Looking for advice

[ajmstevenson]

Hi all,

I have been reading through all the various discussions on this forum, and have spent many a day reading through all the options on the Embassy and USCIS and US Government websites and am still feeling a little overwhelmed and was looking for some advice from someone who has been in a similar position to myself.

I am very much hoping to emmigrate to the US and were wondering what my best options were. I have visted on many occasions as my boyfriend is an american citizen, and I am planning on being there this summer for three months on a J-1 visa during my summer holiday from university, hopefully finding employment in an internship with a company relevant to my degree to get my name known and some experience in the US work environment.

I have one more year to go, and I am hoping if all goes well to obtain a Masters of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering with French from the University of Surrey here in the UK. It is a degree that has been 5 years long straight through to masters, without having to obtain a Bachelors degree then a Masters. I have completed a year's internship for Airbus in Toulouse and speak fluent french.

Are my qualifications and experience sufficent that if I find a suitable and willing employer I would be able to emmigrate on a work visa, and what class? I would ideally like to move to Atlanta and would be able to live with my boyfriend if that would make things easier.

If not is my only easy way in through a fiancee visa? Myself and boyfriend have been together well over a year and half, and it will be nearly 3 by the time i graduate university, and we may be ready by then to be married, and if so how easy is this process, how long on average will it take and will it be expensive? if we marry it will be in the us so how easy is it to stay once we have actually gotten married, and what would the type of restrictions be on me?

apologies for the length of my post. it is something that both myself and boyfriend have been thinking over a lot, and i want to ttry to get the ball rolling as early as possible to make my move over there happen as soon as possible once i graduate.

[sakura]

New graduates might find it difficult, you'd need a lot of experience and contacts from the US, but your type of field is interesting. I suggest you look through some of the job requirements whilst in the US to see if you could possibly meet any, but generally speaking it is not very easy unless you have substantial experience along with academic qualifications.

Which visa types have you been looking at thus far?

[ajmstevenson]

hi there

thanks for the reply. i've mostly been looking at the two different options open to me, finding a job, or getting married.

In terms of employement based visas, what I have gathered from the government websites its the E visas...and i think i would probably qualify under E3 for one of these. im currently on BUNAC's work america program for this summer for the J-1 visa but have been told its a non immigrant visa program, so this would not be an option for me next year.

otherwise my only other option would be marriage thru the K-1 visa process. I would plan to get married there and then stay there as this ultimately is the best way for me to remain in the US, especially as once married there i could then stay and apply to change status.

any advice any one can offer would be much appreciated.

[Marco 72]

You should check if your J1 visa has a two year foreign residence requirement, as that would be difficult to overcome. EB3 is not a visa, it's a employment based green card for those who are already working in the US. You'd be looking at an H1B visa.

[woodenrory]

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*****
rory