Moving to US with partner Questions Questions?
 

Hi

Please can anyone help/advise me?

My boyfriend has got a job where they have agreed to move him to California and sponsor him for a Green Card.

This is all supposed to take place Jan/Feb 2014. He has asked me to go with him as his wife :)

My questions are:

Do we need to be married for a certain amount of time for me to be able to go over on his visa which after some research I think would need to be an L1 or maybe even directly on a Green Card (to enable me to work also)?

I would like to work over there and I am an IT professional/Manager with 15 years experience and IT Management specific qualifications that are recognised in the USA, however I did not go to college or Uni, will this affect my chances of getting work?

If I needed to continue working for a period of time (i.e. 3-6 months after Jan/Feb 2014) in the UK would this affect me in anyway?

Any advise/help would be appreciated??

Thank You

K

Re: Moving to US with partner Questions Questions?
 

Hi and welcome :-)

It will all depend on which visa your husband (to be) is granted.
If he already works for the company and is transferring over then he'll probably be on an L1 visa and as his wife you'll receive and L2 and will be able to apply for an EAD (employment authorization document) which take about 3 months to get and then you'll be able to work.
If he is working for a company that he hasn't previously worked for then he'll probably be on an H1B and you, as his wife will be given an H4 and you cannot work on that visa.

Hope that helps?

Re: Moving to US with partner Questions Questions?
 

No, you do not need to be married for a minimum amount of time.

You will not be going over on his visa, you will need your own visa. You are correct to the extent that your ability to apply for a visa arises from your relationship with him and the visa that he is applying for, but that is not the same thing as you using his visa to enter the USA.

Regards, JEff

Re: Moving to US with partner Questions Questions?
 

That will depend on the company. Some employers here are fixated on degrees for even the most menial of jobs; others are more sensible and look at the whole package you have to offer. You'll notice that many jobs will insist on a degree, whilst others are okay with a degree or equivalent experience.

Re: Moving to US with partner Questions Questions?
 

Thanks for the responses

Jeff if I had to get my own visa do you know if my husbands company will sort that out for me or is it something I would have to myself ... Just wondering if its a standard thing or dependent on the company?

K

Re: Moving to US with partner Questions Questions?
 

If you're married, it'll be a derivative visa...basically you bring marriage certificate and jobs done, in the gist of things.

As for the job hunt, it's all about networking anyway and not having a degree means it'll generally be even more important to get around HR and find who to contact directly because there's a high chance the online web application will just filter you out before HR even bothers to.

Re: Moving to US with partner Questions Questions?
 

No. You can get married the day before applying for your derivative visa... or even the same day!


You will get a derivative visa based on the visa your (then) husband will have. If he has an H-1B visa, you'll get an H-4 visa. If he has an L-1 visa, you'll get an L-2 visa. Some derivative visas will allow you to work, others won't... and there's nothing at all you can do to change that.

What visa is your future husband going to get?


If you get a visa that allows you to work, then you can work - and that is independent of any education you may or may not have. Whether or not you'll actually find someone willing to hire you depends both on your education and on your experience/skills. Within IT, experience/skills usually trumps education - but not always.


As long as you're in the UK, no. Once you enter the US you need permission to work even if you're doing work for a UK client and being paid into a UK bank account.

Ian

Re: Moving to US with partner Questions Questions?
 

If you need your own visa (independent of any derivative visa you'd get by virtue of marriage to a primary visa holder), you're on your own. If that's the case, start reading here.

Ian