zargof

That's not entirely true. There are quite a few companies that deal with commercial aviation which you wouldn't need clearance for. In fact, many of them are international, so you could get a job with one of them in the UK, work there for a while and then angle for a transfer to the US. I'm not saying it will be guaranteed. However, right now aviation is being *severly* affected by the problems with the global economy, so you may struggle to to find anyone that is actually hiring right now.

As for the option of doing a Masters. My advice would be to think very carefully before doing this as the costs will be very high and you won't be eligable for student loans in the US, and not for standard student loans in the UK. In fact, you might find that no one is even willing to lend you the money at all with how things are right now.

SamuearlJackson

If not the wedding ring then a PhD program maybe? All the decent ones I know pay for tuition and give a stipend that you can live off. Your UK student loans only need to be repaid if you owe more than a certain amount per year. A graduate student stipend may well not take you over this amount.

Advantages:
i) You get paid to get trained in an advanced area that aids your future employability.
ii) You have time to see if you want to marry your US citizen girlfriend.
iii) If ii) doesn't work out you may meet someone else while you're in the US.
iv) Failing ii) and iii) there are still routes to a H1-B visa from a student visa post-PhD if the US is the place you want to be permanently.

It is true that many PhD programs would expect you to have a Masters before applying, but some would not, especially if you are bright. Hurry if you think this is a path you would want to pursue - graduate application deadlines are coming up and many universities require you to take GREs.

dunroving

There are places you can get a masters/PhD without needing a whole boatload of money. If you get a decent assistantship (for doing a little teaching), full tuition waiver, and live frugally (heck when I was a grad student I didn't have time to spend money!) you can get through relatively unscathed.

Having said that, I did work three summers in order to get through (meaning no summer school classes and an extra year on my program), and for various reasons had to dip into my life savings during my masters program, but I'm just saying you can do it without breaking the bank. The place I mentioned earlier (MTSU) is one example. Hey, did the OP ever respond to any of these helpful suggestions? Maybe we offended him by criticizing his poor keyboarding skills.