US Immigrant Visa Info

To be completely honest, unless you have some university degree that puts you in demand (pref. in the STEM field) you're really barking up the wrong tree thinking about the USA. There are already all kinds of expats who have high ranked degrees who are driving taxi in NYC or flipping burgers in Denver because they either can't get their foreign degrees recognized or they lack crucial work experience related to their field of study.

Preference will always be given to US citizens as well since there are no financial or legal responsibilities involved like those that are imposed with sponsorship.

Sponsors must be US citizens or Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) or a US company. Sponsorship involves acting as a guarantor for the financial sufficiency of the sponsored individual for as long as they are in the USA, so that under no circumstances they would ever have to rely on any form of public social assistance. It also imposes the legal obligation to guarantee the the sponsored individual will actually leave the country when his/her visa stay expires.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Dave,

If you are a UK citizen (EU, Canada, AU, NZ, etc), the sad truth is you will have much more luck in finding sponsorship from a US company than those from other countries. Depending on your degree you can find sponsorship but it is not something you will just find immediately. It takes time and determination.

That said, if you are indeed a UK citizen, and have family over here in the US there are other ways to immigrate here outside employment and other visa types to accommodate that. You may be better off exploring that.

The US has recently slowed Visa issuance greatly (for Visas that are not covered under the VWP). If you are a UK citizen you are covered under VWP, however that all may be changing soon as well due to the recent events in Paris.

Sponsorship for employment comes from employers, and only employers. Most employers that provide sponsorship are Fortune 500 companies. You could try and do an intra-company transfer as well.

Sponsorship by individuals are for tourist visas and student visas, which I believe you are not looking for nor need as I will assume you are a UK citizen and are covered by the VWP.

Please see this thread for my job sites to search.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=313638

Good luck.

And just to clearify on this post -

If you are looking for employment sponsorship you will need to be in a professional career.

Information Technology, Medical/Medicine, International Business, etc.

Jobs that won't qualify:

Transportation, Fast food, etc.

James wrote:

To be completely honest, unless you have some university degree that puts you in demand (pref. in the STEM field) you're really barking up the wrong tree thinking about the USA. There are already all kinds of expats who have high ranked degrees who are driving taxi in NYC or flipping burgers in Denver because they either can't get their foreign degrees recognized or they lack crucial work experience related to their field of study.

Preference will always be given to US citizens as well since there are no financial or legal responsibilities involved like those that are imposed with sponsorship.

Sponsors must be US citizens or Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) or a US company. Sponsorship involves acting as a guarantor for the financial sufficiency of the sponsored individual for as long as they are in the USA, so that under no circumstances they would ever have to rely on any form of public social assistance. It also imposes the legal obligation to guarantee the the sponsored individual will actually leave the country when his/her visa stay expires.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

I agree & I'm not even sure if I'm eligible for a US visa however although I'm British I feel more American, like the USA is my true home. Like the saying there's no place like home so moving to the US is the right thing to do.

I've only got basic qualifications/degrees: the Junior High School Certificate & the Certificate of Vocational Proficiency in Accountancy however I'm not interested in becoming an Accountant. I've got less than 2 years of experience as a Cleaning Operative so I havent got much experience neither & I don't think Cleaning vacancies qualify for H1B visas . But I'm also interested in other job sectors such as: Housekeeper, Postal Worker, Gatekeeper & Data Entry Clerk

You said there are highly skilled expats who have been able to immigrate to the US even though they are doing basic jobs so I don't see why I couldn't too?? Do you know what type of Visa they have & where did there find employors to sponsor them??

I'm looking for an immigrant visa as I'm looking to immigrate to the US permanantly. So I'm only looking for a 1 way ticket type of visa so I can live & work in the US on a permant basis which ones should I be applying for??

Thanks again

usmc_mv wrote:

Dave,

If you are a UK citizen (EU, Canada, AU, NZ, etc), the sad truth is you will have much more luck in finding sponsorship from a US company than those from other countries. Depending on your degree you can find sponsorship but it is not something you will just find immediately. It takes time and determination.

That said, if you are indeed a UK citizen, and have family over here in the US there are other ways to immigrate here outside employment and other visa types to accommodate that. You may be better off exploring that.

The US has recently slowed Visa issuance greatly (for Visas that are not covered under the VWP). If you are a UK citizen you are covered under VWP, however that all may be changing soon as well due to the recent events in Paris.

Sponsorship for employment comes from employers, and only employers. Most employers that provide sponsorship are Fortune 500 companies. You could try and do an intra-company transfer as well.

Sponsorship by individuals are for tourist visas and student visas, which I believe you are not looking for nor need as I will assume you are a UK citizen and are covered by the VWP.

Please see this thread for my job sites to search.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=313638

Good luck.

I haven't got any family in the US so the family based visa isn't an option for me & I'm currently unemployed

I could look for & get a job in Europe than transfer to the US however I'm looking to move to the US sooner rather than later. I'm not looking for a tourist visa as I'm looking to move to the US on a permanant basis therefore I need a US visa which will allow me to live & work in the US permanantly

Like you said there other types of visas whom I can apply for like the Diversity Lottery, I'm British but my parents are born abroad so I think I qualify??

Or I could try the K1 fiancé visa, I've been talking to this American girl online now for a few weeks so I could ask her if she'd wanna sponsor me?? But I'm not sure if she'll be willing to pay the fees as it is expensive & whether she'll know/wanna go throught the whole process I heard it takes a long time??

Send me a PM.

travelbuddy69 wrote:

Or I could try the K1 fiancé visa, I've been talking to this American girl online now for a few weeks so I could ask her if she'd wanna sponsor me?? But I'm not sure if she'll be willing to pay the fees as it is expensive & whether she'll know/wanna go throught the whole process I heard it takes a long time??

It used to be you need to prove that you two actually met other than online for a few weeks.  It is a long process, and once you get the visa you have 90 days to get to the USA and get married or you are in the USA illegally.  Knowing someone online for a few weeks is only a start to even consider all the other aspects.

Hi,

I am an European citizen and I do have family living in the US. How would that work for me?