Help me choose

[Iwantout 1]

Anyone here moved from UK? 

I don't have a lot of money or any qualifications.

How do I move to America? Where do I start? 

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

 

Lots of people want to move to the US.  There isn't always a path.

 

If you have a university degree in certain disciplines, you could pursue a work visa with a sponsoring employer.

If you have family in the US, then you could seek to immigrate through a qualified relative.

Beyond that, there's no other path for a UK citizen.  

Sorry.

[Iwantout 1]

Thanks for your reply

 

I have a father in Canada, tho we have no proof this as he didn't raise (he married a woman from there to get his citizenship)

 

I also have cousins in Atlanta from this father,  would any of this make a difference?

[SalishSea 17,839]

15 minutes ago, Iwantout said:

Anyone here moved from UK? 

I don't have a lot of money or any qualifications.

How do I move to America? Where do I start? 

Maybe pursue an education in the UK that could lead to a potential work visa.

Just now, Iwantout said:

Thanks for your reply

 

I have a father in Canada, tho we have no proof this as he didn't raise (he married a woman from there to get his citizenship)

 

I also have cousins in Atlanta from this father,  would any of this make a difference?

No.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

3 minutes ago, Iwantout said:

Anyone here moved from UK? 

I don't have a lot of money or any qualifications.

How do I move to America? Where do I start? 

Well, you obviously need to get a visa to enter the USA properly. You need one of the following:

 

- Work visa: An employer must be willing to sponsor you for this. There are many different types of work visas and each of them have their own details and terms and conditions that you must legally adhere to (just like all the other visas). However, work visas don't cover all industries and most work visas require you AND your employer to prove that YOU specifically must be hired to do the job and why the company cannot hire an American instead. I'm not sure about transitioning from work visas to green card. With some visas (example: H1B), you can file for a green card. I think with others, you cannot.

 

- Family visa: These are limited as they only pertain to specific immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling). You can't file for someone like a cousin, aunt, uncle, grandparent, etc. So if you only have, say, an aunt or extended family member in the USA, then you're SOL unfortunately.

 

- Student visa: This is NOT a visa to immigrate. You must be accepted into a US school first; you must agree to go back to your country after your studies are over; you are not allowed to work during your studies.

 

- EB-5 Investor Program: If you've got a million US dollars (or more) sitting around that you want to invest in an American business, you can apply for as an EB-5 investor and get a green card.

 

If none of these fit you, you have no way of moving to the US. Them's the rules.

[Iwantout 1]

Thankyou for the response, 

I am exploring what options are available to me, I have previously worked abroad within the EU but after brexit I have started looking further a field

All these restrictions are quite depressing

[aaron2020 11,651]

5 minutes ago, Iwantout said:

Thanks for your reply

 

I have a father in Canada, tho we have no proof this as he didn't raise (he married a woman from there to get his citizenship)

 

I also have cousins in Atlanta from this father,  would any of this make a difference?

How old are you?

Was your father a US citizen when your were born?  

Living in Canada, he can not petition for you.

 

A cousin can not petition for you.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

Just now, Iwantout said:

Thankyou for the response, 

I am exploring what options are available to me, I have previously worked abroad within the EU but after brexit I have started looking further a field

All these restrictions are quite depressing

Yeah sorry. The US has one of the tougher immigration systems in the world and it makes sense why. As others have said, your best bet is most likely to pursue education (either in the UK that could lead to a US work visa or education in the US and then try to get a work visa here). However, even with that, nothing is guaranteed. Keep in mind that if you are accepted into a US school, you will be paying international student fees (which are way more expensive than domestic students' fees) and you will need money on top of tuition to just move here and to continue living here during your studies.

[Iwantout 1]

I am 27

 

He was a Jamaican citizen when I was born, that's where I was born too, my mother sorted out my British citizenship as a child when moving to UK

 

Ok thanks for the info 

[Iwantout 1]

2 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Yeah sorry. The US has one of the tougher immigration systems in the world and it makes sense why. As others have said, your best bet is most likely to pursue education (either in the UK that could lead to a US work visa or education in the US and then try to get a work visa here). However, even with that, nothing is guaranteed. Keep in mind that if you are accepted into a US school, you will be paying international student fees (which are way more expensive than domestic students' fees) and you will need money on top of tuition to just move here and to continue living here during your studies.

I'm in my first year studying part time online, I don't know if it will help

 

You're right there are a lot of obstacles it seems...I didn't realize just how hard it is just to live somewhere else in the world

[mushroomspore 3,044]

1 minute ago, Iwantout said:

I am 27

 

He was a Jamaican citizen when I was born, that's where I was born too, my mother sorted out my British citizenship as a child when moving to UK

 

Ok thanks for the info 

Is your father a Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident? He MAY be able to sponsor you to go live in Canada, but you would have to research this on your own. I'm Canadian but have not lived there for a long time now and have not researched this process myself since I'm not planning on moving back there.

[Iwantout 1]

2 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Is your father a Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident? He MAY be able to sponsor you to go live in Canada, but you would have to research this on your own. I'm Canadian but have not lived there for a long time now and have not researched this process myself since I'm not planning on moving back there.

Tbh I don't have a clue, I only recently found out the man existed a month ago so we are still getting to know each other

 

I'll look into, it just became a last ditch back up plan if all else failed as a chance to get out of UK 

 

thanks for the input 

[mushroomspore 3,044]

Just now, Iwantout said:

Tbh I don't have a clue, I only recently found out the man existed a month ago so we are still getting to know each other

 

I'll look into, it just became a last ditch back up plan if all else failed as a chance to get out of UK 

 

thanks for the input 

Okay, I wish you luck. This site is designed to help people through USA immigration. If you want to research Canadian immigration, there are other separate forums out there for that.

[Iwantout 1]

1 minute ago, mushroomspore said:

Okay, I wish you luck. This site is designed to help people through USA immigration. If you want to research Canadian immigration, there are other separate forums out there for that.

Thankyou, I just happened on this site that I found from a YouTube video on moving countries, just thought I'd give it a go

[PaulaCJohnny 713]

2 hours ago, Iwantout said:

Thankyou, I just happened on this site that I found from a YouTube video on moving countries, just thought I'd give it a go

Imigration is harder than people think. 

Did you visit here before? I really think is a good idea to you to visit any country before deciding to move (if applicable).

US is not a Magic Place like people shows on TV.  Can be super depressing too hahaha like any other place.

 

Good luck 😊

Edited April 29, 2021 by Paula&Johnny