Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
Jun 12th 2014, 11:00 pm
#16
Banned
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 265
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
Well the minimum family sponsored is 226k and employment sponsored is 140k, asylum 80k, GC lottery 55k so add all the other innumerable categories together its how the annual 1 mill figure is reached
Jun 13th 2014, 2:15 am
#17
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Central FL, Ex Londoner
Posts: 58
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
Well as a person who came with parents on E2. I would say never do it, Very expensive and just no point unless you really can make a better life for yourself.
Jun 13th 2014, 3:16 am
#18
BE Irregular
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Tampa Bay Florida
Posts: 4,849
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
Good evening all. I'm hoping to get some advice/clarification on whether emigrating to the USA is a realistic possibility, or whether it's simply a dream.
I'm 23, graduate this month with a 2:1 degree in IT, and am hoping (fingers crossed) to be made an offer from either one of two large UK banks where I've made the final stage of their graduate scheme recruitment process, otherwise I'll be back to the drawing board.
I've done some research myself, and the options I seem to have found are:
Am I missing anything? Are there any other routes? Is IT generally a good sector to be in for US immigration purposes, or are they outsourcing overseas?
Just some other notes: I'm single, born in the UK so cannot use the green card lottery, have no family members who are US citizens, do not have £500k-£1m to 'buy' a green card, do not have many ties to the UK (no mortgage, wife, kids, Bentley), and have previously worked in the US during the summer on a J1 visa.
I'm 23, graduate this month with a 2:1 degree in IT, and am hoping (fingers crossed) to be made an offer from either one of two large UK banks where I've made the final stage of their graduate scheme recruitment process, otherwise I'll be back to the drawing board.
I've done some research myself, and the options I seem to have found are:
- Get to a position within a company where I'm a big enough asset that they'll transfer me internally at great cost
- Get X amount years of experience and apply for jobs via the H-1B, which is often over-subscribed, expensive, and somewhat of a lottery
- Work for X amount of years, save £40k+, study a MSc in the USA, followed by an OPT year and network like crazy and hope I find a H-1B sponsor
- Marry a US citizen
- Move to Canada instead
Am I missing anything? Are there any other routes? Is IT generally a good sector to be in for US immigration purposes, or are they outsourcing overseas?
Just some other notes: I'm single, born in the UK so cannot use the green card lottery, have no family members who are US citizens, do not have £500k-£1m to 'buy' a green card, do not have many ties to the UK (no mortgage, wife, kids, Bentley), and have previously worked in the US during the summer on a J1 visa.
Are you female, blonde, under 40, like cats?
Jun 14th 2014, 12:11 am
#19
Grumpy Know-it-all
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 8,928
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
Nearly half are immediately available visas, i.e. marriage, parents, children. Another 19.6% are the family-based preferences, so 66% total are family-based. 14% are employment-based. I.e. 143,998 in 2012.
Whereas in 2012, Canada granted permanent residence to 160,819 people for employment-based reasons, comprising 65.4% of people granted permanent residence.
Facts and figures 2012 – Immigration overview: Permanent and temporary residents – Permanent residents
So in other words, a country with one-ninth the population of the US granted permanent residence to more people for economic reasons.
Personally I don't think there's a better statistic for showing how screwed up the US immigration system is.
Jun 14th 2014, 1:49 am
#20
Banned
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 265
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
There needs to be the distinction between numbers gaining LPR and immigration into the US per year naturally as a lot getting LPR have likely been in the US mainly years but the numbers are pretty similar so the difference must be made up by L/E/H visa people etc
Jun 14th 2014, 1:57 am
#21
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
What do you mean by "the numbers are pretty similar"?
Jun 14th 2014, 2:25 am
#22
Banned
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 265
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
The numbers gaining LPR per year versus the numbers of new people entering the country each year via immigrant and nonimmigrant visas
Jun 16th 2014, 1:54 pm
#23
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 559
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
This is another reason why the term "undocumented immigrant" is not terribly helpful, as it is frequently used to describe people who are neither undocumented nor immigrants.
Jun 16th 2014, 3:37 pm
#24
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
Immigrants would commonly be described as those moving somewhere with no plans to return.
That would include most sans documentation.
Their status in a host community is another issue.
That would include most sans documentation.
Their status in a host community is another issue.
Jun 16th 2014, 6:47 pm
#25
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 559
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
That would include most sans documentation.
The larger point is that there is a substantial difference between "undocumented" and "ineligible to obtain the documentation I would prefer". I get that "illegal" also has its problems as an adjective.
Jun 17th 2014, 12:28 am
#26
Grumpy Know-it-all
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 8,928
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
It's very hard to stay in a non-immigrant status for really long periods, the only categories I can think of where it's possible are E-1/2 and TN-1/2 (possibly H-1B if you're from India). So figures for LPR grants are the metric to use, although some of them are effectively "time adjusted" because they entered in a non-immigrant status then did AOS later.
Non-immigrant status in Canada is roughly the same sort of thing so it's a fair comparison.
"Non-immigrant" means exactly that, so they either get LPR status at some point or have to leave, even people on E-1/2 and TN-1/2 have to, even though they may have been in the US for decades.
Jun 28th 2014, 12:28 pm
#27
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,172
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
Hello! In general, are most visas temporary in terms of duration? E.g. do you have to return within 3 to 6 years? Are extensions in 1 year increments or can the stay be longer if your job title changes?
Is permanent citizenship obtained through marrying a US citizen or via the naturalization process?
Is permanent citizenship obtained through marrying a US citizen or via the naturalization process?
If it's a work based visa and the employer wants to go through the process of getting you a greencard, once you get that you can stay and move around job wise.
After having the greencard for 5 years, you can apply for US citizenship. That's a bit simplified, but that's the gist of it.
Jun 28th 2014, 1:41 pm
#28
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 38,865
Re: Emigrating to the USA - realistic?
All visas are temporary - they all have a specific expiry date.
It seems you're confusing the term "visa" with "status". They aren't interchangeable. A visa is a travel document... nothing more. Once you arrive in the US, you are in "status". It is possible to remain in status even if the underlying visa expires.
Do you, perhaps, mean "permanent resident" (= green card)?
Marriage to a USC confers neither PR status nor citizenship. You must first be a PR (usually for 5 years, but only 3 if married to a USC) before you can become a US citizen. If you're talking about PR status itself, then there are a number of ways forward. Google is your friend.
Ian
E.g. do you have to return within 3 to 6 years? Are extensions in 1 year increments or can the stay be longer if your job title changes?
Is permanent citizenship...
... obtained through marrying a US citizen or via the naturalization process?
Ian
