rjh2468

Hi all,

I hope you're all having great days.

I thought I would use a forum to get some first-hand insight, experiences, and advice, so anything you can share will be helpful.

Ever since I was 11, I have wanted to move to the US. Now, at 31, I feel it is time to make that dream come true, too (I hope I am not too old).

I have been to the US on a number of occasions and have clients based there. I currently love my job, so leaving it would be difficult, but I thought maybe I could be their correspondent in the US or try to be a freelancer for them (I'll keep the UK work benefits then, too). I know that sounds silly so do put me right! My girlfriend would love to do it too and we feel a fresh start is exactly what we need.

I just wanted to hear your stories about moving and know how you all found the process and whether you chose the state you wanted to live in (sorry, this all sounds naive). What do you do about health insurance, bank details etc.

Would it be worth me to go to the embassy to talk about it?

Anything would be welcome, and I thought messaging here would be a great way to start digging deep and learning the best way (through people!)

I look forward to whatever you can share!

Kind regards,
Reece
London, UK

Nutmegger

Welcome to BE. The very first thing you need to think about and research is what visa you are eligible for. No visa, no move. You can't just show up at the Embassy and say, "I want to move to the US, please!"

rjh2468

Hi Nutmegger, Thanks for getting in touch. You are absolutely right! I'll have to take a look. Are you in the US? If so, how have you found it? What state are you in?

Jerseygirl

First thing, first. As Nutmegger posted, research what type (if any) visa would you qualify for. Unless you can obtain a visa, the rest is a waste of time. The US is one of the hardest countries on the planet to immigrate to. What skills/qualifications/experience do you have? Do you work for a company who have a US presence? If so would they transfer you?

SanDiegogirl

What work do you do?

To get a work visa you need to have a prospective employer to sponsor you. Usually this means being in a skilled field that employers need in order to justify the time and money that obtaining a visa requires. ie. computer science, engineering, finance, business management etc.

If you are employed in such a field in the UK one way to get a work visa is for your UK employer to transfer you to a US office.(if they have one)

Pulaski

BE used to have a couple of guides posted in the site's Wikis section, but the entire section has been removed from BE. I have found copies of the two pages and will repost then here later today if I have time.

But suffice to say for now, the most likely routes for most people are: family sponsorship (including spouse), transfer by employer, special or extraordinary skills, or investor ("hands off": $900k-$1.8million, "hands on", much lower, but still needs to be substantial).

If you don't have a family member with US citizenship, don't have an employer who is willing to transfer you, and don't have the capital to invest, and you are therefore reliant on special skills in short supply, unless you want a job in academia, you will not only need a US employer willing to hire and sponsor your visa, you will also need to get lucky in the annual visa lottery (jobs in academia are not subject to the cap, that necessitates the visa lottery).

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE.

You can't just turn up to the embassy for advice on visas, it's appointment only and they only give appointments for visa interviews etc. But you can research yourself and see if you think you'd qualify for any visa route. There was an old Wiki article on here which got removed but was very good, here's a link to the archived version of it - https://web.archive.org/web/20221129...ork_in_the_USA

What do you do and what education do you have?

You'd need to marry your girlfriend if you wanted her to move with you by the way - and depending on what you both do, you may find she's more likely to qualify for a visa (i.e. if she works for a multi-national company that may transfer her). So do check her eligibility too.

Good luck.

Nutmegger

I looked all over for that stuff this morning! What happened to it? I thought it was very useful.

tht

I had a similar idea aged 21 with only an UG degree and no work experience. Took me 10 years to get a PG degree and work experience and work my way up to senior management. Depending on where you are in terms of education and experience it could be quicker. There are lots of areas that are multinational and transfer senior or specialized staff. Finance and technology are a big part of that. So totally doable but could be a long process… I called it the TYP… The Ten Year plan….

SanDiegogirl

Agreed ... Pulaski's guide to how one move to the US has gone ....!

Jerseygirl

The following replaces the Wiki information:

US Immigration, Citizenship and Visas Master WikiThread

Christmasoompa posted a link to Pulaski’s guide up thread:

https://web.archive.org/web/20221129...ork_in_the_USA

civilservant

Wow that's a shockingly poor replacement for the original post....

'Openings' and 'Closings'?? I'm not even sure what that was trying to say.

OP start with the Pulaskis way Archive link. It's still incredibly useful and extremly clear!

christmasoompa

That was an original Wiki article, just copied and pasted. Done by Ian-mstm I believe many years ago as an easy eligibility check for newbies, in addition to the more comprehensive Pulaski's Ways article.

PetrifiedExPat

Yikes, removing those wiki's, bad bad move.

rjh2468

Hello, and thanks for getting back in touch. I am in PR, so work in marketing, media etc. all in one! My clients are mostly US-based, in NY, Boston, LA, etc. but we have no office in the US but wondered if there's loopholes to go around that, whether being a correspondent, or have a client sponsor me etc.

I know I am throwing a lot out there and may seem confusing, I think knowing where to start is the hardest bit.

Would love to know your experience in the US and how you have found it.