scott_ellis

Hi All

My wife and I are thinking about emigrating to the USA at some point in the future, but would love some info from people who have already done it.

I know this is similar to other threads, but could you tell us what you have gained (or what are the good things) and what you have lost (or what are the downsides) by moving to the USA. If this is any help we are fed up with long, dark wet winters during which you spend the majority of the time stuck inside (we love being outdoors) and we love socialising with other people. Family is not a problem for us, as we do not have extended families etc.

Fire away, cheers

Scott n Meg

Jabba1

For starters, immigrating to the US is not going to be easy. In fact, depending on your situation- it may be impossible. If you and your wife are both British citizens then your chances are not good. The US is a difficult country to get into. It would help if you could tell a bit more about yourself, such as your employment status ect.

scott_ellis

HI Jabba - thanks for this

I have an upper second class honours degree, I am a qualified teacher in the further/adult education sector and in about 12 months time I will also have Masters degree in Social Science Research. My wife is an experienced/qualified administrator and she is also currently studying towards a childcare and education qualification.

How long does it take to get the necessary permission/visas etc to live and work in the USA?

Further info - We have two boys, one aged 7 and one aged 4 and these really are the centre of our lives.

Jabba1

Here is a link that may help answer your questions Scott.

scott_ellis

Thank you Jabba1 - I will take a look

Jane and Jason

Hi

I know everyone says how hard it is to get into the US, but a friend of mine emigrated there about 8 years ago, when her husband got a contract with the Atlanta Correctional Facility, and they have been there ever since. He has since changed jobs once they got their green cards, but they arrived there with $5k in their pockets and not much else (apart from a 2 year old son!!).

I guess my question is that if it is that difficult how come their move seemed so simple?

We were going to emigrate to Australia and sent off our application etc and got as far as being asked to do our medical/police checks, when I changed my mind!! (womans perogative! ) Anyway now she has said how lovely their life is out in the US , it has got my itchy feet going again, but its been disheartening to hear people say how hard it all is especially as we're both british citizens. Or disappointing perhaps. Maybe we should just put up with 'good old blighty' eh?

pdamiant

Dont Listen To Anyone, Get An American Based Immigration Lawyer To Chat With You, I Used Bsis, (by Sea Immigration Services) It Will Cost Money But You Will Get Into The Usa Legally And Safely.

scott_ellis

Hi Jane and Jason

Thank you for this - It is difficult for someone like myself, who currently knows very little about the processes and procedures.

You have made some excellent points. Like yourselves my wife and I do [B]keep getting itchy feet, but also ask ourselves is life that bad in England and is the grass greener on the other side of the Atlantic. This is why I am asking people who have already done it.

Scott

scott_ellis

Cheers, I will take a look at this

Jane and Jason

Hi Scott

I think you'll always get people who say its the best thing they've ever done, and you'll get those who have regretted their move. I think I would prefer the US to Oz because the distance isn't so great, its easier and cheaper to get back to the UK in an emergency from the US. I often get to thinking about life elsewhere. We were origianlly going to move to Oz because we were stuck in a flat in Sussex with two growing boys (now 6 and 8) and just to buy a 3 bed ex-council semi was £200K, but after we sent in our application to emigrate, my husband got a transfer to his West Midlands office and we were able to buy a house in Worcestershire for just a little more than we sold our flat for. So anyway life seemed great to begin with, people much friendlier and the boys settled into their new school really well, but a year on i've started wondering again if perhaps we could move further afield.

People often say that the grass insn't always greener, but you never know if you don't try, and for my friends it certainly was greener. My only main concern is that my eldest son has some special needs and is a bit socially immature (school psychologists's words), and has weak muscle tone, so I would worry about whether he would be accepted well in a new country.

scott_ellis

Hi

I know that each persons/family's circumstances are different and that these need taking into consideration. There is nothing bad or sinister about our lives it is just that my wife and I do get a bored/disenchanted with certain things. We think it would benice to try something/somewhere different, especially if opportunites/climate are better. I think that we need to be confident that we are doing the right thing.

Ben

There is a British family I know near me and they have an autistic child. They only came here for a short stay (5 years) which meant that their two children were starting school in the US. When it came time to going back to the UK the mother looked into schools in the UK for her son and came across a lot of problems (sorry don't know them all) but she found that the way her son was being looked after over here was much better than what she would get in the UK. Now, I know for a fact that being on Long Island (and places in California this is true for as well) the care that children with special needs get is fantastic. But I do remember where we lived in Nottingham the children with special needs were cared for well too, so maybe it is more a case of where you live rather than a country by country difference. So, yes, I can understand your anxiety because when you have what you need where you are, there are no guarantees you will get the same standard of help/care elsewhere.

For us, we moved to the US for my husband's work. He travelled a lot back in the UK- all over the UK, Europe and the US. His company, at the time, didn't have an office in the US so it would mean he would be here for weeks at a time. It got to the point where he couldn't be the dad he wanted to be and we didn't want that for our children. We were comfortable in the UK, I was a stay-at-home-mum, but we weren't extravagant either. We decided to give the US a go with the idea that it would be for 5 years and then we would come home. If we really liked it here we would try and stay. We have a similar standard of living to what we had in the UK, except our home is bigger (but we would have moved to a bigger home by now in the UK anyway) and our mortgage won't be paid off for quite a while (we only had 7 years left on our mortgage back home but obviously if we moved that would be extended). We are comfortable but not extravagant and I am still staying at home but enjoying life as a college student. The biggest difference for us is our children - they love it here and don't want to go back. Because they have settled into the American life so well both hubby and I are happy. The weather is just great - lots and lots of sunshine all year round, even though it is bloody cold in the winter! And where we live is really nice but it was nice where we lived in the UK. The school district we are in is fantastic but it was good in the UK too - in fact a lot of their teaching methods here are very similar to what they were in the UK. For us it is like home away from home without the family hassle of having to visit family at weekends etc. We miss out on parties, but we gain by having people come and stay here for a few weeks at a time. And no family arguments - parents won't create waves with us being so far away which is a huge bonus


Scott, finish your masters degree and you will have no problems finding a teaching position over here. It may not be in adult teaching, though. It may have to be in a school, probably high school, and it may not be in a place that you would normally choose (inner city for example). But once you are here and apply for your Greencard and get your greencard, you can move. It will take a number of years to get to this point. Or apply to do your PhD here.

dunroving

I think pursuing a graduate education here is an often overlooked way of getting in. Following a US degree, you get automatic (pretty much) right to work for one year via OPT, during which you can pursue H-1 status. Being in the country while pursuing a PhD will give you a unique opportunity to see what the US is like while at the same time planning your strategy for longer-term plans. It's a lot easier to figure out how to stay here (i.e., to be planning while actually in the US) than it is to figure out how to get here (i.e., to be planning from 4,000 miles away).

Of course another benefit of this route is that after 3 years you are much more marketable because you have a PhD. Some caveats are that your marketability depends on what area you study, plus being here on a student visa would not allow your wife to work. Plus of course you won't be rich while you are in college.

scott_ellis

Hi Ben

This is helpful thank you. Similar to what you say I think we will be waiting until I've finished my masters before actually moving. But we are currently collecting information and weighing up our options. When you say that 'It will take a number years' is this for the whole process of moving and applying/finding work? Are you also suggesting that by applying to my PhD in the USA will speed the proces up. A PhD is definately a personal consideration for the future. Thanks for any further info

dunroving

I don't think that applying for a PhD will speed up the process of an unrelated work visa application (in fact it may even confuse matters if you end up applying for a work permit at the same time you are applying for a student visa).

PhD is just another route to getting into the US and starting a process whereby you eventually may be in a position to apply for a GC.