View Full Version : Forums and websites on emmigration
Hi,
It has long been a dream of my wife and I to emmigrate permanently to the States and we are seriously debating now beginning the process. Aileen has just qualified as a Music Therapist and her qualifications would be recognised and State registerable in the US. I would have to go to college for two years to get the American equivalent of my optometry qualification and this will cost about $60k for the college fees alone, so it is no small step.
Although this is quite some undertaking it should mean that employment prospects would be very good, or give me the ability to continue being self-employed, and the earning potential should also be good.
Our thinking is for me to get qualified and then expand our business to the US, after we get our green cards we could then seperate from the UK side of the business if we feel that that is appropriate.
We have consulted with an immigration lawyer here in the UK and may use his services for the process, however can any of you recommend any good web-site or forums to look at.
Many thanks,
Euan
chrizzy100
12-07-2003, 02:45
quote:Originally posted by MTP
Hi,
It has long been a dream of my wife and I to emmigrate permanently to the States and we are seriously debating now beginning the process. Aileen has just qualified as a Music Therapist and her qualifications would be recognised and State registerable in the US. I would have to go to college for two years to get the American equivalent of my optometry qualification and this will cost about $60k for the college fees alone, so it is no small step.
Although this is quite some undertaking it should mean that employment prospects would be very good, or give me the ability to continue being self-employed, and the earning potential should also be good.
Our thinking is for me to get qualified and then expand our business to the US, after we get our green cards we could then seperate from the UK side of the business if we feel that that is appropriate.
We have consulted with an immigration lawyer here in the UK and may use his services for the process, however can any of you recommend any good web-site or forums to look at.
Many thanks,
Euan
You could start here.....http://www.usaimmigrationservice.org/
We had everything done for us by the company lawyer....so I have no idea about where to start......if I find any good sites I'll post them......:)
http://www.advancedimmigration.com/index.htm
Does that mean that you're thinking of attending a US college to obtain the qualifications you need to work in US?
Be aware that the link that Chrizzy has posted is a paid visa website and not an official US Government one and may charge for forms which are free - the official one is at http://www.travel.state.gov/visa_services.html or http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/index.htm I realise that you want to live there but you need to look at the Non-Immigrant section which relates to either student, E1/2 or L1/2 visas.
Also, have you had a look at this part of the forum? http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/default.asp?CAT_ID=14
There's immigration forums at http://immigration.about.com/mpboards.htm and
http://britishexpats.com/forum/index.php
chrizzy100
12-07-2003, 04:35
quote:Originally posted by blott
Does that mean that you're thinking of attending a US college to obtain the qualifications you need to work in US?
Be aware that the link that Chrizzy has posted is a paid visa website and not an official US Government one and may charge for forms which are free - the official one is at http://www.travel.state.gov/visa_services.html or http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/index.htm I realise that you want to live there but you need to look at the Non-Immigrant section which relates to either student, E1/2 or L1/2 visas.
Also, have you had a look at this part of the forum? http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/default.asp?CAT_ID=14
There's immigration forums at http://immigration.about.com/mpboards.htm and
http://britishexpats.com/forum/index.php
I give those just to look at......they give out lots of free info on those sites......:)
If his wife can work here..it would be best to find a job...and let the company bring them over.......it cost us nothing doing it that way.....I know people do it on their own....but we really needed that big fat cat company lawyer in the last few months.....
"Getting your business established and then expand to the US".
For a L1 company transfer, it needs to have been established one year, but have a substantial turnover, several employees and be capable of trading independently of you with no decrease in turnover whilst you are in the US. You could not separate or close it down in the UK until you get green cards and wheras Chrizzy had the backing of a big company behind her to push these through, small businesses are just as likely to get a one year visa, followed by a three year renewal before getting a green card. That would mean keeping a UK business trading by remote for 4 years.
Have you considered looking for jobs in the US? If you could get a HIB and your employer to sponsor you for a green card, it is a quick and easy way. You need to be graduates but I assume you are.
For a site with a good forum on immigration and visa issues, try the one on www.britishexpats.com.
Moderators, should this topic be moved to the moving to Florida forum??
quote:Moderators, should this topic be moved to the moving to Florida forum?? You're probably right but it's not within my magic powers!
chrizzy100
12-07-2003, 19:21
quote:Originally posted by esprit
"Getting your business established and then expand to the US".
For a L1 company transfer, it needs to have been established one year, but have a substantial turnover, several employees and be capable of trading independently of you with no decrease in turnover whilst you are in the US. You could not separate or close it down in the UK until you get green cards and wheras Chrizzy had the backing of a big company behind her to push these through, small businesses are just as likely to get a one year visa, followed by a three year renewal before getting a green card. That would mean keeping a UK business trading by remote for 4 years.
Have you considered looking for jobs in the US? If you could get a HIB and your employer to sponsor you for a green card, it is a quick and easy way. You need to be graduates but I assume you are.
For a site with a good forum on immigration and visa issues, try the one on www.britishexpats.com.
Moderators, should this topic be moved to the moving to Florida forum??
One point....you don't need to be a graduate.....you need say if your an engineer 3 years in that job for every one year it takes to become a graduate...my husband is not a graduate..but he'd been a test engineer for 13 years in England.....so the company could take him on.....
Hi,
Thanks for the web-sites, I will have a look at all of those. Part of the problem of finding employment is that as I am qualified as an optometrist in the UK employers are not meant to take me on in a position less than my own qualification (eg as an optometric assistant) and only as an optometrist. I cannot do this without getting my Doctorate of Optometry and this means the two year accelarated programme. Our business could survive without me in the UK as my co-director and our employed optometrists would keep it going. My co-director would have no desire to follow me to the States and therefore if we could come to a suitable financial carve-up once we hav achieved my goals then I think he would be more than happy.
I am also afraid that I enjoy my career and feel that I am good at it and that is another reason that I would wish to be able to continue to practice. If I also took on a role as an optometric assistant or managerial role then the salary would not be the same as that of a qualified optometrist.
I think it would be possible to find an employed position, but only once I am over there and qualified. To go down this route would suggest selling out of our company at the outset and paying for the course from the profits of the sale. I feel uneasy about this route as it would seem like very definitely burning our bridges back home. There is also the matter of finding someone to buy me out of the business, as this would not be an inconsiderable sum. I also feel that I could not just sell to anyone, although being financially ruthless I should, but I would not want to do that to my co-director and I feel a responsibility to the business I have created.
Our business as shown significant and solid growth and expansion over the last eight years so looking for continued expansion would not seem out of character and there is no reason that the expansion has to be within the UK - or at least that's the story I am using. We would also then look to takeover an existing practice, perhaps from a retiring optometrist, or merge with one, in the US. So we would have their existing financial records to show the viability of the US arm of the business.
My apologies for being in the slightly wrong forum, but we weren't definite about Florida. It is between there and New England.
Thanks for all your help. I guess the first stage is to apply for the OD programme and see if I am accepted onto it. In my crazy way of thinking, if it is meant to happen then it will fall into place, if not then it won't. Thankfully I recorded my meeting with the lawyer so I think I will have a listen to it again as it was almost a year since I met with him.
Best wishes,
Euan
We live in States. My daughter's first pre-school teacher was on a working visa who is British. I believe that she got the visa because she finished a few weeks training and got a certification as Montessori teacher (the cost of the training in US is about a few thousand US$, she got hers in UK). The pre-school was desperate to find a qualified Montessori teacher, it sponsored her and promised a greencard.
I thought you may be interested.
WS Smith
I think to get a sponsored position would be ideal, and this will probably be the route that we take for Aileen, as she would not be able to work with my F1 student Visa. Does anyone have any experience as to how long it takes with this type of Visa to at least get the initial Visa so that you can work. I may only have 5 months between acceptance onto the course and the course beginning, so we want to be able to make sure that Aileen can work legitimately to support us while I study.
And thankyou for sprinkling pixie dust onto the thread to magically move it!
Euan
chrizzy100
13-07-2003, 19:49
quote:Originally posted by MTP
I think to get a sponsored position would be ideal, and this will probably be the route that we take for Aileen, as she would not be able to work with my F1 student Visa. Does anyone have any experience as to how long it takes with this type of Visa to at least get the initial Visa so that you can work. I may only have 5 months between acceptance onto the course and the course beginning, so we want to be able to make sure that Aileen can work legitimately to support us while I study.
And thankyou for sprinkling pixie dust onto the thread to magically move it!
Euan
You have to get in fast....they get taken early in the year...we had to wait till the new ones came out in Oct......so my hubby had the job march and he went the end of Oct.....:)
Harry and Jayne
19-09-2004, 00:10
Another good forum website at [website link edited]
jolliffee
28-09-2004, 19:48
<div align="center">Plunge in immigrant admissions to the US </div id="center">
In the space of 12 months, legal immigrant admissions to the US dropped by 33 per cent, from 1,063,732 to 705,827, the newly released ‘2003 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics’ has revealed.
The decrease, moreover, was even more marked for British immigrants, with the total number of Britons admitted into the US to begin legal permanent residence dropping from 16,181 in 2002 to 9,601 last year. This is a 40 per cent decrease in 12 months, and a 52 per cent drop in the space of 24 months; British immigrant admissions to the US have averaged over 15,000 per annum for the past decade.
The report’s authors claim, however, that the steep downward trend is due to an application backlog at US Citizenship and Immigration Services processing offices. At the end of fiscal year 2003, over a million applications for adjustment of status to legal permanent residence had decisions pending, with the additional security checks required in the wake of 9/11 believed to be the main cause of the delays.
In the non-immigrant category, though, which includes tourists, students and temporary workers, admissions from the UK increased 7.5 per cent over 2002 figures to 4,534,947. This figure constituted 16.3 per cent of all non-immigrant admissions to the US in 2003, preserving the UK’s position as the biggest source of America’s non-immigrant admissions.
chunkichik
24-11-2004, 07:48
My husband had already been offered sponsorship as a Car Mechanic (would you believe?) when I met him in 1990.
When we enquired about my moving with him, I was told I would either be able to support myself from my own funds or be married to him.
So, we got married and after nearly five years, were approved for a green card. I am afraid to say we chickened out and decided to stay here and god do I wish we had gone now!! We would have been in Charlotte, North Carolina not very far from Florida!!!
So anyone if you read this, seize the day and go for it!!!!
It wouldn't be so bad, if I hadn't married him for nothing[msnwink][msnwink]
chrizzy100
24-11-2004, 08:03
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chunkichik
My husband had already been offered sponsorship as a Car Mechanic (would you believe?) when I met him in 1990.
When we enquired about my moving with him, I was told I would either be able to support myself from my own funds or be married to him.
So, we got married and after nearly five years, were approved for a green card. I am afraid to say we chickened out and decided to stay here and god do I wish we had gone now!! We would have been in Charlotte, North Carolina not very far from Florida!!!
So anyone if you read this, seize the day and go for it!!!!
It wouldn't be so bad, if I hadn't married him for nothing[msnwink][msnwink]
[/quote]
My father did the same thing when I was 14....my mother thought you would be shot in the streets if you went shopping..so said no to moving over...they now love to visit when they can.....