How tough is it to go and live in the USA

[esllou]

I don't need to work. I earn far more away from the classroom than I would inside it.

 

[ssr]

I don't need to work. I earn far more away from the classroom than I would inside it.

How about this, then:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB-5_visa

 

[esllou]

haha!! Hmm, not that much!! I was looking at that page myself an hour ago. Might be a possibility in a few years.

 

[mini]

student visas are as long as you are a full time student. but AFAIR they do not then allow you to get perm residency. they do allow you a year of to work in the us after you get your degree. if you already have a BA equivalent you could consider doing a phd. you can try to get work at a university when you have finished. by then you might find a us citizen to marry (if you are not married already) and/or you might decide you want to move on somewhere else. personally, i think it's a great idea!

 

[Denver]

I'm not going to list the various visa options as you can read it for yourself here:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

I want to correct an earlier entry though: The 'Green Card lottery' or more correctly, -The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is not expensive. It is free. If you pay anyone money to enter in this, you are being defrauded. The details of this program change every year it is offered, so it is best to check the above web site with regularity. UK citizens are usually not eligble as far as I remember.

As I naturalized citizen myself, I can tell you the process is pretty tough. I first had to come on a 3-year L-1 visa as specially skilled worker. This can be renewed by another two years. While in the US I applied for permanent residency (the green card is not green, by the way). I had to prove that I had skills not held by any American. My current job had to be posted 3 days in a row in Chicago Tribune with the applications going directly to the Illinois Department of Employment Security. They were the ones who would decide if any applicant were qualified, -and thus deny me my application. No, you can't tailor the job description to a particular person.

Broad categories for getting a visa seem to be:
-Specialized labor
-Head of a large, multinational corporation
-Investment. (Applicant must make a large investment in the country).

Neil

 

[Katser]

I've edited this to make a shorter point.

Don't use websites that claim to charge a fee but the process to apply for the visa can be expensive.

for example when i calculated how much it cost in total to apply and interview etc.
it was nearly 200 euros.

expensive for me!

 

[EliA]

I have a friend from the UK who has lived in Philadelphia for 6 years on a student visa. He refuses to finish his thesis, thereby extending his phD program and by extension his student visa. So far the gov't hasn't squeaked, though the school is starting to...

 

[bigbadwolf]

As a naturalized citizen myself, I can tell you the process is pretty tough. I first had to come on a 3-year L-1 visa as specially skilled worker. This can be renewed by another two years. While in the US I applied for permanent residency (the green card is not green, by the way). I had to prove that I had skills not held by any American. My current job had to be posted 3 days in a row in Chicago Tribune with the applications going directly to the Illinois Department of Employment Security. They were the ones who would decide if any applicant were qualified, -and thus deny me my application. No, you can't tailor the job description to a particular person.

Broad categories for getting a visa seem to be:
-Specialized labor
-Head of a large, multinational corporation
-Investment. (Applicant must make a large investment in the country).

Neil

Either L1 or H1B, and then start the tricky and lengthy process of applying for permanent residency (which can take a few years, a proper immigration lawyer, and a supportive employer who doesn't exploit your vulnerable status or let you go while in the middle of this delicate process). It's become vastly more difficult over the last few years because of high unemployment -- which means jobs opportunities are few, companies are unwilling to go through the legal hassle of L1 or H1B, are unwilling to sponsor foreign employees for permanent residency. L1s and H1Bs typically tend to be in tech or finance. There's a quota for H1Bs.

For investment, I think you have to show at least $1m invested in some real project.

 

[esllou]

the investment visa allows for 500k in certain "economically depressed" areas, mostly rural.

I don't think, as has already been discussed, that any of the work-type visas would be applicable to me, a lowly english teacher. ("No really, Obama, this guy teaches use of prepositions like nobody else. We gotta have him!!"...maybe not!)

so student visa or marriage look to be the best routes.

I'm just wondering how expensive doing a phd would be in the states. I'm guessing a year's fees would be astronomical...how easy is it to stretch it to 3-4 years?

 

[SaraSara]

The marriage option was much-abused, and requirements were tightened over the past decade. There are long waits, and a lengthly verification procedure. My sister in law is married to an American, has a US born son with him, and when she applied for citizenship was grilled unmercifully on domestic details such as the exact color and shape of their breakfast mugs. Her husband and herself were interrogated separately, their answers were cross-checked for discrepancies.

Apparently the process was revised after complains from American women who met and married foreigners, only to be dumped as soon as their husbands got citizenship.