US Visa query
 

Hey everyone

Could I have some advice regarding US visas please? I’ve tried googling but there seems to be so many choices!

We are, very early, thinking about moving to the states from the UK but are unsure which visa we would need. My husband and I would both want to work, we have two daughters of school age as well. I have a lot of relatives over there, more than in the UK, but not immediate, just aunts and cousins.

Many thanks for any advise as to where to start with this.

Re: US Visa query
 

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

Start here. These are the ways to live and work in the US.... which route do you believe you qualify for?

Re: US Visa query
 

I’ve read it and I don’t know! Work wise husband is a telecommunications engineer and I am classed as an unqualified teacher I guess. I am just so confused as to whether we could even get a visa.

Re: US Visa query
 

Who does your husband work for? Do they have a US presence for which he could transfer?

The truth is that many people do not have a route to move to the US. Despite it's reputation, the US is one of the most difficult countries to move too if you do not have immediate family already living here.

Re: US Visa query
 

Yes that’s my knowledge as well that it’s difficult to get over there. I guess aunts and cousins don’t count as immediate family?

Re: US Visa query
 

They do not

Re: US Visa query
 

My husbands company is solely UK based so would the only option be to get a job and they sponsor you to come over?

Re: US Visa query
 

I'm not exactly she what a telecoms engineer does, but it sounds like he is physically manipulating telephone lines for things like internet connections, correct?

I don't have much knowledge of that industry, but it dosen't sound like an occupation that may lead to a visa.

My fellow East Coast BE people will be along later when the EC mostly wakes up, so other suggestions may be given.

Re: US Visa query
 

Yeah he deals with fiber amongst other things.

Re: US Visa query
 

As per post #2.
It's highly unlikely that you would be able to move to the States.
Your husband would need to find a job with a US presence and then move to the US company location.
All very slim. Sorry.

Unless you have another citizenship to another country, Possibly a diversity lottery route, but again slim chance.

Re: US Visa query
 

Re: US Visa query
 

DV is by birth not citizenship, so unless born in NI then that's not an option for people born in the UK.

Re: US Visa query
 

Note: If one spouse is a native of NI (or other waiver country) then what is called cross-chart ability cranks in.

Re: US Visa query
 

I agree with the advice you have been given, including your conclusion about the linked information page - that you appear to fall into the (large) group where immigration to the US is highly improbable. .... And you should be wary of a, typically smaller, employer who offers you a job, "but you need to get your own visa". We hear of that from time to time, but employers who make offers like that are unaware that only employers can apply for visas for immigrant workers, and so such employers are likely unaware that their offer cannot be accepted because the would-be employee has no route to a visa. However the point is moot as there is no applicable visa type for a mechanic, hairdresser, electrician, truck driver, etc.

The US has no program for visas for any trades, the assumption is, unless sponsored for transfer by an existing employer, that work visas are for people with degrees and advanced knowledge, or they're for low-paid seasonal (e.g. hotel housekeeping staff in Florida) and agriculture workers.

And in reality even most occupations with a degree as a minimum requirement, and even further advanced training, are unable to work in the US either - a law degree and qualifications as a solicitor or barrister are virtually useless in the US without substantial additional training and more exams. A family friend, married to a USC, who was a doctor and further trained as an anesthetist, with a decade of experience, had to go back to medical school for a year, then do several years of supervised work in a training hospital before she was "qualified" in the US to do the job she already had years of experience doing outside the US.

Re: US Visa query
 

What do you mean by 'unqualified teacher'? I agree with the above posts, unfortunately your husband isn't likely to be sponsored for a visa with his job. But teachers are occasionally sponsored, mainly by international schools for in demand subjects - still a long shot but more chance than a telecoms engineer I'd guess.

Re: US Visa query
 

Teachers assistant, or substitute? :unsure:

However taking the time and effort to qualify as a teacher would still make getting a job offer in the US a very long shot. Private schools will cherry pick the very best candidates, and taking a job in a "public" (state) school would mean going back to the bottom of the ladder. And the public school districts that do occasionally run recruitment drives outside the US are hiring for troubled inner city school districts, where there are very good reasons why they're unable to find recruits in the US. .... Not only that they have the usual issues of British inner city schools, but in addition finding and removing firearms is a constant additional problem. :eek: The last time I saw data, the school district for Charlotte, NC, which has plenty of troubled schools, but is nothing like larger cities, was confiscating an average of more than one firearm per week from students. :blink:

Re: US Visa query
 

I agree with the other responses that based on the information you have provided, immigrating to USA might be a longshot. You might want to take a look at Canada, though. Canada is not easy to immigrate to either, but they have different options available than the US.

Re: US Visa query
 

In theory, (I think) one of the Aunts, if a Citizen or Permanent Resident, could sponsor their sibling, your parent, who could then sponsor their adult child, you. I hate to think how long that would take, let alone the logistics and cost. Someone can tell me if that is a mad thought!

Re: US Visa query
 

Food for thought: the grass is never greener on the other side. Why do you think the U.S. would provide a better outcome for you, coming from the UK?

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It's not mad, and would work, but it'd be a loooong process...

-- The aunt would need to be a citizen (not a PR).
-- 16 years for the sibling F4 GC for the parent.
-- 5 years for the parent to become a citizen.
-- 14 years for the Married Child of USC F3 GC for the OP.

So 35+ years. 😳

Re: US Visa query
 

The parent wouldn’t need to be a citizen, so that cuts 5/6 years off. And it’s often a shorter wait for a green card holder to sponsor an adult child than for a citizen to for some strange reason. But doesn’t really help much as it would still take decades. :lol:

Re: US Visa query
 

Never mind the time and cost, I think the biggest stumbling block may be that you'd have to persuade the aunt's sibling/ OP's parent to relocate to the US to make the multi-step scheme work.

And without some dramatic effort, expense, and/or career change, they'd still arrive in the US ill-equipped to get a decent job in the short term. It could very easily turn into an expensive case of "be careful what you wish for". :unsure:

Re: US Visa query
 

Yes, true for the UK.
Some other nationalities take less persuasion.
May be more like 50 years as the trend of wait time upwards may continue. So assuming they're 40, they may get to immigrate to the US when they're 90!

I do know of people who have done this for their children who are not married and have found the wait time acceptable- the mother has moved here after being sponsored by her sister and has then applied for her children. But anyone starting the process now even for an unmarried child may find the wait too long.

Re: US Visa query
 

Are you sure? I thought LPRs can only sponsor children if they are unmarried?

Re: US Visa query
 

Ah, you may be right, apologies if I got that wrong. I know they can sponsor adult children, but not sure if it works if they're married. Either way it's a heck of a long route and I'm guessing not feasible for the OP. Still intrigued as to their 'unqualified teacher', and if that might be a route in, but depends on what they mean by that.

Re: US Visa query
 

The couple can also apply twice if they can cross-charge. Nobody told me this until I was on my fifth DV entry :'(

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Just to clarify, nobody is doing anything twice. .... Cross-charging means: "Both halves of a couple can apply separately, even if only one is qualified to apply".

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Sure if you want to be pedantic.

Re: US Visa query
 

With visa applications, the key is in the details. Maybe half all the questions posted here on BE concern the precise meaning of words and how to respond, and many people who get themselves in a pickle did so because of poor attention to detail.

Call it pedantic if you want to, but the precise use of words is essential in matters of visa applications.

Re: US Visa query
 

👍🏻

To clarify. One member of the couple applies as the primary applicant and the other applies as the primary applicant. So two applications.

The one that wasn’t born in a DV eligible country can select their spouses country under the eligibility section “cross-charging”. Both halves of the couple need to meet the rest of the criteria to be primary applicants.

Re: US Visa query
 

Thank you all for your responses. I am not educated to a degree level but am more qualified than a standard teaching assistant in that I can take and cover classes.

It seems apparent that we may just have to continue holidaying over there as much as we can for as long as we can!

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Hopefully a trade deal will happen at some point that will give Brits a way in like it does for Australians and Canadians.

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That's another good point - many non-managerial jobs in the US only get 10-15 vacation days, and if you're lucky six bank holidays - 1/1, Memorial Day (Spring bank), July 4th, Labor Day (7 days after August bank holiday), Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

So there is a good chance that you can actually enjoy more days holidaying/ traveling in the US as a visitor from the UK than if you actually lived in the US. :nod:

Re: US Visa query
 

I’d just love to see my family more. I had 5 aunts emigrate there so have an ambundance of relatives in the states, some I am very close with. In the UK I have 4 relatives close. Holidays are great, I appreciate the questions on leaving Britain but all countries have their own issues and problems so not necessarily about the grass being greener, I know that.

Re: US Visa query
 

Before I retired I practiced immigration law for 40 years. It was not uncommon to receive what might be considered cold inquiries such as yours. A good immigration lawyer should take a very detailed intake history of you and your spouse. Most often, the conclusion would be, nothing to be done. That said, a small but appreciable number of cases would reveal a doable path. Maybe you might be in that percentage.

Re: US Visa query
 

These 5 Aunts undoubtably each had different immigration experiences, that it a great resource for unforeseen possibilities, as Folinsky alludes to.

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They may have been five sisters who immigrated as minors with their parents, making their experiences identical, and not informative. :unsure:

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Could be, and they left one child behind to raise OP in poor old England.

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They all married American airman and moved to the states

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Aged out at 21 before they could get PR? :unsure: