SavannaMay

Me and my husband have very recently begun entertaining the idea of moving to the USA from England. I just wanted to know how possible it would be for us, I've tried to do some research but I find a few things a little confusing.

All the people I know who got into the US did so through marriage, close family, temporary study and one girl I know who got through the diversity lottery thing but she was originally from Cameroon.

Looking at the options it seems me and my husband's route would perhaps be the Immigrant Visa, EB2 or the Non-Immigrant H1B (?) then an adjustment of status (I've heard this can take years). Forgive me if I'm totally incorrect, as I said we've only started researching properly this past week and by taking information from a bunch of different sources I've managed to confuse myself

So, I and my husband both have Bachelor's and Master's Degrees. His Masters is MSc Computer Science and mine is MA Social Work.

My biggest confusion with the employment-based Green Card is that I'm not understanding how you would have an employer to sponsor you to get a green card unless you already lived and worked in the US and, if that is so, how would you live and work in the US without a green card?

My second question would be; would it be best for us in our situation to apply separately or would it be better for my husband to apply and for me to be a part of his application as a dependent spouse? (I'm not sure if Social Work jobs would even sponsor employees?). Obviously in this situation though I wouldn't be able to work as I would receive a H4?(Again, please correct me if I'm wrong). If we went about it this way would I be a Legal Permanent Resident or would only my husband, and would I eventually be able to work?

Sorry if this makes no sense, I'm not sure if I've got all the bits and pieces correct. But if you do understand I'd appreciate the advice.

fbf2006

It seems you have your options right. An additional one might be an L1, which is an intercompany transfer visa. If your husband works for Microsoft for at least a year, for example, and they are willing to transfer him to one of their US offices, this would be the visa to use.


"My biggest confusion with the employment-based Green Card is that I'm not understanding how you would have an employer to sponsor you to get a green card unless you already lived and worked in the US and, if that is so, how would you live and work in the US without a green card?"


Regarding this question, most people that get sponsored by their employers for a green card are already working for that employer. They are typically on an H1 or L1 visa. Some are still on an F1 (student visa) optional practical training. That is they've graduated and are now on the portion of the visa that allows them to work for 1 year or more.
Then there are a few whose employers just sponsor them outright without the employee having worked for that employer at all. You don't have to be in the US. The employer simply starts the green card process.

neill

The biggest hurdle with EB-2 and EB-3 is getting an employer to sponsor you. If you do, currently there are no visa backlogs for people born in the UK (an assumption). This route would take you 18 months. But getting Greencard sponsorship without first moving to the US on a non-immigrant visa is obviously a huge hurdle.

The H-1B non-immigrant visa is easier to get but is always 3-4x oversubscribed and takes 6 months to receive if you are lucky enough to receive one. Again, you have to be sponsored by an employer.

The L-1 visa is perhaps more obvious but then you have to make career choices which involve choosing the right company in the UK, working for them in the UK for at least 1 year, and hope that they don't go back on their promise to move you to the USA.

In short, no easy routes.

Pulaski

You have some possibilities, but by far the most likely IMO is for your husband to find a job with an employer willing to transfer him on an L-1 visa - you would get an L-2, which (with an EAD), would allow you to work. Granted that is probably still a fairly long shot but in reality it is extremely difficult to emigrate to the US.

If your husband got a job independently, and received an H-1 visa, you would get an H-4 and be unable to work in the US - to be clear: that means you couldn't work while physically in the US no matter where you employer is located, nor where you are paid.

Twinkle0927

It's refreshing you see someone has started to research and also realizes that it will be an uphill struggle, even with your level of education and qualifications. As you have probably deduced from the people you referred to you in your post, the biggest category of immigrants coming into the country are spouses and fiancés, followed by parents of people already here. Pleased to see someone is realistic about it, makes a change from people who feel that they should be "entitled" to immigrate here because they "just want to work hard and make contribution".

You have already been given good advice regarding your options for employment-based immigration. As well as the "how" question, you should also be focusing on the "why". You mention becoming permanent residents (note that not all employment visas lead to a green card and even those that can, it's not guaranteed that the employer will take this step for you) so you are seeing this as a permanent move. That's a huge change to make to your lives. Especially if you know little about living here. The grass isn't always greener... I would imagine with your qualifications you are in pretty good positions in the U.K. Think about what you are giving up. Annual leave will be a big change. Also the loss of state-funded healthcare. If you've had nice holidays here in the past, it might be worth keeping it at that. I would think Canada would be a very realistic option for you as you have post-grad degrees and I'm guessing you're relatively young. You would probably score well on the Canadian points-based system.

SavannaMay

Thanks for your reply, I’m assuming it’s quite rare for an employer to hire someone from overseas who isn’t living in the country knowing they’ll then having to pay to sponsor their green card when they could just realistically hire someone who’s is already a US citizen.

If, hypothetically, my husband did the transfer L-1 route and I had an L-2; I know he could apply for adjustment of status/get the green card process moving but could I also became a Legal Permanent Resident?

Also, In regards to the H-4 would that be a permanent inability to work or again would it be a situation where if my husband were to get a green card somehow from a H-1 visa (eventually) I would too? I don’t love the idea of not working but could probably deal with it for a time but I assume it could be a number of years if it were to even happen at all.

SavannaMay

Thank you for the things to think about, as I said we really are just at the beginning of thinking of everything and weighing up our options. It seems like a very difficult process, that much is true, but yes there’s definitely a lot to consider when it comes to such a huge life decision. I was just hoping to get my head around how it actually works and how possible/plausible it’s is first before I get too invested.

SavannaMay

If, hypothetically, my husband did the transfer L-1 route and I had an L-2; I know he could apply for adjustment of status/get the green card process moving but could I also became a Legal Permanent Resident?

Also, In regards to the H-4 would that be a permanent inability to work or again would it be a situation where if my husband were to get a green card somehow from a H-1 visa (eventually) I would too? I don’t love the idea of not working but could probably deal with it for a time but I assume it could be a number of years if it were to even happen at all.

SavannaMay

Thanks for your reply, I’m assuming it’s quite rare for an employer to hire someone from overseas who isn’t living in the country knowing they’ll then having to pay to sponsor their green card when they could just realistically hire someone who’s is already a US citizen.

Jerseygirl

He can’t apply for a GC...only his employer can. Some will drag their feet because they know once the GC is in hand he could move to a new employer.

We have had members who have had H visas and it’s taken years to secure a GC. Some have timed out and have had to leave the US within a very short period of time.

SavannaMay

Ah I see what you mean so it’s really in no way guaranteed. It sounds like an awfully stressful position to be in, in the end, especially if you want to stay permanently because you can’t really make permanent decisions for yourself and your family when you don’t know if you’ll even be able to stay in the country.

Do you know if the ‘dragging of the feet’ thing happens even within large reputable companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon etc?

Pulaski

JG has given you most of the answers, but "reputation" has nothing to do with how willing, if, or when an employer would sponsor a green card. It's a total crap-shoot, and may just be down to your individual manager. In other words, even if the company would sponsor a green card your manager might decline to do so. Also budgets might get cut and the cost for sponsoring green cards makes it a prime target when costs have to be cut.

If you were on an H-4 you would become a PR if your husband got a green card, then you could work. You could also look for work yourself in the hope of finding someone who would sponsor you for a visa, but in your line of work that would be a long shot.

If your husband was sponsored for a green card, you would automatically be covered; you'd still have to complete the paperwork of course, but it's a given that you would become a permanent resident simultaneously.

SavannaMay

Okay, thank you all for your replies I think I have a much clearer understanding now. I appreciate the advice and the quick replies.

Pulaski

You're welcome.

SanDiegogirl

I did an L-1 transfer. My company asked me to transfer (so I had some extra leverage as compared to if I had asked for the transfer).

Part of the agreement with the company was that they would sponsor my Green Card application if the job worked out for me and them. I was not prepared to transfer on an open ended arrangement. If the job did not work out then I would return, but at least I had the comfort of knowing that the company was willing to sponsor my Green card.

The job worked out and the company applied for my Green Card some 7 months after my arrival. Any decent company would be agreeable to this arrangement.

While some folks say that companies don't want to sponsor for Green Cards because the applicant could then just go and work for someone else, I think a good company with a good employee recognises that a happy employee is one that is as likely to stay with the current company, which is providing stable employment, as one who would jump ship