Alanbmx

Hi , I’m a 34 manager at a digital dental laboratory 16 years experience (GDC registered) my soon to be wife is a qualified personal trainer and a qualified nursery teacher. We have an 18 month old daughter. Looked and read various post regarding visa applications, it’s a mine field , hoping to get some advice on USA visas , always loved the idea of living the California dream . (Like everyone else ) but would love to see if we even have a chance . Thanks for reading , total newby to the forum
thanks again alan

steph0scope

On the face of it, it doesn’t look likely. Do you have immediate family members who are US citizens living here? Parents or siblings?

Do you work for a multi-national company that has branches in the United States where you could be transferred internally?

Those are realistically your best options. If visas were available just because people wanted to live here then the place would be very overcrowded and there wouldn’t be enough resources to go around - hardly a dream! That’s why there are strict requirements on eligibility and numbers are limited in many categories.

Pulaski

Unfortunately it's not really a minefield, once you recognize that, based on what you have posted, it is very unlikely that there is any way for you to get a visa that would allow you to live and work in the US.

Take a look here, and here, read carefully, and then let us know if you think that any of the visa categories discussed apply to your situation.

BTW. Look out for "immigration consultants", and maybe some unscrupulous lawyers, who will charge you a fee to "advise you on your visa options", when in fact all they will do is give you the information provided in the above links.

Alanbmx

unfortunately not no family members there , and non of us work at a company where we could be transferred, we both have plenty of years experience in our jobs . in jobs that I would thought to be in need teeth and children , most people have both so both busy industries. I’m fully aware how hard it is to get into the USA . But if there’s no chance at all I might aswel find out early before spending time and money on an impossible venture, thanks Alan

Pulaski

Part of your problem, in addition to the above mentioned issues over having difficulty finding a visa you qualify for, is that the US rarely recognizes qualifications from outside the US. Whether you are an electrician or a surgeon, or anything in between, you face a period of training and some sort of re-certification.

Alanbmx

Exactly why I’m here doing my home work , can’t find any information on that issue, if I had a plan to follow which included training etc I know what’s required, a lot to address but I’ve got to look into it properly thanks Alan

christmasoompa

Your first step needs to be visa, then you can worry about training/certification. Did you see a visa route in the above Wiki links that you think you may be eligible for?

tht

I had a similar idea (except NYC) aged 21. My options were marry my USC GF (it sounds like that is not an option for you). Green card lottery, I was born in Germany (if you were born in non-NI UK not an option) and calculated my odds to be about 1:200, I was never picked. I ended up on an L1a transfer after about 10 years working towards it and getting a job that would transfer me.

I had also moved to NZ for a few years during that 10 years, moving to the US legally (if not his marriage or family) is hard, can take a long time and be expensive.

scot47

Look at alternatives ? Canada, NZ, Australia ?

Alanbmx

i was Hoping for the skilled trade visa route , and yes marriage to a US GIRL IS CERTAINLY out of the question, my wife to be would not be happy with that 😂, and I know this can get expensive and take a while but if employers where willing to employ me and I had a route to get there I’m going for it thanks Alan

Nutmegger

Do you have degrees in your given subjects? Also, have you ever visited California--north or south (they are very different)? Do you understand that it is an expensive place to live, with none of the kind of "safety nets" available in the UK? A lot of questions, but all relevant to helping you!

Rete

Do you have enough money to start your own business? That is one way to self-sponsor yourself.

christmasoompa

Which ‘skilled trade visa route’? Canada has a skilled trade visa route, but the US doesn’t have one called that. Specifically which visa are you thinking you may be eligible for?

Alanbmx

Mine is a time served qualification, not a uni degree , I’m fully aware there are no safety nets like in the U.K. , and visited California a few years ago drove north to south it was amazing, south is where I could really see myself and my family living

materialcontroller

So which visa do you believe you might qualify for?