Moving to America – what should we be considering?

[Ms B]

Hello,
My husband has just been offered a job in Florida and we are currently deciding whether to go for it. At the moment I am not worried about visas or a job for me as the employer should help us with both of those but I wanted some advice on what else I should be considering at this stage.

We are both in our late twenties and don’t have any children but plan to in the next few years, we are planning to rent rather than buy when we first get there and at the moment we plan to come back to England eventually. Any advice?

Thank you,
B x

[Bevdeforges]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Even if the employer is taking care of your visas, you may want to keep an eye on what sort of visa they are working on. It isn't easy to get a working visa that allows the "trailing spouse" to work - and it can be hard to change from a non-working spouse visa to a working one if you're not careful. It can depend a bit on what sort of experience the employer has with bringing people over to the US.

The main thing to consider when it comes to taking a job in the US is the health insurance available through the employer. The US system is strictly private insurers (well, if you're under the age of 65) and the terms of the various plans varies considerably. If you think you might start a family while you're in the US, be sure to ask about the maternity coverage because this can get very expensive very quickly. (Watch the film "Sicko" if you have any doubts.)

You may want to also ask about either having a "house hunting trip" for you both prior to making the big move, to allow you to get your bearings and start to form some idea of where you'd like to live. And/or make sure that the employer will spring for a month or so of accommodation for you on arrival (usually in an apart-hotel or a suites place) to give you a chance to make your housing and other arrangements.

Sounds exciting. Keep us posted how the big decision is coming along.
Cheers,
Bev

[Fatbrit]

Agree 100% with Bev -- you should be very concerned about the visa. You should know exactly what one you are using, its advantages and disadvantages, and the individual steps required. Leaving it all to the company (and their lawyer) is a recipe for disaster and can (and has!) end up with you leaving the US at very short notice. The best way to minimize this real risk is to be proactive.

[twostep]

A job offer does not yet constitute a visa. You should get some more information. Is this an inter company transfer or a US employer?
FL is a rather large piece of real estate:>) Can you tell us where in FL the company is?

Just a few points for contract negotiations: medical insurance, vacation, moving expenses, US/UK contract, overtime, paid trips US/UK, housing allowance ... The list is endless. Tell us a bit more about your individual situation then you can get some good answers.

[synthia]

Where in Florida will you be going? That's where I live now. Well, I have a storage locker there, at least. What sort of work do you do? Much of the economy in Florida is tourism based. Not that there isn't other work, but in some fairly large cities, such as Tampa, there is relatively little work in IT, for instance, at least considering the size of the metropolitan area.

If you are going to need to work to live comfortably, the type of visa you get will, as pointed out above, be absolutely critical.

[Rachel_Heath]

Just to clarify other peeps advice; there are really two types of employment visa's hear in the US - The L type visas (L1-A and L-1B) - for intra company transfers which would enable you to work on your hubbies Visa and the harder to obtain H-1B visa which would categorically prohibit you from working here.

As other's have said you absolutely need to be involved in the entire Visa process from end to end.

As for renting - unless you've a large stash of £££ you can bring over for a significant downpayment (e.g. 50%+) your chances of purchasing property in your first couple of years is very slim. It takes time for your credit score (aka FICO) to climb to the point you'd be able to obtain a mortgage (especially in this day and age!)

However renting is still pretty easy and you'll find magazines available outside at any large grocery store etc. that will list out apartments to rent in your area.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by Rachel_Heath

there are really two types of employment visa's hear in the US

E2 manager (rather than investment) is also quite common. With this one, spouse can work but there is no direct path to GC.

[emohit]

Depending upon the level at which your husband is coming here, he can get a Green Card inside a year. If he is a Manager in a multinational company, his company can apply for his GC in EB1 categaory. With this category, they will be able to circumvent some of the process and will get the GC inside one year. You could start working here half way through it when he gets an EAD.

Cheers,

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by emohit

Depending upon the level at which your husband is coming here, he can get a Green Card inside a year. If he is a Manager in a multinational company, his company can apply for his GC in EB1 categaory. With this category, they will be able to circumvent some of the process and will get the GC inside one year. You could start working here half way through it when he gets an EAD.

Cheers,

You're assuming he's L1a. He may well be, but the OP has said nothing save her initial post. And without further info, we're not going to advance one iota.

[Ms B]

Hello,

Thank you everyone for your responses. I never thought that moving to America was going to be easy but I don’t think I appreciated just how complicated it was going to be. At the moment I am reluctant to say who my husband’s potential employer is until we have actually decided if we are going to move or not.

I now have loads more questions ranging from the incredibly important stuff like health insurance to the incredibly unimportant like the availability of orange squash. I have been trying to find a good book/internet site that would be able to answer the more important ones, can anyone recommend one?

Thank you again for all your help so far.

B x