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Hi everyone. I am a 35 year old personal trainer with over ten years experience in the industry ranging from owner to manager to sales you name it. I am South African and still live here. I have both British and South African passports. I have always dreamed of applying my trade in America (LA, CA or FL) but want to do this the right way. Where do I even start? I have been on the USCIS website but heck they speak a different language there!
Is this a viable option for me? I know there are many trainers there, but I also know there is a huge market for our trade. I am open to suggestions as to what to do. All I want to do is work in the fitness industry in the states as we are sadly behind in this country and I prefer the progressive nature in the US.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know it may be challenging but I have to try.
What's the issue with the USCIS website? It's easily navigable. Your respective citizenship doesn't either help or hinder you but unless you have a lot of money and can look into an investment-based visa, your chance of getting a work-related visa based on your profession is highly unlikely. There may be a huge market but there are equally thousands of qualified US citizens who can fill any vacancies in that field. Employers have to go through a lot of hoops to sponsor a foreign national and I don't think there's much chance of your qualifications even being of interest to a US employer as the application is likely to be refused. Since you have a British passport, you'd have far better success looking into one of the EU countries.
Thanks a million for the honesty. That's exactly the information I need to hear. Nothing wrong with the USCIS website navigation - I just don't understand all the immigration jargon.
Thanks again for the feedback. Really appreciated.
It is not jargon. Do you qualify as far as education and professional background is concerned for an employer sponsored visa? It is not very likely that you will find an interested party in the US in your field. Your other options are internal transfer (unlikely) or investor or diversity lottery (depending on your background and it still being held).
Unless you have the funds to support yourself and start your own business, I don't see it happening since there are plenty of personal trainers in the U.S.
Would it be advisable to apply as a health club manager instead?
My earlier comments apply to ANY position in the personal training field. Unless you have some specialized expertise in a specialized field and can apply for a position which very few or no US citizens can qualify for, you're chasing your tail. You really should try and read the USCIS website in order to gain a better understanding. It really isn't complicated to understand at all if you take it one step at a time and go through the links.
What's the issue with the USCIS website? It's easily navigable. Your respective citizenship doesn't either help or hinder you but unless you have a lot of money and can look into an investment-based visa, your chance of getting a work-related visa based on your profession is highly unlikely. There may be a huge market but there are equally thousands of qualified US citizens who can fill any vacancies in that field. Employers have to go through a lot of hoops to sponsor a foreign national and I don't think there's much chance of your qualifications even being of interest to a US employer as the application is likely to be refused. Since you have a British passport, you'd have far better success looking into one of the EU countries.
Sorry!
This is the truth as I have seen it. It's almost impossible to immigrate legally into the USA. Not 100% impossible, but almost. You would need to be some sort of rare breed of rocket scientist and then you would need to find an employer who would bend over backwards to prove that there is a dire shortage of that rare breed and the employer would have to agree to sponsor you and to make sure you had a job and money for five years.
If you were younger you might have gone to college here and been able to stay. If you marry an American you can come here. For some reason the US wants to keep people out and I, too, am sorry.
Would it be advisable to apply as a health club manager instead?
No, it would not. A US employer would have to go through the visa hassle of convincing the government that it is almost impossible to find a US citizen who is capable of managing a health club, and that's not going to happen. Every country has enough regular folks that there is zero need to import more.
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