Gareth08Liverpool

Hi All,

Looking for a little bit of guidance if possible, I am currently living in the UK as I have been all my life (28 years) and have recently been offered a position by my old company to help run the Atlanta branch based in Norcoss

Can anyone advise what the quality of life is like in Atlanta? decent areas to live? meeting new people, etc

We currently pay around £1000 a month on our mortgage, what standard of property would we be looking at in Atlanta?

My partner is currently a company buyer, would there be many opportunities for her to continue her career?

Please feel free to ask me any questions as there is a lot to consider besides leaving family & friends, etc

Thanks!

Rete

First and foremost is what type of visa will your company be getting for you to live and work in the US? Since you are not working for them at the moment, an L visa is not appropriate. Does the category of work fit into one of the HB visa categories?

Gareth08Liverpool

I believe the position of work comes under the HB category as the company owner is originally from the UK and has told me that he will be able to sort out a green card without any worries due to the specialized industry that we operate and there isnt the expertise to employ someone locally.

Jerseygirl

I noticed you said 'partner'...is this your wife? There is no visa to allow a partner to live and work in the US.

fatbrit

Although with an H1b in play, the difference between a B2 and H4 is minimal.

Gareth08Liverpool

We are not married yet... she is currently going through international recruitment companies to see if she can get sponsored by a company in Atlanta or I finallly have the ball and chain attached and we get married so she can come with me It may be that i move out there for 6 months or so before she can come over.

fatbrit

Bad news is that if she cannot get a visa in her own right, she will not be able to work if you're on an H1b -- married or not.

Bob

Depends how former the former employer was...if it's only been a couple of years then he might still be eligible, but probably not.

H1B and the spouse won't be working.

If she ain't your spouse, the B2 is even more hassle and just as lame as the H4.

dh010447

If you have worked for the company for at least one year in the past 3 years you should be good for an L1. If you were a manager during this time, you would be good for an L1-A, other wise it would be an L1-B.

If you are married, your wife could get a L2 visa which (after getting an EAD) would allow her to work for any us employer or be self employed.

If you do not meet the one year in the past thee requirement, it would have to be a H1 visa and your wife would get a H4 which she is not allowed to work on. There are no visas for non married partners (us is a bit backward here) but she may be able to get B visa. If she is British though, it would be unlikely that she would be successful getting this.

BTW - I live in Norcross. Let me know if you want any info on the area. Do you know where in Norcross the company is located?

Redwing

I used to live in Buford, which is just up the road from Norcross, and we enjoyed a great quality of life. There is plenty of night life, good restaurants, particularly in some of the suburbs, and you are only a couple of hours or so from the North Georgia mountains. Quality of housing runs the gamut, with a few gated communities. For me, the worst part was the traffic, although I was nearly always driving againt it. We enjoyed the time we spent there.