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Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Old Sep 4th 2018, 7:38 pm
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Default Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Hi all,

i have a few questions with regards to the visa process with moving to the US.

I am not married or engaged to my partner, he has just been offered a job in Miami in Florida. It is an internal move within the same company and is a great opportunity for him. He is expecting to have moved there by the new year. I am a teacher in England, I have just completed my NQT year July 2018. I have a history degree, 3 a levels and 10 GCSEs. However, I am aware that not being married may cause a few difficulties so my questions are:

1) Any tips on searching for a job around the Miami area in teaching?
2) do I need any additional qualifications to teach in the US?
3) Does it seem at all possible that I could obtain a visa in order to join him? If so, what kind?
4) any other tips on how to apply for a visa or a job over there?

As you can imagine this is quite a big deal, we are long term but are very reluctant to marry only in order to move countries!


Thank you in advance

Rachel
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 7:41 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Are you sure the visa he may/may not get will allow you to work? (You will have to be married regardless).
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 7:42 pm
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Smile Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Originally Posted by rlwat94
Hi all,

i have a few questions with regards to the visa process with moving to the US.

I am not married or engaged to my partner, he has just been offered a job in Miami in Florida. It is an internal move within the same company and is a great opportunity for him. He is expecting to have moved there by the new year. I am a teacher in England, I have just completed my NQT year July 2018. I have a history degree, 3 a levels and 10 GCSEs. However, I am aware that not being married may cause a few difficulties so my questions are:

1) Any tips on searching for a job around the Miami area in teaching?
2) do I need any additional qualifications to teach in the US?
3) Does it seem at all possible that I could obtain a visa in order to join him? If so, what kind?
4) any other tips on how to apply for a visa or a job over there?

As you can imagine this is quite a big deal, we are long term but are very reluctant to marry only in order to move countries!


Thank you in advance

Rachel
Others will help you with the specifics of your questions, however just wanted to say I moved to Miami in June with my family and LOVE it here. Very few English but I like that. I do know that unless you are eligible for a visa in your own right then you need to be married for a derivative of your partner's visa. I say do it!
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 8:18 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Originally Posted by BenK91
Are you sure the visa he may/may not get will allow you to work? (You will have to be married regardless).
not sure - he hasn’t got this info yet as literally got the job offer today.

I’ve done a bit of reading about the different visas, but hadn’t realised some may not allow me to work if it’s through his employer.
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 8:21 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Originally Posted by karenkaren1
Others will help you with the specifics of your questions, however just wanted to say I moved to Miami in June with my family and LOVE it here. Very few English but I like that. I do know that unless you are eligible for a visa in your own right then you need to be married for a derivative of your partner's visa. I say do it!
Thank you! Great to hear how much you love it! It does look amazing, just wish it was easier to move there!
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 8:29 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Originally Posted by rlwat94
Hi all,

i have a few questions with regards to the visa process with moving to the US.

I am not married or engaged to my partner, he has just been offered a job in Miami in Florida. It is an internal move within the same company and is a great opportunity for him. He is expecting to have moved there by the new year. I am a teacher in England, I have just completed my NQT year July 2018. I have a history degree, 3 a levels and 10 GCSEs. However, I am aware that not being married may cause a few difficulties so my questions are:

1) Any tips on searching for a job around the Miami area in teaching?
2) do I need any additional qualifications to teach in the US?
3) Does it seem at all possible that I could obtain a visa in order to join him? If so, what kind?
4) any other tips on how to apply for a visa or a job over there?

As you can imagine this is quite a big deal, we are long term but are very reluctant to marry only in order to move countries!


Thank you in advance

Rachel
You are marrying to spend your lives together. If you are indeed long term, what’s the big deal? Go for it! As the wife of someone who has been transferred within his existing company (L visa), you will be eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document. It is pretty much your only hope for working in the US. Now, we’re off to choose our hats. Good luck!
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 9:56 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Originally Posted by rlwat94


Thank you! Great to hear how much you love it! It does look amazing, just wish it was easier to move there!
I hear ya! we spend 10 yrs + talking about ways we could do it before an opportunity came along...
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 9:59 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Hi Rachel,

if he's transferring with his existing company, its probably an L visa. You would need to be married in order to get an L2 visa, but that visa allows you to apply for work authorization in the USA, which is a good thing.

It would be quite difficult, I'd say, to get a work visa of your own, for teaching, and especially being so specific as to the city.

Even with permission to work, you may need to get qualified to teach in the USA...others can help you with that.

Rene
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 10:27 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

It is likely to be a L visa.
As others have said if you want to work, you have to marry and apply for EAD once you arrive in USA ( and that wilt take 60-100 days )
So if you are married and spouse visa is L, it will be about 100 days before you can work having landed in US

If you think this might be a permanent move, then you should discuss Green Card

Now is the time to review your passport expiry dates.
You do not want to have to go through renewal / extensions / drives license issues soon after you arrive
Anything below 2021 and I recommend you get new ones now.
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 11:17 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Not sure what passport renewal has to do with anything: I recently renewed mine from CA and it took 5 days from sending it over to it being returned to me, probably much quicker than it would have been if I'd have done it from the UK.

In response to the OP: if he's being transferred, it will likely be on an L1 visa and, if married, you'll be able to get an L2 visa through him. You'll need to wait a couple of months after arrival for your EAD (employment authorisation document) before you can actually start work. I'd look at private or international schools though, as I'm not sure public schools (state schools). Bear in mind that in Miami, a large proportion of the population speaks Spanish as a first language.

It will be pretty much impossible for you to accompany him without being married so you will need to seriously consider this.
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Old Sep 4th 2018, 11:25 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Originally Posted by sherbert
Not sure what passport renewal has to do with anything: I recently renewed mine from CA and it took 5 days from sending it over to it being returned to me, probably much quicker than it would have been if I'd have done it from the UK.
If you're here on a non-immigrant visa then your I-94 expiration date is tied to your passport expiration so if your passport expires before your petition expiration date you'll be admitted for a shorter duration.
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Old Sep 5th 2018, 12:50 am
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Originally Posted by Olly_
If you're here on a non-immigrant visa then your I-94 expiration date is tied to your passport expiration so if your passport expires before your petition expiration date you'll be admitted for a shorter duration.
Exactly
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Old Sep 5th 2018, 11:16 am
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

I lived in Miami for many, many years.

You will need to be licensed to teach by the State of Florida. The Florida Department of Education should have information about how overseas qualified teachers can get their registrations. It will likely involve an exam, and perhaps some top-up courses. You have not mentioned if you are primary or secondary - those are different certifications in Florida.

You apply directly to school principals. The Miami-Dade Public Schools web site has information about this.

Don't bother applying until you have Florida teaching certification.

This isn't a particularly good time to look for a position because the school year has just started. Around February, March etc staffing for next year will begin and people will start moving around and applying, and that will create vacancies.

The job market for teachers isn't great, but not impossible, though with no local experience or local qualifications (and presumably no Spanish skills) you may find it very difficult.

Miami schools vary wildly in quality. Some public high schools there routinely send batches of kids to Ivy League universities, and some public schools are barely functional.

You could also do relief teaching to get your name in circulation, but the pay is terrible (something like $80 per day). A long time ago you didn't need to be a certified teacher to do that, but that information could be out-of-date.

Keep in mind Miami is a huge, sprawling city and a car is essential. You could easily end up in a school an hour or more from where you live.

Last edited by carcajou; Sep 5th 2018 at 11:20 am.
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Old Sep 5th 2018, 1:30 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

Takes 4 to 5 months to get EAD so would be the next school year anyway.
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Old Sep 5th 2018, 2:45 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Miami, Florida with partner

I am also a teacher from the U.K. and just moved to Florida (I am married to a US citizen so I have permanent residency). I used a company called World Education Services (WES) to match my qualifications up with US ones. If you look on their website, you can find out how to do it. I now need to apply for a Florida teaching license and I have my WES documents to send to them. The Florida Education Department accept WES documents as proof.

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