Moving to the US - How hard is it?

[daverobev]

Currently living in Canada. I'm a Brit, wife is a Canuck, baby is, or will be, dual.

I'm self employed. She's employed and self employed.

What does one need to gain admission? I know when I get Cdn citizenship I can go down 6 months a year, but just say we wanted to move to somewhere warm and coastal... What does it take?

Assuming we can't get jobs that will pay for the visa. What other routes are there? I know there is the invest-in-business route, but I don't think we have enough cash to do that (unless having rental properties counts... that might happen over time).

Any hacks, thougts?

[UnleashHell]

This isn't going to help you but..

I moved to the states on a H1b work visa.. Took 18 months from first talking about it with a company that wanted to hire me to actually arriving in the states ready to work. company had to advertise locally and nationally for the job and prove that there were no other qualified people willing to do the job. They also had to get clearance on the salary (that it was at the right level for the job). Then I had to prove I was qualified. I could work, but only in that job and for that company (the visa belongs to the company - not the individual). My wife wasn't allowed to work, nor were my kids - not even a part time job. The visa is only for 3 years but can be renewed once. if you lose your job you leave. you get to pay all of the taxes but don't qualify for unemployment if you leave the job, you have to leave the country. Oh - and under the patriot act you can be arrested for anything, detained and because you are a foreign national the authorities don't have to even notify anyone. sweet.
I ended up renewing the visa and then getting a green card. the paperwork is insane and the costs are prohibitive.

besides that its easy.


you may get a work visa as a Canadian citizen (I think). I had a friend of mine do that - but its just a visa and it used to be that you had to renew each year.

good luck

[MayDay]

Another thing to consider with the work Visa is that the company has you by the balls, and they know it.  You are tied to that employer so they don't have much/any incentive to increase your salary, and like Unleashhell said, they can end your employment and you have to leave the country.  So. Yay America!

[Cookie78]

TN visas are easier and less cost prohibitive than H1B. ~$56 (iirc) and you can get it at the border. Renewable indefinitely via a quick border trip. Tied to the job. (I haven't actually done this, but I've done a lot of research lately)

But you need to have the job offer first, so it doesn't really answer your question. Curious to know if anyone else has a suggestion.

[viper155]

"What does one need to gain admission? I know when I get Cdn citizenship I can go down 6 months a year, but just say we wanted to move to somewhere warm and coastal... What does it take?"

What does it take? .............A pannish Aksent

[UnleashHell]

h1b doesn't need to be posted but you need approval from the department of labor - and they can do what they like. Mine was posted, in the offices, local papers and the New York Times in order to prove that the position was a specialty one which qualified for h1b status.


and from a Stanford law article

"As the USA Patriot Act went into effect, several hundred immigrants remained in government detention under a separate emergency order allowing them to be held without charge for an extended period. The lengthy detention of so many aliens, few of whom were suspected of involvement in the terrorist attacks, generated concern that efforts to protect national security in the wake of September 11 had infringed on the constitutional rights of noncitizens. In 2002, civil liberties organizations mounted several legal challenges on behalf of individuals detained after September 11, including a class action lawsuit asking a federal district court to declare the detention of a group of Muslim men unconstitutional.

Numerous legal scholars have addressed the tension between national security and civil liberties posed by new government policies since September 11. In immigration scholarship, law review articles have addressed the mass *detention of noncitizens, the use of racial profiling in immigration enforcement, and expanded secrecy in immigration proceedings. Yet no article published to date has closely analyzed the mandatory detention provisions of the USA Patriot Act or subjected them to detailed constitutional scrutiny.
"


http://www.law.stanford.edu/publications/patriotic-or-unconstitutional-the-mandatory-detention-of-aliens-under-the-usa-patriot-act


besides that you have filled in a few bits.

[Goldielocks]

TN visas are easier and less cost prohibitive than H1B. ~$56 (iirc) and you can get it at the border. Renewable indefinitely via a quick border trip. Tied to the job. (I haven't actually done this, but I've done a lot of research lately)

But you need to have the job offer first, so it doesn't really answer your question. Curious to know if anyone else has a suggestion.

Tn does not work as well for families, limited residency, and taxes are worse, fyi. Better for someone working in usa while family stays home.

[ysette9]

You mentioned an eventual baby. I'd strongly recommend you stay in either England or Canada through the birth and parental leave of your child before considering coming to the US, if you come at all. Maternity and paternity leave in this country are either non-existent or a complete embarrassment compared to the rest of the developed world. Despite what some politicians may like to say, this society in general does not value families, at least with social programs to help make having a family more doable.