UkAttorney

Hi everyone

I'm struggling to find help with this immigration situation. It seems like the U.S. have made it pretty difficult to get a green card at the moment for regular guys and girls.

Ive had a quick look at the potential scenarios that fit my situation. I have a bachelors degree in law and a post-grad diploma in legal practice from a Uni in the UK. I am a specialist in Tax and Property Law and have 5 years' post qualfication experience.

I have about $300,000 to relocate with or set up a business. My family have a retail clothing business in the UK which I could use as a base to expand into the U.S.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Many thanks in advance.

Amit

Rete

Boys and girls get visas with their mother and father. Adults get visas on their own. FYI, there has been no change in what makes one eligible for a visa to live and work in the US. It has been the same for well over 24 years. A green card is a separate thing altogether.

Pulaski

As the US has a legal system that is distinct from the UK system, and a similarly distinct tax system, there is very little demand for a UK-qualified lawyer/ tax specialist in the US. I am not saying there is "no" demand, but you're talking about a very small, specialist niche, so if you want to continue working as a lawyer you're looking at more studies and exams, and another period of supervised practical training. FWIW US legal exams and licensing are state specific.

Rete

He appears to be looking into an investor's visa and has $300K to invest in a business. Any advice can you give him on that visa front?

Pulaski

The thread title reads "Visa options - UK lawyer" not "Visa options - $300k to invest"

If the question is how to invest $300k to support a visa, then the possibilities are almost endless - anything from pool service or landscaping to fast food franchise or small hotel.

scrubbedexpat099

Not sure how many UK clothing companies have successfully expanded into the US, reminds me of TESCO etc, a very different market.

robtuck

Superdry?

civilservant

This is doable, but not wise to invest that much money unless you have experience in the operations of such a business. You also need to be aware that an E2 does not directly lead to a Green Card, and is often called 'the visa from hell'

If you could save another $200k, an EB-5 would be possible.

UkAttorney

Thanks everyone..

I am just looking at all the options. I guess practising as a lawyer in the US is going to be very difficult so I can scratch that option off for now.

Investing in a franchise or something could be the way forward, although I am going to need to do a lot of research into that before I dip my toe.

I guess unless you are a computer engineer, regular graduates will find it tricky to set up in the US (unless you have a very big pot of cash lying around waiting to be used).

neill

As you may know, to qualify for a work visa (that is by itself, temporary in nature), you need a sponsoring employer. Similarly, for most "permanent" (green card) visas based on employment, you need a sponsoring employer, with the exception of EB-1. The question then becomes "what can you offer an employer in the USA that makes it worth the 1000s of dollars, hours of forms, and months upon months of waiting for you to be eligible to travel on the visa, to hire you over someone local?" Often the answer is a specific skill so severe in shortage of qualified applicants that the company has struggled to fill a position for months or even years. Not always, but mostly.

robtuck

Getting into the Legal departments of big Global banking institutions may be a long term route. You can use your existing skills and climb internal ranks giving you a couple of options for transfer.

retzie

Maybe this is a silly question, but why exactly do you want to move to the US? As Pulaski points out, you have essentially no standing to continue in your profession here, so it seems like an odd move. Setting aside the question of visa, are you really saying that you are willing to ditch your legal credentials and start over professionally?

If you happen to have an underlying reason to move here, it may offer its own path, so you might as well put it out there so we can comment.

UkAttorney

the global banking route is a good idea. thanks very much for that!

I have no real desire to continue practising the law if i can avoid it. But I am happy to use my qualifications to transfer over to another profession. I am quite happy to invest in further training or academia if necessary.

robtuck

My cousin used Law as way into the Compliance arena in banking/fund management etc. (I'm not too clued up on the field to be honest). Doing quite well for himself and I am sure would be in a position to now transfer if he ever wanted to. The level of pay in some of that field would make the Visa costs almost insignificant vs. retaining the top talent - assuming you are any good of course!

retzie

Fair enough. But career change is difficult enough at the best of times, I think it would be nigh on impossible to initiate with a US employment visa. First, you would have to find someone willing to invest serious cash on an unproven prospect. Then, there is the question of whether you would qualify for a visa (I think you would not -- they want evidence of qualification in the field of the sponsoring job).

I recommend looking for a career change in the UK, ideally with an employer with US operations. Then you can look toward a transfer once you are established in this new area.