moving fro the uk the orlando (environment, lawyer, insurance)

[tonrob]

Yes, I'll second what cfIfan said - you'll need the cash and the nous to set up your own business i order to move based on what you've said.

Few things to watch:

- got kids? They'd need to leave by the time they're 21.
- no path to permanent residency. Visa is only valid for duration that business exists.

And make sure you see a qualified immigration attorney - the net is littered with stories of those conned by self-appointed 'visa specialists" and the like.

[LindyUK]

Thanks for the input.
Hope the Immigration Lawyer we are seeing is fully qualified , hadnt thought about possible scams! We are being charged $150 for the consultation which we had thought was money well spent to be told the cold hard facts, rather than just keep talking about moving to Florida and never actually doing anything about it, so we talked it over and decided to take the bait and at least then, once having spoken to a lawyer, we will know if our dream is possible.
cfIfan ~ seems like the Brits who are out in florida love the lifestyle, the culture, the people, in fact, everything about it, but the Floridians seem to be so negative about everything to do with their state, so it is very hard to guage a true picture of what is going on there right now ~ if you listen to the locals you wouldnt even go there for a vacation, and they make it sound such an awful place, what with high crime, heavy traffic congestion, heavily built up communities etc, yet from a Brits point of view its a great place! Maybe it wouldnt be such a bad idea for some of the Floridian locals to hop on a plane and visit the UK, then they may well return to florida with a different view point. there are constant snarl ups on our roads, the majority of the inner cities are no-go areas for the British, we too have rising crime (violent, fatal), law and order is a total joke, customer service is non-existant ~ I could go on and on, oh and to boot we have really cr** weather!!!
lol.
Will check out Atlanta & Texas ~ we do actually know people in Texas, as we attended a Wedding in Minnesota and the Grooms family originated from Texas and we had a long chat with the Grooms Father and Step Mom. Atlanta is totally new, but will deff check it out.
One more thing ~ read on one of the threads that florida is susceptible to both Hurricanes and Tornados?? I didnt realise tornado's struck in Florida ~ I could cope with a hurricane but not sure about tornado's ~ they always look really scary from the shots and documentaries we have seen on UK tv. NOT that it would stop me from coming to the US if we were eligible though, but just wanted to know if florida is at risk of both such things.
Thanks to you all for sharing your thoughts, experiences and information ~ its a great help in understanding the challenges we are going to face in the coming months, maybe years!

[tonrob]

Originally Posted by LindyUK

Thanks for the input.
Hope the Immigration Lawyer we are seeing is fully qualified , hadnt thought about possible scams! We are being charged $150 for the consultation which we had thought was money well spent to be told the cold hard facts, rather than just keep talking about moving to Florida and never actually doing anything about it, so we talked it over and decided to take the bait and at least then, once having spoken to a lawyer, we will know if our dream is possible.

Even if trust weren't an issue (and it may not be), it always really helps to go into this sort of meeting having done a lot of research beforehand so that you know exactly what questions you want to ask and don't feel overwhelmed by the jargon or processes that will be discussed (and believe me, none of it seems straightforward at all when you're hearing it for the first time).

So, in order to get the most out of your meeting I'd recommend you start reading here:

Pulaski's Ways: How to Live and Work in the USA : British Expat Wiki

and then either use the rest of that site to dig deeper or else simply use some of the terminology you see as Google search terms, but be sure to recognize sites that are trying to sell something! The scammers have the internet too.

[LindyUK]

Originally Posted by tonrob

Even if trust weren't an issue (and it may not be), it always really helps to go into this sort of meeting having done a lot of research beforehand so that you know exactly what questions you want to ask and don't feel overwhelmed by the jargon or processes that will be discussed (and believe me, none of it seems straightforward at all when you're hearing it for the first time).

So, in order to get the most out of your meeting I'd recommend you start reading here:

Pulaski's Ways: How to Live and Work in the USA : British Expat Wiki

and then either use the rest of that site to dig deeper or else simply use some of the terminology you see as Google search terms, but be sure to recognize sites that are trying to sell something! The scammers have the internet too.

Thanks Tonrob for that link ~ have read it and will certainly go into it in more depth when time allows and follow it up with some google searches. We have already started compiling a list of questions for the Lawyer, otherwise he will end up getting us confused with all the terminology and will forget all of the things we want to know about to get it clearer in our heads!
We can see its not going to be easy to get our feet in the door of the US, for starters my husband cannot offer anything in way of expertise that an american citizen wouldnt be capable of, and as others have said Electricians are two a penny, so we are wondering if any of his years in the Military, where he learnt lots of various skills and was always studying for one piece of paper or another would have any bearing in him obtaining work of a different kind. This is something we will have to look into in depth before we come out in august, and maybe he will get chance to talk things over with some of the many americans (military) he got to meet and work with and became good friends with over his years of working, they can maybe give him a few pointers in the right direction.
thanks once again for everyones advice and help in this matter, its much appreciated x

[tonrob]

Originally Posted by LindyUK

Thanks Tonrob for that link ~ have read it and will certainly go into it in more depth when time allows and follow it up with some google searches. We have already started compiling a list of questions for the Lawyer, otherwise he will end up getting us confused with all the terminology and will forget all of the things we want to know about to get it clearer in our heads!
We can see its not going to be easy to get our feet in the door of the US, for starters my husband cannot offer anything in way of expertise that an american citizen wouldnt be capable of, and as others have said Electricians are two a penny, so we are wondering if any of his years in the Military, where he learnt lots of various skills and was always studying for one piece of paper or another would have any bearing in him obtaining work of a different kind. This is something we will have to look into in depth before we come out in august, and maybe he will get chance to talk things over with some of the many americans (military) he got to meet and work with and became good friends with over his years of working, they can maybe give him a few pointers in the right direction.
thanks once again for everyones advice and help in this matter, its much appreciated x

Don't forget that Americans - military or not - will usually not know anything about U.S. immigration rules (just as a Brit wouldn't know what hoops an American would need to jump through in order to come to the UK). A particular skill may seem in demand, but common sense rarely applies to immigration matters. The U.S. doesn't have skill-based immigration in the same manner as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Relevant experience and qualifications are what's required to allow a U.S. employer to sponsor a would-be immigrant, but even when you find one who does then the number of applications vs. the annual visa quota effectively mean that visa allocation is a lottery that happens on one day each year (next on April 1, 2009). If you're reading up I'm talking about H-1B visas here. Another disadvantage to the whole thing is that the spouse gets a H-4, which means that they cannot work. It really stinks.

Things can be a bit easier for qualified nurses, but it seems from what you've said that this isn't a category you will fall into.

The best (usually only) routes to follow are:

1) Start or buy a business. Some capital required here and expertise to match as you can only stay as long as the business operates. Don't forget to factor in health insurance costs and kids - if any - must leave at 21.
2) Work for a UK employer who will transfer you (pretty much the best route - leads fairly easily to Permanent Residency and ultimately dual citizenship)
3) Investors visa - loadsa dosh required for this
4) Marriage (obviously no good for you!)

Good luck.

[LindyUK]

Originally Posted by tonrob

Don't forget that Americans - military or not - will usually not know anything about U.S. immigration rules (just as a Brit wouldn't know what hoops an American would need to jump through in order to come to the UK). A particular skill may seem in demand, but common sense rarely applies to immigration matters. The U.S. doesn't have skill-based immigration in the same manner as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Relevant experience and qualifications are what's required to allow a U.S. employer to sponsor a would-be immigrant, but even when you find one who does then the number of applications vs. the annual visa quota effectively mean that visa allocation is a lottery that happens on one day each year (next on April 1, 2009). If you're reading up I'm talking about H-1B visas here. Another disadvantage to the whole thing is that the spouse gets a H-4, which means that they cannot work. It really stinks.

Things can be a bit easier for qualified nurses, but it seems from what you've said that this isn't a category you will fall into.

The best (usually only) routes to follow are:

1) Start or buy a business. Some capital required here and expertise to match as you can only stay as long as the business operates. Don't forget to factor in health insurance costs and kids - if any - must leave at 21.
2) Work for a UK employer who will transfer you (pretty much the best route - leads fairly easily to Permanent Residency and ultimately dual citizenship)
3) Investors visa - loadsa dosh required for this
4) Marriage (obviously no good for you!)

Good luck.

Yes I realised after reading up on the link you gave me earlier that the spouse will be unable to work ~ something new I found out as assumed if he was able to work then so would i be able to! But seems not, which is slightly disadvantagous, as was hoping I could get employment too, as that way you get to meet the local people and integrate into the whole Floridian way of life a lot easier. Lots to seriously think about here.
Will certainly be keeping us busy over the coming weeks prior to coming over in August, reading up all the gen we can and doing a lot of background work and deciding if it is worth pursuing. The last thing we want to do is go into it without having done all the work we can in finding out as much information as we can, and get a lawyer to proceed with our application, only to find out at a later date there is no hope at all of us ever getting into the country and then being produced with a bill for the work they have done on our behalf, which will be money wasted.
At the very least it will cost us $150 to pay the lawyer for the consultation, and if what he has to say is favourable then we can ask him to proceed with our application, but we will only do that if we are sure in our own minds that it is worth pursuing

[tonrob]

Originally Posted by LindyUK

Yes I realised after reading up on the link you gave me earlier that the spouse will be unable to work ~ something new I found out as assumed if he was able to work then so would i be able to! But seems not, which is slightly disadvantagous, as was hoping I could get employment too, as that way you get to meet the local people and integrate into the whole Floridian way of life a lot easier. Lots to seriously think about here.
Will certainly be keeping us busy over the coming weeks prior to coming over in August, reading up all the gen we can and doing a lot of background work and deciding if it is worth pursuing. The last thing we want to do is go into it without having done all the work we can in finding out as much information as we can, and get a lawyer to proceed with our application, only to find out at a later date there is no hope at all of us ever getting into the country and then being produced with a bill for the work they have done on our behalf, which will be money wasted.
At the very least it will cost us $150 to pay the lawyer for the consultation, and if what he has to say is favourable then we can ask him to proceed with our application, but we will only do that if we are sure in our own minds that it is worth pursuing

Your lawyer would only be applying if you were either investing or buying/starting your own business. Otherwise it's the new employer who must apply on your behalf.

[LindyUK]

Ok, so if we dont have the funds in order to apply to open up our own business or invest in a company then its pointless us even going to see an Immigration Lawyer? Unless of course, my husband was given a firm offer of a job once the paperwork was completed and in which case the employer would be dealing with the *process* on our behalf?
If thats the case then we would be wasting $150 as we dont think we would have the funds to start up a business from scratch as read somewhere you are talking in the region of $300,000+ ~ by time we sold our assets here and paid all our dues, we would have enough to purchase a really nice home out there and have a small amount of funds left in which to fall back on if we needed to, but would be hard pushed to come up with enough to show we had the funds of around $300,000.

[Babephat]

I agree with you MaryPoppins. Immigration would not accept his working as a plumber, especially that there are so many plumbers out of work at present due to the housing crisis and building going sour. IF he were to get into the US to work he would have to find a company to sponsor him, and that would mean Immigration would put the company sponsoring him through hell. All in all, I highly doubt he would get a job in the USA. Don't mean to sound mean, just being realistic

[tonrob]

Originally Posted by LindyUK

Ok, so if we dont have the funds in order to apply to open up our own business or invest in a company then its pointless us even going to see an Immigration Lawyer? Unless of course, my husband was given a firm offer of a job once the paperwork was completed and in which case the employer would be dealing with the *process* on our behalf?
If thats the case then we would be wasting $150 as we dont think we would have the funds to start up a business from scratch as read somewhere you are talking in the region of $300,000+ ~ by time we sold our assets here and paid all our dues, we would have enough to purchase a really nice home out there and have a small amount of funds left in which to fall back on if we needed to, but would be hard pushed to come up with enough to show we had the funds of around $300,000.

It sounds from what you're saying that the starting a business route may not be something that's right for you at this moment in time, which leaves employment.

The work experience that you've mentioned so far doesn't seem to fit the H1-B requirements so far, but you hinted at a broad and varied level of experience on your husband's side which is what you'd probably need to be asking about.

Few things:

- you need to corroborate everything I am saying yourself (which you can do yourself on the internet for free if you have the time and the inclination). These are your dreams, so don't rely 100% on what a stranger (i.e. me) tells you.

- immigration law is a huge field and as such different attorneys often specialize in small areas. You could call the attorney in advance and tell him/her specifically that one of the main questions you will want to discuss is the extent to which either of your qualifications or work experience would enable a prospective employer to file for H1-B, should you be able to find one. Ideally your attorney would be one who files for this type of visa on behalf of employers on a regular basis so would know first-hand what might fly and what wouldn't. If they seem hesitant in regard to your questions find another attorney - you still have time before your trip.

- I'll say it again - make sure they are a qualified immigration attorney. There are too many horror stories on the net. Watch out for (and avoid like the plague) so-called "agencies" that claim you help match you with H1-B employers - they typically scam you for hundreds of dollars (or more) and only provide you with info you could have got yourself for free.