How to migrate to the US : personal experiences

[Lilly1102]

When I first met my bf over 2 yrs ago, he spoke so highly of Louisiana and I thought that it was such a random place & never took it seriously. We went on holiday there recently to visit his uncle and I can now see why he loves it so much.

We also went to NY and I preferred it so much over London. Been to Miami too, and I also liked it there although it’s much more tacky.

I would love to work and live there but I know visas are incredibly hard to come by and ifs a minefield looking at them.

I know someone that got a visa because they have ‘extra ordinary ability’ (they have a PHD in physics and have done various climate change reports). I am smart but I am not that smart. Our company sponsored his.

I have a masters, but everyone has a masters these days. For the last two years I’ve been an ‘Executive Assistant’ at a hedgefund and I’ve only been there because of the benefits, pay and bonuses but it’s not stimulating at all and I don’t see how that would look good on any visa because anyone can do my job.

Previous to the hedgefund, I’ve worked at various renowned galleries and auction houses (related to my degree) but there’s a gap in that experience so I wouldn’t be able to go down that route although I have been emailing American galleries directly to see if they would sponsor any sort of Visa / asking them how I can go about it.

i know a girl who works in real estate in NY - her company pay for her apartment, sponsored her visa etc. She did the same degree as me and I don’t think had any real estate experience before. In fact I know lots of people in real estate that are expats in Dubai etc so maybe this is a route to go down?

I am so miserable in the UK. I don’t get why people want to migrate here so badly. I would happily leave given any opportunity. Even when I’ve been on holiday to less ‘developed’ countries like Belize & Mauritius I think my life would be better there because at least it’s sunny and tropical.

My boyfriend & I have a really decent income for our age (25) and we’ve completely just accepted buying a house until a relative passes away is impossible. In Louisiana you can get a beautiful house in a beautiful neighbourhood for $299K. In the UK you’re lucky if that gets you a studio flat up north. Granted we live in the Home Counties so everything is inflated but it’s just ridiculous once you see what you could have in another country.

does anyone have any personal experiences of migrating to the US for long-term work? People have told me people have married people for US visas etc which obviously would never be a solution in my case even if I was single!

Despite the many issues the US faces it still provides more opportunities than most countries and I assure there are way more people moving to the US than the UK.

We were on h1 visas (him) and me h4 derivative visa (can't work) in science, need a PhD and research record. We left because it was so expensive to buy housing, medical expenses were astronomical for a family and everything was just $$$

In the US your experience can either be great or awful and it entirely depends on how well you earn. 2 incomes, highly paid = wonderful but average pay = not worth it. So don't be fooled by the happy stories, these couples must work in tech/consulting/finance/law/medic and be very well paid.

I was going to tell you to look it the US visa lottery but I just checked and it closed yesterday. The UK was eligible this time but hasn't been eligible for the last few years.

The other options are to get a job with a US employer and see if they can transfer you at some point, obviously it's not guaranteed or apply for jobs in the USA directly from the UK which possible by difficult, marriage or investor visa which requires significant funding.

@Ilovelifeverymuch glad it worked out for you, I would love to move over as I think the US is fabulous!

Don’t bank on housing being cheaper - property taxes are very high (although Louisiana is cheaper than most).

Do check the cost (and limitations) of health insurance, particularly if you plan to have children) and the potentially limited holiday, sickness and maternity leave.

I went originally as a (post)grad student, and had to show, ahead of securing my visa, that I could pay the fees and cover my living costs. I had assets I could - and did -sell for that, but once there I secured a postgrad assistantship that covered the fees and paid a small stipend, and I worked ten hours a week, so kept most of my own money.

My visa had an extra year tacked on which allowed me to find work in a field related to my US qualification, but by that time I’d married an American so could get a spousal visa. We chose, instead, to move to Europe for a while.

For clarity: I didn’t marry the American so I could get a spousal visa, the visa option was a bonus.

I don't have much opinion on life in the US but I do know the grass often seems greener when you're on holiday because you're having a good time. Everywhere is less fun when you factor in the daily routine of work and paying bills.

As for the cost of housing, you could find somewhere affordable to live if you moved to a less expensive part of the UK.

In Louisiana you can get a beautiful house in a beautiful neighbourhood for $299K. In the UK you’re lucky if that gets you a studio flat up north

Hi Donald.

You have obviously never been "up north".

You've obviously never been to Louisiana either - based on U.S. national averages, Louisiana ranks low among U.S. states in terms of health, education,and development, with high rates of poverty and homicide. In 2018, Louisiana was ranked as the least healthy state in the country, with high levels of drug related deaths. It also has had the highest homicide rate in the United States since the 1990s.

And you know this because...?

OP, the advice to train as a nurse is excellent. You'd have to become certified in the state you end up working in after you qualify in the UK. Board exams can be challenging. Another route is the allied healthcare field - ultrasound, operating theatre tech, etc.

The advice to learn a niche programming language is also good.

Do some research - at the very least, an extra qualification might help you get better opportunities in the UK.

IT, teaching, nursing and data science and physios. Actually googled it today to see what careers are in demand there. You could also ask chat GPT.

On other hand in terms of housing, there has just been a huge period of inflation so it seems worse now but things will level out. Also look into pension implications- you Need a certain number of years of NI contributions to qualify for the basic state pension.

Go where your heart wants, you are young. But also don't run from the UK, move towards something better that you have considered carefully.

That's a very naive and passive aggressive response.

Yes I was well aware of those rankings before visiting (hence why I said it was so random when my boyfriend said he loved it) - the ‘north shore’ that long bridge that goes north of New Orleans’s is not impoverished in the same way you see New Orleans.

i felt very safe there - and yes I have been up north :)

You do realise that even miscarriage is impacted upon by these laws?

That aside, my sister moved to America a year ago. She went over to visit, had a job opportunity arise while she was there. Came home for documentation and applied on her return for a work visa. It’s a year this month since she left and things are still getting finalised- she has got married in that time to her partner. But I’m certain her wife can’t act as a sponsor and it had to be someone else they knew. It’s quite a long, expensive process.

There are 2 main ways, work for a US company in the UK and if you are high enough up in the company they may be able to transfer you to the US on an L1 visa. I think that’s the most common but far from quick. The other is to get a US company to sponsor you to move out there on an H1b visa BUT they would have to prove that they can’t recruit for the role within the US and even then there is still an element of lottery. It’s really not that easy for Brits to get work visas for the US.

Sounds like your sister is going down the H1b visa route which has strict timelines and kicks off every October, if it's the L1b visa for transfer it shouldn't take anywhere near the one year your sister has been waiting. There are some visa categories that take a while but most of them are not that long and spiral visas are quicker because families are prioritized.

Also if she is married to an American (I'm assuming she what you mean) she is better off having her partner file for her because she will get a green card straight away rather than a work visa which is an additional step to green card then naturalization.

How on earth do the many millions of people who actually live there cope!! If I had to chose between the US and the UK I know where I would rather go (hint, it wouldn't be the UK).

My husband and I immigrated to Scotland from the states years ago and despite all the challenges, we are so grateful and would never consider going back. We could be better off financially in salary, but healthcare costs would soon change that and it would take only one thing going wrong for it all to fall apart. Unexpected Healthcare bill, a miscarriage improperly treated due to the horror show for women now, at will employment, no holiday time, gun violence... it's a mess. Breaks my heart but my children are much safer here.

Of course the grass is always greener but our friends and family in the states cannot believe the life we have here. Working hours are so long, employees have very few rights and two weeks holiday a year is amazing. They start lockdown training for children at nursery school now :(