Moving to the US - Advice needed..

Factual Questions
1

I’ve done a search on the forum, and found an old post that kind of confirms some of what I want - http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271868

but rather than revive that thread I thought I’d ask my specific question.

Basically my problem is this.

My girlfriend is American and lives in America…
in May she graduates from College - Hurrah!!!

however - she will not be able to afford to move over here anytime soon, due to financial reasons.

We want to get married eventually, but we want to spend more time together first (in 1 year and a half we’ve spent approx. 7 weeks physically together )

so – the plan is, I’ll move over there until she’s financialy able to move to England - then we either get married and stay in the US, or we get married and move to the UK…

obviously the ideal is that we win the lottery etc… apply for dual citizenship and spend 6 months in one country 6 months in the other…

but lets be more practical…

I have looked into Visa’s etc…

based on the fact that we don’t want to get married until we are living in the same country - - the only way I can see for me to be in America for longer than 3 months (visa waiver) is if I’m offered a job by an American company (who have to prove that no American can do said job) or I need to get a new job with an English company who can send me over there…

I’m currently a computer engineer… but would really like to move away from that and get into Acting… or film/tv production… or writing… or music production… ANYTHING but damn computers…

Also if possible I want to put this into action A.S.A.P after September… (which is when my last commitment to England is fullfilled )

Does anyone have any suggestions, advice, information or soul destroying dream defeating reality to give?

2

What you need is a fiance visa. http://www.fiancevisa.biz/ This site is for the U.S. but I’m sure England has the same provisions.

3

I was in data management for a lot of years, but I think most people on the boards know that filmmaking is the second of my two passions.

Word of advice: Independent filmmaking is not an easy way to make a living. (I’m scheduled to work on a music video this weekend – for no pay.) Computers are a better bet. (Now if only I could find a job!)

4

This forum might be helpful.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/

My advice, though, is to fall throughly in love and get married. Fiance visas are light years easier to get than work visas.

5

(emphasis mine)

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in on this, but I’m pretty sure there’s no such burden on the American company offering you a job. I’ve worked with many software engineers who were here on work visas, and there was no reason Americans couldn’t do the jobs they had.

6

Absolutely true; the only time the employer has to show they can’t find U.S. workers for the job is at the green card stage, not the work visa stage. And you might be amazed at what creative writing can be done to define the qualifications for the position to reduce the number of people who would be qualified for it; it can include very specific kinds of experience, not just a particular degree.

However, the quota for the H-1B, the most common work visa category for professional jobs, has run out for this fiscal year, and no more H-1Bs will be available until Oct. 1. Applications can be submitted 6 moths in advance, though, and this year the entire annual H-1B quota was gone on the first day of fiscal 2005, so if I were you I’d plan ahead.

Or here’s another idea: have you ever considered more higher education? You could always get a student visa.

Good luck!

Eva Luna, U.S. Employment-Based Immigration Paralegal

7

Thanks guys - - some of this is looking more promising…

The fiance visa is no good because we’re not engaged yet - - and also you have to get married within 90 days or arrival in the US. - which kind of pushes us into it.
But if it’s only to get the Green Card they need to prove my worth over Americans then I could be in luck - - because I would be hopefully planning on getting married before I want a Green Card - or at least engaged…
Getting a student visa would kind of put me back a few steps - as at the moment I have no debts etc. but could not afford to take any courses… - - plus that kind of puts me in the same place my girlfriend has been for the last however many years - - this has seriously restricted the ammount of time we can get to see eachother…
So for a H-1B, an American company just has to offer me a job… that I can probably sort out…

please keep the advice coming though
and cheers for the link :slight_smile:

8

You might try asking Shell at www.acrosstheatlantic.com as they’re going through something similar.