sazzadee

Apologies in advance if this has been asked before but I've read information and I'm still confused about what my options are or aren't.

My boyfriend lives in the US and I live in Northern Ireland(UK) and I would like to get a work visa to move over there and live with him while working and establishing our lives.

I am a personal trainer with strength and conditioning at an international level as my niche. I have found it difficult to find a job in the US as a personal trainer as their system is a bit different from ours. I have a bachelors degree in sports studies.

I'm having trouble with the lack of knowledge employers have about sponsoring employees and unfortunately I haven't been able to find out answers to some of my questions. The following are some that I still have.

Can any employer sponsor someone or do they have to be accredited in some way?

Do I have to get a job in my field of study or can I try to get a job doing something else?

If I do find a sponsor, do they have to pay the fees or am I able to pay them on my own?

If I do get a sponsor and start work but have to move in say 6 months, do I lose my visa?

Is it better to get a lawyer? I'm trying to keep the costs down but I'm unsure of what's best for my situation.

Is there a place to search employers that I can apply for the visa with?

Sorry for the ignorance but I'm kind of at a loss. I appreciate all of your help. Thanks so much.

Guindalf

You are highly unlikely to find a company to sponsor you in your line of work. It's extremely expensive (think thousands, and the employer MUST apply and pay!) and is reserved mainly for highly skilled workers that are hard to find in the US (simplifying a little).

Is your boyfriend a US citizen? Is the relationship serious? If you can answer yes, then by far the easiest option is to get married. There are still a number of hoops to jump through, but it's really the only choice for you. You may visit him for up to 90 days on the VWP but you can't work or use it to come over with the intention of getting married and adjusting status.

Pulaski

To cut to the end point, there probably is not a work visa that you're eligible for. For starters any prospective employer would have to pay the visa fees and legal costs, they cannot pass the cost onto to you. Getting lawyer won't help you, or although you might want to speak to one to confirm that there is no prospect of you getting a visa to work in your chosen occupation, though bear in mind that lawyers are not experts in recruitment, so be aware that a lawyer might start running up a bill for you on a wild goose chase for a visa that you aren't ultimately eligible for. .... And before you apply for an employment based visa you need a job offer, and if you live outside the US you are highly unlikely to get any interest even if you had an occupation which is visa eligible (I tried that, not needing a visa, and could get no interest whatsoever while I was outside the US), and your occupation isn't

The main ways of getting a work visa are to be transferred by your current employer, or to have specialist skills in short supply, which usually means computer/ IT, engineering, medical etc.

Is your boyfriend a USC, or is he in the US on a visa? This will affect what other visa options are open to you.

If you were born in Northern Ireland, or outside the UK (but not in China, India, Mexico or a few other countries), you are eligible to enter the green card lottery, which will give you about a 1.6% chance each year of "winning" a green card.

scrubbedexpat099

All the high end personal trainers I have come across have been self employed here.

sazzadee

He is a US citizen and I kind of thought this might be the case. My understanding is that I can get a fiancé visa but have to marry within 90 days. If I do marry, what are my options from that point? Does it extent my visa?

I was born in Northern Ireland which is the UK and I was going to try the lottery but I don't understand when it opens up again.

Also, is there a place I can go to look for companies that do sponsors?

Does anyone know the requirements for a self employed visa?

BTW, thank you for all of the help.

Pulaski

Once you get married you will get a visa (or a fiancée visa if you are entering to get married) with no issues so long as (i) your spouse earns at least 25% over the Federal poverty level, which for most of the US is currently just over $19k, (ii) you aren't a convict or drug addict, (iii) you aren't a carrier of an infectious disease or have a mental illness that makes you a danger to others, and (iv) you haven't otherwise been banned from entering the US. There are a few other rare problems that could impact you, but I assume you aren't a war criminal or an Iranian government official.

If you enter on a K-1 fiancée visa you will "adjust status" after you get married, and apply for authorization to work, which typically means that you won't be able to work for the first 5-6 months after you enter on a K-1 visa.
There is no such thing per se. There are Investment visas, where you buy, start, or invest in a business. The amount of the investment can be fairly small, in the tens of thousands of dollars range, but most are in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars range.

sazzadee

Sorry to be a pain. Do you know where I can find information on the dollar amounts of investment visas or more information? My boyfriend owns his own company too but it's very small and right now not a lot of revenue. Not sure if that helps.

His full time job makes well over the poverty level and I don't have any convictions nor am I a drug addict or carrier of diseases or any thing else listed.

How long is my visa valid for if we got married? Any idea the costs going this route?

Pulaski

There is some information in the Pulaski wikis in the US section of the wikis tab above. However the costs of an investment visa can be quite high, in terms of lawyers fees to prepare and present your case, so unless you have $5,000-$10,000 for legal fees and at least $100,000 for the investment lying around it probably isn't worth while, or IMO it is excessively expensive way to achieve what you are trying to achieve. ..... Also bear in mind that you might not be able to practice your occupation without local training, certification, licencing, or registration.
How long do you plan on living? ..... After two years it isn't even dependent on you still being married (in practice you can often get the "restriction" lifted if your marriage has failed). If you are still married you can apply for citizenship on (90 days ahead of) the third anniversary of your green card, or (90 days ahead of) the fifth anniversary of your green card if you're no longer married.

sazzadee

Wow, I guess marriage is the only option. Any idea what the fiancé visa costs and what it costs after we get married or does it just remain valid after?

ian-mstm

It's not... but it is the easiest and most straight forward option.


All the forms and fees are at www.uscis.gov. Form I-129F is the petition for a fiancé visa.


After marriage you'll apply to adjust your status. Form I-485 (also I-765 and I-131... but those costs are included in the I-485).

Download the forms, download the instructions... and read all of it. Then, take a look at our K-1 wiki. After you've done that, if you still have questions, then ask. Don't ask questions prior to downloading and reading the forms and wiki.

Ian

sazzadee

Perfect! Thank you so much!

sazzadee

Does anyone know of a potential one year workin visa that you can do similarly to what you can do in Australia, or are the laws completely different in America?
If you are in the USA on this can you in time apply for the fiancé visa?

Pulaski

There isn't one. Full stop. Not applicable. See answer above.

mikelincs

That sort of visa doesn't exist in the US, all your options have been covered in the earlier posts.

christmasoompa

Of course, they're two different countries, so don't have the same visa requirements. As said above, there isn't anything like that for the US, but there is for Canada if you're aged 30 or under and a UKC - is that an option for you maybe? You could get a two year open work permit for Canada, perhaps somewhere you could both move to which might be easier, or at least on the right side of the pond!

HTH.