Cowboi

Good evening, apologies in advance if this gets asked all the time. I am just struggling to really understand our options and realistic possibilities.

Me and my fiancee want to move from London to USA. We do not have any close family who live there, the closest link is my mother in laws cousin. They would be willing to help us but I am not sure what they could do.

I am an electrician, now working as a project manager in the construction industry and have worked for Canary Wharf for just over 8 years on large, high end commercial buildings.
My partner is in childcare and has a foundation degree in leadership & management.
So we both have respectable jobs.

After looking through the green card options I guess that a job offer might be our best chance of becoming a green card holder.
Is this generally a successful route? Or do you need to have a really stand out skill set that the USA requires?


If we wanted to try and get a green card would we be best to come to the USA on holiday and look for job opportunities there or do we need an offer before prior to arriving?


Any information or experiences would be a great help.
We are getting married in July and was hoping to move to USA following that to enjoy married life and start a family.

Pulaski

Take a look at the two Pulaski wikis in the USA section of the Wikis tab above.

From what you say there is very little likihood of you being able to get a work visa, very little at all. Your MIL's cousin is not going be able to do anything, in fact as (only) a cousin she can't even help your MIL immigrate to the US!

The US has no visa program for skilled trades, which is perhaps your biggest stumbling block, and then there is the matter that your skills are in UK 240v electrical work, so even without the visa issue (which is a deal killer for you) you wouldn't be an attractive hire compared to a locally trained electrician familiar with 120v work and US wiring codes.

There are certain visas which could allow you to open your own business, but without a state electricians licence it is impossible to operate the business, and I am not sure you'd get a visa (it would be an E-2) to run a business that you don't have the license to operate. ..... You'd probably need a couple of hundred thousand dollars to get the visa for the business. Or you could build your own successful UK electrical business, install a manager, then open a branch in the US, but obviously that is a long term goal.

Sally Redux

Hello. An immediate route doesn't spring to mind. Realistically, you have to have something the USA can't supply from its own workforce, either specialist skills or cheap manual labour (but that would be seasonal).

We usually suggest the EU if people want a change from Britain, or Australia and Canada are easier to get into I believe. I think electricians need to be certified in some way though.

Cowboi

Thanks for the replies guys, even if it does confirm our fears.
Although trained as an electrician I have been project managing install of special system trades in new commercial buildings (fire alarm, security systems, IT systems and building management systems) but I doubt that is going to change much at all.

It's more the appeal of the American way of life that is making us want to go rather than getting away from the UK.

Sally Redux

That's good - there may be things you can replicate closer to home. What is drawing you?

ian-mstm

In a nutshell, there are generally 3 routes to the US: family-based, employment-based, and investment-based. From what you've written, family-based is out. From the skill set you've described, employment-based is out unless you're able to retrain in the US electrical or building codes (note: each of the 50 states has its own code). And, unless you have $250K of disposable savings (or more... more is better) then an investment-based visa is out.


With respect, this is a completely unrealistic expectation given the information posted so far. You need to understand that most people will never come to the US as anything other than a visitor.

If you want to make this a long-term goal, then there is a chance. Short-term, however - it's simply not going to happen.

Ian

london_calling

Not sure what you mean by the 'way of life', but if it's the weather and outdoors have you considered Australia?

Pulaski

Maybe he means only two weeks of holiday per year, very little job security, and the highest cost medical services in the world?

Guindalf

From what you've written so far, your chances, realistically, of moving to the US are slim to none.

Frankly, your reasoning is flawed too. A brief holiday or two and watching The Big Bang Theory once a week dose NOT give you any idea of 'the American way of life'.

RICH

If you work for the company that "runs" Canary Wharf, are they an international Co, who need project managers with specific experience for developments in US ? An L visa might work if so. Long shot.

scrubbedexpat027

Wish Penny lived next to me.

Bob

If you've a big bucket of cash, best bet is to invest in a business....childcare perhaps, but it's very risky for many reasons.

scrubbedexpat099

She has got a bit porky and I do not like the new hair style.

Not aged well at all and this last season has been poor.

scrubbedexpat027

Agreed on all points. (That's what happens when you get married. You don't have to bother anymore).

Disclaimer: As I'm so stunning myself, I can say these things.

scrubbedexpat099

My disclaimer is that I am not been paid $1m an episode.

Still like the old ones, shame they do not know when to chop.