Hi All,
Story is - known someone for a long time (over 12 years), stuff happens, we grow close, i go to the US to visit her and for us to confirm if we're ready to pursue this (i just came back a couple weeks ago), we're now a couple - or as much as you can be when i'm in AUS and she's in the USA. She is career, living arrangement and financially better placed than i am here, so the decision is for me to move there.
Now, i need to work out how.
I don't have any particularly special work skills - i work as a Business Analyst but i don't have any formal qualification for it, my qualifications are certifications for Information Technology and IT Service Management and i worked up from the bottom to where i am now.
Marriage has been discussed and we're both ready to pursue that as an option.
From the questions sticky post up top:
* Are you married to or considering marrying a US citizen, a permenant resident, or someone on a non-immigrant visa? It's an endgame goal, yes - be it shorter or longer term.
* Do you work in your home country a high-or medium-level position for a multinational employer with offices in the US? I'm a business analyst for a multinational company, so yes and no.
* Are you an Australian citizen? Yes
What i'm trying to work out is:
- Is there a non-immigrant VISA for me to actually find/do the kind of work i can do?
- Can i apply for that, get it, then look for work, or am i forced to go to an employer and hope they'll sponsor me?
- If i get one, Could i then modify that to an immigrant down the line - say, via marriage?
I seem to only get more confused by this the more i look.
If we go with the marriage option:
- Can i go there, marry her, then look for work?
- Can i look for work before then?
- Do i need to leave the US again after we marry?
We know what we want to ultimately do - ending one way or another with us married and living in the US, but i can't figure out where to even start.
Any insight would be very helpful and appreciated.
Story is - known someone for a long time (over 12 years), stuff happens, we grow close, i go to the US to visit her and for us to confirm if we're ready to pursue this (i just came back a couple weeks ago), we're now a couple - or as much as you can be when i'm in AUS and she's in the USA. She is career, living arrangement and financially better placed than i am here, so the decision is for me to move there.
Now, i need to work out how.
I don't have any particularly special work skills - i work as a Business Analyst but i don't have any formal qualification for it, my qualifications are certifications for Information Technology and IT Service Management and i worked up from the bottom to where i am now.
Marriage has been discussed and we're both ready to pursue that as an option.
From the questions sticky post up top:
* Are you married to or considering marrying a US citizen, a permenant resident, or someone on a non-immigrant visa? It's an endgame goal, yes - be it shorter or longer term.
* Do you work in your home country a high-or medium-level position for a multinational employer with offices in the US? I'm a business analyst for a multinational company, so yes and no.
* Are you an Australian citizen? Yes
What i'm trying to work out is:
- Is there a non-immigrant VISA for me to actually find/do the kind of work i can do?
- Can i apply for that, get it, then look for work, or am i forced to go to an employer and hope they'll sponsor me?
- If i get one, Could i then modify that to an immigrant down the line - say, via marriage?
I seem to only get more confused by this the more i look.
If we go with the marriage option:
- Can i go there, marry her, then look for work?
- Can i look for work before then?
- Do i need to leave the US again after we marry?
We know what we want to ultimately do - ending one way or another with us married and living in the US, but i can't figure out where to even start.
Any insight would be very helpful and appreciated.