Coming to OC from the UK (Riverside, San Bernardino: credit rating, attorney, house)

[JonoG]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could advise me on what to do. I am currently living the UK but I am looking to come over to California and find a job.

I have a first class bachelors degree in computer science and I am in my final year of my masters. I own a house in the UK (although I dont know if this will be of any help when trying to come over) and I am currently working in an I.T company to gain experience - it will be about 2 years work experience by the time I would like to come over to america.

I will have some savings to help me once I am over there, approximately $30,000 although I know this is not a whole lot it should help me start.

I was wondering if anyone, perhaps based on experience, knows if I would be successful in my application? and if anyone had any links with more information about moving to california from the UK and what the process actually involves? I've been on google for ages but finding very little information of value.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Jono

[Invicta67]

Originally Posted by JonoG

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could advise me on what to do. I am currently living the UK but I am looking to come over to California and find a job.

I have a first class bachelors degree in computer science and I am in my final year of my masters. I own a house in the UK (although I dont know if this will be of any help when trying to come over) and I am currently working in an I.T company to gain experience - it will be about 2 years work experience by the time I would like to come over to america.

I will have some savings to help me once I am over there, approximately $30,000 although I know this is not a whole lot it should help me start.

I was wondering if anyone, perhaps based on experience, knows if I would be successful in my application? and if anyone had any links with more information about moving to california from the UK and what the process actually involves? I've been on google for ages but finding very little information of value.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Jono

Hi Jono

First place to start is the visa you will require to work in the US. The American embassy in London will issue this and their website is very helpful and informative. You could also try the following link for an English guy who is now an immigration attorney based in Santa Monica (US Immigration Specialist - Chris M Ingram ESQ - Free Initial Consultation Call 310 496 4292 US Visas - Green Cards, Work Permits and O1 EB1 E2 L1 K1 K3 EB2 EB3 F1 Visas). Whilst your qualification and experience will not hurt your case, finding a route in might be more complicated than you think. I'm no expert but have been looking in to a similar move for quite some time and would say you have 2 options:
1. E2 visa which would require you to buy/set up a business
2. H1-B visa which is based on your experience (but might require a few more years) and qualifications.
Please check the suggested websites for yourself though as there are numerous options.
In my experience you are looking for $5k+ for a Attorney to handle this. (PM me if you want my Attorney's details).

If you can find a job the employer must be willing to sponsor you which involves cost and them proving that you should have the job rather than someone locally plus you are pretty much tied to that company all the time you want to stay in the US.

Craigslist is one place to look for work (and anything else you might want/need from Appartments to light bulbs) but I would imagine with your sponsorship requirement you should approach companies directly and use professional agencies.

Can I ask what experience you have of California and what you're looking for from the experience?

Assuming you are successful, you will have no credit rating for a while (prepare for 2 or 3 years) but that can be worked on.

For sure, for every problem there is a solution.

This subject is so broad and potentially complex I, and others, could rattle on and on (and on) for ever. It might be easier to relay experience and info directly so feel free to PM me if you want to discuss further.

It might be an idea to break your situation down in to different steps and work on them individually where possible - life is very different (certainly in Southern California) to the UK so preparation is king.

Good Luck.

[Invicta67]

Originally Posted by Invicta67

Hi Jono

Santa Monica (US Immigration Specialist - Chris M Ingram ESQ - Free Initial Consultation Call 310 496 4292 US Visas - Green Cards, Work Permits and O1 EB1 E2 L1 K1 K3 EB2 EB3 F1 Visas).

Sorry, the link has not come out correctly. The above should have read www.breakthroughusa.co.uk

[JonoG]

Originally Posted by Invicta67

Hi Jono

First place to start is the visa you will require to work in the US. The American embassy in London will issue this and their website is very helpful and informative. You could also try the following link for an English guy who is now an immigration attorney based in Santa Monica (US Immigration Specialist - Chris M Ingram ESQ - Free Initial Consultation Call 310 496 4292 US Visas - Green Cards, Work Permits and O1 EB1 E2 L1 K1 K3 EB2 EB3 F1 Visas). Whilst your qualification and experience will not hurt your case, finding a route in might be more complicated than you think. I'm no expert but have been looking in to a similar move for quite some time and would say you have 2 options:
1. E2 visa which would require you to buy/set up a business
2. H1-B visa which is based on your experience (but might require a few more years) and qualifications.
Please check the suggested websites for yourself though as there are numerous options.
In my experience you are looking for $5k+ for a Attorney to handle this. (PM me if you want my Attorney's details).

If you can find a job the employer must be willing to sponsor you which involves cost and them proving that you should have the job rather than someone locally plus you are pretty much tied to that company all the time you want to stay in the US.

Craigslist is one place to look for work (and anything else you might want/need from Appartments to light bulbs) but I would imagine with your sponsorship requirement you should approach companies directly and use professional agencies.

Can I ask what experience you have of California and what you're looking for from the experience?

Assuming you are successful, you will have no credit rating for a while (prepare for 2 or 3 years) but that can be worked on.

For sure, for every problem there is a solution.

This subject is so broad and potentially complex I, and others, could rattle on and on (and on) for ever. It might be easier to relay experience and info directly so feel free to PM me if you want to discuss further.

It might be an idea to break your situation down in to different steps and work on them individually where possible - life is very different (certainly in Southern California) to the UK so preparation is king.

Good Luck.

Hello,

Thank you for your reply! I really appreciate your help!

I understand the difficulties, I've read a lot of posts with people asking the exact same questions I have but often they dont have qualifications which gives me a small advantage - I guess...

In regards to the more experience and qualifications the only thing I could really get higher than a Masters would be a PhD but this would mean I would have to quit my current job, thus losing experience - I'm really not sure which one would be more beneficial, being a Dr. Or 3 years experience and a managers position. - I don't want to regret my decision by realising if I'd stuck with my job I could have got in, or vice versa.

I have been to visit california when I was younger and what I remember of it always made me want to go back, I guess I'm looking for a new start in life - I've been to numerous places within europe but they're all generally the same so I'm looking for something big and new.

I'm not too worried about not having a credit rating initially, in my experience you have to start at the bottom and work up, and I'm more than happy to do that.

Thank you again for your advice and links - it certainly is a complicated process! haha

Jono

[Invicta67]

I found this in the San Bernardino / Riverside forum which might be of use:

"How about Careerbuilder, OP? It's free and sends you emails when jobs come up in your area."