[neesymac]

Hi,

Myself and my Fiance love Florida and have been many times. We would love to move over to the state but i have been reading that it is very very difficult to move over and find a job. There is lots of red tape etc to get through.

What is the best way to get free impartial advice on whether it is actually possible or if it is just a pipe dream?

We have looked at Australia and that has a points system which will determine if you are suitable to move over there, does Florida have the same sort of thing?

[cfIfan]

Im originally from Kent in the UK and i can tell you esp since 9/11 it is difficult to come accross here. To begin with you need a visa to work, this can only be obtained if the company sponsers you, hijghly unlikely, or as alot of my clients do, buy a business over here. You can come over on a tourist visa for upto 3 months but you cant stay longer or work. There are a number of business's in the UK which offer advice on such things and you can just google them.

Hope this helps

Nick

[neesymac]

Hi Nic,

Can you tell me how you go about getting a business, like a franchise?

maybe i should just keep dreaming of winning the lottery that way i can just come over and play golf and not work :-)

[cfIfan]

Well, buying a business is similar to buying a house. You can search for people who specialize in this area, or i could do a search for you to give yo uan idea of what is out there and pricing. You may want to speak to an immigration specialist(i could give you the details of the lady i used) because there are certain criteria a business must meet, such as you must emply a certain amount of US citizens. Popular business's are bars or landscape companies. Bars are usually high priced because alot of them dont own the premesis, but the liquor licenses are worth alot. For instance my best friends owns a bar on 192 and his liquor license alone is worth at the moment around $250,000.

let me know if you need any further help

Nick

[Sueilp]

Yea you need to be in a profession that is in demand like a Nurse to be in a chance of getting here with a Green Card. I know a lot of people who have come from the UK who have bought franchises here and most are doing well (although some have returned to the UK for various reasons) - you need to be able to spend AT LEAST $150,000 on a business then you will need set up costs plus money for car, house etc etc. When you first get here money goes through your hands at an alarming rate!!!!!!

If you work for a company in the UK that have expanded their business to the USA you could possibly go for a L1 visa which eventually leads to green card - but that is a hard route also.

B2 visa is where you can stay for up to 6 months at a time but this is usually for people who are retired or close to retirement age. You cant stay for any longer than 6 months....if you arent retirement age you would get grilled about whether you had a home or job to go back to...

Like has been already mentioned since 9/11 it is so hard to get out here - it took me 37 months from start to finish and I am a nurse and supposedly it was easy to get here becuase of that but it wasnt by any means.....(but well worth it now we are here!!!)

Your best bet is buying a business over here IF you have enough money to do so....BUT they usually only issue these visa for 3 years and can reject your application 3 years later.....I do know someone who renewed after 3 years and they got another 5 years, but someone else I knew didnt get renewal....they had to return to the UK. Go for this if you can live with this uncertanty every 3 years...

Difficult choice for you.....depends on how you much you want your dream to come alive....

I know a lot of people who are living the dream, going through it or returned - if you want to know which forum this is please send me a message and I will gladly give it to you.

[neesymac]

Thanks Suelip & Nick,

Yes if you could give me information that would be great, am I allowed to put my email address on this forum or do i have to send you a private thread???

I am thinking i don't like the uncertainty of having to renew your Visa every 3 years, it makes like quite uncertain.

We do have offices in Atlanta we could consider seeing if they have any vacancies, i know it's not Florida but it's closer than Wigan :-)

[Sueilp]

you are better sending it by private message - you dont want to be spammed!!!

[neesymac]

Thanks will do :-)

[cfIfan]

yes just send a private message and ill forward the details to you

[nita67]

Hi. We moved to the US 8 years ago....love it. You can have a look at britishexpats.com where there is a lot of info about moving over, visas etc.etc. Good Luck