Hey everyone!
I am hoping that someone could give us some advice. Basically this is our situation; Myself (22) & son live apart from my Parents, brother and sister - all in the UK. However, we are all looking into moving to California where we have some really close friends (like family, but legally not). We would all want to go together & live together until a time where myself and son can be independent.
I would appreciate if anyone could shed some light on what Visas we would require etc, or if we would even be eligible for any. Myself, mother & father will all work; however we have no degrees or anything employers could not find in current citizens.
Also - my parents' friends have offered to be their 'sponser' - would myself and son need a separate sponser because I am an adult, or will we all fall under the same umbrella as we will all live together?


I understand this is all very basic but thank you to anyone who has any information to share!

*sigh*

Go read Pulaski's Ways to Live and Work in the US (Pulaski's Ways: How to Live and Work in the USA : British Expat Wiki) which is a wiki on this forum. Then come back and rephrase your question if you still need clarification. It will help you get more specific advice for your particular situation.

Hoffage

Because of his age you would both need to get visas, however not having degrees or highly specialised skills will, almost certainly, rule it out unless you have sufficient cash to buy a business or become an investor. You have already been pointed in the direction of the Wiki article you will need to read very carefully.

I am afraid that the answer is very simple.

Realistically, unless there is some additional information that you forgot to mention (such as the fact that you are all U.S. citizens or have very substantial financial assets) it just isn't going to happen.

At least it is not Florida.

From the information posted so far, there is no visa suitable for your situation. Can you visit the US? Yes! Can you live/work in the US? No.

Sorry, but that is the reality of your situation based on the information given. To keep things in perspective, most of the people in the world will never come to the US as anything other than a visitor.

Ian

If you were born outside the UK, depending on where you were born, you might be eligible to apply for a diversity visa (large countries such as China, India, Brazil and a number of others, are excluded from the diversity visa program). The spouse of anyone eligible can also apply separately (doubling their chances). The odds of any one individual "winning" a visa in any one year is less than 2%, unless you are from Oceania.

Even if someone did get a diversity visa it would only cover themself, their spouse and children younger than 21. It would take five years before they could apply for citizenship and petition for their parents, adult children, and siblings, and the time to get a visa for them would be 12-14 years (except for parents, for which the time is much shorter).

Kind of correct but Ian forgets that the U.S. has the highest levels of immigration (legal and probably illegal ! ) out of any country in the world so is far from the North Korea he likes to portray it as for whatever reason!

Just because there are many legal ways to immigrate to the US doesn't mean that there is a legal way for everyone to immigrate to the US.

With respect, what I wrote earlier is the truth whether you choose to believe it or not: "... most of the people in the world will never come to the US as anything other than a visitor."

Further, on a per capita basis, Australia, Canada, and the UK all have a higher immigration rate than the US. Yet people wonder why it's so difficult to get to the US! In future, I suggest you do some research before making definitive comments.

Ian

No country has a legal way for everyone to immigrate onto its land who wants to but given the numbers who end up in the U.S. it is far from the fortress Ian makes it out to be

Did you tip the bar maid?

I poured it myself.

So then what's your suggestion for the OP? Should she, her baby, her parents and her brother all head to the US as illegals?