're looking at $300,000 for a small house in a not very nice part of the Denver-metro area and even then the houses normally sell for above their asking price as my sister-in-law and her boyfriend are finding out now as they're trying to purchase their first home.

As great as it is here with the skiing, the beautiful countryside etc etc it really does require a good sum of money to be able to enjoy those things. A family ski-pass for the day at one of the more popular mountains would be at minimum $200+.

clarkefamily

You denver people love putting people off!! hahahaha if its not all the murders going on round there its the weather haha im up for the challenge and we have been drawn there so

Nutmegger

Unfortunately, it's not a matter of being up for a challenge -- it's a matter of being eligible for a visa, and it appears there isn't a suitable one for your family. How about seeing if Canada might work for you?

Jerseygirl

Unfortunately you need a visa.

BenK91

Certainly not trying to put you off, as I said it’s a great state and a fantastic place to live if you can finance yourself.

Best of luck in the hunt for a visa!

Former Lancastrian

FFS why is it where a person might not be eligible for moving to the USA are then told to try Canada? What makes you think we would want them lol.
Yeah I know we will basically accept everyone and their dog

Rete

Another know it all who knows diddly squat about a place that they have read about and perhaps visited for 2 weeks while the person that lives and works there knows squat.

You have absolutely no qualifications for a work visa of any kind nor does your partner.

Try Canada. As Lancaster noted and my Canadian husband confirms, Canada accepts just about anyone.

Nutmegger

I figured they might find an area with a climate similar to CO!