UK Citizen wanting to move to the US for work

[Spencer M 0]

Hi there,
 

I’m currently looking for some advice on navigating the U.S. visa process, and I’d really appreciate any insights from those with experience.
 

My girlfriend and I have both dreamed of moving to LA for a long time, and we’re finally looking into making it happen. Here’s the situation: she’s a U.S. citizen but has been living in the UK for several years/was born here. While marriage is definitely one potential route, we’re not quite ready for that step yet and personally, I’d prefer to explore moving via employment sponsorship (H-1B or similar) if possible.
 

I have a BA in Marketing and have several years of professional experience in the field (social media, brand, content, etc.), but I honestly have no idea where to even start looking for U.S.-based roles that might consider sponsoring international candidates.
 

If anyone has advice on where to look for these kinds of roles, or has been through something similar, I’d be super grateful for any pointers!
 

Thanks so much in advance

[smilingstone 275]

Marketing is such a competitive field as it is, even more so in a place like LA, it is unlikely you would get sponsorship with only an undergrad and some work experience. Most people in that field end up doing internships for god knows how long and not even getting paid. There's queues around the corner of citizens who are willing to do that, so really little reason a company would outsource for international candidates. 

 

You would be best getting a job in the UK for a company that has offices in the US and eventually requesting a transfer of opportunity presents. 

 

It would probably take just as much time securing a sponsor and jumping through those hoops as it would a spousal visa. 

[appleblossom 3,766]

1 hour ago, Spencer M said:

Hi there,
 

I’m currently looking for some advice on navigating the U.S. visa process, and I’d really appreciate any insights from those with experience.
 

My girlfriend and I have both dreamed of moving to LA for a long time, and we’re finally looking into making it happen. Here’s the situation: she’s a U.S. citizen but has been living in the UK for several years/was born here. While marriage is definitely one potential route, we’re not quite ready for that step yet and personally, I’d prefer to explore moving via employment sponsorship (H-1B or similar) if possible.
 

I have a BA in Marketing and have several years of professional experience in the field (social media, brand, content, etc.), but I honestly have no idea where to even start looking for U.S.-based roles that might consider sponsoring international candidates.
 

If anyone has advice on where to look for these kinds of roles, or has been through something similar, I’d be super grateful for any pointers!
 

Thanks so much in advance

 

I’m afraid I’m going to be blunt and say you will probably need to wait until you are ready for marriage, then come via that route. Realistically, your chances are slim for any work via, and you’ve already missed the H1-B window for this year, so your next chance to start work on one (if you did manage to find a sponsoring employer and then get lucky in the lottery) would be October 2026 - so you may as well wait and then marry instead.  

 

You could always try in the interim, I always say that if you’ve got skills that are worth a US employer sponsoring, then generally they’ll be skills that you’d be headhunted for. So get yourself on Linked In, open yourself up to work in the US, and see if you get recruiters in your inbox.

 

Best of luck. 

[Boiler 46,757]

I never intended to move to the US, sort of happened.

I worked for a Multinational company in the City and realistically it was not going to happen if I had even considered it.

Amusingly my Dad did have an offer, maybe my Brother as well but it was me who moved.

With your background, is it impossible no, unlikely yes, take the simple route.