Originally Posted by grahamwookie (Post 9072015)

Hello,
Myself, my wife and daughter are currently residing in New Zealand under a Permanent Residence Visa. This is the second time round that we have lived in NZ, the first was from 2003-06.

We are kind of getting 'down' about the place and this we need to discuss but we think it might be because we've been here before, it's not the place for us to settle or that there's not much going on. We are UK citizens and miss the culture and heritage that the UK had to offer, NZ doesn't have much of this.

So, we arrived at the states idea. So, we were then wondering which city? My professional is Graphic Design and I need to be in in cultural city or region. We also would like a snowy winter and warm summers and maybe near a beach for our surfing interests.

My question is which state, or city? I guess I would have to apply for a job to be awarded a visa too.

Any ideas or advice would be gratefully received.

thanks for your time
Graham

Originally Posted by Bob (Post 9072678)

Your question should be what visa foremost...actually that's the only relevance, unless one of you is already a USC. The link in the wiki posted a bit above is top reading.

Not eligible for a visa then forget it....and your best bet is a company transfer, graphic designers are a dime a dozen, so getting an employer to go to the considerable cost and hassle of sponsoring one is very unlikely to happen unless you happen to be world class.

Originally Posted by Englishman43 (Post 9077815)

[/B]

And even if they did you are likely to wait years to receive it, at least that has been my experience. Company sponsored me, approved by INS for Green Card, now please go away and wait until one comes up and no we wont give you any idea of when that might be. Several friends had the same thing, one waited 8 years for it !!!

Originally Posted by Bob (Post 9077935)

Company transfer is a L1 and very quick...sounds like you should have gotten a H1 and gotten to the US relatively quickly. The Greencard is a separate beast.

Originally Posted by Englishman43 (Post 9078313)

The company that sponsored me filed an 'I-140 Immigrant Petition' for me to get my visa .

Originally Posted by Weebie (Post 9081034)

As a Graphic designer I personally wouldn't bother thinking about it....it's not going to happen.

Originally Posted by Untitled 3 (Post 9081725)

Untrue. Not all graphic designers are equal. I know 3 expat graphic designers one on H1b and two on L1s.