benoj

Hi,

I'm after some advice on how to go about moving from the UK to America.

I'd like to know what documents would be needed, who I would need to speak to e.t.c

Heres a little bit about me and my current situation. I'm 22, graduate with a 2:1 BSc Econ in Business Finance, A levels, GCSE's, Full UK resident all my life, no family in the U.S.A.

Im going out to America for a short holiday soon, to check out the area and to meet up with a special someone. But when I return I will be looking to save up enough to move out there permanently.

Thanks for any help/advice, much appreciated.

nettlebed

Read this: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

On the basis of the information you give, getting married to a USC would appear to be your best (possibly only) chance.

meauxna

Create evidence of meeting in person on your visit: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/K1

nettlebed

This is all based on the assumption that your "special someone" is a POTOS, and you are free to marry them. If that is the case, make sure you take your camera, and make sure you appear in photographs together.

benoj

Thanks for the quick replies nettlebed & meauxna.

Nettlebed - I have had a read of that link and from what I could make out of it, there are a few options: Family, Work (Sponsor), Specialist skill (In demand), marriage or huge amounts of money.

I think I can only possibly fall into 1 maybe 2 of these catergories. Marriage or specialist skill, but since I dont have 12years experience in accountancy (Or even know if this is an indemand skill..?) Would I be right in thinking I have no chance of entering the USA for any period over 90days and be valid for work without marrying a US citizen?

Also what does POTOS stand for?

meauxna

And you know what they say about assumptions! (we'll call today the exception rather than the rule. Of course, I am psychic).

benoj, you might want to look a little deeper into the exchange programs (J visa) that allow you to come over and work a short term thing. It can be hard to land in a specific spot, but might beat being 'just' a visitor.

As a UK citizen, you're allowed to come for a visit (no work) of 90 days or less without a visa (altho look up ESTA before traveling). Any "vacation" of +2 weeks is going to look lavish here. The rule of thumb is stay out as long as you were in and don't try a bunch of long back to back trips. And don't work.

nettlebed

That's pretty much it, yes. Accountancy right now is not a skill that is likely to get you in here. As an accountant, though, you may be able to set yourself up for an L-1 visa. To get this you would need to be in a company that has offices in the UK and the US and have company specific knowledge, typically internal management stuff. You will need to have worked for the company in the UK for at least a year before they can apply for the L-1 (note that they do the applying, not you).

Lots of accountants and other manager types come over on L-1s. From an L-1 it is possible to adjust status and get a Green Card.

Person Of The Opposite Sex.

benoj

Thanks again both,

So meauxna, you were indeed correct in assuming the special someone is a person of the opposite sex.

Nettlebed, I work for a multinational company (Laura Ashley) but i've only worked for them for 5months or so, and I seriously highly doubt they would pay to move me to an american branch, and im pretty sure their foreign branches are simply franchises also.

So this leaves me with only 1 hope?... marriage. But is this option a guaranteed method?

meauxna

Well it's early days yet. You're just going to have to get creative with your courtship!
It doesn't hurt to know what your options are, and I certainly do NOT recommend marriage as an alternative to dating.
If you pop over to the marriage-based visa forum here, you'll find lots of inspiration for long distance relationships.

PS: quick look at the LA site shows that the N American company was spun off a while ago.

benoj

Thanks for your time meauxna,

I will have to have a look on that section of the forum, perhaps on another day thought, i've been reading about this for hours now and with the majority of people saying it very hard to get into america on another forum, it is becomming really disheartening.

I was wondering, is the USA one of the hardest places to gain entry to or somthing? Because I have a couple of friends who have gone traveling around New Zealand and Australia, and they just got a 1-2 year visa (Not sure on the exact details) but they were allowed to work and stay there for a considerable amount of time with the option of extending/permanent residence, with what sounded like relative ease.

meauxna

Yes, the US is one of the harder places to get in to.
Aus & NZ are famous for their work exhange visas, and their immigration system (like Canada's)is more heavily points- based, or aimed at what the migrants can do for the country.
In the US, we're dealing with a legacy system that is primarily family-based. That's a lot of brothers & sisters stacked up out there.

If you have a longer term look at it, think about what Nets said about the L-1 transfers or pursuing a specific career path with an eye toward getting here (there have been several excellent threads on this in the past). but usually when there is a love interest, time is of the essence.
Have you looked at any go-the-other-way options? Like your USC comes over to you for a while?

nettlebed

Yes, the US is very hard to get entry to for extended periods of time (i.e. over 90 days). There is a built-in assumption that everybody wants to live in the US, and you, as a visitor, have to prove that you do not have immigrant intent. Or, if you DO have immigrant intent and you want to live here permanently and legally you have to go through one of the very well controlled immigration routes.

Regarding Laura Ashley, I heard somewhere that they are downsizing US operations, so that -- if true: I don't remember where I heard it or from whom -- likely shuts the door on the L-1.

It can be disheartening, but if things do work out with your "special someone" then you at least have one of the easiest routes to living here (assuming that your SS is a US citizen: it's possible too if they are a Green Card holder, but will take MUCH longer).

nettlebed

BTW, marriage is not a guaranteed option: there are things that may render you forever unable to enter the US legally, but they are usually extreme cases such as murder, torture, terrorism, drug trafficking.

Criminal records can be tricky, but they can be worked around by a careful submission, best handled by a competent attorney.

However, the majority of straightforward marriage cases being submitted recently tend to go from application to Green Card in under a year.

benoj

I cannot thank you both enough.

Trust me to want to move to the hardest place going... But i'm soooo relieved you say it is possible, because earlier I was hearing a very different story, which started me worrying.

Meauxna, i'm not sure about the other way option, it's not somthing we have talked about and she is a USC. It's an unfortunate situation, like you say time is of the essense really so the L-1 is not a viable option.

Nettlebed, I dont think I need to worry about bring rejected based on criminal activity, as I have a clean record. So you say it can take up to a year for the greencard, can you live and work there before you get the greencard?

Bob

pretty much, they do bugger all over here these days except rely on third party retailers...

So, that leaves find another employer with a proper presence in the US and well, wait a few years because, lets be honest here, fresh out of uni, you've got bugger all skills they'll need to want to go through this hassle, same goes for H1B...and errr...marry the bird if she's an American, or study over here for a masters, that'll open up more H1B opps, because a US masters puts you into the group with an extra 20K visa's that doesn't always fill up.