Marenza

Hello! I am interviewing for a position based in NYC. Start early 2021. Husband can do his job elsewhere,
so he is cool.
Our children are 14 nearly 15 going year 10 and the other year 8 12 years old nearly 13.
I have NO idea how the school system
works over there? I need to understand if I am crazy thinking to remove them in due course, or should I wait September 2021? And what will happen to his GCSE?
Please help...
Thanks
marenza

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE. Early 2021 is rather ambitious anyway unless you're a US citizen or LPR? So you may find it's nearer Sept 2021 before you can move anyway. If your children are currently Yr 10 and Yr 8, then they won't be doing GCSE's yet, so can just move on to the US system, or alternatively if you're not planning on staying permanently you could look at the British School in NYC if you wanted to keep them on the same curriculum. There are lots of threads about moving teenagers from the UK system to the US, so have a search and a read of those.

You say your husband will be able to do his job 'elsewhere', so does that mean he'll be in the US or not? If so, do also check that your visa will allow your husband to work in the US, as not all of them will do (again, unless you're citizens/LPR's).

Rete

Just to add to Christmasoompa's post, your husband needs to have USCIS authorization to work while residing in the US even if he is working remotely for a company outside of the US. So be sure that his derivative visa is one that allows him to work.

civilservant

Do you require visa to work in the US? If so, which one are you likely to be sponsored for?

Depending on the visa, you husband may be unable to work I'm afraid - that's remotely or otherwise. All the US cares about for it's immigration laws is the physical place where the work is performed. If you're sitting at a desk in the US, you need a visa that allows you to work. Doesn't matter who are paying you and where they are based.

scrubbedexpat099

Suppose depends what early 2021 means.

lizzyq

We moved over when our sons were 14 and 16, the 16yo took his GCSEs in the May/June and started US high school as a "junior" in August, younger son started HS as a "freshman". It was tough on the 16 year old as he had to work hard to get his HS graduation requirements completed in just 2 years not the full 4, though he did get credits for what he had done in the UK - the GCSE results helped greatly here. In hindsight we should also have pushed to get his PE credits added in.

OK, that was too much information in the wrong order! Let your elder child stay in the UK to do GCSEs, no sense not getting the exams done after all the work. The younger one would probably do best wrapping up the school year in the UK, or at least until the elder one has done all the exams before moving over. Then they both start US high school at the start of the school year in August. US high schools are STRICTLY allocated by where you live, there are good ones and bad ones, so when hunting for houses (rent or buy) check which school district they list and then check that out via the internet. If you move over on your own for a few months you have a little flexibility in looking around and talking to colleagues about where is good. Separation is hard, I know, it took me a year of ping-ponging between UK ans US before I joined my husband and sons full time in the US, but worth it for doing the "best" for the kids. Moving at 15/16/17 is the least advantageous timing, 14 is OK.

Another thing - is this move temporary or permanent? If temporary the university question looms large - our elder son went back to the UK as a home student as he was still on a non-resident US visa which would have made him a foreign student over here in the US, our younger son (by then a Legal Permanent Resident aka green card holder) is at university here in the US as he would have been a foreign student in the UK. Foreign student tuition rates can be eye-watering on both sides of the Atlantic.

If your husband wants/needs to work while in the USA you need to be on a suitable visas, not an O-1/O-3 or H1/H4 as I know. This is a very important thing to know early on as visa class dictates a lot of what you spouse and children may or may not do. Whatever the visa class your children are on they are still entitled to US public education free of charge.

Marenza

You guys are great! Thanks a lot.
I will sort VISA out and try to figure it out 😩
My main concern now is the 14 year old one in year 10. If moving in the Summer 2021, I could potentially ask to ping pong in the meantime for few months as suggested....what equivalent year would he attend from September?
I have been asked to move for two years and set up the “machine” later on in UK to cover Europe from UK. I see the move Temporary for now but I am convinced it could be such a great experience for us as family and for the children...Am I mad?

civilservant

This is the thing - it isn't for you to figure out. The employers immigration attorney should be working on this and ideally they should know what Visa (not VISA) you will be petitioned for at the interview. Else I would worry that they don't really know what they're doing.

scrubbedexpat099

First things first, if the move is not practical then everything else is moot.

christmasoompa

No, you're not mad - and I'm saying that as somebody that is moving in 2021 with two teens, also for 2 years! It could be a great experience, we see it as our last chance to have a final family adventure before our eldest goes to uni. But if you're only thinking of going for 2 years, then personally I wouldn't consider going unless you can keep them on the British curriculum. That's what we will be doing, and there's no way we'd have agreed to the move if they couldn't continue with their current schooling and then easily transfer back.

As above though, you need to know your visa situation first, and that's something the company has to do. So before you start worrying about schools, where to live, etc, etc, I'd ask the company which visa they are proposing to get for you as that is absolutely vital, particularly if your husband wants to work.

christmasoompa

I'd agree if the OP's eldest was doing GCSE's this year, but she says s/he is in Year 10, so won't be doing GCSE's until summer 2022.

steph0scope

No, that’s not how it works. The employer has to organize the visa. Although you yourself will attend the actual interview at the embassy for the visa, the process must be initiated by the employer. Only if the government feels that you and the job qualify for a work visa will you be able to progress to your part, which is completing the application form, attending a medical exam and being interviewed.

So your biggest concern is actually whether the company knows what they are doing. If they don’t, you can forget all your other questions.

civilservant

The clue for me that the expectations are unrealistic here is the 'start early 2021' statement - because this is very unlikely to happen. The OP clearly hasn't worked for the company, so it isn't an L, and unless it's cap exempt it isn't an H either, not with that timeframe.

That leaves the O's and a few rare birds.

OP, please do come back when you have more information, because you have peaked our curiosity.

lizzyq

My apologies, I misread/miscalculated. If going back to the UK is the plan within a couple of years then there is always the possibility of catching up on exams later, particularly the minimum maths and english and going on to A levels with the US experience to build upon, also there are IB schools around which are better for children who move between systems more than once.
,

penguinsix

We have a wiki on Schooling in the USA that might answer some of your questions.

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Educa...s_in_school%3F