from uk to all expats in usa

themuppets · #1 (**permalink**) 18th July 2007, 02:11 PM

hi there...

this is carl & linda hadley living in leicester in the uk does anybody have any plain and simple information on buying and emigrating to the usa and how do we go about getting employment (i am a caretaker of a primary school , my hubby is a postman for the royal mail ) all info gratefully received

many thanks

the hadleys

EFUser · #2 (**permalink**) 18th February 2008, 03:05 PM

Did you get any replies to your post?

Norm (Expat in Florida)

Quote:

Originally Posted by themuppets

hi there...

this is carl & linda hadley living in leicester in the uk does anybody have any plain and simple information on buying and emigrating to the usa and how do we go about getting employment (i am a caretaker of a primary school , my hubby is a postman for the royal mail ) all info gratefully received

many thanks

the hadleys

MichelleAlison · #3 (**permalink**) 18th February 2008, 05:40 PM

Hi Carl and Linda,

Welcome to the forum. Your best bet is to read the American forum posts. I am sure you will find lots of anwers there.

Good luck

Michelle (originally from London)

synthia · #4 (**permalink**) 20th February 2008, 02:41 AM

I'm going to copy your thread over to the US section, and I'll post my comments there.

synthia · #5 (**permalink**) 20th February 2008, 02:51 AM

I hate to burst your bubble, but you really don't have much of a chance of emigrating. Being from the UK, you aren't eligible for the green card lottery. You don't have professions that are in short supply in the US, and even if you did, it's getting very difficult. To get a work visa, you must first find a job with a company that is willing to spend the money to each of you separate work visas, and prove in some fashion that the job can not be filled by an American citizen or someone who already has the right to work in the US. The US government does not sponsor, so you husband could not work for the postal service even if there were no Americans applying.

Even if you got jobs with a big international company, your skills would not get you the sort of job that would make a company want to sponsor you for relocation. You might be able to emigrate if you had a lot of money to invest in a business.

You don't have to emigrate to buy property, though, and you can spend six months in the US every year as a tourist.

There are other threads here on the same topic, with generally the same information.

Bevdeforges · #6 (**permalink**) 20th February 2008, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by synthia

You don't have to emigrate to buy property, though, and you can spend six months in the US every year as a tourist.

Let me just add one caveat to this idea. Yes, it is possible to do the "six month splits" in the US, but be very very careful what visa you apply for.

I know of a case where a couple was doing this - wife American, husband European nationality - and one trip over they got "caught" for hubby making "too frequent" trips on his multiple entry visa. Something about he could spend up to six months ok, but doing two six-month trips within an 18 month period was considered abusive use of the visa.

I'm not sure what visa he was travelling on, but I do know it was the same visa he had used while working and making business trips to the US on a frequent basis (though rarely as long as his max six month period).

Ask lots of questions when applying for a visa to do something a little bit out of the ordinary like this. Visas are normally issued for those who want to work in the US, and they are tending to clamp down on "creative" uses of visas. For something like this, it might pay to consult an immigration attorney to find out what your options are.
Cheers,
Bev

synthia · #7 (**permalink**) 21st February 2008, 03:44 AM

I know it is possible to come over every year because Florida is full of UK and German residents who do it. I don't know whether they get the 10-year multiple entry visa, use the visa waiver program, or apply every year. It's sort of odd to give someone grief over using a program that was designed to cut US visa processing costs.

Sometimes people get in trouble with dates, because they count the day they leave one country as the first day out of the country rather than the last day in the country, then try to come back too soon. I actually got caught by this in SE Asia. I needed to be out of the country for 90 days, and thought that when my 90 day visa in the next country was up, I could return. Wrong. By their count, I had only been away 88 full days.

Take Bev's advice, and check it all out very carefullly.