AndrewHarnett

Hi, with this being my first post im not really sure how this is supposed to go! I'm married to a great american girl who lives with me in England and we're not looking to move to the states untill about 2007, but i need guidance about what my steps should consist of so when we eventually move over there it all runs smoothly. Do i need to apply now for my visa, call the US consulate to tell them we're married?, start looking for a career in the states? Any advice anyone can give would be great!
Thanks, Andrew

Lion in Winter

Good Morning. Since you are married to a U.S. Citizen, you should be able to get your residency here without any difficulties. You might want to check the U.S. Marriage visa forums here, though, for more details, and talk to the U.S. Embassy about timelines, etc. If you plan to live in the States I would definitely start investigating careers here, making contacts, and seeing if there are any qualifications or experience you could get before arriving that would help. Your degree helps, but your work experience will be the most important thing in terms of getting a job. Hardly anybody here knows or cares about GCSE and A levels. Where are you thinking of moving to in the U.S?

excpomea

I would say enjoy life in the UK for the next few years.
Start worrying about moving over in about 2006.
Since you are married to an American there will be no problems regarding the visa.
I don't think you can even apply yet as once the visa is issued you have to be living in the States within a certain period of time. 6 months I think.

As for jobs, no one is even going to bother with you untill you are actually living in the states.

Pulaski

From my own experience it is very difficult to get any interest from potential employers, or even from recruitment agents until you have a vias and are in the USA (but not impossible despite what Excpomea says, as I managed it myself), that is not to say that you shouldn't start looking.

I would recommend that you keep a flexible timetable, and start looking a year, or even two, before you want to leave, and be prepared to drop verything and move quickly if/when you find a job. Having said that the visa will be a probelm from a timing perspective as once you have it you have to "activate" it (use it for the first time) within six months (if I remember correctly), and realistically move permanently to the USA within a year or so afte that (I am not sure of there is a fixed time for moving permanently).

So long as you can read English, follow simple instructions, and don't have a criminal record the visa forms are fairly straight forward to complete, and should take around five-six months from first application to issuance of visa through the London embassy.

excpomea

lol OK, I will rephrase that "No one even bothered with me untill I was actually in the States"
But one here they were all over me