Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

Hi,

Me and my husband are looking at moving to North Carolina from the UK. I have looked into the Immigrant Worker category and am looking for jobs in NC. Should we find someone to employ both myself and my husband on the temporary visa. How long, on average, does it take to get the green card? If we moved our family to NC for the temporary visa how likely is it that we would end up having to come back to the UK for a period of time whilst waiting or should it all go through whilst we are carrying out our temporary work? It seems like a lot to sell everything here in order to move there but then have to come back for an unknown amount of time with no job back in the UK and the employer over in the US left without us as workers for an unknown period of time?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

Hi, welcome to BE.

Immigrant Visa ('green card') or a temporary employment based visa? It's not clear from this which you're looking at moving over on. What do you both do? Are you transferring with a current employer?

It depends on the category.

You wouldn't normally have to return to the UK and give your job up, your employer would apply for the green card, they'll usually have immigration lawyers to make sure it's done properly and in good time. Most employment based temp visas can be extended. If eligible and your employer is happy to wait and agreeable (many aren't, as having a green card means you can go and work for anybody, unlike an employment based visa where you're tied to the employer), then the green card could even be applied for before you move.

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

Hello and welcome to be. :wave:

I suggest you read through the link below, it basically lays out the different ways of moving to the US. If you fit into one of the categories you may be in with a chance! Please bear in mind the US is one of the most difficult countries on the planet for Brits to move to.

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulas...ork_in_the_USA

Good luck. :fingerscrossed:

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

Thank you for the quick replies. Sorry I wasn’t clear enough. We would be looking at entering via the immigrant worker 2 category as skilled workers. We are both funeral directors that hold diplomas here in the UK. We would be looking to find companies that would be willing to employ us and then apply for all the necessary visas for us.

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

'Immigrant worker 2 category' - EB-2 Immigrant Visa? https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the...reference-eb-2

Honestly I'd think your chances are slim as funeral directors, but have a read of the link JG has given to you above and that should help you work out if it's feasible or not.

Good luck.

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

Do you not think funeral directors would employ UK citizens?

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

It's not just that, although bear in mind it would cost an employer $10k or more to hire you, plus go through a lot of paperwork/hassle/waiting, versus just hiring an American that is work authorised. It's also if the job would qualify for a visa, but the links above will tell you that.

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

OP does not provide any facts even beginning to show qualification for EB-2, but who knows if there are such facts? There is indication that EB-3 is possible. An examination of the applicable Occupational Outlook Handbook section appears to raise other issues.

Dare I say that legal consultation might be in order?

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

I’m not sure how qualifications translate but I have a diploma and have 15 years experience.

We might need to seek legal advice but to begin with I thought I would ask on in case anyone else has been through something similar.

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

In some sense, all the regulars here on BE have been through this many times - prior to covid we were getting a request similar to yours several times a year, from someone looking for work in the US, or who had even "been offered a job", but either way needed to find out how to get a visa. The answer is invariably the same - under most circumstances the visa process only starts with an employer making the request, and the job needs to be one that the employer is struggling to fill in the US, or for an employee with specialized and hard to find skills, which isn't quite as high a hurdle as some think, but doesn't apply to relatively ordinary run-of-the-mill jobs.The reality is that most qualifications from outside the US don't really translate at all into a US qualification, whether you're a doctor, or a plumber, or anywhere in between. It doesn't matter what you are qualified to do outside the US, you generally have to take all the US exams and do all the on-the-job supervised training all over again, virtually from scratch. A family friend who married and American and came to live here, was a doctor and experienced anesthetist, who got kicked back into medical school to take more classes and then to work as a junior doctor in a hospital, .... to qualify to do a job that she had already been doing for more than a decade! Personally I never bothered to incur the cost and stress of re-qualifying. Although I still have my UK qualifications they don't count for much and employers look more at my knowledge and experience these days.

About the only broad-brush exception is "a degree". If a job needs you to have "a degree" then your degree from the UK would likely suffice. But a job that just requires "a degree" is never going to sponsor anyone for a visa anyway - you really need specialist skills that are in short supply before you're likely to find an employer willing to cough-up for the visa.

But to recap what you have already been told, recruiting someone from outside the US incurs a significant additional cost, and a time delay, so why would an employer want to do that? How would your current employer in the UK react to someone from the US contacting them saying "I'd like you to hire me, but I won't be able to start for 6-8 months, maybe longer, and you'll need to pay about £8,000 - £10,000 in visa and legal fees before I even enter the country", oh, and BTW, and I have some US qualifications to do the job, not the British ones that you mentioned in your job ad"? :confused:

If I might make one recommendation though, don't limit yourself to one state. If you're going to stand any chance at all of jumping the pond you should look at anywhere where there is a chance you might get hired. You might not want to live in Arkansas, or New Mexico, or Idaho, but maybe somewhere there there's a funeral director who is finding it hard to hire the staff he needs for his business. If things go well, you get established, and re-qualified in the US, then somewhere down the road you might be able to relocate within the US to wherever you think paradise is.

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

Do you think employers would be happier if we offered to pay back the fees once visa has been granted? And would you not be given a job and work there whilst waiting for green card? Surely if what your saying is the case then no-one would get a job?

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

Not really, because it's not legal, so they could be prosecuted. :lol: Also they have to, by law, pay you the market rate, so they can't recoup the visa costs by under-paying you either.

BTW I was working on editing and expanding my previous post above, so you might want to recheck it even if you read it once already.

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

Basic process for emigrating on work visa to US:

- You need an employer to sponsor you for a work visa.
- Most visa require education minimums ie. undergraduate degree. This can be got around by having 10 to 12 years experience.
- Most work visas are provided for IT, engineering, finance, education, management/executive jobs
- Not all jobs are eligible for work visas (must admit you are the first funeral director to wish to work in the US I have come across on this forum)
- If you get an employer to sponsor you, and you get a work visa (usually an H1-b, maybe EB2), then, after at time and when the employer agrees, THEY would apply for a green card for you. Depending on the employer this could take 18 months or 7 to 8 years) You remain in the country while this application goes through

As far as I am aware it is illegal for you, the applicant, to pay the fees for the process and the visa.

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

You can't pay them back. The employer must pay.

If the employer hired you, then yes, you would stay and work for that employer while (or if) he applies for your green card.

You could always try reaching out to potential employers now, letting them know of your interest, and see what they say. My guess is that they will say they'd be happy to hire you "if you are already in the USA with work authorization". Which you are not.

Not all jobs lead to a work visa or green card.

Rene

Re: Time for Visa & How To Do It!?
 

You may have confused two things - getting a work visa and getting a green card. Many people get a work visa, and later transition to a green card. A few people, who cannot get a work visa go straight to a green card and have to wait outside the US while the application for a green card is processed, but that process can be much longer and more expensive.