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Moving to the US

USA immigration, green card questions:
Employment based Green Cards | H-1B visas | Family based Visas | Citizenship

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Jay1b
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Moving to the US

Post by Jay1b » Thu Jan 04, 2007 10:12 am

Hello

This is my first post here, so i'm sorry if you've heard it all before. I have looked through the previous couple of pages for similar questions and i couldnt find anyone who has asked exactly the same thing.

Essentially i want to move to the US. I currently live in England, i'm 26m with a BEng Honours degree in Computer Systems with Software Engineering. For the past 3.5 years i've worked as a systems analyst using Ingres and VB.NET mainly.

I've researched moving to the web on the Internet, but before this site, i've only found sites which want to sell me information and Wikipedia - which isnt that clear.

As i understand it, there are two way of moving to the US. I can find a job which would then have to apply for a H1B for me or i can apply for a job which will apply for a Green card for me. I'm guessing this isnt accurate.... So could someone please explain the exact process i should go through?

Thanks for reading this.

Jamie.

Jay1b
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Post by Jay1b » Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:08 pm

Anyone?

captain74
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Post by captain74 » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:47 pm

Jay1b

There are essentially two main routes into the US - Immigrant and Non Immigrant.

In case of a non immigrant visa - H1B - you need to have a job offer and the visa needs to be applied for once an approval for the same has been obtained by your prospective employer in the US following a resident labour test. This is how it works:
You find and secure a job - the prospective employer applies for permission for H1B on your behalf and proves to the authorities as part of the process that there are no suitable individuals for the job in the US and hence an 'alien' needs to be employed - the US authorities approve petition - you apply for H1B visa in your home country based on the approval of petition - you get the visa - you travel to US - you join your job. Bear in mind that the H1B visas are quota based and hence limited annually to be released only once in October so you need to plan your stuff accordingly.

There are some other visas as well which are meant for temporary workers and intra company tranfers etc. Broadly the same procedure is followed in each case except that for some categories the resident labour test is not needed and only H1B has the quota based and timed release system.

As for immigrant visas - there are again a variety of visas such as family based migration, employment based migration etc. In these cases there is generally no need for a resident labour test and you land up in the US straight away with a Green Card! So yes, very attractive - only the qualifying criteria are quite strict.

There is well structures and fairly detailed info on all this available on the website of the US embassy in London.

Check it out.

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Post by Administrator » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:19 pm

.

What strategy do you have in mind for moving to the U.S. ?

Do you want to move there and then locate a job?

Or, will you find a job before moving and use that as your immigration vehicle?

Do you have enough money to support yourself while you make these efforts?

You can travel under the visa waiver program for up to 90 days in both the U.S. and Canada (assuming you are a British citizen) and spend that time looking for work, but it would be illegal to actually work. 90 days U.S., 90 days Canada, 90 days U.S., etc. ... you can do that indefinitely.

Where in the U.S. do you want to move to?

Have you considered going to school and getting a student visa? You cannot work with one of those, but for a two or three year program, you will have VAST opportunities to make friends, establish contacts, research the job market and region(s) of interest for relocation.

Most universities have some sort of work-study program and paid internship opportunities so you can earn enough cash to live on &/or get (partial)tuition waivers.

Successful immigration at that point is nearly assured, especially with the technical qualifications you assert.

If you get married in that time, you're in without further trouble, so long as it's a ''real'' marriage and not a mechanism to by-pass immigration laws.

'I want to move' is a bit vague and unfocused.

Can you flesh that out a bit ...?

The Admin :?

Jay1b
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Post by Jay1b » Mon Jan 22, 2007 4:15 pm

Thanks for the replies.

Ideally I would like to find a job in the US and get all the paperwork sorted out first. The idea of the Visa waiver program is a good one, but due to financial commitments I dont think this would really work for me as it would mean quiting my job then possibly finding out i cant actually get into the US or find a job whilst there.

I would like to end up in somewhere like Kansas, however initially I wouldnt really mind where i lived as long as its 'safe' (not Detroit for example).

Isnt university in the states extremely expensive? Unless you're some sort of super genius?

I suppose the ideal thing for me would be to find a job wedsite aimed purely at people applying for a H1B, as i'm guessing that the H1B is my best chance of getting in - am i right there?

Thanks.

Marco 72
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Post by Marco 72 » Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:05 pm

Administrator wrote:.You can travel under the visa waiver program for up to 90 days in both the U.S. and Canada (assuming you are a British citizen) and spend that time looking for work, but it would be illegal to actually work. 90 days U.S., 90 days Canada, 90 days U.S., etc. ... you can do that indefinitely.
Actually you can't, and it would be dangerous to do so. As JAJ pointed out in another discussion, "under the Visa Waiver, a departure to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or any "adjacent island" of the U.S. does not reset the 90 day clock unless you are a lawful resident of one of these jurisdictions."

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