Moving to the USA from England: Visa and work considerations
 

Hello everyone! I'm a guy from the Midlands and my girlfriend lives in San Diego, California and she is an American Citizen. It's time for me now to be very seriously looking at making the move and looking for work and trying to settle into life over there. I am glad I found this forum and I hope some of you friendly folks wouldn't mind sharing some of your advice, potential directions and experiences (you had to endure!) in order to make the move! :)

In addition to web-based resources and googling the first thing I am looking into is regarding obtaining a Visa and means to be able to work. I hold a professional, advanced degree qualification and currently I have my CV/Resume uploaded to career websites as a starting point in addition to forthcoming direct applications. I figure that one possible entry point would be that I am lucky enough to be sponsored by a company that hires me and helps with the process of obtaining a Visa and being able to work. I'd be grateful if anyone would share their experiences and perhaps even a pointer in the right direction as to what was required and what problems they faced.

Thank you in advance! :)

Re: Moving to the USA from England: Visa and work considerations
 

First read the immigration FAQ on the sticky thread at the top of this forum.

If you and your girlfriend are in a serious relationship, it may be faster for you to live and work in the US if you get married to her.

Have you looked at US immigration related forums on BE? There are three. I'm sure there's plenty of threads for people in similar circumstances as you. Please look and/or post there.

I'm closing this thread.


NC Penguin

Re: Moving to the USA from England: Visa and work considerations
 

Hi Mark

Theres so much to consider but I'll try and give you a head start...

1- You'll most likely need an H1B visa from a sponsoring company in San Diego. Problem here is that the number of these visas are limited and have probably already been taken for 2007. Secondly, you'll find it extremely hard, if not impossible to get a company to pursue this visa for you. A sponsoring company has to demonstrate that an American citizen cant do the job that you can.

2- you could marry your girlfriend and pursue a green card. Though this method will take a while (I've been waiting 14months so far) you can get an Employment Authorization document (EAD/i765) soon after your wedding day which will take 90 days to arrive.

3- putting your resume on these job sites is pretty fruitless. You may have better luck going to the company web site directly, but even that is next to fruitless.

I think your best bet is to try and get an academic job, such as at UCSD. Here, H1B visas are unlimited and you could also get a J1 visa if you have a PhD.

Best of luck. San Diego is my favorite city..but I couldnt afford to live there and chose North Carolina instead.

Cheers

AB