General questions about US Immigration

[ahhaat 0]

Hello, I hope I'm posting this in the right topic.

 

I have a few general questions about potential immigration to the US. I have wanted to move to the US for the last few years and have decided this year to attempt.

 

My questions are - 

What would be the best route for me to take? I don't have a university degree however I am considering getting one if it improves my chances of immigrating.

 

Would I be able to work in the US on a B2 visa? I have seen on Google that you can only apply and interview for jobs on that visa and nothing about working on the B2 visa.

 

Would the Green Card Diversity lottery be a viable option? I am a British citizen, I have lived in England all my life and currently hold a British and Polish passport.

 

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

[Crazy Cat 41,834]

1.  Routes for immigration:

     Family Unification

     Work Visa

     Diversity Lottery

 

2.  Work of any kind is prohibited while inside the US on a tourist visa or VWP.

 

3.  I believe UK citizens are eligible in DV-2025.

 

 

Edited January 7 by Crazy Cat

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

You cannot work with B2 visa, full stop.

 

You can attend a seminar or convention on a B1 visa if you are already employed and your employer has one scheduled in the US.  You cannot perform regular work on a B1.

 

Best option for work related immigration is to be a high skilled/educated person in a STEM related field.  But this would take many years to gain the knowledge/experience and then some more seeking a company willing to sponsor you.

 

You can start searching and preparing this year, but you will not be able to immigrate in 2024.

Edited January 7 by SteveInBostonI130

[ahhaat 0]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

1.  Routes for immigration:

     Family Unification

     Work Visa

     Diversity Lottery

 

For the work visa part of it, would that cover all job fields whether it be unskilled or skilled labour? 

 

Also for the Diversity Lottery, the registration for this year is closed, when do they usually open up for the next year?

[ahhaat 0]

2 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

You cannot work with B2 visa, full stop.

 

You can attend a seminar or convention on a B1 visa if you are already employed and your employer has one scheduled in the US.  You cannot perform regular work on a B1.

 

Best option for work related immigration is to be a high skilled/educated person in a STEM related field.  But this would take many years to gain the knowledge/experience and then some more seeking a company willing to sponsor you.

 

You can start searching and preparing this year, but you will not be able to immigrate in 2024.

Would it be possible to apply for jobs on both B1 and B2 visas? Hypothetically speaking if I got a job offer from any company that I applied for and interviewed for, would I be eligible to be sponsored for a work visa?

[SalishSea 17,818]

1 hour ago, ahhaat said:

Would it be possible to apply for jobs on both B1 and B2 visas? Hypothetically speaking if I got a job offer from any company that I applied for and interviewed for, would I be eligible to be sponsored for a work visa?

It's very expensive for employers to petition overseas workers for employment visas.  It is a long process, and generally handled through the company's lawyer.

 

No one is going to interview you for an unskilled position while you're visiting on a B visa, and then petition you for an employment visa.

 

If you want to live and work in the US, you will need to get a degree in a field that has a labor shortage in the US:  STEM, medicine, nursing etc.

And incidentally, why a B visa?  Why not visit on the VWP?

[Boiler 45,466]

Do you have a B Visa

 

Being eligible for the Lottery may have been a one off, no way of knowing now.

 

Further education in the US for example a Degree in IT or Medicine may open doors.

 

There is the Investment option if you have lots of money

[igoyougoduke 1,656]

3 hours ago, ahhaat said:

Hello, I hope I'm posting this in the right topic.

 

I have a few general questions about potential immigration to the US. I have wanted to move to the US for the last few years and have decided this year to attempt.

 

My questions are - 

What would be the best route for me to take? I don't have a university degree however I am considering getting one if it improves my chances of immigrating.

 

Would I be able to work in the US on a B2 visa? I have seen on Google that you can only apply and interview for jobs on that visa and nothing about working on the B2 visa.

 

Would the Green Card Diversity lottery be a viable option? I am a British citizen, I have lived in England all my life and currently hold a British and Polish passport.

 

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

apply to study in college/university. Get F1 visa

once you complete your degree if you find a job they can sponsor you for h1b visa

once you are on h1b visa, your employer may petition for your green card

once you get green card, after 5 years you can become a us citizen.

 

this process make take 10-15 years or longer  to complete from starting as a student to becoming a US citizen 

 

this would be the most eligible route  for you .

 

[igoyougoduke 1,656]

3 hours ago, ahhaat said:

Would it be possible to apply for jobs on both B1 and B2 visas? Hypothetically speaking if I got a job offer from any company that I applied for and interviewed for, would I be eligible to be sponsored for a work visa?

 

as a British passport holder you can visit usa using visa waiver program. you do not need B1/B2 to visit USA with the sole intention of visiting USA

 

Employers cannot just like than sponsor you even if they like you and offer you a job. it takes about a year for the process and you will run out of time in B1/B2 visa as you would need to have a legal status to convert from visitor to work visa. This would mean risk and denial as you cannot adjust status from no legal status to legal status within usa 

[OldUser 6,624]

6 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

 

 

3.  I believe UK citizens are eligible in DV-2025.

 

 

Caveat here, DV lottery takes into account country of birth. UK citizen doesn't mean OP was born in the UK. OP may need to play from Poland (if it participates and OP was born there)

Edited January 8 by OldUser

[Boiler 45,466]

Seems his parents are Polish and moved to the UK and he was born in the UK

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

19 hours ago, ahhaat said:

Would it be possible to apply for jobs on both B1 and B2 visas? Hypothetically speaking if I got a job offer from any company that I applied for and interviewed for, would I be eligible to be sponsored for a work visa?

 

No and no.

 

You will specifically need to search for companies that are posting positions that includes immigration sponsorship.  You cannot search for any job.  Companies are limited on type of positions that can be for new immigrants, including showing evidence that they cannot fill the position from existing residents and citizens.  Also, there are numerical limits and the company will need to have or hire an immigration attorney.

[Boiler 45,466]

Unlikely the OP qualifies but we are seeing more and more VJ members going the EB2 NIW route.

[appleblossom 2,477]

20 hours ago, ahhaat said:

Would it be possible to apply for jobs on both B1 and B2 visas? Hypothetically speaking if I got a job offer from any company that I applied for and interviewed for, would I be eligible to be sponsored for a work visa?

 

What do you actually do? You've not said and without that info it's impossible for anybody to know if you would be eligible or not. 

 

In my experience, both as an employee (headhunted from the US) and employer, if you need to apply for jobs then generally speaking you would be out of luck. No employer is going to go to the cost and hassle (not to mention waiting months or even years for you to be able to start work) of hiring you, when they'll have other US citizen applicants that can start tomorrow at no cost. 

 

To be in with a chance, you need to have specialist skills, and ideally a degree as a minimum (masters preferred), and then the job offers will find you. Headhunters will be tasked with finding people with skills they need on LinkedIn, and will often search outside the US. I would only consider somebody that needs visa sponsorship for a fairly senior role, or one that requires skills I can't find locally. 

 

Plus if you are headhunted, you'll likely be in a very strong position to negotiate a seriously good expat package (house, car, cost of living,  etc all paid for by the company, it can be very lucrative). 

 

So ideally you'll look at this as a long term plan, figure 10 years or more. Get yourself in a good industry where your chances are high, get a degree, work your way up (ideally in a multi-national company to increase your chances, a transfer is much easier than a brand new job). It's absolutely possible if you want it badly enough. 

 

Or if you're happy to just do a short stint, and don't mind what job, then have a look at H2B jobs i.e. ski seasons, Disney etc. 

 

Best of luck to you. 

Edited January 8 by appleblossom

[ahhaat 0]

 

2 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

What do you actually do? You've not said and without that info it's impossible for anybody to know if you would be eligible or not. 

 

In my experience, both as an employee (headhunted from the US) and employer, if you need to apply for jobs then generally speaking you would be out of luck. No employer is going to go to the cost and hassle (not to mention waiting months or even years for you to be able to start work) of hiring you, when they'll have other US citizen applicants that can start tomorrow at no cost. 

 

To be in with a chance, you need to have specialist skills, and ideally a degree as a minimum (masters preferred), and then the job offers will find you. Headhunters will be tasked with finding people with skills they need on LinkedIn, and will often search outside the US. I would only consider somebody that needs visa sponsorship for a fairly senior role, or one that requires skills I can't find locally. 

 

Plus if you are headhunted, you'll likely be in a very strong position to negotiate a seriously good expat package (house, car, cost of living,  etc all paid for by the company, it can be very lucrative). 

 

So ideally you'll look at this as a long term plan, figure 10 years or more. Get yourself in a good industry where your chances are high, get a degree, work your way up (ideally in a multi-national company to increase your chances, a transfer is much easier than a brand new job). It's absolutely possible if you want it badly enough. 

 

Or if you're happy to just do a short stint, and don't mind what job, then have a look at H2B jobs i.e. ski seasons, Disney etc. 

 

Best of luck to you. 

I am currently doing a gap year after finishing sixth form, I have looked into university and such and just wanted to see what I could potentially do to move to the US. 
 

Thank you for all the help here.

3 hours ago, Boiler said:

Unlikely the OP qualifies but we are seeing more and more VJ members going the EB2 NIW route.

What is the EB2 NIW route?