Amandac86

My husband is looking to get a job is USA as greenkeeper. He has a huge amount of experience working in a top Scottish golf course and has the experiance. What i want to know is how easy is it to move to USA with 3 children? We have debt and also wonder if this would affect us being accepted into america. I have no clue and all the help or point in the right direction is greatly appreciated.

Pulaski

Assuming he or you are not a US citizen, your husband will need sponsorship by an employer before he is eligible for a visa. He cannot apply for a visa without employer sponsorship. .... And the job must have a degree as a requirement.

Please look here (Pulaski simplified], and here (Pulaski's ways), for information on how to obtain a visa to live and work in the USA, but suffice to say that for most people the USA is one of the most difficult countries in the world to immigrate to.

Without a visa all your other questions are moot, and based on what you have I have posted, I doubt you and your family will ever come to the USA as anything but visitors. .... Unless he works for someone who owns golf courses in the UK and US, in which case a transfer by his employer would be possible, but only if his employer is willing to sponsor him.

scrubbedexpat099

Trump has a Scottish Gold Course?

If that is where he works have a word and get a transfer.

Pulaski

This is someone here on BE, who I think still posts occasionally, who was sponsored directly for permanent residence on the basis of being a "landscape architect" (so several notches above what people generally think of when they think "landscaping"). So if your husband is in the "world renowned" category of golf course care and management then perhaps a top-flight golf course in the US would be willing to go to the non-inconsiderable expense, and time delay (think:1-2 years) of going through an employment-based green card (permanent residence) application for him (his spouse and children aged less than 21 could be included automatically.

Psyman

Yeah that's probably me. Some landscape architects (but not me) get involved in the design of golf courses, but it's a totally different profession to being a greenkeeper. I would imagine he might stand a chance of someone sponsoring him for a work permit if they can wait for the application to go through. Would probably need labor certification too (prove no US citizen can, or is available, to do the job). My EB-3 permit took about 2.5 years to process from 2000 to 2002. The wait could be different now. Still not sure why my employer waited that long or how they proved nobody else could do the job!

scrubbedexpat099

My Brother played Golf this afternoon, the course remains open until the middle of October, weather dependent.

Alan17

It’s been a while since I went through the H1B process but I recall that it was a 4 year degree OR degree equivalence of 4 years experience in the field equating to 1 year or academic study.

Not sure how specialized the groundskeeper field is (I’m the one Scot who has zero interest in golf) but you may not need a degree.

Pulaski

3:1, 12 years experience = a four year degree , but the job has to be one which requires a degree, and grounds keeper doesn't strike me as a job that requires a degree.

Twinkle0927

OP, it's great to have a dream but sometimes we have to accept that it will only ever be a dream.

The thing is, it costs an employer a lot of money, thousands, to do all the paperwork to bring a foreign worker and family into the country. Now in some cases an employer may consider that money well spent if the person they are bringing into the country is the best at their game or can make the company a lot of money. It doesn't sound like your husband falls into that category. I appreciate he has a lot of experience but that doesn't count by itself. He needs plenty of the right kind of experience. If he really enjoys his job, why move? If you really want a change of scenery has he considered maybe Spain or Portugal? Plenty of nice golf courses there and no visa required for British citizens.

Bob

There are degree's in the subject of golf course management, in that they're about managing the grass rather than just running a course.

It's probably not a requirement though.

Amandac86

My husband has been offered a job to go to Ohio for 18 months but may extend they are sorting out the paper work etc. They are having a skype talk with him this weekend to explain everything in more detail. If it is not extended is he able to look for another job over there or does he need to come back over here to get another employer to sponser him. Thank you so much for all your information. It has been very helpful 😊

Pulaski

It depends on the visa, with some you can switch employers, with others you cannot, and the same goes for your trailing spouse visa, some allow you to work, and some do not. .... Is your husband being hired externally or is it a transfer by/withing his employer?

materialcontroller

The first question he should be asking them during the Skype chat is "what visa are they applying for on (his) behalf".

Pulaski

Which will be a letter followed by a dash and a number and sometimes another letter, mist commonly H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, or E-2. There are a good number of other less common possibilities. Unless they can produce a specific visa type they are just stringing you along.

If the employer is an educational or research establishment then an H-1B would be "uncapped", and the difference is important.

Amandac86

Thank you for your quick response. It is externally (not his current employer) although it is a british website they are looking for british employee's and this is also a website for greenkeepers "union" so id like to think they wouldn't let employers who are going to string people along advertise on the page. Is there any other questions you would recommend asking. Thank you for your help. Must think im an idiot but hubby has literally sprung this upon me and i like to research things before just jumping in 😊