Spiritfire

Hello,

Thanks in advance for your responses.

I am a teacher in the UK, I'm British and so are my 3 children (Below 18) and my wife is South African.

I've been interviewed for a position in the US, and the school are very interested in hiring me but have not hired from abroad before.

I've advised them to use an attorney to help them with the process. I do have a few questions:

1) What can I do on my side to help with the VISA process?
2) How do I get VISAs for my family? Do I just wait for those details to be requested?
3) Am I allowed to go to the US on the VWP in August and wait for my work permit to come into action or do I have to return back to the UK? If we want to setup a house etc before working for the school.
4) Is there a better visa for me to apply under?

I'm aware that it's a lottery and that the H1B is not guaranteed. I'm sure I'll have many more questions along the way.

scrubbedexpat099

VISA is a credit card, Visa wise one of the big pluses is that it is mainly down to them.

H4, no work for spouse.

You can visit, need to come back, interview etc.

Have you applied for the DV Lottery.

Schools usually are not subject to the cap.

Does the School know it will cost.

Pulaski

H1B's for research or educational purposes are "uncapped", certainly for college-level positions, so not subject to the lottery. I am not sure if that applies to teaching positions at schools.

There are very few work visa options that you can apply for - applications are invariably made by the employer and are made at the employer's discretion.

Mercyknight

Sorry Visa was autocorrecting! Lol. I have no problem getting one of those.

Yes we have applied for DV.

It’s a private school, and yes they know that it’ll cost. They have to get ratified etc.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I read that they’d removed the restrictions on H4 if you request it your partner can work? Maybe I’m wrong though...

Noorah101

Nothing except supply whatever information the school and/or their attorney asks of you.

The school submits a petition for you. If approved, you all apply for visas. That's it.

Yes, the school/employer must begin the process by filing a petition.

You won't be getting a work permit. You'll be getting a work visa. You can visit the USA on the VWP as usual while the visa process is going on. The visa interview will be held in the UK.

You can visit using the VWP to house-hunt, etc, before making the final move over, if you have to.

Since we don't know what visa the school will be petitioning you for, it's hard to say if there's a "better" one out there. But if you're going to be a teacher, chances are it will be an H1B and there probably won't be another option. That said, this is all up to the school/employer, so nothing you need to be concerned about. They will petition for the appropriate visa.

We are here to help!

Rene

Pulaski

Are you related to Spitfire?
Have you both applied? - If one spouse is eligible, both spouses are eligible, even if the other spouse is from a country that is not eligible for the DV program. Not for an H-4.

Twinkle0927

Is your wife able to get a visa that allows her to work? Can she be transferred with her current employer? Or is she also a teacher that could be employed by the same school?

If not, you’ll need to ask yourself if the salary will be enough to keep all 5 of you to the standard to which you have become accustomed or better otherwise there’s not much point...

Mercyknight

Yeah I’ve been trying to decipher this:

https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/employment-authorization-certain-h-4-dependent-spouses

It looks like we can request permission for her to work.

The job in the states isn’t standard teaching post, it’s a leadership/Director position

Orangepants

The spouse of a H-1B can work once the beneficiary of the H-1B has an approved 1-140 which is a petition for a green card. Could take several years to get to that point and depends if the employer will sponsor for the GC.
Ask the employer if they are prepared to go straight for green card sponsorship.

Mercyknight

I’m sorry for being a total newbie, but what does that mean? I get what a Green Card is but you seem to be referring to a process I’m not aware of.

Nutmegger

You cannot just decide that you want to be a permanent legal resident of the US. The company that sponsored your visa has to be willing to also sponsor you to become a resident. Many people get it written into their contract that this will take place within a specific period of time.

Mercyknight

That is possibly something I can ask them, are they able to apply for a Green Card straightaway, or even instead of H1B?

SanDiegogirl

Whatever Orangepants is suggesting it will be instead of the H1B visa.

Rete

Or to confuse you more, what orangepants' first sentence meant is that you can get here on an employer sponsored H1B visa and then after being here, the employer can then start the green card process. The I-140 is the first step in that process. Once it is approved your spouse can file for an employment authorization document. She cannot work before that is received and it can take a year or more before you reach that point. If they are not willing to sponsor you for a green card, then she is s-o-l and can't work.

Jerseygirl

Have you registered two accounts with us or perhaps you are husband and wife/partners?

If you are one person using two accounts...please choose which account you wish to use as we do not allow members to use more than one account.