Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm considering to move to the States before I turn 30 (I'm 24 at the moment) as me and my partner are considering taking our relationship to the 'next level' lol, we're currently in a whole distance thing, he takes his time to visit me and I do the same every year, financially it's okay-ish since we both work but it comes at a time where when one of us need each other for support (emotionally and mentally) it kinda sucks that we could only do video/calls and not physical interaction.
I want to move where my partner lives (in Chicago, North side) and I want to know what steps I should take to get myself a Visa to live and work in the U.S ( I heard about the K1, not sure if that's a good one? - as I'm not engaged yet!) and many other certifications. Problem is, my current job here doesn't have an office in the States and finding a sponsor in the States before I move there would be quite difficult. My occupation is a System Admin in a small IT company and I got degree/path through TAFE and not University. (I have 4 years experience in my field and probably 7 in terms of self training/studying) and I got a good job before I considered going to University to further my studies so this is why I never went through with Uni. I know that working visas requires minimum a Bachelor's degree, which atm is not on my side in terms of getting one.
Also I have found that in the U.S you would need a A+ certification to be done in order to work at any jobs that relates to IT (Even Bestbuy in tech section or anything tech related requires this A+ certification)! So I would need for that to be done.
I'm wondering if any fellow Aussies who moved to the US have any recommendations/help/tips what I should do and what I need. It would be much appreciated.
You need a degree to get an E3 visa. Couldn't you get quite a bit of credit for experience and previous study? You could study externally full time while working and get it done in a year or two.
Your other choice is getting a job offer and getting a J or H visa. Or you could get married. Why couldn't she come to Australia? That might be easier if she has a profession on the wanted list, and you'd still have the safety net of medicare, etc.
You need a degree to get an E3 visa. Couldn't you get quite a bit of credit for experience and previous study? You could study externally full time while working and get it done in a year or two.
Your other choice is getting a job offer and getting a J or H visa. Or you could get married. Why couldn't she come to Australia? That might be easier if she has a profession on the wanted list, and you'd still have the safety net of medicare, etc.
You need a degree to get an E3 visa. Couldn't you get quite a bit of credit for experience and previous study? You could study externally full time while working and get it done in a year or two.
Your other choice is getting a job offer and getting a J or H visa. Or you could get married. Why couldn't she come to Australia? That might be easier if she has a profession on the wanted list, and you'd still have the safety net of medicare, etc.
I'm not sure my experience would be credited, since it's quite different between us and the U.S in terms of minimum requirements for a specific job and E3 requirements.
I am leaning towards a J and H visa, if we do get married, what would the process be?
Oh and we have considered to being in Australia but the problem is, the cost of living is high here (it's a burden for myself already) and if I manage to get a role that's similar to my position here, the salary wouldn't be a huge difference. Plus, I have more fun while I'm there with him than when him with me here, I guess I like to try a new environment.
Whatever other options, we're looking into it, thank you for your tip
You've probably already thought of this, but a migration lawyer could be very helpful. My wife and I paid a few hundred dollars for some consulation over Skype (sounds dodgy, I know) but in half hour we got the low down on exactly what our best option was, what forms to complete and how to engage to US consulate in Sydney. It just made the whole thing super easy. One tip I can give you is that it's a lot easier to get the Visa from Australia than it is from within the US. If you want that lawyers number, pm me and I'll dig it up. Cheers.
PS love Chicago, loved it more than New York but I'm just not man enough for the winters!
You need a degree to get an E3 visa. Couldn't you get quite a bit of credit for experience and previous study? You could study externally full time while working and get it done in a year or two.
Your other choice is getting a job offer and getting a J or H visa. Or you could get married. Why couldn't she come to Australia? That might be easier if she has a profession on the wanted list, and you'd still have the safety net of medicare, etc.
Technically you don't need a degree for the E-3, it's a bachelor level degree or 10 years equivalent experience. The other issue with the E-3 is that the job you're being sponsored for also "requires" a degree so it's unlikely that getting a job at Geek Squad in Best Buy would qualify.
An H is unlikely if you can't get an E-3 and a J-1 is only temporary. So is an E-3 but that's infinitely renewable whereas a J is not. There are also specific qualifications for a J which you should look into as well.
If you want to get married then the K is probably the best because technically you cannot enter the US with the intention of marrying a US citizen unless you enter on the K visa. If you are married outside the US the requirements for getting in are about the same as applying for the K visa and the wait is about the same (about 9 months). A K just requires you to get married within 90 days of arrival and you have to prove your ties to your fiance.
The other option is the DV lottery which is now over for this year but is a yearly process, although that is based on your country of birth, not your country of citizenship.
Technically you don't need a degree for the E-3, it's a bachelor level degree or 10 years equivalent experience. The other issue with the E-3 is that the job you're being sponsored for also "requires" a degree so it's unlikely that getting a job at Geek Squad in Best Buy would qualify.
An H is unlikely if you can't get an E-3 and a J-1 is only temporary. So is an E-3 but that's infinitely renewable whereas a J is not. There are also specific qualifications for a J which you should look into as well.
If you want to get married then the K is probably the best because technically you cannot enter the US with the intention of marrying a US citizen unless you enter on the K visa. If you are married outside the US the requirements for getting in are about the same as applying for the K visa and the wait is about the same (about 9 months). A K just requires you to get married within 90 days of arrival and you have to prove your ties to your fiance.
The other option is the DV lottery which is now over for this year but is a yearly process, although that is based on your country of birth, not your country of citizenship.
Quote:
Originally Posted by waterproof
I'm not sure my experience would be credited, since it's quite different between us and the U.S in terms of minimum requirements for a specific job and E3 requirements.
I am leaning towards a J and H visa, if we do get married, what would the process be?
Oh and we have considered to being in Australia but the problem is, the cost of living is high here (it's a burden for myself already) and if I manage to get a role that's similar to my position here, the salary wouldn't be a huge difference. Plus, I have more fun while I'm there with him than when him with me here, I guess I like to try a new environment.
Whatever other options, we're looking into it, thank you for your tip
I meant credited towards your bachelors. You wouldn't want to do that in the US because it's so expensive, and drawn out with filler subjects.
For a J or H visa you need to apply for a job and get it then they are your sponsor. Yes, they're limited, but if you're still undecided after four years, then you're not going to get married and you might as well come home.
I meant credited towards your bachelors. You wouldn't want to do that in the US because it's so expensive, and drawn out with filler subjects.
For a J or H visa you need to apply for a job and get it then they are your sponsor. Yes, they're limited, but if you're still undecided after four years, then you're not going to get married and you might as well come home.
There is no J or H visa that is valid for 4 years. A J-1 may be the way to go if the OP has enough experience as that would allow her to work in paid employment for a while. It does require sponsorship and sometimes if there is a specified place (like North Chicago) the sponsorship can be hard to come by. It is easier to get sponsorship on the J-1 as it allows unpaid internship for sponsors.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
