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Me and my fiance are a 20 year old couple from the midlands in England who would love to move to America to start a new life, however we don't seem to be having much luck. Everything we have looked in to has presented a problem, it seems as though we aren't eligible for anything. We have looked at visas, green cards and every other thing under the sun! My fiancee has family over there but they are her great aunts and uncles and the embassy states that they need to be a sibling or a spouse which strikes us as odd. There is no way of us starting a business as we do not have the money to invest! We also aren't really skilled as neither of us have a degree. We would like to work but for those two reasons we are turned away. Please help!! We really need some genuine advice. I have family in Vancouver in Canada so was thinking that i could stay there and try and live in washington state, we would like to live in Los Angeles ideally but don't think this is too realistic as of yet. Also, does anyone know whether Canada is as hard to get in to?
I asked 15years ago a visa like you to live in the States and study, my goal was California also but was denied.
So what you should do is the opposite of what they telling you, come as a tourist for 3 months and figure it out once you're in the country, that's what I did and it worked fine, same thing for all my friends here, I've been living in the country legally for 14 years now.
Remember in life you do the things without asking until someone stops you, doing it, 'cause if you ask permission you'll give them the opportunity to reject you too easily.
San Francisco would be better , it's more Euro with a lot of Euros and believe me u need them otherwise you won't be able to talk about much my friend, people in the states can be pretty cool but don't have a clue about anything that is outside their community.
Good luck, and don't ask, DO IT!
America is enduring some VERY tough times at the moment. With the war in Iraq, the war on terror, the recession, the housing crisis, the hispanic population boom...
I would say unless you totally hate England, stay there.
I don't see the point in adopting the Euro. It's more trouble than it's worth to convert everything I think.
And I know everybody will laugh at me for this, but according to Revelation a worldwide money system is one of the signs of the end of the world. Whether you believe in it or not, God apparently knew it would eventually come to that.
I'd suggest what the first guy suggested, come here for 3 months and figure it out from there. If you play a major sport well enough you could probably stay as well.
I have friends from the Midlands area and they are unhappy here. They miss the community feeling of home and feel Americans are not as open to friendships as people from home. They are here because they have a work visa (he works for an English company that has a very tiny office here in the states). You guys are young so maybe you'll have a different experience if you get here. But it will be difficult for you to get in-We can't just hop to Australia for a job though it would be fun to live in Sydney for a summer. In Mexico, you have to have a visa if you will be visiting more than 48 hours. I think our doors are pretty open compared to other countries.
You didn't say why you wanted to come here, but my advice would be to stay in Europe. Perhaps I'm not very patriotic, but this country is puritanical, seriously corrupt (not like other countries aren't but...) and really no bargain overall. There is the lure of the American dream perhaps, but I think that died after the 60s.
I don't know about Canada, though it is beautiful there (save Toronto). For sure they are more lenient in general, so maybe you'd be ok.
I agree with Leighland that Americans are not so closely knit. If you want that and still want to live in US you may be better moving to the Philadelphia area. People are generally more open and friendly IMO. That being said, if I could live anywhere- Maine or western Wyoming for their beauty. Then, I've always felt I'd be happier in Europe.
Good luck
I think our doors are pretty open compared to other countries.
I'd say in general the US has visa policies roughly similar to most developed countries, designed I guess to protect local jobs. The working holiday scheme is more limited than the ones most Commonwealth countries have. A lot of countries also allow people of particular other countries to come and go and work freely, eg New Zealand and Australia. Not many (?any) other countries have anything resembling the Diversity Lottery though.
To the guys trying to find a way into the US, have you looked at the schemes through STA travel (I'm guess ing the UK branches will have them, if not try Cheap travel deals, flights, tours and travel insurance from STA Travel | STA TRAVEL | Home) that hook you up with a 5-month visa? Most of them are for students, but there's one where you don't have to be. They organise a job for you (driving a minvan between Colorado ski resorts) for which you have to pay a fee on top of visa costs. But it sounds like you earn alright money. You'll be in the country, which will give you more opportunity to convince potential employers you're worth sponsoring for a visa.
If you wanna save the fee, you can probably contact the company that STA is hiring you for directly.
People where I live are pretty friendly. I know a lot of people in town and all of the people in my graduating class fairly well, but this is a small town. Really how friendly a place is depends on the place. The midwest is typically considered as being more friendly than the northeast for example.
As far as VISAs and getting into the country, part of the reason that it is hard is that we need job security. I think another is the fact that the 9/11 attacks were committed by foreign people. Does that mean all foreign people are bad or more dangerous than people born here? No, but I think it's one reason that the U.S. is kind of hard to get into. The government needs to know why you're here and what you're doing, as well as your background. It doesn't mean you're dangerous, they just want to know that you're not a threat.
Marcus..are you any good at footie? Can you teach/coach? If so, look into a J1 visa... even if you have to go through one of the many British Soccer Co.'s here to start, that would be my advice. You may even want to try some of the YMCA website as they are always looking for help via. a J1. J1's are only temporary but you can extend them. I have a few friends who started that way because they did not have college degrees or a million dollars to start a business.
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