Soldato
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- 4 Apr 2003
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Come on, let's be realistic you are in the top fraction of a percent of the population. Very few stand the same chance or have the academic or technical capabilities as you.
Emigrating to USA
- Thread starter Smithy
- Start date
Come on, let's be realistic you are in the top fraction of a percent of the population. Very few stand the same chance or have the academic or technical capabilities as you.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
How come its so hard to get everywhere else but in the UK you just turn up destitute and ****less and they take you in and set you up for life?
Because they actually don't?
Try getting into the UK as an American citizen - it's not quite as hard but it almost is.
goto Canada first at least they have free health care. The USA is great but if i wasn't married to an American i would have probably gone to Canada.
The grass isnt always greener, unless you have a good job with good health benefits a trip to see the doc can cost you $400.
My real estate agent is British and he did it a bit of a dodgy way, after speaking to an immigration lawyer he proposed and married his American GF on a Tourist visa. Very naughty way of doing it. Fair play to him, but it cost me and the wife a few grand doing it the proper way.
The grass isnt always greener, unless you have a good job with good health benefits a trip to see the doc can cost you $400.
My real estate agent is British and he did it a bit of a dodgy way, after speaking to an immigration lawyer he proposed and married his American GF on a Tourist visa. Very naughty way of doing it. Fair play to him, but it cost me and the wife a few grand doing it the proper way.
How come its so hard to get everywhere else but in the UK you just turn up destitute and ****less and they take you in and set you up for life?
As my above post, my wife and i married and lived in the UK for a few years, luckly she had attended college in the UK, and was on a student visa before we applied for a marriage visa. But it was far from easy and cost more than the US visa for me. Also it cost a small fortune in flights as you have to apply for the visa's in your own country.
I think you can get in trouble doing that - they get funny AFAIK if the time between visits is short relative to the time spend in country.... you can't just do 3 months then pop outside the country for a weekend. One guy I know did spend 3 months on a project then had to go back shortly after - he applied for an Irish passport and went back on that.
In terms of actually relocating over there I believe its not too difficult if you're working for a company with a US office and you're happy to carry on working for that same company for the foreseeable future.
Associate
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My brother went to work in Houston on an H1B visa. Despite having a degree, two masters and a Phd (Geophysics), a very unique skill set, relevant experience and working with the company in question for a few years he still took two goes and 6 months to get the visa. Lots and lots of $$$ were spent with a firm of immigration specialists....
Associate
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The easiest way as other's have said is to marry someone and get a g/c. I did but my past came back to bite me, otherwise i would almost of certainly been a USC by now, (married 6 years ago and you can apply for citizenship after 3 years of marriage.) 
But at least part of me is over there still (my daughter) who also has dual citizenship
A friend of mine from Kent went over there around the same time as myself and is married to a USC is no doubt a USC now.
But at least part of me is over there still (my daughter) who also has dual citizenship
A friend of mine from Kent went over there around the same time as myself and is married to a USC is no doubt a USC now.
Thinking a long game you could apply to work in a company which you know has a big US presence then after a year or two start putting your name around as someone that would like to move to the US. Big banks, consulting companies seem good for this from the people I know who have done it.
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Countries are only eligable for the green card lottery if immigration from that country is under a certain amount. Given the ties between the UK and the USA there are always sufficient people on family/work/etc visas such that the UK never falls below the threshold.
Associate
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They don't because there are too many Brits living there already!
[TW]Fox;24049602 said:
From the information I've gathered it seems a reasonably realistic attitiude. But as you said yourself, this goes for most people. Fortunately for me I've spent the last few years of my life putting myself in a position where, when concerned particularly with employability, I'm not most people.
Given that, it certainly does seem like something which is more likely to present itself as an opportunity, rather than something one can expect to obtain through some procedure.
The chances of winning the lottery aren't great (less than 2%), but this is an option if you have dual citizenship with an eligible country (or can get it through your parents/grandparents) or you were born in Northern Ireland.
How come its so hard to get everywhere else but in the UK you just turn up destitute and ****less and they take you in and set you up for life?
Getting into the UK is just about as hard as the US. I have had several friends try for years.
I know several people who've done it:
Person A: was a contributor towards a software tool and got offered a job by the owner (current company size: 2!).
Person B: worked for a large consultancy company, got firmed out to an American company and got offered a job there.
Person C: worked for one of the large accountancy firms, applied for a transfer to their San Francisco and stayed once they got it.
The problem with going down this route is that it's a long process and there's very few guarantees. It's very easy for American companies to get rid of their staff and you can easily find yourself without a job halfway through the process.
Plus I know a few people who've married Americans. This is the easiest route.
Person A: was a contributor towards a software tool and got offered a job by the owner (current company size: 2!).
Person B: worked for a large consultancy company, got firmed out to an American company and got offered a job there.
Person C: worked for one of the large accountancy firms, applied for a transfer to their San Francisco and stayed once they got it.
The problem with going down this route is that it's a long process and there's very few guarantees. It's very easy for American companies to get rid of their staff and you can easily find yourself without a job halfway through the process.
Plus I know a few people who've married Americans. This is the easiest route.
