riley1012

Hi there guys my name is Aaron, I found this site by chance and I would love some advice from you lovely people.

I am 24 years old and live in the UK. It has always been a dream of mine to live and work over in the USA. I have had a brief opportunity of this when I was at university as I did a summer job on the International College Programme in Disneyworld Florida.

I had the most amazing time ever while I was there and once again got the USA bug. Ever since then I have had a few jobs and nothing has compared to working for Disney.

However I currently work in a Mental Health Secure Hospital I am a Senior Support Worker. I am not a qualified Nurse but would love to stay in this field and work in the US. Could anyone give me some advice on what to do (i.e whether nursing would be a good job to get into in the states??) I am willing to try anything. I have had work in Admin in the past Sales and Retail. I would be willing to give anything a go to get my foot in the door.

Also another question of mine would be expense. How much should I try and put by to make this move. I mean I would be happy to rent for a while until something more concrete became available. But does anyone have a ballpoint figure of how much money would be needed and what would it all be for ??

Thankyou so much for help in advance.

Regards

Aaron

http://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif

Pulaski

Please read the two "Pulaski" wikis in the USA section of the Wikis tab above. They will answer some of your questions, and provide the basic framework for understanding what options you might have.

That said, I understand that nursing is not commonly a likely way to secure employment as an expat in the US. Moreover, generally speaking, I suspect that finding work in the mental health field will be particularly challenging as it is one part of the US healthcare system that is chronically underfunded, because most health insurance has a very low cap for the treatment of mental health conditions.

riley1012

Thanks for the reply mate. I have heard that nursing might not be the best place to go for in some recent posts I am reading now. Mental Health in the UK used to be the same but a huge push is being made to bring it to the publics mind more now which is good. I hope one day maybe they will do that in the US I will be first in the Q for a visa

Duncan Roberts

Trouble with that theory is you may be first in the queue for a visa but the visa queue will be at the back of a very large line full of people who don't need a visa.

riley1012

Oh Dear My plan may be cracked before it has even begun lol.

Bob

Realistically, zero to no chance at the moment.

Short term, study in the US... long term, career change for something that might get a company transfer.

Of your a recent grad, potentially intern visa, but guessing you graduated a couple years ago so not likely.

riley1012

Ok thankyou for the help anyway. Looks like I need to have relatives in the states that I didn't even know that I had or win so much money that I can change the immigration rules lol. Or be lucky enough to find a job that is very sought after in the US.

Wish me luck

Pulaski

The one way that could work for you, given that you haven't mentioned a "significant other" in your life, is marriage to a USC. It really is option, and marriage to a USC is the reason many of us are here. On-line dating sites explain a good number of those marriages, including Mrs P and me!

riley1012

Well I did look into that as I am single. However I am a gay man and I think this would hinder my choices slightly. I wish it didn't as I would love to get the same opportunities but there you go. And also I am actually talking to an American guy in South Carolina which is another reason why I ended up on this site. It is early days but I just wanted to know what my options are. As I would love to move to USA But I think he would rather stay in US.

Pulaski

Well gay marriages are now accepted for immigration visa purposes, (there are about a dozen states where you can get married now) but don't expect to get married in South Carolina any time soon, because unless the Supreme Court intervenes, gay marriage in South Carolina is likely an indication that Hell has frozen over (by which I mean only that the South Carolinians are notoriously conservative).

riley1012

So if he is a resident in South Carolina can he get married in another state to me and we can use that marriage as immigration visa???

If that is true well you may have just made my day as I have been looking at some other forums on here and it didn't seem promising ??

Pulaski

Yes, absolutely. A marriage in any state (and most countries) is recognized by the Federal government including for immigration purposes, and most states have no residency requirements, typified by Las Vegas with its instant and drive through wedding chapels. BTW I honestly don't know if Nevada has legalized gay marriage.

sir_eccles

Nevada is one of those odd ones that has a constitutional ban on marriage but has domestic partnerships.

Pulaski

You mean "gay marriage", right?

retzie

Just so you know, the door for same-sex partner immigration has only very recently been opened. You will definitely still find a lot of 'old' information, which isn't actually very old, just out-of-date! You can look over the BE thread on the topic to get an idea of the timescale. You can also try searching "DOMA immigration", for news from the world at large.

In other news, it makes me so happy that I can post this! It will have a very real impact on multiple couples I hold very dear