sarah-lou

Hi, i'm thinking over moving over from the UK to the USA to join my boyfriend and don't really know where to begin

I run my own Public Relations company here in the UK which has clients all over the USA and Europe, and I can basically work from anywhere in the world logistically.

I have a couple of basic questions to start with..

Is it possible for me to be granted visa permission to run my existing UK business and live in the USA if my company remains a UK based one?
i.e continue to run my business as normal but as a US resident and pay UK taxes?

How do i continue my business and apply to become a US resident?

any advice would be greatly appreciated, I cant find anything on this one - thanks!

meauxna

hi there, I've moved your post to the Immigration forum. The first thing you need to sort out is permission to live and work in the US.

What citizenship does your boyfriend have? If US, by far the most straight-forward way in is your relationship with him. It would mean getting married.

When it comes to business, the US will tax you on your worldwide income anyway, but that discussion is further along.

Immigrating from your own business may or may not be possible.

sarah-lou

Thanks for the reply
my other half is puerto rican / US citizen. so basically are you saying the marriage route is the way forwards?

with regards to the business, if it means I cannot keep it as a uk based company, then I would have to take steps into setting up a USA division?

Is this something that an accountant would be equipped to answer?

sorry i havent a clue here, first base...

thanks

Noorah101

Do your research both ways...via marriage and via moving your business (sorry, I'm not sure what visa that would be). I think you'll find that by far, the easier/quicker/cheaper way is via marriage. But, of course, you guys have to be ready to marry and you have the intent to immigrate to the USA (i.e., live permanently).

I don't think it would be a problem to keep your UK-based company going, as long as you don't need to personally be there to run it.

Rene

Noorah101

Here is the article you need to read, to see what visa you'd need to move your business to the USA:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

Rene

Bill_S

Marriage to a US citizen is a much easier way to be able to live and work in the US without restrictions.

As to the tax consequences of operating a UK business from the US, that's another matter. There's an accountant who posts here, I think his name is Peter Newton, who is knowlegeable about US/UK tax issues.

JCraigFong

If the two of you are in love and ready to marry, then yes, marriage is probably the easiest, fastest, and most cost-efficient way to proceed. Having said this, however, it behooves us to remember: "marry in haste; repent at leisure." If the two of you are NOT in a committed relationship, then I would recommend against a spouse-based petition.

If you're married to a USC, you can work in the USA or not; keep your company in the UK or not. The option is yours. Being married to a USC will permit you to reside and seek and accept employment in the USA. US law will oblige you to reside in the USA, but you need not seek or accept employment here. That is up to you.

If you are NOT married to a USC, then the only way you'll be able to spend significant periods of time in the USA would be to obtain some long-term visa, such as an F (student), H (professional worker), E (treaty trader or treaty investor), L (intra-company transferee), or O (extraordinary ability).

You should always discuss tax consequences with a qualified accountant.

I hope that helps a little.

--J Craig Fong
Los Angeles, CA