UK to US real estate agent
 

I am currently working as a high end property agent in London and I am wishing to relocate to SF.

My partner has received a job offer from a large tech firm who would provide me with an O-3 visa however my understanding is I would not be able to work with this visa.

Does anyone here have any experience in moving from UK to US to work in real estate? And any insight into the visa I should be looking to obtain to enable me to work?

thanks.

Re: UK to US real estate agent
 

Partner or married?

Either way you will not be able to work, and have very slim chances of finding a route to a visa as an estate agent. Sorry.

Re: UK to US real estate agent
 

To further complicate things most “agents” here are licensed “real estate sales people” who are essentially self employed which may make getting a visa even harder. If your partner is married to you and is able to work for their new employer for a year in the UK office (most large tech firms have one) and then get moved on an L1 visa you would get an L2 with an EAD which would enable you to work for anyone, including yourself… the current situation you describe may not have an option unless you are able to secure your own visa.

Re: UK to US real estate agent
 

You're understanding is correct. There may well not be a visa available for what you want to do.

Would you being unable to work be a deal breaker for you and your (soon-to-be, if you want to go with her anyway) wife? If so, you might need a rethink

Re: UK to US real estate agent
 

I am going to go out on a limb and say that while there isn't an obvious visa for someone to come to the US and work as an estate agent ("realtor"), it certainly isn't impossible.

Assuming you don't either [1] work for one of the few agents that have business in both the US and UK (which would make an L-1 visa possible, though perhap unlikely, or perhaps an E-2 if the business is controlled only from the UK), or [2] own your own agency, which would open the door to opening a branch in the us, (again using an L-1 or E-2 visa), if there is a way to work as an estate egent in the US, the most likely route is going to be using an E-2 visa, either working for a British-owned estate agent (if such a thing exists in the area where you'll be living), or setting up your own estate agency business; an E-2 would work for both of these possibilities, though the process for setting up your own business would entail jumping through some hoops - providing a business plan and demonstrating that you have enough capital to invest to establish, and more critically to grow the business.

All that said, to work as an estate egent in the US you're going to need to obtain a realtor's license, and I don't know how easy that is going to be if you are unable to work in the US, and therefore wouldn't be able to get any supervised work or on the job training (I don't know if either apply, but I would guess at least one of them does.)

Re: UK to US real estate agent
 

A brief look at the CA licensing requirements does not seem to require 'on the job' training.

https://www.dre.ca.gov/examinees/requirementssales.html

Re: UK to US real estate agent
 

Thanks for all your replies. Really appreciate you taking time to reply. I'll keep looking at options, at the moment the L1 seems like the most sensible.

Thanks

Re: UK to US real estate agent
 

There are two types of licenses: sales and broker.

There is an experience requirement for a broker as per this chart.