Nicolastanley86

My husband works for a world wide company that is growing more and more in the states.
He is able to gain a visa through work to move to USA and continue to work for the same company (of course) how ever I have very little qualifications to do anything. Not anything that would be of great pay or needs etc.
I also have 3 children to my previous husband and he has said he will give permission for the move. (Might change but there are ways round that)
We own property in the U.K. (Mortgage free) so rebuying a home wouldn't be an issue and cash left over to keep us comfortable for a year or 2. So wouldn't rely on any financial support. Not to mention his work is paid at around $50-60,000 a year (good job)
I am and have been with qualifications a teaching assistant/class helper, receptionist, accounts junior and hair and beauty therapist. All with a few years experience.
Now my confusion is that I've been told any qualifications in the U.K. Are not generally transferable. And that I will struggle to find employment without a citizenship. I don't want to be a stay at home more or loose my identity moving to the states and rely solely on my husbands income.
Also I am not sure weather we would qualify for a family visa being my children are not his.

Any info, advice would be greatly received.

Noorah101

Hi and welcome to BE.

First of all, if your husband is getting an L-1 visa (transfer with current company), you will get an L-2 visa which allows you to apply for work authorization in the USA. This means you can work for any employer, doing anything you want. If you run across a job where your qualifications don't match up, you can take courses or whatever you need to get qualified. Or, maybe you'll find a job in a totally different field. Your options are open. You won't struggle to find employment without citizenship because you'll have work authorization.

Yes, you and the kids should all qualify for derivative visas, so that's not a problem (unless the kids are too old....how old are they?). Good that you know you need their father's permission and are working on that.

Where are you thinking of moving to in the USA? $50-60,000 could be good in some areas of the USA (thinking southern states or small towns), but not anywhere near enough for a family of 5 in a bigger city. Not even close. So, where you move to in the USA will probably be a determining factor in whether you really want to make the move or not. I know your income will supplement, but just in case you don't find a job, or a job with decent pay, you need to assume you'll be living on $50-60K.

Rene

christmasoompa

Hi and welcome to BE.

Do you know which visa the company are proposing for him? Does he qualify for the L-1 visa?

Probably best not to buy a home if you're only on a temporary visa anyway tbh, if you think you might like to make it a permanent move then you'll need to get the company to agree to sponsor you for green cards (many companies are reluctant to do so, so do get it in writing).

That actually sounds quite low to me for a family of 5, but it will of course depends on where you are going to - if you can give more info on the location, then those in the same area will be able to advise you on whether or not it'll be a salary that will mean you're comfortable without working or not. What you have to pay towards health insurance will also be a big factor, so do get that info too.

You don't need citizenship, but you will need a visa that allows you to work, and not all will - you need to find out what visa they're proposing for your husband, and then that will tell you if you'll be able to work or not.

HTH a bit, I'm only going on what I've read on the forums over the years, but the forum pros will be along to help you properly shortly. I'll leave your thread here for now, but if it is more info on the visa side of things you're after, it might be better off being moved in to the immi section of the forum - just let us know if you want us to do that.

And good luck.

Nicolastanley86

Thank you both for your input. Visa will be L-1.
My children are 10,9,4.
There is a lot of places were he can be transfered too.
He attended an interview last year in Las Vegas
How ever on looking I prefer northern Carolina and he prefers California.(think would be expensive)
He is a wind turbine engerneer (service technician) and on a high level. Mechanical and electrical. Contract is generally 5/8/15 years so we could be there a while so location is priority as they are many transfer jobs all over USA.
His salary may be more that is based on basic but there is always bonuses and overtime. (Is here)
We would be bringing just over £500k with us to purchase a house and maybe live off till I find something too.
My children currently attend private ed which again is something I would like to continue but a really good state school isn't the end of the world. (We all know kids will learn if they want too)
It's a very big choice and I appreciate all the info passed on.

christmasoompa

Just checking, but have the company actually offered him a job? Maybe it's just the way you've worded it, but it sounds as though it's just a potential at this time. My husband works in the same industry, but his company wouldn't pay thousands to bring over a wind turbine tech in all honesty, and I'm not sure it's a job that would qualify for a L1, but hopefully the company have got an immigration attorney on the case and have given your hubby a concrete job offer.

I think the max you can stay on a L1 visa is 7 years, but others will know more than me.

And the salary quoted is definitely far too low for a family of 5 in California! Not sure on NC though, but we have forum members that live there that will be able to help you with that.

Good luck.

Rete

Nice that he is an engineer and that he is transferrable to the US on an L-1 visa with you and the children on derivative visas. Las Vegas and California are NOT places where you can live any type of comfortable life on $50-$60,000 a year for a family of 5 and with the children attending private schools. Costs for schooling alone will nearly wipe out his incoming salary with costs ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 per year per child. As for yourself, you will be able to work in the US and finding employment based on a non-college decree required basis should not be to difficult, i.e. receptionist, etc.

Unless your husband can get the employer to promise in writing to apply for the family's green cards, I would not buy a house here. He could be made redundant at a moment's notice and you will be forced to sell as you will have to leave the country within weeks of redundancy. Without a green card you have no security as a way of living and working in the US at your discretion. You will remain here only at the discretion of the employer.

And worse is that he can't even take on extra work outside of the company to help make ends meet on the L visa.

Have you checked on housing in the areas you are interested in? Astronomical to say the least and do you truly want to sell your UK home when your stay in the US is so insecure? What would you go back to?

Lots for you and he to think about here particularly financially. Good luck to you.

Twinkle0927

Just to give you an idea on salaries.... I work in Seattle but live just over an hour outside in a small town of a few hundred people on the mountains. There are 2 of us, myself and my husband. I make $70,000 a year and he makes $32,000 (he's an unskilled manual laborer). We have a comfortable life - we eat out, have two cars, traveI, but I think we would struggle to raise a family of 5 on this salary. And definitely not in California. A single bloke in his 20s would struggle in California in $50k or $60k sharing a flat. What are they offering for healthcare?

Considering my husband makes $32,000 as an unskilled laborer here in Washington (minimum wage in Seattle is $15 an hour) I can't see how $50,000 or $60,000 is worth leaving home for and uprooting the entire family. What kind of job is it? Normally the jobs that qualify for visas are higher than entry-level. Or have you just converted his U.K. salary into dollars and assumed he will get that? He needs at least double. Salaries tend to be higher here because of a higher cost of living and a higher burden on the individual to pay for things such as healthcare and the lack of other benefits.

Pulaski

An L-1B is for a maximum of five years.
$60,000 won't go very far in NC either. I wouldn't uproot a family to move here for less than a household income for a family of four of $100k, and obviously more for a family of five. Public schools here are mostly not great either, unless you live in a very expensive part of town.

With no qualifications and especially no degree you won't get much of a job here either - think minimum wage in shop, restaurant or factory doing something really dull. The US job market is heavily driven by degrees even for low level, poorly paid jobs.

FWIW I have never see a wind turbine in NC, mostly because there is a law against them in the mountains AND near or off the coast, and there isn't much wind in the rest of the state.

scrubbedexpat099

I have family members who work for Vestas and agree that seems a low income for the level where they would be transferring staff, not much more than an entry level ish sort of job would pay.

Nothing you mentioned in your work history particularly helps, Hairdressing usually requires certification btw.

Begs the question if it would be viable beyond part time, you would spend much of your time running around with 3 children and can not imagine you could earn enough to cover child care costs.

scrubbedexpat099

Odd, I understood there to be a fair amount of wind emanating from NC

Pulaski

Hot air, yes, but it doesn't go very far.

Nicolastanley86

Thank you everyone for your input. Yes I have just converted his income into US dollars. They sent him for the interview last year so I would say so yes regarding transferring. We have to make a decision and let them know the areas we are looking at.
As for NC there is 2 new wind farms (one been just off shore) as it's the company my husband works for.
As for hair dressing I do have certificates just not sure if they are transferable. And I would be looking at been self employed and mobile. So would work around the kids at school and husband at work.
It would be more for my identity and spends. If we had to lease a home and sell out to come across for a few years and be stable. We could top wages up with savings. (As said we have assests over £500k)
My husband works for vestas yes. And we are in constant contact with the guy who deals with over sea transfer. So hopefully get more info very soon.
But thanks you everyone so far.

Pulaski

They're not, you would need to take exams and register, which you can do through your local community college. I hear that mobile hairdressing creates licensing issues, so isn't as common as in the UK.

You could buy a mansion in eastern NC for $650,000 ... if they built mansions there, which they don't, but you should be able to find a very nice home for about $200k, so long as you don't want to live very close to a beach. Bear in mind that most of eastern NC is quite poor and houses there don't appreciate much in value, but can be pretty costly to maintain compared to British homes - an asphalt shingle roof only lasts about 20 years, and a heating/AC system maybe 15 years, and both will cost about $10k to replace, or more for a larger home.

With one thing and another, I suspect that if your household income is less than $100,000 pa, you'll be dipping into savings for holidays and trips back to the UK. You should budget around $250/mth/person for food and household consumables, around $300/mth average for electricity (and gas if it is available), and $50-$100 for water (the cost is very variable).

Depending on your husband's employer and the choices you make, health insurance and related costs are likely to be $300-$1,500/mth. Over the $300 bare minimum, some of the "cost" will be funds set aside voluntarily into an account that you can only access for health care expenses.

fbf2006

I don't think it's worth it. You seem to have great assets and a good life now. It seems the move would just make things worse.

Nicolastanley86

Thank you for that break down. Explains a lot more. Needing all the info we can. So again thank you.