Moving from Scotland to USA

[dodgykeeper]

Hi!
Myself and dh have talked about moving to the states for a few years now and have finally decided to do something about it. Dh is able to transfer within his company on a L1 visa and we are just waiting to find out where we will end up. Now we are starting to look into things in more detail, it seems like a complete minefield! I would love to hear from anyone who has gone through it and lived to tell the tale. We have been told we will need to go to London for an interview to get the visa - is the interview as stressful as it sounds? I'm also worrying about how our kids will settle; we have a daughter 6yrs old and a son almost 4yrs old.

dodgykeeper, we moved from England to the US about 4 yrs ago. Can't really help with info on the kids as I had our ds here and he's still little. But...

The paperwork with all things American is, in my experience, a nightmare! Unless visa applications have changed, there are several forms you have to complete all of which seem to have the same info on. The 'interview' isn't great either, I'm afraid! I think things have been simplified somewhat since I went though. Basically, you are given an appointment but the time means nothing (to them - you still have to be there on time)- we had to queue outside the embassy for 2 hrs then another 2 hours inside. You line up and hand all your documents over then wait to be called. Then you talk to a person behind a counter who asks you a few questions about why you're going, what you'll do etc. That part wasn't too bad. They make the decision then let you know a while later & return your documents & send your visa/ passport in the mail. The worst bit about it is all the waiting. But it may well be better these days so don't let my experience put you off.

If your H is on an L1 visa, I assume you'll get an L2? Will you be able to work on this visa? We are on J1 & 2s & I have to apply for a work permit every year - another big hassle.

Do you know where you'll be moving to? Or when?

There are a few of us over here & I think the others have older kids than me, so they will be able to help more than I can. Hopefully this long post will bump the thread and others in the US may spot it and add something more helpful

Thanks for the responses! Ohio is being mentioned as a possible location at the moment. It looks nice but I was hoping for somewhere a bit warmer! We are moving over next summer so we actually need to get the wheels in motion as the paperwork can take such a long time.
I'm glad to hear the interview isn't too bad - I can now move on to worrying about something else, like how the hell I'm going to pack up all our stuff!
Also, when do you all think I should tell the kids? (They're 3 and 6 at the moment)

We're in the Midwest too - it does get cold, very cold, but also hot in summer so not too terrible!

Can't help with packing (we brought 2 suitcases each & that was it!) or telling the children - have no idea what is best for them but good luck!

Do you know what part of Ohio? It's a big state.

Oh gawd! Ohio?!

No offense to those here from Ohio . . .

DK - i moved to chicago in April with my dh and ds 3 and would be happy to chat with you. Interview is a breeze - although I too thought we would be grilled! its just the waiting that is an issue. it took my dh and me around 4 hrs in total but got the visas in our passports about 3 days later ( on express delivery)
If you dh;s co is big they should deal with the visa applicatio stuff on which you will be covered
My dh moved out 3 months before we did and i single handedly packed up our home got stuff into storage and shipped and did all that paperwork which was pretty tough to be honest ( but was doing it all on my own and working at the same time).

My ds knew that something was going on because dh was in 'cago' as he calls it - but i didnt tell him that we were moving together but going with daddy. altough we did have a b'day/leaving party for him with all his friends form nursery.

I think with an older child you will need to be a bit more upfront - i know a number of the big relo/shipping firms ( we used Crown) do offer services to help children settle and there is stuff on their websie you can use to help provide info on managing the transition.

If your dh's firm is big then they may well engage a relo specisalist to manage a lot of the stuff for you - if not then I can provde you with a list of stuff to think about if you want:

DS's transition was harder than i anticipated partly because we couldnt get him into a nursery/preschool ntil the end of june whihc meant that we had 3 months just together whilst i was trying to get apt orted etc and we were dipping in and out of classes..but now he is totally settled and is turning into a real Yank!

Summer here is fantastic and i can't comment on the winter as I have yet to live through one - but I think the word here is BIG COATS!!!

HTH a bit btw i also have been able to work on an L2 visa although I did have to apply for an Employment authorisation thingy whihc was a bit of a pain but not a big problem

I grew up in Ohio (BTW expat, no offense I know what you mean ) We lived in smallish town (about 13,000) and it was a nice place to grow up. What part of OH are they looking at -- I know someone in most parts of the state. Some parts are rolling hills and some flat.

Small trivia fact for you is that Columbus OH is used for market testing for quite a lot of stuff as apparently it has a really nice spread of all the differnt "groups".

Ok more help needed! How do i start to find out about schools? I keep hearing that we need to get a house in the right area to get the kids into a good school but noone tells me how I find out which schools are good or what the catchement areas are. Can you apply to send your child out of catchement as we can in Scotland?

We found going to Belfast much easier - About an hour max. There were also books and toys for the kids. greatschools.com is a great way to compare schools in an area. Hope that helps.

I didn't realise we could go to Belfast for the interview. That's much better for us! Schools website looks really useful too - thanks!

I dated a guy from Columbus and he raved about it. Do you have any more details yet?

we haev a teacher at schol fomr newark att he moment

Hope you all had a great Christmas and new year! We have made it a really big family affair as it will be our last in this country for a while! My sister is trying to convince me that absolutely none of our electrical appliances will work in the states (She is about to buy a new flat and I think shes after some freebies!). Can anyone tell me what I can take and what won't work?

We just moved to US in November and our relocation people told us nothing electrical would work. The US is on 110v so I suppose you could try step up transformers, probably a fire hazard though.
Our son took his xbox, which didn't work when we plugged it in, and hubby is having to replace the xbox power supply.

Hope you find a nice place to relocate to - I can recommend California - the weather is still hot but everything is vvvvv expensive.

Good luck.

Found this site, may also be of help:
www.schoolmatters.com

If and when you find out the city or at least state you are moving, Google the state, for example:
Arizona School Districts or Arizona Schools, even Arizona Real Estate. Most Real Estate pages, will have links to Schools in the area.

I grew up in Ohio, Cincinnati to be exact. Not a bad place, but bad on sinus pressure.
Get the 4 seasons, Winter can be harsh and they have the BEST Chili - Skyline Chili - I missssss it!

Good Luck